so some might call it a dark period of kiting, but in reality it is only one of many in what is for all sense and purpose, still a young and emerging sport.

and given the meteoric capitalistic rise of such a young and emerging recreation melding to sport turning into lifestyle and becoming an obession, you'd think being on the cutting edge of this would garner some comradery with commendation to those that strive and push the boundaries ever forward and earn compassion and support to those same what may seem to fail yet still stand headstrong and looking ever onwards.

we accept shorts over wetties and the ridiculous excuses and explanations as to its continuing practice. because we understand that these individuals have a conceptual problem and to hassle them would be the same as hassling the young kiddies covered in drool who ride to school on the spazzie bus. and thats just not on.

we pretend we care when some fifteen year old whose been kiting for all of six months with the kite his mum bought him, trys to explain, with all the seriousness of an entomological scientist on crack, the difference between wakestyle, freestyle, free-ride and all the intricate nuances inbetween. because we can see that one day, these kids will be the kings, but mostly because we don't understand ourselves and afterall, kiting is

we spend weeks on end, arguing to and fro, about what should be bindings and what should be foot straps, and when a footstrap can be a binding and when a binding can be a footstrap. totally believing that everything we say should hold definative authority and pertinence on an issue derived from a marketing executive in an office somewhere who more than likely does not even kite.

but we can't get past the link....

sure it flies like a lead balloon and has a habit of falling backwards out of the sky, crashing onto other riders and beach goers without notice.
so maybe it does turn like a truck with flat tyres and no power steering. and so what if it had the relaunch capabilities of a crashed helicopter, y'know what....
every kiter that has owned one is a better kiter now for having the experience.

yes, that might sound like the fruity cop out you give to your son when his dirty slut of a girlfriend runs off with the sleazy guido who put the shine on her at the local 'bump an rub' disco.. but its' true... link kiters are better kiters for being link kiters..

now you'll get guys like stabber...(no offence here stabs) who never take their hands off their own pork sword long enough to realise they have two hands, who'll try and laugh off and put down all past link owners and deter any anyone who's even contemplating the rewarding challenge that is the link. but you see, kiters like these are in fact yearning on some level, maybe subconscious, maybe metaphysical, to really know what it is like to have the experience, the extra skill, the knowledge and the understanding of what it is to be a link kiter, past or present. and as is well known in psychological circles, you fear what you don't know and you hate what you fear.

to those that rode the link and to those that still do, i salute you. you my friends are the p76 drivers of the kite world, time will tell and prove to all, that if nothing more, the flying bag of spuds that is the link was and is, well and truly ahead of its time.
and i'm sure that if it comes to it and andy won't come to the party and supply us all with brand new rev2's, we can find a kiting solicitor amoungst us, cause we might just have a case for a class action on slingshot for being the unwitting test
dumbies in the evolution of the half link that is the new rev.

but for now...

vi va la link...!!

Sounds like the doctor gave himself a good prescription.

I dont know what your problem is, the Link aint that bad to fly. It isnt great, thats for sure!

But I wished I had a Link back when I were learning on the garbage they released in 2002

I know crew who refuse to sell the link based on how bad it is, and they believe they'd be ripping someone off coz its a crap kite that doesn't relaunch and apparently doesn't fly properly.

P.S. I've never flown it, its just what a few guys have told me

Would it be fair to say that The Link is to Slingshot what the Hell Fish was to Best?

Ah but did Best refund, or swap the kite. Yes they did, and as far as I am aware no one was left without compensation for this. Best has come a long long way from then, as have Slingshot.

Get over it, try your kites before you buy them and you wont have the drama.

MHO.

I have owned a kiteshop now for nearly 9 years and each year of business we test as much gear as possible before we decide to sell it through our store for the season, I refuse to sell gear that could possibly be crap or from companies that will not backup their products.

You need to find a kite store that respects there customers, and wont sell you gear just for the dollars. Every store or retailer should have demo gear for you to test to some degree. No way would I buy a new kite before testing it for myself.

There is no room for "used car salesman" like tactics in this industry. Have some knowledge of the kite you are interested in before going to a kite store and dont just listen to media hype.

Ha! Buying a link, nearly the first to buy one in Australia has been a festering wound on my kitesurfing history. The grief i have endured due to the link is not unlike stabbing yourself in the eye with a blunt butter knife whilst trying to open an ice cold coopers after a hot ****ty day at work. So im guessing this would be the wrong place to sell my 12 meter linc? ****, i cant even give it away in W.A, no word of a lie. I was going considering soaking it in metho, flying it on a windy night, to see if the flames can make it up the lines and send it to hell, where it belongs.
5 bucs anyone?

So the whole red bridle thing didn't really live up to what it was supposed to?

Does ANYONE have a link out there and actually LIKE it?

so where is our funking compensation?

This issue will not go away until we have been compensated.
Everyone that bought one new should be given a new rev(if they are sooooo good)as compensation.

Do it Andy you know it's the right thing to do.

stabber said...

so where is our funking compensation?

This issue will not go away until we have been compensated.
Everyone that bought one new should be given a new rev(if they are sooooo good)as compensation.

Do it Andy you know it's the right thing to do.

Give it up stabber !

There are lots of people out there still flying and enjoying their Links.

I came close to buying one,must admit to be glad that I didn't,but then I am not a crash hot kite flier.

I understand that the new red bridle solved any problems that existed.

I have had kites from other "top" brands that I thought were truly awful ,and could not understand the hype around them,or why some people loved them.

I've still got my trusty 7m and 9m Links. 9m is great fun, the 7m WITH ORIGINAL BRIDAL is freakin awesome on a strapless surfboard in the surf. And i really don't need to stress if i drop it in the impact zone and roll it. Unlike the crew on Rev2's who will be stressing as soon as they catch a wingtip on a set. No excuse for holding back to save your kite! Learnt to loop and unhook on flat-water on the 9m Link...

Hey, has anyone tried putting a stopper on the front bridle line where the pulley runs to limit its travel and hence limit the Link from 100% depower to about 90%.

Best reccomended this for their 06' Waroo to stop it from inverting.

I have no issues with the 7m Link. This kite is a bit lower aspect and doesnt tend to overfly the window.

However the 10.5 Link is a higher aspect ratio kite and will overfly the window if depowered too much. My mate has this kite and is scares the shyzer out of him when it happens. I'll usually set the powerball for him, to stop this but I want to try a stopper on the bridle so its a permanent fix for him.

Anyone tried it?

I'm flying my 9m Link 5 line and must say i prefer the below the bar safety. I might try going back to 4 line (after i buy some new pulleys to replace the 1 that failed on my kite, and replacing the bridel lines). But I do like the 5 line setup as you can alter the kites characteristics a lot by varying the 5th line tension. And the kite seems to be more stable i think.
I have also removed the LE battons and have only had the kite overfly once in gusty conditions when i wasn't keeping an eye on it. Its much more stable than it used to be.

Thought i'd try installing a pulley above the bar, to hopefully make the kite easier to depower in strong winds.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=41237

Could you setup a mini 5th line like on the rev bar to give the link below the bar safety with the 4 line setup? A line running from the flagging ring above the bar to a ring below the bar and held in place by the 5th line trim cleat?

Nearly new to kite surfing, i was stupid enough to buy a 12 meter link without trying first. The amount of time the link spent in the shop at board crazy was not worth the huge amount of money I spent.

It Didn't only fly like dog feces, the stitching on the struts blew, the pulleys stuck, the material streche'd and faded, and if ever it touched the ground or water something would give. 5 lines, it flew like lead. "emergency red bridal my arse" I have never seen a kite with such a long "emergency bridal", and trying to re-launch after a unhooked trick when the bridal from the left wing tip tangles with the right? good luck. I have a list i showed slingshot with the stuff that went wrong. "all my fault, an excellent kite"

I land boarded for two years before hitting the water so picked it up reasonably quick, and knowing what i know now...... i wanted the link refunded or even compensated three weeks after buying it and was offered rubbish excuses. Now being a qualified instructor having worked east coast, west coast, for three company's, having ridden in all conditions on many many kites has shown me i was not wrong. The treatment and lack of compensation i received means anyone taught by me will be advised not to ride slingshot. Customer service and compensation anyone?