Sport & Stunt Kites

When winding the lines what do you guys do? I have had more success with figure 8's but it's slower to retrieve lines. When unwinding either method there always seems to be the odd snag and the quickstep foot work to match.
I've even made longer timber winders to speed up the 120ft recovery but these seem to compound the problem when laying out the lines next time.
Is it me (no doubt) or is there a more tried and tested method. I guess it's all to do with even tensioning when wrapping up after flying?
How firmly should they be wrapped?

Cheers

I have always used nice tight figure 8's on to the winders and have had no issues with knots or tangles at most it's a couple of twists one way or the other and then launch.

I wind mine in tight figure 8s, but I have dreamed of a power winder for years. Some people actually enjoy the quiet time while winding up lines, but I am so pressed for time, every minute spent setting up & breaking down is one less minute I get to fly. It makes a difference when most of my outings are less than an hour.
~Rob.

I tried figure eighting and ended up getting all tangled the next time out. From then on I always coil. Seems to work nicely for me.

i go with the figer 8 andseen to only have a few probs and most times its with my rev but mast of the time its only twisted no knotes or tangels if u keep it tight and neat when winding up it will help

yep for me it’s a nice tight figure 8. But what about Revs? How many of you use winders like the rev video? I just go around my handles.

Yes figure 8's.

But for the Rev I use my old original Rev wooden winder.
A simple trick I do is to pick the left lines and clip (larks head) them together, so now you have in essence two lines, a left and right.
With different colour coding on the top and bottom lines it's easy, so no more "is this the top?" problems later when setting up.
I wind them up like normal two stringers then.

reli so do u keep the handles attached?
I just wind the lines around the handles then pair them off at the end with a larks head. I don’t get any tangles it seems to be fine. Anyone else do this?

For Handles - I always coil - make sure you take them off using the reverse action (same hands ie handles in left - feed with the right; or viz)
For Bar - Figure 8
Again Horses for Courses

BobM

From my recollection coiling your lines will put twists in your lineset but by doing figure 8's you avoid them?

Not sure if there's any fact behind it, but since then I've always been a figure 8'er...

I find even firmness on the windup to be the key to good deployment.

TH

When you coil straight then you do twist the line, however, provided you reverse the coiling action correctly you will untwist it.... reverse the action incorrectly and you will further twist the line when uncoiling.

a figure 8 alternates the coil direction between cw and ccw, so the on the one half of the 8 you will twist the line,but the twist is cancelled out in the second half of the 8.

If you don t want to do 8s then its very important to remember which hand you held the handle in AND which end you had in your hand, IE I always hold the handles by the bottom in my Right hand when I'm coiling and uncoiling.