Thanks very much. This one especially took a lot of work. I did a ton of research before even starting, trying to get enough statistics to provide a basis for the advice; and then I re-wrote/editted a few times to get the information succinct. Thanks again, Alex.

@@kitesurfcollege I have been meaning to pay you for your effort. Just sent 50 euros trough paypal. Hopefully more in the future as you have been really a great help in my journey, and have saved me 10x that much in potential damage. But I just also spend over 800 on action cam stuff and smart watch to track my session so I am a bit careful with money.

@@kitesurfcollege Once again thank you. I just sent you 50,- trough paypal. I truly appreciate your work. And I think you have made the lives of many people better.

Hi kitesurfexperience, I have heard people simplistically say counter steering is best, and others simplistically say safety steps are best. However, after extensive research I’ve found the reality is more nuanced and that neither statement is true. The data I’ve collected supports that if you want to pick a single default response to a death loop, then safety steps are the way to go, and this tutorial emphasizes that multiple times. But the blanket statement of all pilots should only use safety steps first for all death loop scenarios is definitely not the safest advice. For example, if the bar or lines are caught on your harness or body then ejecting the chicken loop can make the situation worse - that can then make it much harder to counter steer (since you might not be able reach the bar and there could be much more force on the steering lines). In that case a blanket statement of all kiters must use safety steps first increases risk. Or, for another example, say it’s light wind and you put a hydrofoil into your lines, which starts the kite looping. Then counter steering will down the kite in a second and prevent impact with the foil. Whereas the CL eject will keep the kite looping and possibly drag you into the foil, and then the subsequent leash eject will send a kite-powered-hydrofoil projectile downwind. I could go on - there are several situations where counter steering creates the safer and more controlled result; but (as this video explains explicitly) that is only for those with enough experience and not too much wind that they can safely assess the situation. In terms of manually flagging out the kite, this video clearly shows that it is a bad idea of course. So why did I not leave it out like you suggest? Like I said this video is purely evidence based, not my opinions. After interviewing hundreds of kiters about death loops (the kind of research you won’t get from the IKO) there were surprisingly many who had tried manually flagging out a death loop, or who said they would try it. That data meant it was then essential to show manually flagging out and explain the risks and challenges - rather than simply ignoring that it exists as you suggest.

@@kitesurfcollege Hi Alex, Thank you for your response. I was specifically referring to your video at the 05:20 mark, where you mentioned, “if you are a NOVICE kiter…” which seemed to suggest that only beginners should use the safety systems. As you explained, even if part of the bar remains around your harness or body after using the safety systems, it should still be reachable to allow for counter steering. However, in cases where one of the back lines, about 1-2m from the bar, is wrapped around the kiter, it might indeed be difficult to reach the bar. While it is possible that this situation could cause the kite to manually flag out unintentionally, I have not experienced, seen, or heard of this happening to anyone. Your explanation seems correct in this context. I apologize for not clearly understanding your point about manually flagging out the kite being something that should definitely be avoided. Thank you for clarifying.

Thanks for sharing Dnaiel. I think a light wind counter steer practice is a good idea for someone who is ready and (as you say) has the correct conditions. I have a friend (who is a good kiter) who recently kept self launching and landing in light wind even when there's a group of us at the beach. I asked him why, and he explained he was trying to improve those skills in light wind in case he ever really needed them, which then made a lot of sense.

Hi Wayne, I mainly use rebels and they have a bridle large enough that the bridle can catch on the wingtip during a drift launch. I know to watch for it now (you can tell if the bridle has caught on the wingtip from the kite's slightly distorted shape) and if it has I usually give a few pumps on the center lines (pulling in and out so the center lines slack and tense a few times) and then the bridle pops off.

Thanks for sharing that @ermanakbay. Sorry you were at risk, but I'm very glad that habit helped you out.

Thanks very much Luigi

Thanks so much

Cheers Rob

Thanks for sharing Alex, that must have been properly scary. So the chicken loop eject failed, and then you ejected the leash? Do you remember what set off the death loop?

The set up was off a drift launch. One bridle lay over the tip. Once the kite caught wind it took a split second for it to start looping and it went on and on. I couldn´t react fast enough and was overwhelmed by the strong pull of the kite. The water was only ankle deep. The wind blew on shore and it was a proper storm. The beach downwind was full of onlookers. I ejected and the kite lost power but the safety didn´t go the full way, maybe a couple of meters. The kite lost a good amount of power and I was able to get a foot hold. Yet it was still looping at around 1 loop in 10 seconds. I couldn´t let go of the kite because of the full beach downwind. So I went towards the beach and dunes step by step. Had to wait for some old geezers to get out of the f**king way when I was about to leave the water, as if they didnt notice me coming closer, step by step. Then the kite looped into a dune and stoped. That was quite a relief. This tore up a wingtip, nothing serious. I was lucky and learned multiple lessons from this incident.

Thanks for sharing you example Patrick. What did you do next and what happened?

10 Is a lot... I would get worried after 3 loops, that's where the sketchy threshold begins.

Thanks very much. I had a friend with that bar get into a bad death loop and never wanted to kite again. It is known to lead to death loops when there's a kite inversion or bridle snag etc. I have heard there is a fix for the bar to make it a single line flag out, but it's probably not simple and might be better to upgrade when you can. What condition is the bar in, do the lines have much life left? The main issue with keeping the bar will be you have much higher that the kite will keep flying/looping after the chicken loop eject and therefore there's a higher chance of needing to also eject the leash.

@@kitesurfcollege the lines are in good condition. Sounds like I should upgrade irregardless...

Hi The Sailing Lord, thanks so much for your support, all the best, Alex

Hi Nicolas. Thanks for sharing your examples. What bar were you using? The old core and f one bars were common and had the dual-center-line flag out. Also, when your board got caught on your lines, did the CL eject do its job?

@@kitesurfcollege It was RRD old bar . Good quality, long life lines but I didn’t made relation between obsolete design and actual safety issue. The CL eject system always worked fine. I had 2 , for me and my wife and used them with several different kites. I now moved to foil kites, mostly with dedicated bar, and purchased new bars for other kites, but still have them.