DEATH LOOPS: how to fix them and how to avoid them

This video looks at kitesurf death loops in detail, including how to stop them and how to avoid them in the first place.
0:00 Intro
0:56 Stopping death loops with safety steps
1:42 Stopping death loops by counter steering
3:50 Stopping death loops by manually flagging out
5:20 What method should you use?
7:53 Hooked on bar death loops
10:31 Line wrap death loops
14:21 Bridle/kite disordered death loops
15:15 Snapped line death loops
16:14 Final thoughts on death loops

Many thanks to everyone that shared their death loop footage for this project. These clips make interesting viewing:

Death loop on beach from Michael Kroese

Line wrap after crashing kite from Angus Mackay

Steering line on bar after jump from Fabio Fainello

Line wrap after big front stall from Daniel Liesveld

Snapped center line kite spiral from Pancakes Berry

Kitefoil death loop from Gaspard

Front stall after jump from Jake Does Stuff

Bridle caught on top of kite from Jerome

[gloglebag]

Thank you. You are the gold standard on kitesurfing videos. It is clear you put a lot of effort in to your videos.

[AKJammer]

I gave up hooked harnesses years ago after coming unhooked as a newbie several time in one session while in La Ventana. I switched to a rope slider after that since I couldn't see any reason why I'd want to get unhooked from the kite (wasn't interested, and too old, for tricks). Now that I'm mostly foiling, the rope slider is almost everyones go-to. I've had a couple situations where lines get tangled after a crash, but mostly it's been when the foil goes through the lines and the kite loops from there. I'm usually way out in the water getting dragged around, but counter steering till I can figure out the foil issues has done the trick for me. A great video, thanks!

[danielbinisti]

Its been a long time!! and yet another gold standard video without a doubt, which can save your life. Thx to your videos, I had 2 death loops only in my early days as a kite surfer (ejecting the CL worked) and feel real safe flying it now, and had none in years. However, Ill give a try by generating it myself in light wind to train how to use the counter steering method to unwrap... better to have it done once when under control than having to figure it out when you approach a wall... (in light winds, with 2 miles free downwind along the beach..)
thx a million for your efforts.

[Wayneshore]

Another great video - I recommend this channel to anyone I give lessons to. Interesting the clip with self / drift launching - the only times I've experienced death loops have been drift launching where a steering line wrapped around the wingtip. Counter steering sorted a couple, and CR release another time. When the dunes are fast approaching, time to eject!!

[deeearnshaw]

Thx I had not considered the counter steer option. Appreciate seeding ideas before they become an issue.
I had a death loop last month on 9m XR7. I overflew a jump and the kite tumbled and inverted, wind was too strong to flag it back to normal, but no biggie- was in knee deep water, so I popped the Chicken Loop. Unfortunately the inversion turned into partial inversion with a death loop (probably helped by the dual line flag out).- could not resist its power or make any progress to resolving it. After 6-8 loops I had to punch out of the kite and then chase it down- luckily someone else caught my drifting kite, no damage. So yes safety systems worked and could not think of an alternative since I was already on one line with bar out of reach.

[M-yr]

Brilliant video, thanks a lot. Highly appreciate what you are doing for our sport 🙏

[anjadehaan]

Very good and interesting video! Hopefully I never have to use it, but better be prapared :)
There is one important tip though that isn't mentioned nor showed correctly. When you pull in a single line (like you see at 3:56) make sure you grab the line with your hand position correctly. In this video clip you see the kiter grabbing the line with the inside of the hand facing upwards. I wouldn't recommend this.
For a safer and better grip you always should grab a line the opposite way, so with your hand facing down (thumb towards your body). After you grabbed the line, you can turn your hand a little so your thumb is up 👍 and the inside of your hand is facing towards your body. With doing this, you create a turning point in the line, which will decrease the risk of cutting/hurting your hand with the line.

[ermanakbay]

This video might have saved my ass yesterday. My steering line got super slack while I was trying to relaunch and it got wrapped around the bar which would've put me in a death loop situation had the kite actually relaunched at that moment. After feeling the slackness I thought to myself "is this my 10 second window before a death loop?" and checked my bar and found the line wrapped. I quickly unwrapped it and it was all good. Normally I might not have paid attention to this and just focused on getting the kite back up.

[fbueno]

Thanks for another great video mate! 👍🏾

[dimitarpopov]

Brilliant explanation and huge thanks for it! Cheers

[felmado]

Another great video, and I would say a really important one!
I still ride the F-one monolith bar, which I believe has the dual line flag out system that keeps death looping after ejecting in the video at 14:53. I have heard people say before the monolith bar shouldn't be used anymore for that reason. I didn't think much of it until I saw the rider in your video with the death loop. What are your thoughts on the topic?

[patrickdunne]

I've had the bar go under my harness very early on in my kitesurfing journey. And obviously this rendered both safety symptoms ineffective. I accidently jumped, ended up in the lines with the Kite crashed and the kite was powered up in the wind ending up in the bar going under the harness. Extremely scary stuff

[danielsmienk]

This should be required at kite schools, when i had my first death loop my biggest mistake was pulling the wrong lines. This explanation could have prevented it.

[peanutfilms]

I feel very lucky that in my almost 3 years kitting I have not experienced a death loop and hope that my luck continues!

[Alexomator]

Thank you, nice Video. Had a deathloop in 40 knots. Release didnt work after first 4 loops. Managed to dump it in the dunes.

[jackignatev]

Once I got steering line wrapped after a crash in 10+ m/s and got deathlooped to the beach with trees very fast. Luckily I train all new things quite far from shore (but not too far😎), so I got plenty of time to think about my life and eject chicken loop.

[GreKno]

I've heard that after about 10 loops, the line twists from a death-looping kite will likely prevent a kite from flagging out. So I count loops if my kite starts uncontrolled looping, and if I haven't stopped the looping with advanced techniques ( counter steering or manually flagging ), I resort to chicken loop release at 5 loops.

Anyone else have experience with twisted lines choking the flag-out ?

[nicolasboudet]

I had 2 situations to report: on a lake with on and off gusty wind, my kite dropped on the water during a 0 wind while, the lines became slacked, the kite galled turning upside down on itself so the lines were not in normal position and the slack lines turned around my board pads. Then the wind picked up suddenly…and the loop started, one line being pulled by my board.
so it was unclear what to do. I then released the CL….
Another situation is on a more stable side wind, around 20kts, I realized that my wife, quite beginner, was loosing to much ground from the starting beach. I suggested her to come back to the beach in bodydrag, and I did followed her on this manœuvre.
Suddenly she turned her kite to mine, probably asking a question and both kites started to turn together. I immediately released my CL, and asked her to do the same, but kites started to loop with lines possibly turning around her body. I had not other chance to release totally my kite, then ask her to do the same. Both started kite far dancing together, then moving individually. One stopped on the beach and the other one on a dead tree, and was very damaged. I now realize that both bars were old models, without one sliding line but both attached together. This is possibly why first CL release didn’t clearly worked. I will ban this bar for the future.

[chrestb]

5 years kiting experience and this happened to me today; I ejected both safetys and survived with only minor injuries. Please please please attach your 2nd safety to your hook and not the PU tube on the back of your harness. It could literally be the difference between life and death