Am I alone in thinking that the preferred direction of movement to operate a quick release would be towards the body ????
I have always found it easier to pull on a rope over pushing on a rope 
As for the 200kg loading, I recency was smacked by a large wave, fell in front of it and was sucked back up and over the falls.
At some stage I managed to PULL the quick release.
I'm about 100kg, so if there was a way to measure and add my weight + the water over me + the pull of the kite I have no dough 200kg would be achieved.
Look at the test closely. The way the cabrinha knob is tied does not provide an even pull. The pressure is applied to the top part pushing down a relatively inflexible line that it then has to slide along. This part of the test has not been set up right and is the reason why the load shown is very high...
This is a big issue!!
After watching how safety releases explode after load testing!!
Work Health and Safety must get involved and insist all kiteboarders wear an approved AS/NZS 1337 face shield to be able to safely activate their safety releases in high loaded situations.
I also believe we need effective safety leashes attached to the beach so if there is any problem (for example the rider isn't a good swimmer) one can climb up the safety leash back to the beach. I have thought about it and extra long ones are needed for down winders.
May I add that perhaps a salted up used QR may not work as well as your brand new WD-40 sprayed shop tested QR. Also with basic physics that 25kg is 25 kg of force applied in the correct vector, most people in a panic situation will not pull in a completely straight direction and thus require more force to operate.
No matter what you think of the test (My thought that ist a load of bull ****) You are participating in a sport that has multiple risks and should learn to work with your gear or you just dont do it. I am sure every one that kites has a story of a near disaster or worse but thats the risk. We kite because its a thrill and something different to your average sports. But if you are going to whine about wether the makers of kites are making it SAFE enough then you should take up tennis or the like.
There are so many things that can go wrong just getting out of bed..........look at the poor fellow who recently went kiting at Woodies. There is almost no kiter I know that hasn't had some scary thing happen. I've had 3 bars snap, chicken loop break, line break, canopy blow out, not to mention heaps of inversions.............. and I do try to ride "safe" gear.
Kite gear will progress further just like all things. I do trust that people who make kite equipment want safe stuff, and they will be the survivors. Late market entrants risk losing any chance if they compromise on safety.............but surprisingly some do...go figure.
25kg anit too much? take up something easier if its too hard for ya .
as long as the operator can use it .
and in a emergency everyone gets adrenalin power up
why is everyone using mass as a force unit?
accepted unit for force is newtons just in case anyone cared...
and yes you have to agree that the last QR looks older and more worn out than the fresh brand new 2010 releases used in first 2 trials.
200 kg is a bit over the top. Yes its possible to build up this kind of force as you are accellerating upwards, etc... but the whole 200kg force would be very short lived, and the most you would be likely to have when pulling a quick release is your own body weight or less.
By definition, to have a force of 200kg means you are accellerating at 2g's horizontal or 1g vertical (for a 100kg person).
Do the test again at 80-100kg force. Also, pull the release using another block, not by hand. You can skew the results by jerking.
