What are the best bar lines for Kitesurf?
Teufelberger, Liros, Cousin trestec, Tarifa, Garda, DC PRO 401, 301, SK78, SK99, a whole bunch of Kitesurfing names and lines, but which are the best and why? We will help you to see more clearly. In this post we will see what are the different manufacturers of kitesurf lines, dissect the different properties and see which are the best for us and why.
Line manufacturers for Kitesurf
There are many brands offering lines of bars for Kitesurf.
Among these we can find:
- Liros which provides lines for Core, Flysurfer, Eleveight, Spleene
- Teufelberger which mainly supplies DUOTONE, formerly NORTH
- Cousin trestec who supplies Kevin Langeree’s new brand, Reedin
- Braitech (which was formerly Eurocord)
- Alpharope
- Lancelin
- Marlow
- Vector
- Climax
- Hyrope
- Jeelysport
- And many others less present …
At Kite, Sand & Lines we have selected the LIROS and TEUFELBERGER lines and we will explain why.
The properties of Kitesurf lines
First of all let’s try to understand how these lines are made and with what materials. You should know that for most of the best and most resistant lines we use Dyneema. Dyneema is a UHMPE (high modulus polyethylene, also known as UHMWPE or polyethylene of very high molecular weight). It is a material with unmatched fatigue resistance qualities. Dyneema also has qualities of resistance to chemical agents and abrasion, however it is poorly resistant to heat because of its low melting point (140 ° C).
Dyneema offers, by far, the best resistance / weight ratio among all the materials used for ropes.
We can find several qualities of Dyneema:
- SK38 – Lower quality of Dyneema, but inexpensive.
- SK60, SK62, SK65
- SK75, SK78 – The SK78 is the Dyneema standard, it has the same resistance as the SK75 but with a much lower rate of elongation and creep.
- DM20 – The DM20 has a slightly lower toughness than the SK78, but has its advantage that it has an almost zero creep rate.
- SK99 – It is the last born of Dyneema DSM launched in 2013. The SK99 has 20% more resistance than the SK78.
Here is a table summarizing the different properties of each of the qualities of Dyneema:
So much for the quality of the materials of the Kitesurf bar lines.
Now we will explain to you why our choice fell on the Teufelberger SK99 and Liros SK99 lines.
Kitesurf lines manufacturing processes
When talking about Kitesurf bar lines there are several aspects to consider:
- The number of spindles: 4 (fishing lines), 6, 8 (it is the minimum for kitesurf lines), 10, 12, 16 (it is the maximum for kitesurf lines), 24 – Braiding will influence stiffness, resistance, workload and ease of splicing. The greater the number of spindles, the more complex the braiding will be and the greater the risk of elasticity.
- The braiding step: the shorter it is the more elastic it will be but more resistant to chafing. The longer it is, the stiffer it will be but less resistant to chafing.
- Twisting: used to round the lines to give them greater resistance to chafing.
- Pre-stretching: this is a very important criterion to take into account to avoid ending up with longer lines than others after your sessions. It is therefore essential to choose pre-stretched lines.
- The size: a polyurethane bath strengthens the resistance to chafing (and UV) and this is what will also color the rope.
Perfect kitesurf lines must therefore have the minimum number of spindles (minimum elongation and creep), the maximum twist (more round lines, less flat and therefore more resistant to chafing), a long braiding pitch (stiffer ), good pre-stretching (to avoid ending up with differentials between the lines) and good coating (to have lines that slide when touched).
The Teufelberger and Liros Kitesurf lines
It is by taking into account all these criteria, and with experience, that our choice fell naturally to the Teufelberger SK99 and Liros SK99 lines.
Here are the different lines offered by these two manufacturers.
Teufelberger Kitesurf lines
| Product | Ø en mm | Breaking load in MBL | Braids | Material |
| TARIFA FL-265T | 1.4 | 265 daN | 8 | Dyneema SK78 |
| TARIFA FL-340T | 1,4 | 340 daN | 8 | Dyneema SK78 |
| TARIFA FL-350T | 1,6 | 350 daN | 8 | Dyneema SK78 |
| GARDA FR-299 | 1,1 | 290 daN | 8 | Dyneema SK99 |
| GARDA FR-389 | 1,3 | 380 daN | 8 | Dyneema SK99 |
| CAPETOWN FL-400 | 1,6 | 400 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK78 |
| CAPETOWN FL-500 | 1,8 | 500 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK78 |
| CAPETOWN FL-610 | 2,2 | 610 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK78 |
| MAUI FL-389 | 1,3 | 380 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| MAUI FL-509 | 1,7 | 500 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| MAUI FL-639T | 1,7 | 630 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
To buy these lines go to our shop by clicking here.
Liros Kitesurf lines
| Product | Ø en mm | Breaking load in MBL | Braids | Material |
| Liros DC Pro 701 | 2 | 700 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| Liros DC Pro 401 | 1,6 | 400 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| Liros DC Pro 301 | 1,5 | 300 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| Liros DC Pro 201 | 1,1 | 200 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
| Liros DC Pro 161 | 0,83 | 170 daN | 12 | Dyneema SK99 |
To buy these lines go to our shop by clicking here.
Here I think we have gone around the subject, if you have any questions or comments do not hesitate to write us by message or leave a comment. If you are looking for other lines do not hesitate to let us know and we can get them.