Bullet release - Are they a good safety device?

[Guest]

Stumbled across these safety devices via a hydrofoiling site. They rave about them.

Possible extra to a handle guard? Or an alternative?

Has any keen slalomer tried one?

http://www.bulletrelease.com/

[BraceMaker]

Personally that seems like a horrible idea for slalom.

 

1st - we already have standing instruction to regularly inspect and replace handles and mainlines because despite the rope being good to as their videos point out 3500 lbs... sometimes they break. And we all know what broken ropes look like.

 

2nd - if their top shear pin is say 800 lbs breaking force, how does that react to repeated hits of slack line. Can it withstand being hit over and over and over at 799 lbs (like infinite times) or will it fail with 30 500 lb loads despite being a 800 lb pin? What's your warning going to be if that unit disagrees with your penultimate hook up and then lets go on you during a wake crossing at full lean.

 

If we could agree that X lbs was the maximum safe load you'd do far better to redesign the pylon with a spring loaded safety release that always let go at a specific load and could be calibrated with say a torque wrench stuck in a slot that you double checked that the unit tripped before the torque wrench clicked at a certain setting.

 

3rd. What're you going to do with it? Put a hunk of aluminum by the pylon with a carabiner then clip your shortenings to it for every line length? Thats' what you do with a switch or some video systems but now you have a release unit there with a carbiner and all that extra coiled up rope laying behind the driver. All of that is going to get ripped out of the boat in the event this unit lets go. Redesign the mainline to have all the sections easily disconnected at every shortening?

 

 

Now if you redesigned this and replaced the loop to loop mainline to handle connection method and had it such that every skier's handle clipped to the mainline and it was a very light weight unit maybe of delrin such that it wasn't an aluminum projectile at the end of a bungie cord that's probably the route. Then boat crews could swap the correct "rating" into the unit when they installed the skiers handle. And for the "big boys" you might need to use a new shear pin every set to avoid... catastrophic failure.

[Broussard]

Seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

[Horton]

Please take video

[richfoster]

If it was tested extensively why is the demo video a cartoon?

[Mastercrafter]

Someone should tell them ropes don’t break under pressure, they break under tension.

 

Regardless… hard pass.

[Clydesdale]

If A skier is pulling at 500 lbs (conservatively), the pin would need>500 lbs strength, which would be plenty to break your neck, so no questionable benefit at best. And if your pull is greater than the pin strength it’s likely to fail right behind the boat. I envision broken ribs with the added benefit of a metal thingy flying towards your head at 200mph.

[Jody_Seal]

hell no!

[Horton]

Seems like a good thing for @thager to test

[Bruce_Butterfield]

NFW

 

But I will pay to see @thager or @hewhoisforgotten test it.

[MattP]

I think they use something similar for toe tricks for cable skiing. I have not seen it in person, but I am sure some of our European friends could comment. @slalomkenny1 Didn't you look into this a few years back?

Please take video..

[03RLXi]

Seems that the sit down hydrofoilers often get arm in handle or rope wrapped around their foils or masts when they're learning inverts or spins so that's why they use these. Some crazy videos online of the heights they get.

Brave, or stupid!

 

[Kelvin]

Geno used to use a long strip of Velcro as the safety release. Not sure what he uses now. That was 10+ years ago.

[03RLXi]

Here’s some chat about the releases and photos (It’s where I first saw them online hence started this thread)

Warning, there’s a few bruises photos

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hydrofoil/permalink/4891643994256975/?fs=e&s=cl

[liquid d]

For anything towed, an observer with holding the rope wrapped on the pylon twice is the safest method, and has been used for ? maybe 50 years.....

Or a trick release mechanism.

Not meant for Slalom....loads can exceed 900 lbs.

[teammalibu]

At shoreline the half that stays on the rope could be a Bullet to the head!

[LeonL]

Horrible idea!!

[lpskier]

Actually, those could be very handy. My concern with “handle guards” that keep your head out of the handle V are likely to trap your arm or hand if they go between the handle and the guard. If the guard is attached to the handle V using the break away bullets, then the guard could break away if needed and perhaps avoid a catastrophic injury to the arm.

[Horton]

[lpskier]

@Horton The handle guard has a breakaway feature so your arm can come out instead of being trapped between the handle and the handle guard, Brittany.

[Horton]

oh I guess I see your point but after skiing with the new masterline handle guard it seems like you have a solution looking for a problem instead of a problem looking for a solution

[lpskier]

I’m not familiar with ML’s product. I think I’m familiar with all the other products on the market that lace it zip tie to the bridle.