Slingshot Comp Stick Bar

Slingshot Comp Stick Bar

Posted by Dan 24-7 on 3rd Jan 2012

This is the VW Golf of kite bars... Why use something that's 'like' a Comp Stick?

Looks super clean with no dangley flappy bits in your face. Nice big obvious red floats & leader lines on the left. Lines are plain white so they are super easy to see on the beach (not good in snow - but our kitesurfing to snow kiting is 100:1 in the UK). Front lines are super strong (500KG) & they don't seem to stretch. Pigtails are removable so you could swap them around if you use this with another brand of kite. Line lengths are even at full power so it should be compatible with most brands.

In use the first thing you notice is the weight of the bar. This thing is 'reassuringly heavy'. I get the impression that there is plenty of material in this & we've never had a Slingshot bar come back to us broken. The safety is push-away & simple to rebuild on the water. It flags the kite fully to one front line, killing it without issue. There are O-Shit handles above the floats for additional safety & packing down if you break a front line.

The swivel works well to keep the front lines untwisted. Wash it out at the end of the session to maintain it long term. The swivel transfers front line twists to the CSS elastic line. If you notice this is twisted up before a session just unwind it before you clip your leash on.

Leashing points are good. Either use the metal ring on the CSS for full safety or hook up suicide to the solid metal point where the (removable) donkey dick attaches.

The stopper is excellent & does what is says on the tin. The bar can not be pushed through it, which is spot on & something other manufacturers should pay attention to. Bar diameter is great & the grip on the bar is good & not slippy at all. There are no points on this bar where you can pinch your fingers. Both the stopper & the push away safety have rounded edges - again something that should be a standard on all kite bars.

Depower is below bar, which is a bit of a 'marmite' thing. But love it or hate it, it works fine. If you do struggle to pull on below bar depower - firstly push the bar out, second come off your edge! This will unload tension from the front lines & make it super easy to use. The chicken loop self orientates when you unhook so you know where it is to hook back in. Larger/smaller loops are available to suit different riding styles accordingly.

Do make sure you have the plastic tube above the stopper as this prevents the stopper jamming up against the cleat. I'm going to make a longer tube to give more purchase for pulling on depower.

All spares for the bar are cheap & easily available in the UK. New depower rope is about £15.