The Secret Art of Para-Packing

After the tangles I spent ages sorting out yesterday I thought I should introduce you to the secret world of para-packers!

Ever since I first started flying kites back in 2004 (in good ole Blighty!), I have managed to get into a knot – then have had to call on my wife to come and untie me. Every time I came to set up the lines would be twisted and knotted and I would spend the first 20 minutes sorting everything out – and we all know how sacred our flying time is?

I know this failure was down to poor technique, not unwinding them the opposite way I wound them – or something?

Then after many secret meetings, secret hand-shakes and embarrassing initiations I was introduced to the art of para-packing – or maybe it was down to this article, my recollection is hazy, my mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be!

My days of knots and tangles became a distant memory, only remembered in nightmares! To this day I still para-pack and I can be set up and flying in minutes when I arrive on site without any tangles – what usually slows me down is squeezing into my harness when I am being to lazy to loosen it enough!

The technique is simple –

With the kite staked out, head to the kite fold it up and put it into the bag

Walk back to the stake and make a deep dark hole – this is where you are going to put the lines.

Grab the lines and start stuffing them into the hole, I find it easier to keep a bit of tension on the lines with my left hand (which is holding the bag) and stuff with my right hand.

It looks messy but keep going until all the lines are in the bag, then tuck the handles down the side and tidy up any loose bits.

To un-pack - stake out the handles, walk down wind with the kite in the bag and, the lines will unfurl, shake out any tangles as you go. Un-fold the kite and it ready to go. To easy!

Don’t forget you can only tell somebody about this if they know the secret handshake…

For my latest update on parapacking look here...
Parapacking