TAKOON USER GUIDE
WARNING/ATTENTION
TAKOON would like to thank you for purchasing this TAKOON product, and for your condence in the high
quality of our products. Before any attempt to use this product, please ensure you pay full and careful attention
to the contents of this manual.
Although exciting and attractive, kitesurng can prove to be highly dangerous for yourself, the others around
you and, in some cases, even fatal if essential safety rules are ignored. We recommend proper instruction from
a certied kitesurng school. Safety, assembly, ying and maintenance are all explained in this manual.
TAKOON vous remercie pour l’achat de votre nouveau produit TAKOON, ainsi que de la conance que vous
avez bien voulu nous porter. Avant toute utilisation, nous vous prions de bien vouloir lire ce manuel pratique
avec la plus grande attention.
La pratique du kitesurf, aussi attrayante qu’elle soit, peut s’avérer très dangereuse pour soi-même et les
personnes aux alentours, voire mortelle si les règles élémentaires de sécurité ne sont pas respectées.
Ce manuel vous aidera à faire connaissance avec votre aile, et vous fournira toutes les informations
nécessaires pour une bonne utilisation.
La sécurité, le montage de l’aile, son pilotage ainsi que les conseils d’entretien y sont expliqués en détail.
Takoon recommande l’apprentissage dans une école agréée.
TAKOON USER GUIDE P02
ENGLISH VERSION
SAFETY
INTRODUCTION
Operating space
On the ground:
• You must check that your chosen operating space is free of any obstacles, people or animals. To manoeuvre
your kite, you need AT LEAST 100 METERS DISTANCE on either side of your kite, as well as DOWNWIND
(the area in front of you when your kite is air-borne). Be especially careful of obstacles downwind of you.
• Before launching, be sure to have identied a safe landing area further downwind, in the event you are not
able to return to your departure point.
• Never use your kite near people, animals, posts, trees, buildings, cars, power lines, airports, roads, etc…
On the water:
• Your operating space must be completely free of boats, buoys, rocks, pontoons, piers, jetties, etc…
Stay as far away as possible from swimmers, and don’t sail in shipping lanes. Respect no-y/ride zones.
• Avoid vertical areas bounded by rocks or clis where the wind might be extremely turbulent.
You must read and understand the entire contents of this manual before any attempt to y your kite.
The manual has been written to help you operate your new kite, but nothing replaces proper instruction.
You must be fully aware of the risks that go with this sport, and know that you are exposing yourself to real
danger.
Inappropriate use of traction kite devices can result in (serious) accidents or even lead to the death of the user
or third parties. It is strongly recommended to undergo an initial training in a recognized kitesurf school.
As dened by this user manual, the distributors of our products are under no circumstances liable for material
or bodily damage sustained as a result of inappropriate use of this product.
Essential rules:
• Never forget that you are responsible for any material or bodily damage sustained while using this product.
Check that you are appropriately insured against possible damages resulting from the sport of kitesurng.
• Use your common sense at all times.
• NEVER kitesurf ALONE. An assistant is a considerable safety asset, on land as well as at sea.
• NEVER attach yourself permanently to your kite by any means (e.g. tying the lines onto your harness).
It is imperative that you are able to disconnect yourself from the kite quickly if you are experiencing diculties.
• You must not dismantle or modify the quick releases built into your control bar.
• Respect local regulations pertaining specically to this sport.
• Kitesurng is an exhausting sport, especially for beginners who will tire more quickly.
Learn to recognize the early signs of fatigue and come in to rest.
• It is essential to know how to swim.
• You must be fully comfortable with procedures for launching, landing, and returning to the beach in case of
diculties.
• Never operate your kite while you are attached to a xed object such as a car or a tree.
• This kite is designed specically to be used as a traction device for kitesurng, and must never be used for
paragliding or any other forms of unassisted ight. Never jump on the beach.
• Never touch the bridles or ying lines while they are under tension.
• If your kite is not in use but is inated, it must be secured in the neutral position using sand or heavy objects.
It must be secured and the control bar disconnected from the kite.
• Never lend a kite to anyone who is unfamiliar with the power developed by serious traction devices.
• For your safety and that of others around you, never accept assistance from a person who might not be com-
petent in landing or launching procedures.
• Check and try the quick release before each ride.
TAKOON USER GUIDE P03
Weather:
• Never underestimate the wind and sea conditions.
• Consult the local forecast before setting out.
> Never attempt to kitesurf in changing or stormy weather conditions.
> Never attempt to kitesurf if the wind is strong and gusty.
> Never attempt to kitesurf if the wind is o shore, blowing you away from land.
> Never ride in or near electrical storms as the ying lines will massively increase your risk of electrocution.
• Find out about tides and areas with strong currents.
• Beginners must sail in calm sea conditions.
• Take time to gauge the wind speed once you have reached your chosen sailing area.
• If you are not condent in evaluating the forecast, speak to someone who is competent in forecast
interpretation.
• Wear suitable equipment to avoid hypothermia-related accidents (wetsuits and drysuits).
>Safety helmets and impact vests are strongly recommended.
Beginners:
• TAKOON kites are high performance kites which are not suitable for beginners.
• We highly recommend practicing on a small traction kite before attending a kitesurf school as you will nd this
dramatically reduces the time it takes you to learn the basics.
• Learn how to y the kite on land in wide open spaces before venturing onto the water.
• Always choose the size of kite that corresponds to your weight and level of skill/competence.
Good conduct:
• Be respectful of other people out on the water: swimmers, surfers, windsurfers, jet skis, pleasure craft etc…
• Follow the rules of priority on the water.
• Make sure your ying lines are not laid out in an area used by pedestrians. Wind up your lines when not in use.
• Do not let anyone walk/stand between you and your kite.
• Help other kitesurfers with launches and landings. You’ll appreciate their help when it’s your turn!
• If necessary, explain the essential safety rules to other kitesurfers.
• Don’t touch other kitesurfers’ equipment unless specically asked.
Usually check and test your quick releases
Appropriate clothing:
Neoprene / Wetsuit / Line cutter / Helmet / Impact / Vest Gloves / Boots.
Choosing which size kite to use:
YOU MUST ALWAYS USE THE RIGHT KITE SIZE FOR THE GIVEN CONDITIONS.
The weight of the rider is a major factor in choosing the surface area of kite.
Wind direction:
Make sure the wind direction is suited to the spot you have chosen for sailing.The ideal wind is a side shore
wind that is blowing parallel to the beach. NEVER launch your kite with an o shore or side o shore wind.
On shore wind can be good for the competent kitesurfer but is dangerous because of possible objects on land
down wind.
Obstacles situated upwind of you can create turbulent air-pockets, which often lead to your kite
stalling & depowering abruptly, falling from the sky, and suddenly, dangerously powering up again.
Turbulence is present for a down-wind distance equivalent to approximately 7 times the height of the obstacle
and for an upwind distance equivalent to 1 times the height of the obstacle.
For your safety and those of the others around you, NEVER stand on the beach with the kite at the
zenith. You must place your kite on an extreme right or left-hand edges at approximately 3m height.
That way the kite can’t lift you into the air (during a gust for example).
We recommend proper instruction from a certied kitesurng school.
TAKOON USER GUIDE P04
FOCUS
Here is a glossary of your equipment for you to get acquainted with most technical terms used in this
manual.
THE KITE:
THE BAR:
ACCESSORIES:
1. Leading edge
2. Struts
3. Wingtips
4. Trailing edge
5. Front lines
6. Back lines
7. The bridle
The chicken loop release and can be place on either the left or the right side.
1. Releasable chicken loop
2. Rear lines
3. Front lines
4. Power adjustment strap
5. Safety line
6. Kite leash
1 Kite bag
1 Repair kit
TAKOON USER GUIDE P05
ASSEMBLY AND ADJUSTMENT
Before assembling your kite, make sure the operating space you have chosen is suitably free of
obstacles and measures at least 100m by 100m. The control bar is supplied with lines attached.
You simply have to connect the lines to the kite before launching.
Check that all the lines are equal length before connecting.
For that, refer to the ‘‘check your Takoon lines length’’ section.
Setting up the kite:
Your kite takes its shape from several vertical inatable batten struts, and one large horizontal inatable strut
called the leading edge.
Unroll your kite with its outer surface on the ground, and the leading edge towards the wind. You should stand
with your back facing the wind as close to the leading edge as possible, especially in high winds.
Before using the pump on the kite, pump it a few times to eject any sand left in the tube.
This will prevent any sand from entering the kite’s inner tubes, thus increasing the life of the tubes.
Lubricating the pump regularly protects against wear of the seals and moving parts.
Connect the pump to the kite using the pump leash. Your Takoon kite is available with a single ination point.
Inate struts and leading edge at the same time as using the leading edge valve.
Stop to inate the kite when the leading edge feels hard.
Important: Do not over-inate the struts. If they feel rigid to the touch, they are suciently inated.
Over-ination can lead to burst inner tubes, especially if the struts are left exposed to the sun for a long period.
Equally, you should not under-inate the struts as the kite will not hold its correct shape.
This can lead to poor ight characteristics and, more importantly, dicult re-launching from water.
Once the kite is correctly inated, ip it over so that it’s face down, the leading edge is on the ground and
perpendicular to the wind. The fabric of the kite (canopy) should be down wind and the kite should not be
catching the wind. Weight it down with sand if necessary.
When the kite is inated and stands on the beach, undo bridles: red bridles for the left side and grey or black
bridles for the right side of the kite.
INFLATE DEFLATE
TAKOON USER GUIDE P06
Connecting the lines to the kite:
Trimming your kite:
Your bar is supplied with red and grey/black rear control lines and white front lines. Connect your rear lines to
the rear loop connector of your kite using a Lark’s Head knot (grey/black to black for the right side and red to
red for the left side).The front lines have to be connected to the front knot connector of the kite using the colour
coded attachment loops (grey/black to grey, red to red).
Your bar is made to avoid accidentally switching rear lines and front lines or right side and left side connections.
Be sure you have correctly attached them.
A and B trimming to control
the power of the kite:
A) less power
B) more power
TAKOON USER GUIDE P07
Trimming your kite:
Quick releases and rules for lauching:
Read carefully and store the user guide for later reading.
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, OPERATE YOUR KITE WITHOUT THE KITE LEASH AND THE QUICK
RELEASES. TRY AND CHECK THEM BEFORE EACH SESSION. USING A QUICK RELEASE INSTINCTIVELY
NEEDS LOTS OF PRACTICE. THE QUICK RELEASE REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF STRENGTH TO ACTION.
Notes : many riders have the instinct to hang on desperately to the bar if they get into diculties.
This is wrong. You should not hesitate to dump the bar and retain the kite via the leash. Operating safety device
and relaunching a kite is easy but needs some practice.
Warning: You must learn how to use the quick release before you need it in a critical situation. Many riders have
the bad habit of trying their quick releases for the rst time when they are in dangerous conditions, unaware of
how it should function.
The quick releases of the bar are designed to work for 35Kg-100Kg total rider weights following the
NF S 52-503 French standard.You must check all the components (lines, bridles, safety devices, etc...) before
each ride. A used component can be dangerous for you and people around if it breaks. If you notice a used
component go to your local dealer to change it.
Trim the behavior of the kite
If you move forward the rear bridle (location #1): More bar pressure / More eciency of depower rate,
perfect for unhooked tricks and speed crossing.
If you move backward the rear bridle (location #2): Better re-launching /smaller turning radius.
Perfect for waves.
TAKOON USER GUIDE
P08
Chicken loop quick release (Onyx bar) : Push
Chicken loop quick release (Diamond bar) : Pull
Releasing the control bar using the quick release on the chicken loop (de-power loop) will automatically
de-power the kite which will then land safely by itself. Make sure you have enough safe room down wind before
releasing when testing. The Quick Release on the safety line also allows you to kill the power developed by
the kite. This Quick Release should only be operated if you want to release the control bar (e.g. if the situation
is dangerous for any other reason) because it can be dangerous for people around you to have the kite ying
alone in the air without any control.
Try the quick release of the chicken loop on your harness spreader bar.
The chicken loop should slide freely inside the spreader bar buckle.
TAKOON USER GUIDE P09
Safety leash quick release (Diamond Bar)
Safety leash quick release ( Onyx bar )
Connect the safety line:
Use only in critical situation, a kite ying alone can be extremely dangerous for people around you.
Connect the safety line to the harness. You can connect the safety line to a metal ring on the harness but you
should be able to grab the safety handle in all critical situations.
Connect the safety line to your bar as explained.
When you rotate always in the same way (ex: front loops), you should untwist the lines using the swivel.
2 twists on ying lines is a maximum to have full safety.
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