Safety Kitesurf Hook Knife, a must to have in your sessions

The kitesurf hook knife is an important safety tool every kiter should have while out in the water. It is a mandatory precaution that could save your life in emergencies, and too often during entry kitesurfing lessons it is not properly introduced, and its use might seem even irrelevant.

Some riders correctly never go out on a session without it. Others don't consider it necessary, while others, especially not instructed beginners, aren't even aware of its existence.

Why is the kitesurf hook knife important?

The kitesurf knife is used to cut the kite lines in case of emergency. There are several situations where it is better just to 'give it a cut'.

The easiest imaginable situation is when you get tangled in the lines for some reason, and the kite is still powered: the risk of a restart and consequent tension on lines would lead to probable cuts on any wrapped body part. That is sufficient to consider a drastic measure.

Let's say you activated the quick release and it isn't working properly (maybe because you didn't check your gear before the session as suggested in our previous post), the wind is strong and you lost control of the kite. If you manage to reach the knife, this might be another case you want to cut the tensioned lines to prevent the worse.

Sometimes the lines get irreparably tangled on obstacles and, also in that case, cutting them and bringing the kite, and the bar safely home could become the only option.

Dyneema lines have a breakdown tension similar to steel. The chance a tangled line, in tension and wrapped around an arm or a leg, will break before causing dangerous wounds is pretty low.

Image courtesy: Pierre Sauvignon @windwindow
 

Where should you keep your kitesurf hook knife?

Mostly all kitesurfing harnesses have a pocket where to insert the knife. Some have it on the spread bars, some on their side, but lately, there is a new disturbing tendency of some harness producers to deliver harnesses without hook knife and even without the pocket where to store it during the kitesurfing session. It is recommendable to think about the need for this mandatory safety tool.

If you really can't do without the newest luxury harness unequipped with this fundamental safety tool, try to purchase a hook knife apart and attach it to your harness with a climbing inox ring or similar, or put it in some wetsuit pocket.

The characteristics of a  good kitesurf hook knife.

You can find several models on the market. The best choice should be oriented to a monobloc double bladed stainless steel knife with an ergonomic grip. It is important to make sure the blades are sharp and not exposed, to avoid involuntary cuts but to be efficient when needed.

Kite knife maintenance.

As a safety device, the kitesurf hook knife should be always checked and properly maintained. Carefully wash with fresh water the kite line knife after each session, especially in saltwater, to prevent oxidation of the blades. That would lead to a bad cutting performance in case of an emergency.

It is also a good practice to give it a try once on some old piece of line, to get the idea of its proper use and what it takes to cut.

Which is the best kitesurfing knife?

In case you find yourself without a kitesurf hook knife coming with your harness, there is plenty of options out there on the market: Dakine hook knife, Mystic hook knife, Captain hook knife, Gerber hook knife...

Finding out which is the best kiteboarding knife might be tricky, so here there is a selection of what we consider the best choices you can find:

Do you want to make a nice present for your kitesurf friend? A kitesurf hook knife could be a great idea. If you want other ideas for kitesurfing presents, you can also look at this post

What is your opinion about kite line knives? Do you have one? Have you ever considered its importance?
Feel free to share any further insights in the comments below.