New…Polymer-bonded Skybond ™ line…
Since 1974, Shanti has led the world in the development of kite lines, spools and winders. In 1979, we introduced a revolutionary new line called “Skybond” which had an outer Dacron braid with a Kevlar core. We stopped making Skybond in 1985, when we invented Speed line, the world’s first Spectra kite line. Speed line has not only been copied by nearly every kite company in the world, it’s also been widely used in the fishing industry.
To make Spectra suitable for fishing, companies began coating the line to make it easier to handle but this ironically increased its friction which was bad for kiteflying. In the last ten years, kiteflyers have grown accustomed to flying coated line and some prefer its “feel.” During this time, the quality of coatings has improved significantly and in 2009, we began working with engineers to produce a coating that was specifically designed for kiteflying, not fishing. This new, neon-yellow coating uses a polymer-alloy which bonds to the fibers and protects them from damage, yet remains slippery.
This amazing new coating also allows us to work with some new high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE) fibers. “High-modulus” is a comparative term which simply relates to a fiber’s strength-to-weight ratio. So a “high-modulus” fiber is stronger and lighter than a fiber with a lower modulus rating. Skybond has the highest modulus rating of any kite line we’ve tested. For example a 100 lb/test Skybond line is thinner than 90 lb/test Spectra, but it’s 10% stronger, and it costs about the same. That’s a good deal.
Is Skybond better than Speed line? No. This is the classic oranges vs. apples question. Both lines have similar low-stretch and performance characteristics and choosing which line is best for you will largely come down to how the line “feels.” Many flyers like Speed line because it has a “soft-finish” and it wears 3 to 5 times longer than other high-performance lines. But for flyers who like coated lines, our new Skybond is as revolutionary as the original was, 32 years ago. It is more slippery than any coated line on the market and its high modulus fibers make it thinner than even Speed line in comparable weights. Skybond is made in USA and is available in all the same options as Speed line.