What is the difference between all versions?
The options you have connecting to the harness, the ease spinning and the amount of maintenance as the ball bearing needs more care to keep it automatically unspinning your front lines while on the standard version you need to manually twist the quick release to spin your lines.
The eye is the most versatile: can connect directly to a rope harness and with a D- or soft-shackle on any harness(hook) at the cost of a few cm’s extra distance.
The bolt version can be directly screwed to a harness hook, pulley or small steel eye on a custom spreader bar. Sadly there is very little space to implement the ball bearing on this version.
How big of a ring should I use on my depower cord?
The Seatbelt Quick release is designed to fit a ring with a maximum size of 5x25mm (equals to: 5mm thickness, 25mm inner and 35mm outer diameter). For normal riders / loads you we recommend a 4×20 or 4x25mm ring. But test show that those rings can bend out of shape above a load of 250DaN so for heavier riders we recommend a ring with 5mm thickness. 5×25 or 5×20 for example.
NOTE: small rings with an outer diameter below 20mm will only eject when there is tension on the power lines as they are too small to get ejected by the bungees alone.
How is the flagout implemented?
We chose for a very small leash that sits on top of the quick release and is small enough, stiffened with PU tubing, so it doesn’t wrap around anything and bends out of the way when you want to connect the depower cord with the Seatbelt Quick Release.
You can use a normal leash connected to your harness, but you are unable to untwist you power lines without unclipping your leash that way.
How many sessions/years does it last?
You should expect it to last as long as other comparable products on the market. All parts are made out of marine grade 316 stainless steel, exept for the bungee, housing and ball bearing.
The bungee should last for at least multiple months before it needs replacment, it can last longer but we advise to inspect it regularly and keep the ring for the leash always attached as it prevents overtensioning the bungee. We do provide a spare bungee with each quick release.
The printed housing should outlast all other parts in normal use as we put steel rollers on the contact surface with the claws to ensure a low release force even after extended use and high loads.
The ball bearing needs the most attention to keep spinning freely. The biggest problem is rust and sand as the bearing we could find that fits the release is made out of lesser grade stainless steel. Sand should flush out during water use and being always connected to your harness already prevents the most amount of sand entering the system compared to normal chickenloops.
Why do you use a 3D printed housing instead of a injection molded one?
For prototyping we used 3D printing and the results where so good that we stayed with it on the final version. Also the complicated shape makes it harder or impossible the manufacture with a different method while it only gives a visual update and not functional one. The housing is designed to be stronger than the stainless steel claws it holds together. In tests where we pulled the releases until they break the claws would bend open before the housing would break.
We use PETG as the plastic for printing because of the higher temperature- wear- and impact-resistance compared the mostly used PLA.
Does the release still functions when the bar is hold down?
Yes, the ring on the depower cord only needs to slide a maximum 25mm inside the housing to be fully released. If you choose a bar/ring combination in such way that it sticks out by at least that amount your are able to release even in the event our depower cord wraps around the bar.
Could lateral pull (ring pulled sideways) prevent release?
In theory, yes. But we advise to mount the release in such way on the harness it can freely move up, down and sideways. Not only to prevent a case like this but also to prevent metal fatique as the release is designed to only take tension and no bending forces. If there is only tension on the release the ring can’t be pulled sideways as it needs to be locked at the base to get a sideways force on the ring.
Do you plan to pass the AFNOR NF or new ISO norm?
We designed and tested it to pass the requirements but still need to decide if it’s worth to get it certified at the moment.
Can I order the standard version and add the ball bearing spare part myself?
In short: yes.
But that requires you to completely disassemble the quick release, drill/grind out the welded pin that holds the two halves of the swivel together and build everything back up. Besides that the ball bearing version comes with some extra spare parts and tools for maintenance on the ball bearing.