Jaybar Spreader Bar - Review

MKHR · Since 28 Aug 2007 116 Posts Hood River Stoked

Hey all,

I bought a Jaybar a few weeks back and now have enough days on it to weigh-in. It is awesome! Firstly, I am in no way affiliated with the company or any distributor. I paid retail and just wanted to share my opinion to those who might be interested. I was pretty hesitant because there are no shops in HR that carry them, so it is tough to gauge construction, etc. Also, their videos are less-than-informative.

After watching a bunch of videos of people surfing in Waddell with dyneema rope instead of spreader bars, I figured there must be a reason.

Anyway, I opted for the basic bar/pad which comes with a dyneema rope and bungee. They also sell some stainless bars (one with a kink in the center position and one without). The one review I found said the rope felt the best.

The rope takes all of the load of the kite, while the bungee just helps it return to center. I was able to easily install the bar/pad on my 2012 Dakine Renegade harness. The bar comes in two sizes 11" and 13". I bought the 13" because I'm a larger guy (6'3"/195lbs), but I find that it is slightly too wide, in that both ends of the pad are pulled into the pockets of the harness. It works, but if you have a 34" waist or smaller, I would recommend the 11".

I ride almost exclusively surfboard and when the swell is good, I rarely jibe and prefer to ride toeside. That is where this really excels. It frees you up to rotate your torso upwind. Heelside, as well, you just feel less inhibited by the pull of the kite. I'll never go back to a standard bar.

Anyway, I just thought I would post my opinion in case people have been interested in using them. Honestly, I'm a little surprised Dakine doesn't have this option, it is such a great improvement over the standard bar.

There is no local distribution, so I bought mine here:

http://airpadrekiteboarding.com/blog/equipment-review/jaybar-dynabar-moveable-spreader-bar/

Cheers, Matt
feel free to pm if you have questions.

luke · Since 06 Jul 2005 399 Posts Obsessed

Good review. Thanks.

Dakine actually does have a great option. They have been continully improving from year to year their sliding bar system. Check it out in link below. And if you see me on the beach you can check out what's up next.

http://www.dakine.com/p/kite/accessories/adjustable-sliding-bar-kit

http://www.dakine.com/p/kite/accessories/adjustable-sliding-bar-kit

BeerKite · Since 29 Mar 2011 471 Posts Obsessed

That's crazy, I just tried mine for the first time today and was going to post a review as well. I am affiliated, in that; I'm a "Team Rider". I completely agree with your assessment. I got the same "13" bar/pad and it is a little bit big. It took me a little getting used to, especially in today's wind, but once I did I was pretty stoked. The toeside riding is super comfortable. Much less twist on the spine and way more leverage against the kite. People with back problems or limited flexibility will dig this thing too. I can lend mine out if anyone is interested. I'm in Hood River Wed-Sun most weeks. I'm going to try and get a shop to carry them around here, until then, Air Padre is a great place to get them as mentioned before.
-Micah

windobsessed · Since 07 Aug 2008 117 Posts Portland Stoked

It's a must for seat harnesses! There is no give with a standard spreader and with this it feels like your free to move. I'm not affiliated ether just totally stocked on this device.
You can see in the picture the kite is on my hip allowing me to stand totally comfortably on my toe side. On heal side it allows me to more freely open up my shoulders too. The only negative I've heard is for people doing spins, I guess it can be weird when the loop moves from one side to the other in mid air?

I got mine from http://www.321kiteboarding.com/ (again not affiliated, just good price).
Wish someone would carry it local, that way I can get spare parts as they wear out, which so far is fine.

tautologies · Since 24 Aug 2006 602 Posts Oahu Addicted

how about just using a rope? Wouldn't that work as well?

MKHR · Since 28 Aug 2007 116 Posts Hood River Stoked

A rope would work just fine. You could hook your chicken loop around the rope, when watching videos of Waddell surfers, that's what they do. The only tricky part would be to figure out how to attach the rope to the harness in lieu of the spreader bar. Then there is the added friction of the chicken loop sliding on the rope vs. a marine grade pulley.

I used to own the Dakine slider system mentioned above. This is a good system, but required you to physically reach down and slide your bar on the webbing. More than once, I have reached down to slide the bar and inadvertently released my safety (the safety on the North Trust bars are pretty prominent.) The beauty of the rope is that there is no friction anywhere in the system, allowing you to rotate your torso freely while the chicken loop moves freely on the rope/pulley.

SalmonSlayer · Since 27 Nov 2005 648 Posts Addicted **CGKA Member**

You can put a metal ring on the line and put the chicken loop through the ring.

Just take a spreader bar and cut off the hook and grind flat. you just need a line and 2 balls. Easy on and easy to replace

Here is another version of a poor mans sliding spreader bar that also eliminates a QR on the bar. Just experimenting...

The red line is a leash line. Ignore it.

Rorke · Since 23 Oct 2009 22 Posts Traverse City, MI

The Dynabar is pretty nice.

I used it for two years, then put it away because it was hard to hook back in after unhooking.
Now, I am using it again and can hook back in fairly easily, but it requires putting the chicken loop back on manually.

The point is that I bet the rope version would be way harder to hook back up.

Last, I am very heavy and can say that the dynabar itself is strong. My pad fell apart within 5 uses. A local rep mailed me one though. Pretty cool.

scottm · Since 12 Jun 2006 108 Posts Stoked

Another option is to run the Dakine Renegade harness slightly loose, with a rash guard under it. Allows the whole harness to rotate fairly easily for toeside riding.

MKHR · Since 28 Aug 2007 116 Posts Hood River Stoked

Yeah, I have been using a rash guard under the dakine harness for two years to get some added mobility. The jay bar is an order of magnitude improvement over that option.

BeerKite · Since 29 Mar 2011 471 Posts Obsessed

Likewise MKHR. It allows the harness to stay in one spot how it was designed. Especially stiff harnesses with a lot of lumbar support. It helps keep that back support where it is supposed to be.

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2612 Posts The 503 METAL

So i picked up a older DaKine Pyro harness which allows the bar to slide back and forth. The problem is the end of the spreader bar ends up poking through the clasps on the sides. It's gets stuck there and even though I gotten pretty good at getting it unstuck, but when this happens it causes the belt to loosen and a couple times it almost undid the clasp.

I want to be able to unhook so I don't want to go the shackle route.

Ideas welcome! Very Happy

chrissmack · Since 08 Jun 2005 526 Posts portland Addicted

BeerKite · Since 29 Mar 2011 471 Posts Obsessed

Dakine sells a little clip that goes over the spreader bar to keep that from happening. It's only like $6 for a pair. I think Big Winds has some. What I've done is; take the clasp off and turn it over so the open section faces out and I've never come undone that way.

chrissmack · Since 08 Jun 2005 526 Posts portland Addicted

tautologies · Since 24 Aug 2006 602 Posts Oahu Addicted

BeerKite · Since 29 Mar 2011 471 Posts Obsessed