21 August 2026 · 3 min read
Caring for ripstop: salt, sun and the five-minute repair
Ripstop nylon is tough, but salt and UV will shorten its life. A few habits keep a kite flying for a decade.
Most of the kites that come back to us for repair have the same story: packed away wet and salty, then left in a hot car. None of that is fatal, but all of it adds up.
Rinse, then dry loose
After a beach day, give the sail a quick rinse in fresh water and let it dry fully before rolling. Salt crystals are abrasive and attract moisture, which is what causes mildew spots.
Keep it out of the sun when not flying
UV is the slow killer of nylon and polyester. Flying in sunshine is fine; leaving a kite on the parcel shelf all summer isn't.
Patch on the spot
A small tear grows quickly under load. An adhesive ripstop patch on both sides of the sail, pressed firmly and left for a minute, will hold for years. That's why we put a repair kit in every glovebox we own.