A german mag recently tested safety systems under load (100kg and 150 kg)

if you read Deutsche you can see a scan of it here www.hanglos.nl/asp/forum/topic.asp?topicid=2580&AbsPage=2

these are the results

Advance: the relatively big velcro becomes a break when you want to release it
Airush: inadequate
Challenger: very bad
EH: acceptable
Flysurfer: good
F.One: good
Gaastra: inadequate
Globerider: inadequate
JN: bad
Naish: bad
North Sceptor: very bad
Ocean Rodeo: bad
Peter Lynn: very bad
RRD: inadequate
Slingshot: very bad
X-Shooter: very good

Cabrinha: some discussions about it, so here the full text and a statement:
the more pressure on the QR, the easier it releases. With 150kg pressure it releases with only 2kg, which is a record. But it can also lead to failures and it will open by itself. Result for the safety leash: very bad.

Any testing like this is a positive move - despite the fact that the only time you are going to know 100% if it is going to work is going to be just after you have tried and activate it in a real situation.

I have been surprised by the number of people I have met who have never even practiced activating their safety

NOTE :it is safer to test this without the kite (just get your mate to drag you round the garden by your lines..) or if you are going to test it in the water (kite will get wet) - do it in lower winds (VERY rarely the bar can get tangled in the lines after release with the possible need to let go of the kite completely - although if there are people down wind of you in this situation you gotta put them first)

Well there you go - probably inspired by having to show a new rider (that said they had had lessons) - what the safety quick release was - I activated it for them (without kite)and they said "wow...cool!"

and a near final word - don't dig yourself into a situation you really did not want to be in, anyone that has had 'the big scare' will tell you how fast they changed their attitude to safety - prevention is better than cure is a gross understatement

and last but not least(what a pimp..) - dvnt boards rock

Cool Topic, Mr Pimp.
But i can't read German.

On personal experience, having fired the following 4 in anger I would say the design used by Wipika, Slingshot, Peterlynn are the best I've used and they work really well. It is a development of the tried and tested sky diving 3 ring release system.

If they are not under load they don't eject the loop single handed, but then who cares there is no load so punch the line with your spare hand or just unhook as usual. When you need it to work in a squall etc they just work. Well they have for me.

The NAISH chicken loop release is by far the worst release i have used in anger. But if you clean it before each session it too can function as intended when you need it.

Any release is better than nothing.

I think the leash systems not the loop release systems are the more important area for development.

Hell of a lotta hype going into adding a fifth line to kites at the moment.
Another good way to make kite models redundant. Its going to be interesting to see if kiters would rater stick to 4 lines and a better leash system or move to the 5th line idea.

thanks for grabing my kite last night Ian, heck of a good wee session at Orewa eh! Sure did pick up strong.