If you’re vacationing on the island and considering a Kauai zipline tour, you may be curious as to how this exciting adventure works if you’ve never ridden a zipline before. It’s fairly simple, really, and after reading this you’ll say “oh, well that makes sense!”
To start off, a zipline is a super-strong cable that runs from one point to another, with the starting point located higher than the ending point. Because of the decline from point A to point B, gravity pulls you along at various speeds. Some ziplines go super-fast, while others may tick along at 30 or 40 miles an hour.
A pulley system allows you to go fast. Many cables have friction, which makes it nearly impossible to go anywhere. For that reason, a pulley (basically a wheel with a grooved rim) is what propels you along the cable, and drastically reduces friction. Some ziplines are designed so that the pulley allows riders to zip along at 100 mph! The less friction, the greater the speed that can be reached.
How do ziplines brake? Some have passive breaks, some have manual brakes, and some use a combination of both. Passive brakes are simply an upward slope at the end of the ride that naturally slows the rider down because it’s going slightly uphill. Manual brakes can be used to slow down or stop and are usually operated by the rider or the instructor.
That’s basically all there is to it! Of course our professional trained guides clearly explain how everything works and what riders need to do before they take off on the most exciting adventure of their life, so be sure to pay close attention. It’s also important to know that ziplining is extremely safe, particularly at facilities such as ours that perform regular checks and maintenance.
Are you ready for the most amazing ride of your life? At Just Live! we provide the most exciting zipline tours on the island; in fact, we’re the only treetop based facility on Kauai!
