Ozone Edge 2012
Reviewers: Tarren Peeters, Jeremy Bacon
Summary - The best thing we have seen this year. Tarren liked it so much he bought one.
Tarren says:
Flew the demo Ozone Edge last night, bout 19-22k gusting up to about 24k but very stable Southerly. Quite different to both the Switchblade and the Venom but you're right, more similar to the Venom at least in the way it flies. First few minutes I was a little unsure whether I liked it. Felt a little weird in the sky and quite different bar feel to the Venom - bar is more similar to the Switchblade in that respect. After that initial 'getting used to' phase however, I really enjoyed it. It is without a doubt one of the easiest and most fun kites for just cruising around on. I spent nearly the whole session with just one hand on the bar, not because I wanted to look cool but because it was just so comfortable and easy to fly like that! Very impressive. I always knew exactly where the kite was and found it easy to fly and turn with just one hand. Transitions were a dream on this baby. One other thing I noticed is just how incredibly soft the landings were. Jumps well and has good float but the landings were almost like they were in slow motion. I couldn't get over it. So much time to spot the landing and align yourself and the board before ever so gently touching down. Loved the bar too, very comfy. Not a big fan of the depower cleat though. Guess you would get used to it but could see it being relatively easy to accidentally let out too much line and power up the kite completely.
Jeremy says:
I liked the Ozone Edge a lot. It was easy to fly. Good amount of bar pressure. Smooth action on the slider (if thats what you call it). Responsive, good de power and easy to fly. All the safety guff was there and made sense. In fact the rig setup generally was simpler which I liked.
Having not sailed until a few weeks ago for nearly 5 years and only having used my own gear it hard to tell where the ozone sits. But I jumped on it and had fun immediately. Occasionally the tips of the kite curl under. This was more noticeable yesterday when the wind died out and I was trying to keep the kite flying downwind. The problem in this situation is is very hard not to oversheet (bar pulled on tight) and I think it is effectively stalling the kite. I think part of the solution is to make sure the kite is pumped up HARD.