Ozone Frenzy 7.5M

Introduction:I have been power-kiting for a few years now, starting with small flexifoil stackers/super 10s and moving on to bullets and blades. Over time, I had begun to enjoy scudding and jumping and I wanted to extend power-kiting into some form of board-based traction, be it on land or water.

I am still undecided about land vs. water, but having taken a few, semi-successful, kiteboarding lessons on water, I found that my progress was hampered by the limited amount of time I actually get to spend up and riding on the board. I simply spend so much time trying to start that I don't get to ride very much.

Because of this, I decided to give land-boarding a go. The idea was that you can get going much more easily and it does not require such a big kite to keep you moving - all of which should translate into an easier learning experience. I figured that if I could spend a few hours riding a kiteATB on the beach, it would probably help me with my kiteboarding on water as well. In the end the technique is quite similar. Besides, I think I'm more of a land than a water person.

All of this is preamble to my finally buying a 2006 Frenzy 7.5 on Ebay a few weeks ago. Having now flown the kite a half dozen times and successfully managed to landboard for miles on my first attempt, all I can say is:

THIS KITE RULES!

But, first things first....

Build Quality:

As expected from a top manufacturer, the quality of the kite, lines and the bar are very high. Not much to really comment about, other than the kite is really well made. All the seams are on the inside and the trailing edge, as well as the edges of the vents are reinforced with some kind of mylar (?) tape. The material is softer than what I am used to from flexifoil blades and bullets - a bit less 'crinkly'. The backpack is also excellent. I'm not sure if it really qualifies as a mounaineering backpack, but it is very comfortable and well-built and should be able to hold a couple of kites at least. It has both chest and waist straps so that the backpack sits snugly without moving around. My one gripe is that it can be a bit difficult to get sand out of the kite. The vents are completely open and the 2 or 3 cells at the tips of the kite don't have vents but fill up with sand from the other vents...requiring some fiddling to get it back out. But, no big deal...

Instructions:

The instruction manual leaves something to be desired. It is very minimal, poorly organized and the diagrams are not easy to interpret. You'll eventually figure it out, but it can be quite confusing at first. Frankly, the manual is the only weak link in this excellent kite. The lines themselves are color coded, so easy enough to figure out which one goes where, though.

Setting-up:

The first time took me a little while because I couldn't quite figure out whether all the pulleys were correctly positioned from a topological point of view before attaching the lines. However, once you've done it a few times, it only takes a minute or two to get it up and flying. I now leave my lines attached, which greatly helps.


Flying:

I have to admit that I was a bit terrified of flying a big foil on land. A couple of times when I was kiteboarding on water, I lost control of a 12M bow kite and boy did I get my ass handed to me! Sure, this Frenzy is quite a bit smaller, but hitting dirt could really hurt...

Fear not, for the Frenzy is a gentle giant. I can't believe how easy it is to handle. In fact, it is a lot easier and more forgiving to fly than my blade 4.9. Pound for pound, I think it actually pulls a bit less than my blade 4.9, but it is a different kind of pull. Where the blade is always fully powered and tight, the depower on the Frenzy is really unbelievably user-friendly. Hit a gust of wind, let the bar go a bit and the air gets dumped out - no sudden jerk!

Generally speaking, when you're not flying fully powered, the Frenzy is very gentle and easy to handle and if you pull the bar, it will keep powering and powering and powering. Even in lowish winds (10mph), I was scudding 30 feet at a time on the beach!

Also, somewhat surprisingly to me, the kite is pretty fast and actually quite fun to fly statically. I'd say again that it handles about the same as a blade, although perhaps not quite as tightly controlled.

Anyway, when I finally mustered the courage to get on a land board I was amazed at how easy it was. Instead of having to whip the kite around in the power zone to keep moving, I could park the kite at 45 degrees close to the front edge of the window and basically use it as a sail. If the wind died a bit, all you had to do was sine the kite a bit and you'd be off again.

On my first run in 12 mph winds, I think I was probably going about 15mph down the beach! I can't even imagine how great this will be on the snow this winter!

Bottom line, this is a land-oriented kite - designed for snowkiting - so it handles gusts very well and is a true treat to fly with. Anyone who has ever had some curiosity about land based kiteboarding should seriously think about getting one of these.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but I actually think the Frenzy 7.5 is easier to learn to board with than a smaller fixed bridle kite like a blade 4.9. The depower truly represents the next big evolution in foil kites, I think.

I highly recommend this kite to anyone. In fact, my only problem is that I now want a bigger one! Frenzy 12 will be my next kite!

10/10: I'd buy it again in a second!

By : Cloudy