Ozone Frenzy 7.5M

Currently the kite of the moment, the ozone frenzy is mooted as the ultimate all purpose kite with a bias towards boards. this kite brings inflatable flying manners and control ethos to foil flying.

The kites bag is a quality affair with a padded back, straps for a snowboard and attachments for the kitebar and various snowkiting paraphennalia. Correctly packed, theres enough room for an extra kite and harness.
 

Taking the kite out in the living room reveals several details. firstly, there's a velcro tab to attach your bridles while derigging and velcro openings on the trailing edge to empty out sand. nice.

Bridle lines are of different colours which helps with tangles and repairs. bridles are fastened to heavy duty loops and the vents and trailing edge are reinforced with material.

The quality of the line is particularly good, pre- streched and sleeved and very tough. The bar and control fittings are well made though the bar seems a little small for such a big kite.

First flights/trimming
The first flight was done in a 18 mph easterly on the beach. A helper secured the frenzy while i prepared to launch. If the frenzy lands upside down its better to use the safety system to right the kite as this lessens the chance of injury. I made the mistake of pulling the brake line to flip the kite which launched it semi powered... and took me 15 foot up. fortunately for me the kite has a good glide if a little less floaty than a blade and i landed safely. i aslo noted that the depower system is very effective. i later discovered that the kite can be flown without assistance in winds up to 25mph. not bad for 7.3m...

With the bar pushed fully away the frenzy pulls like a 1.5 m kite on handles and the coordinated brake/main line controls mean it can be turned with your fingertips or one handed. however, if depowered too much it can overfly and luff easily, which results in tangles which require sorting. also, if the main line is twisted it will throw the kite out of trim and make it overfly.

Finally i would advise against flying it in gusty conditions is very dangerous. the kites stability prevents it from being recovered as quickly in a bad situation, and if a gust catches you in the middle of the window after a luff it can be nasty. however the excellent safety system come into play here and all power can be killed in seconds by releasing the main loop.

The narrow opening prevents the kite refilling in gusty conditions, turning a positive aspect into a negative one. but you shouldnt fly a kite like this in gusty weather anyway.

Boardriding out on the beach in a clean wind the frenzy excels. between 8 and 13 mph it can be flown as a big slow 2 line with plenty of pull. between 13 and 18 mph the kite develops good controllable speed, power and uplift. above this and the kite enters another dimension, with awesome lift and float a small pull of the bar away(how does 1 inch of pull = 10 ft air sound?). in these winds float is superior to a blade and far more controllabe, below that its about even but the frenzy's bar system with depower gives the riders arms an easier time.

This kite also requires a different flying style to other foils, it needs good airspeed over the airofoil to work effectively, so this means in park n ride conditions to get a power boost work the kite and the bar by pushing away for speed and pulling back to convert to power. The depower also allows for better control of slides and balance as you can control how much pull you lean against.

The best thing though is this kite is very easy to ride and jump one handed both heel and toe side, and the stability and depower mean you can forget just how big it is. So dont forget to take a reality check every once in a while.

conclusion
powerful, controllable, stable and easy to fly, these are some of the frezys endearing qualities. its the closest yet to an ideal jack of all trades thanks to its innovations, but at the same time compromised by some of them when the going gets tough.

it should not be flown in gusty conditions or in v. high winds unless your know what youre doing, but never has so much power been so acessible.

not the ultimate, but certainly the best kite for boarding and a big step in the right direction. it just requires time and a change in flying style to get its best.

By : bushflyer