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Out of the bag the build quality is evident, I have had several top brand kites and this one is exceptional! The stitching, internal bracing, bridal connections, everything. So I take it out to the park, steak the handles and run out the lines. I baught the coramid lines U-Turn sells. They seem to to be thinner than spectra lines, something about special braiding and polishing process. The lines were within a mm or two of each other. Really nice, and they felt nice too.( I know your already thinking "what a kook!" It gets worse.) Finally after cheese'in over the kite and lines I laid out the kite and connected it to the lines. The wind was light but the kite stood up ready to go. I went back to the handles, unstaked them and gave a pull. WOW the kite took off with such speed and power it scudded me 15-18 ft. I weigh 215 lbs. That's not easy to do in light wind! O.K. I got the kite up to neutral. It was super stable, like weirdly stable. I did a couple little figure eights, then a couple bigger ones, fun fun. The wind was picking up by now. Wanting to see what this thing had I dove it right through the power zone. The power was crazy, I slid so fast my feet got hot. The Butanes handling is really, really nice! It does just what you tell it to, exactly. Then I did some nice jumps, floaty and controlled, some bigger that expected. About now I'm somewhere between little kid at Christmas and one foot in the grave. With the wind still picking up and getting gusty very gusty and my wife calling I decided to pack it up and call it a day. When I got home I checked the stretch on the lines, they were the same, the same! My wife asked if I liked my new toy, the answer took about 45 minutes ( she loves that or that's what I tell myself). The Butane is a very high performance kite at an intermediate price. They aren't cheap but man are they worth it. Really I could not be happier with it so far. Can't wait to get it out again. By : butane

Well ive been flying powerkites some 18months now , and decided to improve my quiver & over the last couple of months my kites have improved to 2m oxi.3.2 oxi pro,4moxi,5moxi pro,6.2 oxi pro & 7.8 oxi pro. Boy just after a days flyin ive really fell in love with these kites they are so smooth , deliver so much power and the build quality second to none. The 2m & 3.2m are fitted with power rings which im not a great deal appreciated of them so i disconnected them, they are very fast kites and dont like gusts in land as they tend to shoot out of the window with enormous speed but on a beach with constant wind they love it ive just returned from the beach having flown my 2m in 37mph and it pulled like a steam train was hitting very fast speed runs with just the kite parked 10ft off the ground facing the way im traveling with out having to Louvre's the kite. The 3.2m is a little bit more forgiving and easier to control but likes a little tweak on the breaks now & then so has to keep it where required in the window for that maximum power. cThe 4m i only tried for about 30mins and i was over powered picking up speed very quickly and having to find it hard to hold my 85kilos buggy in a straight line as it was pulling the back end around slightly - conclusion cant wait to fly this in a 20mph wind. The 5m & 7.8 oxi pro are made from a much lighter material & waterproof to a certain extent but ownly flown these myself inland so have not had the feeling of them on a beach in constant wind but inland they are also great kites for freestyle as well they have a certain amount of lift in the right wind with a very smooth take off & landing . on comparison my 5m is nearly as good as my 7 mtr buster 1 . As for the 7.8 well i can buggy in very low winds from the start of 5mph wind while i could not even get to move in my 7 mtr buster. My 6.2 mtr can not comment on yet cuz i'm just awaiting delivery of it now but cant wait try it out, i will let u know soon as. Ive been very lucky to compare these kites and fly them at the same time with my quiver of different make of kites of same or similar size b4 i sold them. They are great kites to upgrade to, or if you simply want to improve your skills and have learnt the basics. By : krazykarl

If buying your first kite seems like a minefield, it doesn't necessarily get easier when, feeling a bit more confident, you decide to take the next step from your Buster, Beamer, Bullet or whatever. The choice is just as bewildering but at least by this point you should have an idea where your priorities lie i.e. board / buggy / lift / speed / depower and so on. I'd already decided that boarding was my thing and since depower seemed out of my price range, almost inevitably thoughts turned to the purchase of a Flexifoil Blade. It's the kite that gets mentioned again and again as an essential for boarders – alongside tales of huge jumps and dire warnings of how it will hurt you if you if you're careless or unlucky. None the less I decided to see what the hype was about and was able to pick up a pristine 2nd hand 4.9 Blade III from another racekites member. I spent the latter half of the year flying it whenever possible and it was good fun. Sometimes exhilarating, often a bit scary but I'll start by saying that not long after my first U-Turn flight, I sold the Blade and my 3m Ozone Samurai and bought a 5m and 3.2m pair of Oxigens. The Blade and Samurai are both great kites with diehard devotees but I don't regret the change and will try to explain why, for me, the Oxigen was a better choice. U-Turn are a German company with a pretty low profile in the UK , they don't have any big name riders or major advertising campaign although the company founder is apparently well known in the paragliding world – the other half of their business. The product range has 4 models from a 'novice' foil to an all out race machine with the Oxigen is placed as their intermediate all-round traction model for buggy and board users, unusually being available in 2 specifications labelled Pro and Standard. I bought a 5m Pro and a 3.2m Standard which covers the main wind range I encounter up on the North East coast. One of the features of the U-Turn range is that although supplied as fixed bridle kites they are designed to be convertible to depower from the outset. How well this works I can't say as the final depower kit is still to appear on the market but will add an update when it becomes available. Packaging Packaging and presentation is fairly no-nonsense. No fancy rucksacks or glossy brochures to bump the price up, just a ripstop stuff-sac, a plain paper manual, a couple of stickers and the kite. All U-Turn kites are sold kite only although they do a full ready-to-fly kit for £70. I've just fitted a set of 25m lines (190kg / 110kg) and flown them on Ozone handles and a 65cm Flexifoil bar. A minor gripe here – the 3.2m came with a smaller stuff-sac that is only just big enough for the kite so the handles or bar have to go outside. Design and Build Overall impression once laid out, is of a neatly made, medium aspect shape with a straight leading edge curving towards the tips and a curved trailing edge. With the 5m laid centre to centre on top of a Blade 4.9 you can see the difference in wingspan, tip shape and overall aspect. Unlike the multi-panel designs found on some kites, the 2 colour pattern with the U-turn trademark batwing / claw' looks a little unsophisticated. On the 5m Pro the blue is very blue indeed and combined with the red markings, pretty bright on the eye. The Oxigen standard has the same design in red and yellow with a white underside. I'm not hugely keen on the colour combinations but in the air, the translucent blue Pro looks great, especially on a bright day when it is illuminated by the sun. The only other graphics on the foil are a small label and “www.u-turn.de” screen printed on the underside, just so you know you're flying german kit. Construction of the Oxigen is much like other high quality kites : good materials, double stitched seams and very tidy all round but it has a few features worth highlighting. One of the less obvious of these is the use of a stiff plastic material (mylar perhaps?) in the leading and trailing edge ends of the ribs, presumably there to maintain a good profile in these important areas. There are 21 cells on both sizes with the 4 cells on the wingtips being closed. The leading edge intakes are D-shaped and have a narrow tape reinforcement around their edge, they are smaller than those I've seen on Ozone and Flexi kites but seem to function just as well. One of the almost hidden details are the wingtip dirt-outs. Inside the velcro opening is a little 'chute' which can be pulled through, preventing the velcro from re-closing, this serves the dual purpose of a blowout valve and can be left open during flight. What separates the Pro from the standard model are the materials used for sail and bridle. The standard uses a 44 g/m2 ripstop nylon whilst the Pro has a lighter 40g/m2 nylon fabric with a water repelling coating as used on the Nitro racekite. Water splashed on the Pro beads and runs off quickly but it's not as if the standard material is spongelike. Water still beads on the surface rather than soaking straight in. Comparing the two side by side, the pro material is more translucent and silky than the 'crispier' standard but doesn't otherwise appear radically different. Out of curiosity I weighed the 2 kites before attaching lines and the results where interesting if not entirely conclusive. The 3.2m standard came in at around 850g and the 5m pro at 910g, this means a 7% increase in weight for a 56% increase in sail area. Obviously a direct size-for-size comparison would be ideal but it might give an idea of the material difference. U-Turn claim the lighter material mainly aids lower wind performance and for this reason I decided to save a bit of money and go for the 'heavier' standard 3.2m since it would be flown in winds 15+ mph. The most noticeable feature of the pro kite is the bridle, which aside from being made from sheathed Kevlar rather than Dyneema - is rainbow colour coded as an aid to fitting the de-power kit. Once again the standard of construction is evident in the neat stitching of loops, attachment points and brake power-ring attachment. These are part of the bridle design and include rings near the wingtips which act to pull in the wingtip edge when under tension. Again, the Standard is identical in construction but with a sheathed dyneema bridle, this is also colour coded with flecks in the sheathing. It's hard to fault the kite's build but perhaps one area where it might be improved would be if the trailing edge were taped. However if you don't drag your kite around on the ground this shouldn't be a big cause for concern and it may save a little bit of weight which could benefit the larger kites. Compared to the mylar tape reinforcement found on Ozone kites the leading edge looks a little vulnerable, this is something that is only likely to be tested in a big crash which I'm happy to say I've avoided so far. Flying On setting up the first thing I noticed is how well behaved it is one the ground – no bouncing around and little flapping with the brake lines pulled in. Even in high winds the 3.2m stays stuck to the ground although it feels a bit reverse-powered up so a firm staking out is required. On launch in moderate wind the kite needs to be 'pumped' or snaked up to the zenith as it doesn't inflate and power up straight away. This makes downwind launches a bit less hairy although as I discovered in high wind, it is still best to launch to the side - firing the 3.2m straight up in 20+mph wind lifted me clean off my feet in a classic superman to faceplant. Lesson learned. In a light wind a tug on the main lines prior to launch makes the kite sit up and it can then be lifted off quite easily as described. Once inflated the Oxigen forms a very stable foil with little input required to keep it stationary. In variable winds it holds inflation well and even if overflown or luffed it resists folding or bow-tieing – something that I found frustrating with the Blade. The leading edge tends to hold its shape quite well in a luff and I wondered if this is due to the stiffeners or the smaller intakes retaining the internal air for longer. Powering back up is a bit like launching, the kite will semi inflate before filling up completely which is useful to prevent being dragged over the front on a board. This characteristic does mean that light wind flying requires you to keep the kite moving as a collapse will take a bit longer to recover. Although landing the kites is very straightforward they need a good bit of pull on the brakes to stall them so it's important that kite killers are attached near the end of the brake leaders. On stalling, the kite will fold its trailing edge in and reverse down to the ground with minimal flapping or spinning about. 2 line steering is responsive and progressive with the 3.2m flying well on a standard safety bar. The 5m is controllable but both kites really benefit from a little brake input to get the best out of them so I prefer to fly them on handles. With some brake on the turn, both sizes will pivot beautifully on the wingtip, retaining power and only folding a tip occasionally at the edge in lighter wind. I have tried the 5m on a cross-over pulley system on the bar and, although it needs fine tuning, the turn rate was improved. Using the brakes also brings more out of the Oxigen as the wind picks up, these kites move pretty quickly through the window so some active flying is sometimes required to keep them in the sweet spot. Applying a bit of brake to both sides slows the kite down but gives a small power boost and can also hold it back from the edge. The manual mentions that adding an extra knot on the brake leader to increase tension can help stabilise the kite in gusty wind, I tried this on the 3.2 and found it helps stop the kite from overflying but restricts upwind ability so left it set up as normal. Power delivery is smooth and strong, it comes on quickly as the kite accelerates but with less of an aggressive snap than the Blade. Now I realise that this is the main reason for the Blade's 'legendary' status but I suspect for many flyers, myself included, it's not necessarily desirable. In gusty winds it can make a Blade downright dangerous due to the quickness that it can deflate and then power up. For the Oxigen to be less demanding in this respect may mean a trade-off in pure performance but I believe it's worth it. I'm certainly a lot more confident flying and trying new stuff under this kite than always feeling a bit on edge with the Blade. In terms of stability and ease of handling the Oxigens are not massively different to lower aspect kites like the Samurai and Bullet and in lighter winds would not cause a new flyer much difficulty. As the wind picks up they remain controllable but start to show an edge in performance, particularly on crosswind runs when you get that great 'hooked up' feeling as the kite accelerates in the apparent wind. Upwind performance is also a notch above and its possible to get a good angle against the wind with both sizes although the 5m pro seems to sit a bit further forward in the window. Consequently it needs a little more attention to stop it overflying. It's not possible to make a comparison on the Pro vs Standard specifications without testing two of the same size side by side. What I can say is that the 5m Pro will launch, fly and remain stable in very light wind when my 4.9m Blade would have to be worked hard to keep it aloft. It doesn't generate much power at these windspeeds but it helps to keep it flying when the wind is a bit on-off. If I'd had the spare cash I might have bought a pro 3.2 but I don't feel the standard material (which is as good as most kites) hampers this size much at all. My jumping technique on the board is somewhat in the early stages but I found it relatively easy to get lift out of the Oxigen, the 5m being more progressive than the 3.2 which as mentioned earlier, caught me out in high wind. Those with more technique could get more out of it I'm sure but building up a bit of speed and then directing the kite up results in a progressive lift that inspires confidence when you're just starting to try and get off the ground. If however you're looking for lift above all else then you'll probably be best served by a Blade or similar more freestyle oriented kite. If you want lift but not too much then Oxigen would fit the bill. U-turn point out that the Oxigens are designed to lift at the upper end of the wind range but even when moderately powered up there is noticeable pull at the top of the window. According to the windrange chart for a 75kg flyer, the 3.2m starts being useable for traction at around 20mph. I've found this to be a conservative estimate and at this windspeed my 80kg have been well powered up for beach cruising on the board. Summary The may not have the kudos of owning a big brand foil but if you're prepared to look beyond that you'll find a product that is of equallyl excellent quality and in my opinion equal or better value for money. As a comparison here are some prices of a range of similar sized kites, bear in mind that the Oxigen price does not include lines and handles so you will have to factor in around £50 for those. Flexifoil Bullet 3.5m £245 Ozone Samurai 3m £245 HQ Crossfire 3.2m £185 U-Turn Oxigen Std. 3.2m £181 U-Turn Oxigen Pro 3.2m £223 Flexifoil Blade III 4.9m £375 Ozone Riot 5m £356 HQ Crossfire 5m £239 U-Turn Oxigen Std 5m £209 U-Turn Oxigen Pro 5m £293 These are all recommended retail prices and shopping around will often find you a better deal, I certainly paid well below the RRP. Kites can be bought direct from the distributors in Glasgow if you can't find a stockist and I've found them to be very helpful with quick delivery. As to advantages of the Pro spec material over the Standard, I'd really need to fly the same size kites - (preferably in drizzle!) - to make a proper judgement. Given how little wind the 5m Pro needs to fly I would tend towards the lighter Pro spec in the larger sizes and would like to add a 6.2m or 7.8m for light wind flying in the summer. To conclude, I'll admit that the fact they are a bit outside the mainstream does add a little to the appeal, especially at my local Flexifoil dominated flying site. This is superficial stuff though and means nothing if they weren't great fun to fly. They have the right balance of handling and performance for my level of riding and where I want to progress to. I'm certain that anyone trying one out would be similarly impressed. By : jomoj

Having started my buggy career with a 2.1 and 4.5 Little Devil I eventually found them a tad slow, it took a while and I learnt alot flying them but I started to look for something a bit faster. Not just faster but more agile. I eventually bought a 5m and 7.8m Oxigen standard and had great fun flying them but soon realised that their design didn't work so well in the heavier fabric and bridle offered in the standard model. What made me realise this? Buying the 4m Pro. The difference between the two models lies solely in the materials used. The Pro has a lighter, waterproof Porsche Marine fabric and a kevlar as opposed to dyneema bridle (both sleeved). They are identical in dimensions otherwise. The Oxigen is an 'intermediate' kite, by this I guess we mean its not a race kite like the Razor, Raptor, Century or Nitro - providing major upwind performance but with an uncanny ability to overfly in gusty conditions. It's also not in the same mould as the LD, Samurai, Chimera or Yoz - all kites that are really stable but slower in their performance ( the Yoz turns fast but doesn't penetrate upwind as well - My opinion Yoz owners may differ buit I have flown one or two, well two actually). So how does the OxiPro perform? First impression on launching is of a very stiff kite due to the extensive internal bracing. Once in the air there's no wobbling a la Bullet. It sits nicely and turns really fast on the brakes. This is attributed to the two outer brake bridle points which are attached via a metal ring to the single bridle line. Applying tension causes the wing tip to fold inwards (same as the Mac Bego) in the turn. The agility of the 3.2 and 4m kites is astounding. They turn on their wingtips. On the up-turn it is essential to hold the kite back or you may overfly, down-turning solves this problem and powered up turns with the Oxigen are major fun!! The kite requires tension to remain inflated and needs to be kept moving downwind. It responds well to gusts where it just tends to speed up not overfly, however rapid changes in wind velocity can induce luffs but it rarely bowties. This is where its 'intermediate' label rises from. Otherwise it would be perfect but not quite a race winner. This is where the Pro v Standard argument is won, the lighter kite (particularly in the larger sizes) just flys better at the bottom end of its wind range. For me the kite provides a challenge to get the best out of it but it will also allow you to have a steady day with few surprises in stable winds. Just depends on how you work it and the conditions. As an aside these kites are well-lifty when at the top end of their wind range, some of my best (arrrgh) jumps have been with the 5m. Overpowered in the buggy has been interesting in the turn but the kites agility has (mainly) prevented OBE's. I really would recommend these kites to someone not into racing but wanting to get the best speed they can without the 'instability' of a race kite. By : Chris B

U-Turn Oxygen 4M Standard. This is my second kite, the first is a Libre Speedy 2 – 2.6. After reading a few reviews and some threads on this site, I asked my local kite shop for some advice on the next step (always a good move). They were very helpful and suggested that, rather than the 5M Kite I was thinking about, 4M would be less of a jump (pardon the expression). Their suggestion was either the HQ Crossfire or the U-Turn Oxygen, both intermediate kites and both with very good reviews. I opted for the Oxygen and have now had time to play a little. First impressions The kite came in a draw string sack as ‘kite only’ but the price quoted by the shop was set up, ready to fly with a choice of handles. The only problem here is that the 4M is such a tight fit into the bag that it is practically impossible to get the handles in as well. I am not at all fussed about not having a rucksack, I would rather have the money spent on the kite, but it would be nice not to damage the sail material with the handles when you’re packing away! Build quality, very good with reinforcement where you want it and power rings pre-fitted. Very good Velcro detail for removing sand, grass and small dogs from the wing tips. Also, simple but useful, a strip to hold the harness in place when you pack away. Colours, great, yellow & red, best looking kite in the sky. First flight Unfortunately, the first day was not perfect, I started with my trusty Speedy but the wind was very gusty. Lots of juddering and sudden de-power with the kite falling out of the sky and powering up half way down! I had to use my new kite as I had owned it for a whole day and it had not been in the sky yet. The launch is a little quirky. As you pull back on the lines the kite will rise to a couple of meters off the ground and stay there with not much pull. You have to put in a couple of small turns to get the kite moving well. A surprise, but very useful in high winds, not to get dragged halfway down the beach before you have control. Once powered up it sits very nicely above you and is very stable. It handled much better than I expected, turning was tight and was close to my smaller kite, lots more power than the speedy, but none of the unexpected yanks from the uneven air. I have now taken the kite out at Uphill (WSM), very steady wind and lots of space to play with. Tremendous fun and plenty of power (for the time being). After 2 hrs of scudding my arms were aching and my face hurting from smiling so much. I think I’m going to enjoy this kite. Ill tell you how much more fun it is when I get the hang of the harness.

This is a short review of U-Turn's 'beginner' kite. I bought this primarily because the 9.5m Montana was a scary beast in gusty winds, and because I simply missed having a 5m in my quiver. Since buying it, it no doubt is my most used kite, certainly for inland flying. The construction of the kite canopy is very simple, double stitched and few cell stiffeners and internal straps to reduce material stretch so the kite retains its shape over the years. The material feels light, and is u-turn's basic ripstop same as standard Oxigens with useful dirt-outs (velcro tabs near the wingtips to shake out sand etc), and sewn bridles to finish it off. In addition rings are in place to hold the brake lines near the power lines, I assume to stop drag from the D bridle. I don't think you need a higher quality for the audience this kite is aimed towards. It's up there with Ozone samurai, missing only the reinforced trailing edge, for all you kite draggers! In flight it's as you would expect for a low aspect kite, slow, grunty and very stable. All this adds up to is a very easy going kite, no surprises. What did surprise me was the low wind performance and the upwind capability for such a fat kite. It became my low wind kite over the summer, where the 9.5m Montana would be a struggle, I could fly this and generate enough power to get moving. Using the brakes a lot to turn, it can be quite fast on the turn, better than the Samurai's (Mk1) I have flown. In 12mph and above this kite pulls nicely and I can keep returning to my starting position after a long downwind run, so not bad for you cruisers out there. Who would this kite be nice for? If you are new to kiting, or just about to use a kite for traction with a board/buggy, this would make life a lot easier. The only negative for a complete newbie is that the kite is supplied kite only in a stuff sack with no safety system. This can all be bought along with the kite, but does make the buying and setting up experience a little harder for those with little knowledge, but fortunately you are reading this at Racekites, the fountain of all kiting knowledge! If you are looking to get some air (although it can lift when the wind is quite strong, and nice a floaty on the way down), or an exciting static kite, or go faster than anyone else out there, obviously look elsewhere. For me this kite has fulfilled a hole, an easy kite I can rely when I just can't get on with racier kites. Its stability makes it great inland, and I often fly it when in gusty between 10-20mph. Price wise I think this is great value, £181 kite only for a high quality kite + £50-£65 for lines and handles, cheaper than a 6m Ozone Fury, and a lot cheaper than an Ozone Samurai which I would equate it to (although I love the graphics of the Sammi's). These can be retro fitted with a depower system (UDS) which I shall try sometime. I'll report the results here when I do. By : smegg

All those people who replied to my review of the 3.2m Oxigen were right: slowly, inexorably my collection of Oxigens has increased. I’ve had the 3.2 and 5m Oxi standard since last year and was looking to purchase either a sub 3m, a 4m or a 6.2, my choice depending on the wind conditions of the moment (yes, I am that fickle!). It wasn’t until I got thumped by a big, swirly wind, and a 2.1 Little Devil’s refusal to land - and stay landed - that my choice crystallised. After a couple of phone calls to Bill at U-Turn (a really friendly and helpful guy btw) I became the proud owner of a 2.5 standard and a pair of handles (no lines, I already had some). First Impressions As everyone else has noted, the kite is extremely well built for its money, easily on a par with Flexi/Ozone, but comes in a plain stuff sack. The Oxi standard now comes with coloured inner sails rather than plain white, a la Oxi pro’s so it looks much nicer than my older 3.2. Also included in the pack was a well-written manual, a small selection of U-Turn stickers and a couple of short lengths of what could be something like bridle extensions but haven’t opened the packet to check.. I was most worried about whether the handles would be any good – being a flexi handles fan - but I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised: aluminium, painted black with a very fetching u-turn logo on them, and nice comfy foam. Their only problem as far as I can see is that the strop pigtails seem a little close to the top, so when you have the handles pointing at the kite your thumb seems to have no leverage. Setting up and first flight Even smaller oxigens come with power rings as standard, but setting up is pretty straightforward, there was a knot halfway down the leader on the brake line bridles and one knot on each of the handle leaders. While the kite launched it was obvious there was a tad too much brake on it, so I moved the knot to the end of the leader on the brake bridles and it hit zenith perfectly. Even though the wind was fairly light, certainly no more than 6 or 8mph to begin with, the kite flew very well, turning and accelerating smoothly. Having power rings on a kite this size means that brake turns are very fast indeed. Landing is effortless, pull on the brakes it comes down, that’s it, no fuss, no attempt to spin, relaunch, turn upside down or any of those things that some kites do to catch you out. My initial experience of use as a traction engine in a too light wind was - naturally - faintly disappointing but when the wind occasionally picked up it showed great promise, given that the wind speed was, if anything, somewhat lower than I would normally fly my 5m in! Its pedigree as an “intermediate” type of kite rears its head only very occasionally in its desire to be moved unless quite well powered up, but otherwise it’s incredibly well behaved. More wind! Subsequent flights in higher winds (up to 30mph so far) have proved that it really does live up to its promise with a stability that would shame many a “starter” kite, great upwind capabilities and amazing pull for such a baby-sized sail. Being so small you can either “lock in” or keep it moving. In 22mph the kite was pulling me at nearly 30mph, given me and the bug’s combined weight is about 130kg and our flying field is probably less than a kilometre from end to end, the acceleration to do this is phenomenal. Conclusion OK, I am not going to beat about the bush, I’m biased. If I could afford to I’d buy all the others to make a full set. But there’s a reason why I have such a partisan attitude towards the U-Turn Oxigen: as I may have mentioned in my review of the 3.2m, I spent a lot of time looking for a kite that did what the Oxi’s do, to fly – originally flying static, but more recently in a bug. What they do is pretty much everything you want them to, effortlessly and powerfully, with an economy of fuss that German engineering is so good at. If this kite was a car (well, if Clarkson can do it about cars….!) it would be a Mercedes sports coupe: handsome, beautifully built, fast, but not dangerously so, powerful, yet refined, and importantly, everything works. Then you fly it in 25+mph and it’s like AMG have broken into your garage and stuck a performance pack on it! I would have no hesitation in recommending an Oxigen to anyone with a modicum of experience, as it needs only a little more input than a “starter kite” to get a good ride out of it, and a little knowledge of its characteristics to get lots more. Put that together with its ultra safe takeoff and landing characteristics and you have (IMHO) the perfect kite. Ok maybe not perfect but damned close. Except…can’t wait to try the Pro version, and now they’ve brought out the new Oxi II. Aargh, why do they keep moving the goalposts?

Well I've now owned my Helium for a year (yike!) so I reckon it's time to write a review of my experiences with it over a longer period rather than a just-got-it-out-the-bag-I-love-it job. I bought the kite pretty much new, it was ex-demo so it was 'used' but still crispy and as-new. Got a good deal from Brian at U-Turn, £134 I think. It was my first powerkite, my Dad has a 1.4 Buster which I learnt to fly, but this was a bit of a step up in the world. So, on with the review... in true Racekites fashion, I'll start with the bag. The Bag (And Other Accessories) Like I said, this was ex-demo, so I'm not sure how it's packaged new, but mine came in a nice red stuff-sack - nothing fancy like a rucksack or anything, but I wasn't bothered, it meant I could carry it around easily in my own rucksack. The handles and lines that I got with it were used as well - a set of Ozone lines (30m as he had no 25s left) and some strange handles, possibly Eolo, which were ok but which I soon upgraded to Flexis with killers. First Impressions Naturally, for a first kite, my first thought on unfolding it on the beach was, 'Woah it's HUGE!' I'm more used to it now though, but it does remind you that 4.4m is a largish kite and has a fair bit of oomph. The looks of the kite are simple but attractive - yellow on top and white underneath with a red leading edge. The only graphics are two 'www.u-turn.de' logos on the underside. Nice and crispy, and it looks great when sat on the ground LE up. In Flight My first flight sort of wasn't, I set up the kite, attached the lines and handles etc, and as always the wind got bored and left, so I won't dwell on that one. In the air the thing you really appreciate is the grunt and stability of the thing - it sits in the air like a brick and pulls like a train. I don't buggy, being as I don't have one, but I guess this would make an ideal beginner's buggy kite, good for progressing too. It has very little lift, it's really built for traction not jumping, but it feels solid in the air and will never overfly - luffing is extremely rare too. I tend to fly the Helium static - I've got nothing against it but I just don't really like boarding fixed bridle. Don't know why, I just don't feel comfy. Although it's an oomphy kite, it's fairly nippy through turns and across the window, I rarely use the brakes, again maybe just the way I fly. The size of the window it operates in is huge as well, I can stand it on its end about 5degrees behind me on either side and still have enough control to tug the lines and it comes rocketing back round. It'll also sit quite happily at the zenith with very little flyer input, not quite on a par with an ARC but to be honest not that far off. Build Quality Brilliant. U-Turn are ex-paraglider manufacturers or something, and this shows in the quality of the kites they build. All the seams are double-stitched and the fabric is strong too - I've never heard of a U-Turn bridle ripping, or stiching coming apart or anything. The lines are a little the worse for wear, and the handles were mince, although pretty sturdy, but that's nothing to do with the kite. Value for Money Pretty good - you get a cracking kite for your money, and it's in the lower end of the price range for this size of kite, as it's not your purebred race kite or Blade IV. Giving U-Turn a call to see what ex-demo's they have is a good start, that brought it down to the level of the beamer that I was also considering. Bangs to bucks ratio is good too, it still puts a huge big smile on my face, and it's out of the bag and in the air in about three minutes. Suitability I would say beginner/intermediate, probably for someone going into buggying. Nothing wrong with it for boarding, but I think that it has the characteristics a buggyer wants. I still love it static as well. It's very stable and forgiving so it's perfect to learn on (if a little large). So..... Basically, I love this kite. I've never had any issues with it other than the lack of wind, but that's not its fault. It's rock-solid and has bags of oomph, and after a year it can still make me grin like a two-year-old. Couldn't recommend it more to anybody who's looking at starting out kiting (although maybe a smaller size would be good) or to a kiter who wants a stable, forgiving powerhouse for blasting up the beach. Hope this review has helped anybody who's considering a Helium, if you want more advice try asking on the forum, there's flyers on there who can give more technical info and their views on the kite. Good luck. By : wild bean

I bought my Oxigen 7.8 as a low wind kite after a couple of sessions when my Blade 4.9 wasn’t sufficient to get me moving. I was pretty frustrated being a relative newcomer to buggying, I’d previously static flown kites and dabbled with a Scrub Furnace Creek (far too painful!) and swopped to buggying for the easy life – lol. I did a fair bit of research prior to buying; I was looking for a big kite at a reasonable price as I didn’t think it would be something I would be using on a daily basis so why spend a fortune? I’d heard about U-Turn; the kites are designed by Ernst Strobl (below, in his younger years) who previously was responsible for AiREA traction kites. He is a bit of a legend in his own lunchtime and it seemed the U-Turn pedigree was well established. Next I had a look at the prices. The 7.8 standard is £270 and the Pro is £370, which seemed pretty good to me, especially for the Standard model. The difference between the two is in the materials, all dimensions are the same otherwise; the Pro is constructed from 40 gsm material which is waterproof and has Kevlar bridles, the standard is built from 44 gsm material and has dyneema bridles. So this means the difference is the Pro is about 10% lighter and you can fly it in the rain. No contest, I’ll take the cheap one! I ordered the kite from Barracuda Buggys (thanks Stuart (aka zman), excellent service) and my Oxigen duly arrived. It was supplied without lines or handles (although I understand this has now changed) and came in a simple draw string bag with ‘U-Turn’ stamped on it. No frills and no pretensions – just a kite in a bag. Unwrapping the kite I was very impressed with the quality of construction, I doubt anyone makes a better built kite. I own Flexi’s, Ozones and the odd Mac and it is definitely up there with them. The Orange and yellow upper sail is very striking, the standard has a white under sail, the pro under sail is the same colour as the upper sail main colour. I first flew the kite at Lytham in a steady onshore 12 mph. On connecting it up you immediately notice it comes with power rings as standard. This is quite rare and I’d never flown a kite with them on before. Anyway I retreated to the handles and fired the kite up to the zenith with no problems. It pulled me along as it rose but the power was very smooth and I scudded to a halt with the kite directly above. I went straight into some high turns and immediately the kite responded beautifully. I am very impressed with this kites turn rate, for the size it turns really well. The brake bridle outer two connections run through a further ring (like the Mac Bego) which fold the tip in when applied and this really speeds up the turn rate. Running the kite though the window produced some good scuds and the power came in nice and steady. Just to see what the difference would be we removed the power rings and put it back in the air. There was a slight loss of power and the power was much more jerky. Suffice to say the rings went back on and haven’t been off since. In the buggy the kite can overfly slightly but a quick dab on the brakes brings it back into line. It is definitely a kite that needs the brakes to turn, it’s a big kite and wont turn fast enough without brake input. I have used it in winds as low as 5mph but I’d say only a lighter rider would get any use out of it at winds less than that (I’m a lardy 17 stone). Conclusion Well in my limited experience I’d say the Standard Oxigen represents the best value for money buggy kite on the market, I like the 7.8 so much I bought the 5.0 to go with it. In 10+mph it really shifts. I think I need a wider rear axle………!!! Author : Chris B

u -turn have been developing there nitro races kites over the last few months and the resultant kite show the work has not been in vain the original kite is very stable and fast in good winds and come with very strong sleeved kevlar bridles and power rings on the brake lines, however in windsthat were less than ideal there was a tendancy for the wing tip to fold in and the kite to luff the 6.9 is a new size fitting between the exsisting 6.1 and 7.7 kites and slightly brakes the 25% steps in the range. looking at the kite layed flat the sail is identical to current kites with the exception of the u-turn claw which now decorated the lower as well as upper kite the bridles are now a much more colourful arrangement attaching to the sown in tabs and the power rings are now absent. the fineness of the line used on the brake and d lines almost defy's belief the result of the new bridle is a flying profile which loses absolutely none of the power of the orignal kite . when seen flyin the kite now has a pronounced curved arc from tip to tip. the kite continues to pull rite to and beyond the window and need the usual brake appliction to prevent over flying turnin is fast and easy on the brakes and the ktie will happly spin on its own axis apart from the new curvature the kite is also much easier to reverse launch should u happen to over cook it im guessing the liter weight lines on the trailing edge help . the loss of the power rings also help mid air collapses to be shaken out as they had a tendancy to catch on the thicker kevlar lines the nitros are not for everyone but are deffinately now a kite to reconsider as a racers power source current orignal versions can retro fit the new bridles with relative ease to benefit from the new found gusty wind stability By : bigred

This is just my initial thoughts on the Helium seeing as I got the U-Turn SPS depower setup from Bill this very morning. The Helium 6.8 is typical U-Turn in most ways. Excellent build quality as with the Oxigens. It's made from 44gsm ripstop so not as light or water resistant as the Oxi Pros but then again you pay the premium for the very top end materials. On handles and on an Ozone 65cm line bar I'd found the Helium to be soooo very stable and virtually luff proof. No shocks, no nasty suprises just lots and lots of power. It turned quite slowly but then again it is a low aspect 6.8m kite. No real lift to speak of so just a big powerful traction engine really. Given this I felt that on the fixed bridle it was decent but no more than that so off I went to check out the depower options. Basically there seemed to be 3 choices. The Pegas WingWarp (tried it and didn't like it much), the UDS system that apprently works well and then the U-Turn SPS system which many people have been waiting for. My understanding was that the SPS works in a similar way to the UDS but with lighter components (which must be of benefit on any kite!). I decided to wait for the SPS to be released this year and finally got my hands on one of the pre-production setups with the full production starting 'soon'. I am told there are two versions of the SPS system, a 3 pulley and a 4 pulley system. The 3 pulley is for lower aspect ratio kites such as the Helium whilst the 4 is more suited to higher aspects found on kites such as the Oxigen and Butane. I have the 3 pulley system and Bill said it may be ok my Oxigen Pro 5m but given the size of my depower bar (65cm) it may be a bit lively and hard to keep from stalling. Setup couldn't have been easier to be honest. Bill sent the SPS bridles already setup to suit the Helium so all I had to do was attach everything as per the simple instructions he e-mailed to me. All my dealings with Bill have been excellent so I can't praise the guy enough. Onto the first flight then... It was a grey, slightly damp day with a breeze between 8-13mph so I thought it'd be ideal to give the Helium a go. Previously I had the Pegas WingWarp system on this kite but had found that I didn't really like the way it worked. Using WingWarp it lacked feel and I didn't really notice much depower range. Basically the kite wasn't much fun to fly. With the SPS on I found just the opposite. I don't have experiance of any other depower kites so cannot draw comparisons but I am really happy with what I have now. The kite flew very cleanly up from the deck with oodles of pull but delived in a very nice smooth way. In total contrast to the WingWarp I straight away could see what a difference the SPS makes to the big Helium. It's turn rate was vastly improved and the ability to give subtle inputs for immediate repsonse was lovely. I could also straight away feel the kites potential for a nice bit of jumping and lo away we went! Everything happened at a nice pace too. In no way was it aggressive but neither was it lethargic, the ideal word is smooth, actually very smooth! Speed through the window was fine adn on the board I found I was able to get the kite in the areas I wanted without bother. Overall (as you may have guessed) I am really pleased with the setup and can't wait to get my skills up to speed with the depower. As I have mentioned I can't draw comparisons with any other depowerable foils, one thing I should make clear though is that in no way felt like an add-on. U-Turn have said for ages that their kites are designed for depower to be added if desired and I now have the proof. Happy happy happy. By : dough_boy

I just got my first U-Turn kite. I bougth a Helium 5.5 to test for use in my snowkiteschool. The kites from U-turn comes as usual kite only so i bougth a RTF pack also. he RTF packs includes lines, kitehandels and a backpack. The kites quality is very good as you can expect from a paragliding company. The RTF package is enough for beginners, but if you are at the next level, i think you should go for a bit stronger flyinglines. I will upgrade the lines to when i test it with a de power system. Something i was missing in the RTF package was a pair of kitekillers. Dont go flying with out it. The Helium feels smaller than 5.5 when i put it out on the ground compared to my other kites. But it was just an illusion when it was in the air it feels rigth for the size. The setup of the kite is very easy, so you are in the after just a few minutes. I like that. The wind wasn't more than 5 knots. I grab the handels and back up a bit to strength up the lines and took one step back and pull. The kite was rises smothly up and go straigth up to zenith and with a smal touch on the brake it stoped. Now it was boering what have i bougth? No struggle i dont have to take a couple of steps forward. So i change the direction of the kite in to a crash posistion, now it come very smooth and the drag increases. I couldnt stand stil any moore and i was start to turn the kite around to go back to the zenith. And the drag sligthly disseper til non at all at the zenith posistion. I stand for a long time and do some areobatic exercisses with it. On the ground it was looking as a pretty "fat" kite with low Ar. In the air it is a kite with good handling fast turning and very good feeling. Iam not boerd any more iam thrilled. I keep it, and buy another one or two for the winter. Conclusion The helium is a exelent kite for beginers and the kiter who not kite so much. Its a very forgiving kite but not boering at all. The price tag is very good to. Its better to buy something you can handle and fly much with than stand on the beach or the ice and watch others. I shall test it in the mountains in the winter it feels like a very good kite to go long distans with. I like it very much. Sorry for my not so good english. By : Milko

Introduction The U-turn kite range has 4 models: a beginner kite (the helium), an intermediate (the oxigen), a semi-race kite (butane) and a full race kite (nitro). This review is of the oxigen. The oxigen is available in two forms -- the basic model and the 'pro' model. The difference is that the pro model uses lighter, more water repellent material and a sleeved kevlar bridle. This brand doesn't seem to be as widely available as some, but the company has an on-line presence to help you find a retailer or to sell you an ex-demo kite. Build quality These kites appear well engineered, with a number of features not generally found such as power rings, dirt outs and rings at the outside trailing edge to aid turning speed. The internal cell partitions are stiffened to keep the cells open. Flying characteristics These kite fly quickly for their size, moving quickly through the window. Upon launch they are a little hesitant to fill, so they are best launched by pulling up, turning and sweeping across the window; once inflated they are manoevrable and pull well. In the buggy they perform well in smooth winds; I've managed 25mph in an 11mph wind on a flexi buggy (which I thought quite good, anyway!) with the 6.2. The kites turn quite well for their size, particularly the 6.2 pro. These kites pull well for their size, particularly when moving quickly. However, these kites do present a challenge if you've not flown intermediate level kites before. These kites will keep flying beyond the window. Briefly. They will then fold up into a ball and drop to the ground. To use these kites effectively you need to know where the edge of the window is (the kite won't tell you) and stop the kite leaving the window, either by applying the brakes or by turning the kite. This is a particular problem in gusty conditions, where the edge of the window moves in and out with the gusts. The official advice from U-turn is to increase the level of brake on the kite if you have problems by adding an extra knot in the brake leaders -- I should probably do this, but I've been trying to lean to keep the kite in the window! I've only used these kites in the buggy and statically -- I don't know what they're like for a board. In a buggy you do need to watch the lift they generate in stronger winds and/or at speed. I'm told they aren't lifty kites, but compared to my other kite experience (bullets and beamers) they are. I have on one or two occasions been lifted out of the buggy when top turning too quickly -- you have been warned! Conclusions I am pleased with these kites (I bought the 4.0 to replace a beamer 5.0 after owning the 6.2 pro for a few months). I do get frustrated in gusty conditions when the kite spends more time in a ball than I'd like, but hopefully I'll learn... By : iconoclast

U-Turn Butane First Impressions The Butane is U-Turns latest offering and sits in between the Nitro all out race kite and the Oxigen intermediate. Many people will remember that U-Turn's head designer, Ernst Stroble, was responsible for the much-loved Airea Raptor (I & II) well, the Butane is the Raptor III by any other name. The kite is supplied in a simple stuff sack as per U-Turn's other kites but it's a posher one with a mesh insert to let the sand out and promote drying. Works fine for me, I have several kites which live in a larger bag. I don't want several rucksacks to haul about. Out of the bag the kite looks fantastic. The U-Turn Claw design is on both sides of the kite. Mine is blue with a white claw design and everyone has commented how nice it looks. Construction is up to the usual standard, this kite is bomb proof with multiple internal bracing on its 28 cells. The leading edge vents are reinforced with mylar and extend to the majority of the cells unlike alot of other race kites. I could not find a stitch out of place. I have flown the kite a couple of times now and I am very impressed. It will scud my lardy butt in only 10mph winds. Anyone who knows me will realise just how much power that takes!! I haven't yet had it out in it's comfort zone (about 20mph) but I can't wait to test it out at those speeds. In the bug it handles beautifully on the brakes, it doesn't have power rings or turn-assist brake eyelets like the Oxigen but this doesn't make any difference to the Butane. This kite turns fast! Upwind performance is usually one of the key performance criteria in a race kite and the Butane doesn't disappoint. I feel this kite will fly as close to the wind and point as high as any other kite of this type. Where it seems to do really well is in it's stability - so far I have yet to luff it. Admittedly I haven't taken it out in a lumpy offshore at Redcar so I can't call it perfect yet. Anyway if the wind is that rubbish I'll get the Oxigen 3.2 out! Once I have given it a good thrashing I'll add to this review to let you know how it performed. I got mine from Belgium as they're not yet on sale in the UK. I understand they will be available soon from www.u-turn-kites.co.uk/. Prices should be between the Nitro and Oxigen. For the performance this kite promises I reckon that represents good value for money. I will be getting a couple more and heading to the races!! By : Chris B

I owned couple of Ernst Strobl Airea Raptors sizes 5.5 and 7.5 m.I enjoyed using them in buggy and a month ago ,I've got a Butane 7.5m. I know what to expect from U-Turn as far as quality is concern, theres no doubt in my mind that the kites produced by U-Turn are the highest in the market. Flight Characteristics: I was really amazed that the Butane flies even in a very light wind and what even more amazes me is that if you let go the handles it will just stay there waiting for your command. Turning is very tight even without the enhancement ring like the one in Oxigen -Pro. For me, the comparison is like the Raptor I 5.5 m. Butane is built to be a race kite but I find very useful in mountainboarding, althought I'm not into tricks, I can ride hook in with one hander, a piece of cake! The stability while riding on board was great and I felt so much confident because of its constant power within the wind window.Even if its used with handles, I feel somehow ithat its like a depowerable kite! Jumping the Butane is also great and very floaty, with the correct position of the kite during jumping it will never luff or collapse! I find the price of Butane to be affordable in a sense that the quality and workmanship , stability and its multi-purpose capablities are all included in one kite. Overall , I think the Butane is a great , all around kite and I'm waiting it to be converted in a bar configuration, I hope the much awaited SPS will come out soon. I really feel tha this kite has many potential. By : savtract

My brief for a new 3m kite was very specific: it had to be less scarifying than my Blade II, with slightly less lift and acceleration, but more exciting than the mk1 Samurai with which was hoping to replace it . Oh, and it had to cost less than £200 This is a harder task than first imagined: Manufacturers blurb and even user reviews tend to be subjective to say the least - last year's model isn't as good as this year's (unless you have last year's model in which case it's the mutts nuts and much better than the new one!). I don't know how I came across U-turn, they seem a fairly small operation in UK - at least compared to Flexifoil and Ozone - but a trawl through reviews on t'internet, including this esteemed site and I couldn't find a bad word about them. So when a 3.2 Oxigen came up for sale secon hand I just had to have it. The kite came in a plain white stuff sack with a handwritten serial number, no rucksack. Build-quality is excellent - straight seams, reinforcement throughout, sewn bridles, easily as good as Ozone. This kite came with comfy handles, not unlike Flexis but without the neoprene hoods over the power lines leader. Mine has Ozone lines, don't know if that's standard or not but very welcome. Wind was about 16mph gusting 20, Getting off the ground is an interesting experience, they're designed to kind of stall on take off; to quote the U-Turn website blurb: "The UTurn Oxigen has an unusual but very safe take off characteristic. The kite can be raised a few meters off the ground and gradually coaxed to the top of the window with gentle S-turns before powering up." These characteristics mean that you can make the kite sit absolutely anywhere in the window - useful for getting in your buggy, for instance. When you finally get it into the air it leaps into life, it's lithe and sparky rather than brutal and punishing, i moved it a few metres and it generated enough power to lift me (at 17st) off my feet, but not in that scary way that a Blade does, just pure, stable power, a low revving big torquey turbo diesel to the blade's nitrous-fuelled screamer, and unlike a blade you feel you know where it's going to be in the next instant. Gods it's exactly what I've been looking for, it's so stable and predictable, yet with enough lift to make things very exciting. I can imagine it's stability would make it a great buggy kite, but in the meantime I'm more than happy flying it static, after an hour's workout I feel exhilerated (and hurt) like I did on my first outing with - guess what - my blade of course, except I'm not so scared to take it out again! After my afternoon of flying I was truly in love; my thoughts ran thus: "how much could I buy a 4 and 5 metre for?" and i thought my quiver had stabilised. How fickle this obsession. Oh well, off to sell my soul...again! By : mikeymustard

U-turn 2.2m Helium - Low-aspect kite. I bought the Helium one week after I had bought a 4m Oxigen, as I didn’t want too much power that could do more damage to my collarbone, after breaking it when flying the 4m Oxigen kite. First impressions The kite came in a drawstring sack as ‘kite only’. U-turn supplies a RTF kit for £70. The kite comes fitted with power rings that join the power and brake bridles near the line connection points. Where the brakes actually hook onto the trailing edge end of the wingtips. The kite is reinforced at all the stress points and has internal webs and straps across the rib cross-vents and the across the innermost bridle points too. The bridle are all sewn on, It has Velcro dirt outs for removing sand/ grass from the wing tips. It also has a Velcro strip to hold the harness in place when you pack the kite away. I was impressed with the quality of the contraction and material on this kite. Stitching was straight and of a high quality, same as the higher end kites made by U- turn. First Flight – how do they fly? On the maiden flight, the Helium rocketed upwards with little effort in winds of between 5 –8 mph. no over flying, no pulling on the lines hard. Well impressed. It sat at the zenith very nicely. Turning speed was very good, fast, even given the low wind. Power was there, through the turns, and when landing in reverse, no problem at all, even in the last few feet to the ground. It was less aggressive on initial takeoff and can be held back easier on the brakes. On its second flight at a beach, wind between 5- 16mph. It flow really well again, well controlled. Again flow brilliantly. When reverse landing again no problems. I played around with hovering it just above the ground in order to have my photo taken flying it. It was very easy to hover and control at all times. Conclusion I think the Helium is a really good kite to learn how to fly, the Power was smooth on the beach as well as inland, I was just static flying with the kite, on both occasions. But I do think that it could pull a buggy / board easily in higher winds. And I would say that this kite is an all rounder both inland and beach. I would recommend this kite to a beginner flyer. The price is really good, and you pay the same amount no matter where you buy it from. Author : dreamcaster2005

U-turn 4m Oxigen - mid-aspect kite. First impressions Unpacking the kite I was very impressed with the quality of construction. The kite came in a draw string sack as ‘kite only’ but the price quoted by the shop was set up, ready to fly with free handles and 20m line. The only problem that I can see here is that the 4M kite is such a tight fit into the bag that it is practically impossible to get the handles in as well. The kite comes fitted with power rings that join the power and brake bridles near the line connection points. where the brakes actually hook onto the trailing edge end of the wingtips. There is another ring on the trailing edge. This is used, when turning to increase the turn rate.The kite is reinforced at all the stress points and has internal webs and straps across the rib cross-vents and the across the innermost bridle points too. The bridle are all sewn on, similar to the Ozone and newer Flexifoil kites. It has Velcro dirt outs for removing sand/ grass from the wing tips. It also has a Velcro strip to hold the harness in place when you pack the kite away. First flight - How do they fly? Unfortunately, the first day was not perfect, for the Oxigen, as the wind was very gusty. Lots of juddering and sudden de-power with the kite falling out of the sky and powering up half way down! Well it was blowing between 5-17mph constant gusts. On its maiden flight, I broke my collarbone after being pulled over and dragged a few times. Also getting it stuck up a tree. The following week I tried again this time in more open ground still inland. It was a different kite altogether, well behaved. The wind was between 5 – 10mph. It took a bit more effort to get it off the ground, on its second flight, but once up it was really cool. Turning speed was incredible even given the low wind. Power was there, through the turns. When landing in reverse, no problem with tendency to spin and fight in the last few feet to the ground. It was less aggressive on initial takeoff and can be held back easier on the brakes. On its third flight at a beach, wind between 5- 16mph. It flow really well, well controlled, behaved. When reverse landing it tended to want to fight and twist a little near the ground, on this occasion, but nothing to put you off. Conclusion I love this kite, even after breaking my collarbone. It has lots of power and it can be flown in low wind in order for you to get to know it. I think the Oxygen may be better in a buggy than on a board as it seemed to pull more lower down, however it's hard to say as I was just static flying. Power was smoother on the beach. And I would say that this kite is an all rounder both inland and beach. I would recommend this kite to a beginner and intermediate flyer. Author : dreamcaster2005

After starting out on a PKD Buster 4.0 I realised I needed a smaller kite for those days at the beach when the Buster was a little too grunty even for my large (17st) frame. I must admit that I have a tendancy to want to try something a little different to the norm so was looking for something other than the usual Ozone / Flexi / HQ etc. Eventually (and after reading the reviews already on racekites) I plumped for a Oxigen 2.5. From what I had read about them the Oxigen sounded like an ideal step forward from a begginers kite without being something that would put the fear of god into me if I was caught out. I ordered it direct from the manufacturer's UK reseller at www.u-turn-kites.co.uk after speaking to the guys there to make sure I was heading in the right direction. They were very helpful and at no point seemed to be pushing me towards anything but rather reacting to the info I gave them about my ability / size etc. When the kite arrived it was a familiar sight to me (having started with the Buster) of a simple drawstring bag. This to me is fine as I have plenty of bags etc for lumping gear around so would rather my money goes towards the kite itself rather than glossy extras. The kite was supplied without lines or handles (these are available from U-Turn but I wanted to stick with my Ozone lines and Flexi handles) at a very reasonable price from their ex-demo collection. I was very pleased to find it in truly immaculate condition and as a consequence am unlikely to ever buy a brand new kite ever! (kind of like buying cars / motorbikes, don't see the point of brand new when you can get the same thing cheaper). The material of the standard isn't the ultra posh stuff they use on the pro version of the Oxigen but is still very high quality and nice and light. The kite is put together wonderfully well with useful features like dirt outs on the tips so far less coaxing needed to get sand out of the sealed cells. The bridal is also very nicely constructed with rings on the brakelines. This was a new thing to me and I was slightly concerned it would make the kite a bit too flighty for me but seeing as it was designed that way I thought I'd put my faith in the designers. I've been flying the Oxigen on 30m lines both inland and on the coast with handles and a bar. One common theme has been that it is a wonderful kite. Launching is easy enough and the kite shoots to the zenith with no trouble at all. In lower wind you may have to coax the Oxigen skywards with a series of turns but this is a doddle and nothing to put you off. Despite it's small size the Oxigen produces decent pull even in low wind, as the wind creeps up the fun really starts! Whilst on the beach in a pretty steady 15-18 mph the Oxigen was dragging me all over the place with no problem at all. The kite zips around the sky quickly and very smoothly, braked turns are very responsize so it is very easy to work the kite in the areas of the window you desire. Even without using the brakes the turns are quick and smooth. In terms of lift I haven't really got much (if any) experience but as the wind picks up it is notable that the Oxigen isn't the same proposition as a begginer kite such as the Buster. Shove the Oxigen at the zenith on a gusty day and you can easily feel it riding the gusts and giving you a fair upward tug. With me being of the hefty persuation it has done very well at getting me airborne a few times when flung around the sky. For boarding the Oxigen seems fine as it is easily controlled and rides gusts without much fuss so a minimum of unexpected 'Pope at the airport' moments. It took me a bit of tweaking to set the kite up so it didn't overfly but nothing laborious or tricky for sure. The rings really seem to somehow make the kite both smooth and responsive. Hats off to the designers in this instance. I really cannot say enough about how much I love this kite. It seems to me (beginner / intermediate) to be all things to all men. I'm sure it lacks the raw excitment of a Blade but it is a genuine pleasure to fly, almost regardless of conditions (within reason!). It also has plenty of untapped potential so I look forward to enjoying this model for many years to come. Now I just need to save up to indulge in a larger foil. Mmmmmmmmmm 5m Pro, bet that rocks. ps - my girlfriend says it looks very nice in the sky with it's red and yellow design too. Women! By : dough_boy

the nitro is my first venture into the race kite world. having attended my first event in july at hoylake the gulf between the great yoz and race kites is remarkable. before buying i flew several of the leading contenders razors and centuries most notably, i even acquired a 1.7 soulfly which scared me silly on its first few outtings. tryin other kites i found the airea raptor to be the most user friendly race kite. faced then with the dilema that they are no longer being made i opted to take a risk and try the 2.0 nitro. the u-turn designer being the man originally behind the raptor first flight wot a surprise stablilty to rival the yoz pull beyond its size and a darn nice looking kite. the kelvar bridals look bomb proof all stiched and taped into the kite structure. the most notable feature on the bridal is the use of small "power rings" suspended from the main lines to hold the break line about 10 cm below the sail is porcher marine substantially reinforced on its edges and in the cells helpin to hold them open. the wing tips have the useful sand dump velcro vents all the stiching is neat and accurate very much like the yoz which is no surprise as they are made in the same factory the kite is presented in the usual stuff sac and sold as kite only, there is a huge size range available but i doubt if anyone would need of buy every one. they step up 25% projected area from 1.8 to a huge 15 meter monster the only critism could be the price but maybe in time that may drop ( hint hint) By : bigred

Got this kite about a month ago as a step up from our collection of bullets. The largest we had was a 4.5 and I was finding I used this more and more even in higher wind. I decided I could do with something that put out similar traction with a bit more performance and the oxi pro has done this very well in the 4m size. Power is given smoothly throughout the window and though the kite can luff a little more than the bullets (as could be expected with any intermediate kite) it's faster speed in the air tends to allow you to swoop out of it better than is possible with a bullet or begginer kite. The kite tends to reinflate well from luffing with speed and responsiveness The kite puts out more power than you'd expect for it's size - more in fact than our 4.5 bullet. In terms of lift - there is not too much - but it certainly is there. I have never tried them but people say the lift is similar to that of a blade 3. Overall I think that the kite is very fantastic - with all things seemingly taken into account - even packing away (there is a really usefull velcro strip for the bridels on the kite). I would certainly recomend to anyone wanting to progress into more high performance kites and I know that it has certainly given me a great edge on my dad and my friend matt in our little races (though i have fears this will be lost now as he got an oxi the other day after trying myne out.) By : maxlevens

This review is written from the point of view of someone who has always flown inland - being in the "Heart of England" at Rugby. My more serious kites are a 3m PKD Buster, a Rad Pro II 5m and a 4.5m Little devil. I ride a "home-built" buggy which was made for me by a friend with an engineering set-up - the design is basically like a Libre Special with a full race seat which I bought to suit. I have had fun with all three of the kites in different conditions and they all have pros and cons. My preferred kite was the 4.5 Little Devil because of its stability and good upwind performance. The 3.0m Buster, although a great little kite, just couldn't deliver the performance I wanted in the Buggy so I wanted to replace it with a comparable size wing - but which one? The market is growing all the time. Someone advised me to look at "U-turn" - the natural contender being the 3.2 Oxigen - and what a surprise when I started to read the reviews. I couldn't find a duff one - quite the opposite in fact. Everything I read praised these wings very highly. U-turn have produced two levels of build in some of their kites, the Standard and the Pro - but if you want to read about the design and build differences it's well worth taking a look at the u-turn web pages (u-turn-kites.co.uk) where they explain it all much clearer than I could in a few words. I decided to go for an ex-demo kite and called U-turn. The obvious choice for me was the "Pro" so I talked to their VERY helpful Bill Williamson who advised me that the Pro and Standard builds are identical except for the lighter, stronger materials used for the Pro. Performance wise, for what I wanted to do and in the kind of winds that I'd be flying in, the Standard would probably be everything I needed and unless I was going to go bigger than the 3.2 it wasn't likely that I would benefit by going to the Pro. So done-deal - I ordered an ex-demo 3.2 Oxigen which arrived in double quick time! Thanks to Bill for your advice and efficiency! The kite came well packed and in a stuff-sack without lines and handles (as expected) so I used some Flexifoil handles and although I had some 20m Ozone lines I decided I'd try some 25m SK75 lines I have had spare for a while, just to see what they are like. (Incidentally, they may not be the top of the range lines available - but I have come to quite like these lines!) I would say that the build of the kite is very akin to that of Ozone - in other words it is excellent quality! I examined it very closely and couldn't find anything about the construction and finishing with which I was not perfectly happy. I took it out in relatively gentle winds at first (because that's all there was!) and, although it seemed ever so slightly reluctant to get airborne, with a couple of gentle arcs - it was up and away - and so pleasant to fly. I haven't gone in for flying bigger kites - the largest being a Blade 6.9m (for the lift) and a lovely Rebble 5m and my 5m Rad ProII- but (and I know this is just personal opinion) this little 3.2 seemed "bigger than its size". What I mean by this is that it was producing more traction power than I expected for a kite of its size. I weigh 85 kilos and although I have had some OBE's (for the uninitiated - Out of Buggy Experiences) with other kites I have never been threatened by any undue tendancy to lift me out of the Bug. I've now had this kite a couple of months - long enough to have flown it in all sorts of wind conditions inland and I can only say that, as I heve gone past folks in my buggy, I have been heard muttering "This is an awesome little kite!" I took the bug and bag down to France this summer and spent some fantastic hours in the stronger and more steady winds on the beaches - and the Oxigen has become my preferred kite. It is fast, stable and I can't recall it luffing or compromising me once! Although, as hard as I tried to miss it, I did hit a rock-pool at a vast rate of knots and found myself slowing down using my nose and toes as brakes after getting complacent and losing concentration for a few seconds. My fault - not the kite's! (Body armour was very helpful - wear it even if you think the conditions are "safe"!) I am not into tricks in the Bug so I can't a really comment on how it would perform in that area - but as a reliable engine for the buggy I just couldn't fault it. It was very fast downwind and it didn't take much work for it to produce really s-w-e-e-t upwind performance too. It is classed as an Intermediate kite and I suppose that is what it is - but I am sure that someone with very little experience could fly it without any major headaches. All in all, I think as my kite bag gets bigger I will definitely be revisiting U-Turn! Maybe a Nitro if I really want the adrenalin rush? By : Sozone

The Oxigen Pro comes in a sack without lines, I added 25 metre ozone lines and handles.( The Pro version being lighter than the standard version but £80 more expensive) Being on the light side 60kg I took it out for its first flight in 7 Mph winds, Very nice kite out of the bag good attention to detail,the finish was excellent. Being the Pro version it is all the same colour top and bottom unlike the standard one which has white bottom. Attaching the lines the thing to notice is the rings on the brake lines, apparently it makes it more stable when flying. Launched with a little trepidation as this is the biggest kite to date I have got, it went up beautifully nice clean pull straight to the zenith and just sat there. This is a very nice kite to fly, I have used it for free flying and on a board. The kite makes it very easy to get good jumps either on the board or not, it was bought to get me airborn on my board and it fits the bill really well. Once the wind is over 10 mph it starts to produce large amounts of pull and good lift, I have flown this in winds upto 15 mph which for me is overpowered and it is excellent making jumping on my board really easy, It's also a very nice kite to cruise on your board with. One word of warning though, if the wind is full on this kite does not want to come down, using the brake lines proved inaffective, Uturn recommend you adding another knot in the brake line 5cm further up and this does the trick. It is a trade off really if the wind isn't blowing full on you need to change the knot again, but that is only a minor moan really - I love this kite. On the value for money side of things, I would rate it as ok to good, sure you get to choose what lines and handles you want but to only come in a stuff sack is disappointing. I would rate it 7 1/2 out of 10, the brake issue when full on and the value for money being the two things to reduce the score. You wont be disappointed with the Oxigen but do try and compare the standard version with the pro to see if the extra cost is worth it It will give good lift and is a very nice kite to fly but heavier riders would need more wind to get the same results By : redwine

Have just had my first fly on a U-turn Oxygen (standard spec). First impressions are of a well built and thought out kite. The kite itself comes in a stuff sack but with no lines or handles ( I understand these will be available as an option in the near future). Taking the kite out of the bag you find a kite that appears to be well made on a par with the likes of Ozone for quality. The Oxygen is cross braced for extra strength and support. Other features include power rings that help to keep the kite powered up during flight along with some rings on the brake bridle close to the tips that help speed the kites turning ability. In addition to this the Oxygen also has debris vents on the trailing edge tips to help evict any sand or other debis from inside the kite. Getting the Oxygen into the air in little more than a light breeze the kite flew exceptionaly well. The turn rate was excellent and the it felt as though it held a consistant amount of pull in the window.The stability is very satisfactory , the kite did not luff once during the flight Due to the lightness of the wind I was unable to fly to the edge of the window or try out any traction activities at this time, the fact the Oxygen flew at all was impresive under the conditions. I will add to this review once tested in higher winds so as to give a more detailed account of its characteristics. Overall the Oxygen is a fantastic kite and appears to be good investmant as is good value for money. It is clearly intended as an intermediate kite but newcomers should also find it managable. I am looking forward to flying in higher winds but will also be looking to add to this with other sizes of Oxygen. By : bigbird

I'm in the market for either of these kites, so went to the PKSA race at Hoylake July 10/11th to have a go on the UK distributors kites. I'm looking at either the 5.5m Helium or the 6.2m Oxygen but, due to the high winds, was only able to fly the 2.8m Helium and 3.2m Oxygen. The Helium is U-Turn's low aspect ration 'beginner' kite. Note beginner in quotes as I think it's a belter! It's similar to the Little Devil or Buster in shape and aspect ratio. Build quality is absolutely outstanding. As good as the best i.e. Ozone, Mac and Gin (U-Turn are a paraglider manufacturer after-all) [and used to be Airea :racekites.]. The kite comes fitted with power rings that join the power and brake bridles near the line connection points. The kite is reinforced at all the stress points and has internal webs and straps across the rib cross-vents and the across the innermost bridle points too. The bridle is all sewn similar to Ozone and newer Flexifoil kites. I said it was really well built! The Oxygen is a sort of mid-aspect kite, part way between the low aspect Buster/Little Devil style and the higher aspect Blade/Racekite style. It has all the features I listed for the Helium plus it has the windtip brake bridles similar to the Mac Bego, where the brakes actually hook the trailing edge end of the wingtip over when turning to increase turn rate. Both kites have a fabulous wave design on the rear of the kite and white undersides printed with the U-turn logo. How do they fly? Well it was blowing about 18-20mph constant with some small gusts. The Helium rocketed upwards with little effort. I skudded about 15m and the kite simply sat at the apex of the window. No movement, no overflying, no hammering on the lines. Superb. Turning speed was incredible even given the strong winds. Power was constant through the turns. When landing in reverse no problem with tendency to spin and fight in the last few feet to the ground. The Oxygen took a bit more effort to get off the ground. It is less agressive on initial takeoff and can be held back easier on the brakes. Power was higher than the 2.8m Helium but then the kite was slightly larger at 3.2m. Turning speed was good but not as fast as the Helium due to the higher aspect ratio. Power was smoother through the turns but seemed to drop slightly although this may have been due to the slower turning speed. Straight line speed was slightly slower than the Helium. The kite again sat still at the extremes of the window and again no hammering on the lines. When reverse landing it tended to want to fight and twist a little near the ground but this is a normal with higher aspect kites in my opinion and it was pretty windy. I had to fly the 2 kites several times back-to-back to try and decide which I liked best. It was usually the one I was flying at the time! They were both some of the best kites I have flown. I personally prefer the Helium. It may just be me as I fly Busters a lot and seem to like kites that turn really quickly even if they are not the fastest in a straight line. This means the kites are easier to work to get power. The Helium really surprised me as it was the more aggressive of the 2 which is surprising for the lower aspect ratio. From what I have heard about the Ozone Samurai (another low aspect kite) this also is pretty agressive. I think the Oxygen may be better in a buggy than on a board as it seemed to pull more lower down than the Helium,but again it's hard to say as I was just static flying. To sum up, both were great and for the money/quality absolutely unbeatable. By : Graham Smith