Shortening the backlines made my cat a greatly improved kite much more powered resonsive and connected, it took me a few sessions to dial it in compared to my bigger edges, I'm 89 kg and the 8 was my big wind kite, as for boost no complaints just took a bit more flying overhead to get great hangtime, when timed and redirected you get a great double lift , imo a kite change takes a bit to really dial in

Rob S said..

cauncy said..
Shortening the backlines made my cat a greatly improved kite much more powered resonsive and connected,

How did it effect performance at the bottom end of the wind range?
I have a 10 Cat. Not keen compared to my Edges.

hey rob dont know about the bottom end, as it was my big winder, in the lower wind itd want to backstall i think, too much backline tension usually does this, but honestly couldnt tell you, im on the edge 7 now though as my 30knt beyond kite, takes a bit to adjust especially in the jumping transitions compared to the 9 10 and 11, no arcing pull very overhead needing more body movement to position yourself, but ive done my biggest boosts on my 7 on a wind for size comparison, but you land pretty hot though,i think once youve ridden the edges it hard to go elsewhere, hope to see you in dongara soon on your yearly travels, november usually from what i recall, hows exmouth going ? top bloody spot hey, travel safe

Trond er norsk,
Rik som bare det
men kanskje bitte litte grann dum

It doesn't like a full blown C technique for jumping. You still need to keep some speed in the wing and let the kite breathe a little more. Depower slightly, then send kite (from about 10), stamp that back foot and swivel hips upwind, as you leave the water pull in on that bar. And as cauncy says be active with it, when in the sky.

Hope this helps.

Had another thought. Remember this kite is an all rounder. It is designed to be decent at most disciplines. Its not a jumper so to speak. As you know there are more specific kites for that.

Eppo is on the money a bit required technique. If you get it tuned you should still be able to go large! Maybe not as big as some other Kited though.

buy a 6mtr reo, approx 16 m/s little boosting machine when dialed in, wasnt trying that hard either

Kitepower Australia said..

Hi TrondE

I can't explain why some people and its to me to be only the same few, think that the Ozone Catalyst does not jump well or unhook well. I found it jumps extremely well, the technique is simple. Ride fast, make sure the kite is trimmed so that you arms are not too extended and you are able to control the speed and power with a good body position. Rear leg bent, front as straight as possible and just prior to jumping edge upwind a bit harder, and at the same time pull in on the bar and turn the kite back as hard as you can, you will literally get ripped off the water and you will go huge just like Patrick does in this video. I think the unhooked parts of the video speak for themselves. 2013 Catalysts especially the 10 and 8 were my favourite kites last year, and favourite ever actually! The 2014's are very similar, just a bit more refined and even smoother.

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Yes I was also surprised since I had only heard good things about the catalyst. Not here to bash ozone since i love the brand.

As mentioned I was well powered but did not need to ajust the depower since the rear line was on the middle setting under the floater by the bar.

No arms streched or anythng. I know how to jump - but maybe i dont since I could not manage to get it dailed.

If anothing i could have had more power but it was blowing 11ms so should be good.

I could se that the rear lines were pretty darn long(almost reminded me of the cult).

I think it mustbe the rear line settings that are screwing ut up for me.

Do you move the thrid knob even closer to the bar? I have read that some have done this with success. But there are som fabric here in the way of doing that. can i remove this if i need even more Power than the third knob? about 1 cm.

Br
Trond

TrondE said..

Kitepower Australia said..

Hi TrondE

I can't explain why some people and its to me to be only the same few, think that the Ozone Catalyst does not jump well or unhook well. I found it jumps extremely well, the technique is simple. Ride fast, make sure the kite is trimmed so that you arms are not too extended and you are able to control the speed and power with a good body position. Rear leg bent, front as straight as possible and just prior to jumping edge upwind a bit harder, and at the same time pull in on the bar and turn the kite back as hard as you can, you will literally get ripped off the water and you will go huge just like Patrick does in this video. I think the unhooked parts of the video speak for themselves. 2013 Catalysts especially the 10 and 8 were my favourite kites last year, and favourite ever actually! The 2014's are very similar, just a bit more refined and even smoother.

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Yes I was also surprised since I had only heard good things about the catalyst. Not here to bash ozone since i love the brand.

As mentioned I was well powered but did not need to ajust the depower since the rear line was on the middle setting under the floater by the bar.

No arms streched or anythng. I know how to jump - but maybe i dont since I could not manage to get it dailed.

If anothing i could have had more power but it was blowing 11ms so should be good.

I could se that the rear lines were pretty darn long(almost reminded me of the cult).

I think it mustbe the rear line settings that are screwing ut up for me.

Do you move the thrid knob even closer to the bar? I have read that some have done this with success. But there are som fabric here in the way of doing that. can i remove this if i need even more Power than the third knob? about 1 cm.

Br
Trond

its not just the cat trond, usually all ozones come with the float lines set at the furthest or middle knot setting from the factory, not sure but the reason to me would be if they supplied the bar at the closest setting and you had line stretch youd have no adjustment, ive been playing with a multi knot pigtail on the bridles to give you a higher range and also close the kite face in stronger conditions, going too short in the backlines will give you backstall on any kite, even though your only shortening the rears 25mm youll be suprised at the difference, it makes a huge difference, if you still need a bit more rear line tension you could put longer pigtails on the bridle or knot the steering pigtails at the kite making them shorter, generally playing around with the odd 10 to 20 mm in good winds doesnt cause a problem, its in the lower winds youll have issues, if you do start adding knots remove pigtails and align them so they are identical

^that sounds about right dojo.. Also tend to get that second lift with this technique which is a cool feeling. Great for jump transitions :)

TrondE said..

Kitepower Australia said..

Hi TrondE

I can't explain why some people and its to me to be only the same few, think that the Ozone Catalyst does not jump well or unhook well. I found it jumps extremely well, the technique is simple. Ride fast, make sure the kite is trimmed so that you arms are not too extended and you are able to control the speed and power with a good body position. Rear leg bent, front as straight as possible and just prior to jumping edge upwind a bit harder, and at the same time pull in on the bar and turn the kite back as hard as you can, you will literally get ripped off the water and you will go huge just like Patrick does in this video. I think the unhooked parts of the video speak for themselves. 2013 Catalysts especially the 10 and 8 were my favourite kites last year, and favourite ever actually! The 2014's are very similar, just a bit more refined and even smoother.

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Yes I was also surprised since I had only heard good things about the catalyst. Not here to bash ozone since i love the brand.

As mentioned I was well powered but did not need to ajust the depower since the rear line was on the middle setting under the floater by the bar.

No arms streched or anythng. I know how to jump - but maybe i dont since I could not manage to get it dailed.

If anothing i could have had more power but it was blowing 11ms so should be good.

I could se that the rear lines were pretty darn long(almost reminded me of the cult).

I think it mustbe the rear line settings that are screwing ut up for me.

Do you move the thrid knob even closer to the bar? I have read that some have done this with success. But there are som fabric here in the way of doing that. can i remove this if i need even more Power than the third knob? about 1 cm.

Br
Trond

No worries, I don't think you are brand bashing, even the ones that say it doesn't jump I don't think that, I just think they lack technique. Like others here are saying and the video clearly shows, the kites do jump well and high. They also unhook extremely well.
Djdojo's and cauncy's advices are spot on, my method is aggressive and you will need to steer the kite back as hard as you send it, but it does make for an exciting jump and easier to downloop transition. The key to getting good jumps is keeping board speed up. Some kites you can ride quite powered and slower, and jump more by pulling in the bar and sending it from higher in the window (Edge and Cab SB for example), but not with the C4 or Cat.
More the rear line under the float to the knot closes to the bar, no need to go any closer, you will end up stalling the kite (even though its not showing signs of backstalling, backstalling is extreme stalling), moderate stalling will show up as slower board speed, and a properly trimmed kite will want to go fast and this is how you want it for boosting.
So, no don't remove that black webbing, at your weight you should not be getting much line stretch, but if you do tie a fig 8 knot in the rear line leader or pigtail instead.
Practice makes perfect, technique is critical with these kites, they don't jump well with the "pull the bar in when well powered method".