I'm short too and i have no problem unspinning the bar on the Edge 2 after a loop. just let it go, it slides up to the top and unspins, then grab it again - it's not out of reach. not a problem trust me.

Hi again Lex123.

Although the Sport II's and Edge II's do depower plenty enough to prevent accidents and allow you to handle massive gusts, they don't fully depower to the point of the kite falling from the sky when you let go of the bar to unspin the twists.

Many other SLE (Full?) depower kites with long centreline throw do actually flutter to the water if you let go of the bar without a stopper, and the bar will be out of reach which is a pain in the butt and all but prevents spinning the bar.

All the Instincts have around 40cm bar throw from fully sheeted in to fully against the stop. Even Steve could reach the bar . You can let the bar go and easily grab it again without the kite completely depowering. The kite will fall to the water eventually with little tension on the back lines and will sit on the edge of the window at Neutral awaiting input.

The Edge II's have the least depower in terms of static pull and in overpowered conditions you will need to keep your kite low. The Sport has more depower but also is better kept low in overpowered conditions. The Light will flutter to the water when you let the bar go.

Hope this makes it easier to understand.

Good winds,

As for Bar spin out cause your looping the kite all the time in the snow it would be great if the bar spun out by letting it go to the stopper as you can with other kites but the Frenzy and Manta's don't which is a bummer really.
As I found alot of the time forgetting where you were on rotations and spinning the wrog way and by the time you went to correct it's to late and blam it's in the snow!
Maybe when I get better at that style of flying as it's alot different than water, but all the same would be nice if it free spun your twists out.

Just got word from Ozone that all 09 depower foil kites will be coming with the padded InstinctII leash, so they are listening.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

Flux said...

Yea that about sums it up
It takes a little getting used to double kite looping backwards and forwards all the time and as soon as I'd turned one spin the wrong way you'd know and have to be pretty quick to correct the mistake and keep your kite up an tight lines, but ea probably buzzing so much I'm getting head spins as well as bar spins
Yea thought they were going to consider it as Chasta said he would tell them I think also they might be making the elastic stronger that holds the chicken loop QR down too?
Anyway all this talk about snowkiting is giving me withdrawals I need a beer.

LOL's, withdrawal, don't we all suffer from that, no wonder beer is so popular!!
They already, or very swiftly increased the strength of the bungee elastic, only the very first batch was released with thin bungee, they have all been sorted.

Talking to Matt yesterday, NZ is going to become the Southern hemisphere base for Ozone, and Australia will feature a lot in their plans and R&D, etc.

Exciting times for sure and we will see Matt Taggart over around the end of October for a tour to meet the dealer network and customers.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

Hey guys. I'm just on here to say how happy I am. I have just bought a Ozone Instinct SportII. Here is my two cents on it.

First my history
I'm 85 Kgs
I ride on the Gold Coast
I ride a tiny 124cm board

Originally I had the Original 06 Instinct in both 13m and 9m I loved them both. Unfortunatly I lost my 13m to a large wave that shreaded it I managed to borrow an old Crossbow I can't belive any one liked riding these kites?

After a long winter of not much wind I was at last able to test a few kites to replace my 13. after trying the Rev, the Waroo, nova 2, rebel, rhino plus a few more I decided to stick with ozone (not the cheapest option)

Initially I hated how light the bar pressure was, It feels at first like the kite has no grunt, Especially compared to the 06 instinct. But it's turning is a huge improvement. The bar is awesome, they have really tidied things up. easiest kite i have ever tried to relaunch and self launching is a dream. Although as yet i have not mastered self landing.

The low end of the kite is not as good as i expected but when the wind starts to blow the kite comes into its own. the depower seems never ending.

The turning speed should make a much better kite to kite loop (i have not tried yet) and this kite is an up wind machine i have never been able to make these kind of angles up wind before on any kite. I love the way you can untwist the lines on the go after a few spins.

the bag, the bar, every thing seems so well thought out this year the only improvement i can suggest is a flag out safty below the bar.

All in all a great Kite - And now available for SEQLD now kite power have moved into Redcliff

I saw a kid self land a Sport 2 about 400 billion times on the weekend... He just grabbed the front line at the right time and it flopped over LE into the wind... Was really cool :)

jumping the edge is a tricky business if you want maximum height.

start at 45-60 degrees
as you turn it back, depower it about 3-4 inches (assuming the kite is fully powered on both the centre and rear lines)
as it lifts you off the water and you are about 1/2 way up to the apex of the jump, sheet it in fully.
because of the extra hangtime, you may need to steer it around a bit before redirecting. if it's a big jump, you may need to downloop it on the way down for a soft landing.

this is the technique that works best for me. the kite develops all its power through speed, so sheeting it out a little (counter-intuitive, i know) as it turns back helps to build speed up through the jump. in high winds, it's not necessary really. you will go high enough.

as for the two fifth line connection points, i *think* they are there to allow for the fifth to stretch a bit over time. if the wind is low-mid, i put it on the longest one (furthest knot from the kite) and it gives a bit more bottom end grunt. if the wind is cranking, i put it on the knot closest to the kite and it gives more top-end. this has been my experience anyway.

with the back lines, i have them fully shortened for maximum power 90% of the time. if the wind gets up above 20 knots, i will depower the middle lines a few inches. if the wind keeps getting up, i will let off the rear lines. the wind range is phenomenal.

note that your kite may be trimmed slightly differently to mine due to small variations in the line lengths etc, so take that with a grain of salt.

Hi Edge Freaks,

The Edge II is a jumping monster when you get it dialled. It jumps similar to a bow, not like a "C".

The thing with the Edge II is it is a high aspect ratio kite that relies heavily on airspeed over the canopy for it's lift. This is why sending it in the opposite direction of travel will face the kite away from the forward speed and will not result in a decent jump as the airspeed over the canopy is almost stopped.

The trick is to keep your speed up as fast as you can, whilst maintaining control and a good edge. Riding crosswind or even a little upwind will offer the best results.

With the kite at 10.30 or 11 o'clock, sheet in, turn briskly back to 12.30 and keep the canopy pointed into the relative wind so as you maintain airspeed over the canopy. Now the real trick. You need to project yourself as far upwind of the canopy (into the wind in relation to the kite) as you can. Do this by carving upwind at speed as you leave the water ie edge and release with an upwind carve.

This should change your trajectory from crosswind to slightly upwind. As your kite will be into the wind, your carve will increase the angle of attack of the canopy by you moving upwind in relation to the kite.

Keep the kite pointed into the wind at around 12.30 on the clock face and keep it sheeted in. Wait until you start to descend before starting to move the kite forward in the direction of original travel. With the crazy hangtime, most often you will need to downloop the kite just before you hit the water to give you plenty of forward momentum and also to prevent luffing the kite.

This method is a slightly more critical version of a normal jump on a Bow kite but with better results. A wave will allow you to load up and project further upwind.

The Edges love to be powered, so for super big jumps, you should be riding in the top end of the kites capacity. Remember you need control at speed otherwise you will lose your edge and swing under the kite. It's all about control. Most people when they first try an Edge will feel overpowered if standing on the beach with the kite at 12 in strong winds (Gary ), My advice is to get into the water and get on your board, you will be surprised how much more wind you can hold very comfortably.

I've never had height and hangtime like on an Edge II. Such a sweet kite!

With regard to the settings: the 5th line second knot (closest to kite) ever so slightly depowers the kite. I'd be very surprised if the 5th line stretches at all! The back line adjusters are factory set at the white stitching lines which gives the best setting for general riding and best feeling. In light winds you can add a little bar pressure by tightening the adjusters up all the way. I use the adjusters only for bar pressure. If you need to depower the kite, use the trim strap, although having said that, I have never needed to trim the kite down such is it's incredible wind range.

I'd go for trim, then 5th (2nd knot) and then line adjusters (extend) in that order. But seriously, I'd change down if you need to take that much action to depower the kite. We ride the 11m Edge II comfortably in 30 knots without the use of the trim strap (90 kilos) so can't imagine the wind strength you could hold with all three methods of depower The canopy just remains so rock solid, in all wind strengths.

I'm sure others will echo my experiences. We'll have them up in Exmouth if your keen to give them a run.

Good winds,