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OZONE REO 2016 Vs RRD Religion MK6 2016

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Created by wheels > 9 months ago, 7 Jan 2017
wheels
WA, 203 posts
7 Jan 2017 11:27PM
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Hi
I have been kiting for about 5 years and I have only ever used Ozone Reos, but want to try something else, I love the REO but looking for something with similar performance but more durability, RRD religion looks pretty good and wondering if any RRD religion users out their can give me any feed back, also not sure on sizing I am 88kg and looking at a 9 and 12 in the religion, have a 8 10 and 12 in REOS at the moment, level is intermediate to advanced and mainly waves but like to bit of jumping when no swell, never used a twin tip, s/board only any feed back appreciated.
Thanks

castill0jf
VIC, 563 posts
8 Jan 2017 7:31AM
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I demo a 10 meter RRD Religion one month ago. It has a lot more power than REO and turns as quick. I crashed it a few times and the bladder or the kite survive. Quick relaunch. Time can only confirm if the kite is bomb proof kite. I was kiting on the bay tiny wind waves and can't tell you if they drift better than the REOs. The kite is in my buck list.

wheels
WA, 203 posts
8 Jan 2017 10:01AM
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Thanks Castill
I was hoping the religion was more powerful as would love to get smaller kites than I have now but not lose any power, I still nervous to pick sizes as want to go from 3 kite quiver to 2

castill0jf
VIC, 563 posts
8 Jan 2017 7:16PM
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I think there is a RRD dealer in WA. Always demo 1st. Sometimes I go to the beach with 1 kite two boards and 6 meter extension. The wind range is big with the equation.

cheers

Wilderide
39 posts
9 Jan 2017 12:40PM
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I fly a 7m 2016 religion, I'm 70kgs, for holding ground in the waves, I have a few different boards.. I really low volume grom firewire board. I need 22 knots to hold ground, on that board. My 2013 north whip I can hold ground at 20 knots.
on a down winder I start to feel like I need a smaller kite around 25 knots +.

My girlfriend fly's North Neo's, so I get out on that a bit as well. a little less power than them but not by much...

LGS
WA, 43 posts
9 Jan 2017 9:39PM
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I fly Reos, a mate rides RRDs and I've flown them both.
They have a similar shape, and are actually pretty similar kites.
I think the RRD looks to be slightly stronger; but is heavier.
They turn around the same (v fast) speed and drifting is comparable. Jumping? Similar...
I prefer the Reo bar, but the RRD lines are nice and waxy.
Don't quote me on this, but I think the Reo is a bit cheaper...
Both awesome kites.

wheels
WA, 203 posts
10 Jan 2017 2:22AM
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Thanks for info.
LGS, would you say the sizing is the same for both brands or is either brand more powerful for a given size?
Thanks

ozonob
2 posts
10 Jan 2017 7:48PM
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just want to give some of my observations:
I have have been on Switchkites element V4 then switched to Ozone Reo 2016 (V3)

Pro ozone: very light does all what you need, fast turning,you really can loop and downloop with a lot of controle.
Kite stays flying even when th ebar is not in your hand, as it is so light , it always gives me th eoppertunity to re-arange my harness it is fun!
I am 80 kg, and have 12m 9-7-5

Contra Ozone: The 2016 model was horror to self land, it will always fly up by itself, whatever I tried, the kite is so light if someone lands you and just put it down on the sand...you reaaly get scared as it just starts lifting its leading edge.

Secondly quality build, not comparable to Switch at all, I have beaten my switches, they were treated with respect and being carefull, but after only a short while of using the ozones the pinholes were already there...nnever found pinholes in my switches.

The ozones I do not like the 5 m so much as my 5m switch element...do not know just do not get a good feeling from it..I like the 7 m which looks like having a much better range than the 5m!

The Lichtwind on all of the types is very good, if you work the kite a bit you get going soon on all sizes.
the 12 is very good, it has a very wide range, I use it on an Airush Sector 54 and it is so sweet, I fly around when others are on their 18/15m ofcourse the board helps a lot.

All of the kites have when they get just a bit overpowerd some trouble in keeping their wide wings stable, you feel it in the bar due that when overpowered you give in on the steering lines and loose a bit pressure on the wings, once pulled like 2cm of depower its over ( same with Switch element)
I fly all my kites on the regular 25m lines, with a 50cm bar...I tried 20m on the smaller sizes, but I did not feel that good as with my switch element kites.
For example the 5m Switch element v4 I find it a lot better than the 5m Ozone V3 ( its all personal popably)

I read an inside information from Ozone that was sent to me, after the secret testing of an ozone Reo V4 ( 2017) and there the pointed to the issue of selflanding, that the new kite was much easier to self land and was much more stable than The V3 version..

Time will tell right, if I can get rid of my V3 I certainly will buy the V4...but secondhand market is slow here in Europe.

Cheers...

Ozzie



kernal
WA, 541 posts
10 Jan 2017 8:38PM
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Select to expand quote
ozonob said..
just want to give some of my observations:
I have have been on Switchkites element V4 then switched to Ozone Reo 2016 (V3)

Pro ozone: very light does all what you need, fast turning,you really can loop and downloop with a lot of controle.
Kite stays flying even when th ebar is not in your hand, as it is so light , it always gives me th eoppertunity to re-arange my harness it is fun!
I am 80 kg, and have 12m 9-7-5

Contra Ozone: The 2016 model was horror to self land, it will always fly up by itself, whatever I tried, the kite is so light if someone lands you and just put it down on the sand...you reaaly get scared as it just starts lifting its leading edge.

Secondly quality build, not comparable to Switch at all, I have beaten my switches, they were treated with respect and being carefull, but after only a short while of using the ozones the pinholes were already there...nnever found pinholes in my switches.

The ozones I do not like the 5 m so much as my 5m switch element...do not know just do not get a good feeling from it..I like the 7 m which looks like having a much better range than the 5m!

The Lichtwind on all of the types is very good, if you work the kite a bit you get going soon on all sizes.
the 12 is very good, it has a very wide range, I use it on an Airush Sector 54 and it is so sweet, I fly around when others are on their 18/15m ofcourse the board helps a lot.

All of the kites have when they get just a bit overpowerd some trouble in keeping their wide wings stable, you feel it in the bar due that when overpowered you give in on the steering lines and loose a bit pressure on the wings, once pulled like 2cm of depower its over ( same with Switch element)
I fly all my kites on the regular 25m lines, with a 50cm bar...I tried 20m on the smaller sizes, but I did not feel that good as with my switch element kites.
For example the 5m Switch element v4 I find it a lot better than the 5m Ozone V3 ( its all personal popably)

I read an inside information from Ozone that was sent to me, after the secret testing of an ozone Reo V4 ( 2017) and there the pointed to the issue of selflanding, that the new kite was much easier to self land and was much more stable than The V3 version..

Time will tell right, if I can get rid of my V3 I certainly will buy the V4...but secondhand market is slow here in Europe.

Cheers...

Ozzie





TLDR

switch are cheap and ****

ozone are good

Ozone Kites Aus
NSW, 884 posts
Site Sponsor
11 Jan 2017 12:36PM
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Select to expand quote
ozonob said..
just want to give some of my observations:
I have have been on Switchkites element V4 then switched to Ozone Reo 2016 (V3)

Pro ozone: very light does all what you need, fast turning,you really can loop and downloop with a lot of controle.
Kite stays flying even when th ebar is not in your hand, as it is so light , it always gives me th eoppertunity to re-arange my harness it is fun!
I am 80 kg, and have 12m 9-7-5

Contra Ozone: The 2016 model was horror to self land, it will always fly up by itself, whatever I tried, the kite is so light if someone lands you and just put it down on the sand...you reaaly get scared as it just starts lifting its leading edge.

Secondly quality build, not comparable to Switch at all, I have beaten my switches, they were treated with respect and being carefull, but after only a short while of using the ozones the pinholes were already there...nnever found pinholes in my switches.

The ozones I do not like the 5 m so much as my 5m switch element...do not know just do not get a good feeling from it..I like the 7 m which looks like having a much better range than the 5m!






Hi Ozonob

I can't compare the RRD, but I just wanted to clarify a couple of things for you and readers of this thread.
There is no difference self landing any of the Reo models, right from the first in 2011/12 through to now, I self land them all exactly the same way. I pre plan to self land when I rig, by making sure that when I come in to finish a session or to have a break the leashed or flagging line is rigged to the "top" centre line on the side I want to land on, at that beach.

Then the technique is to lower the kite to approx 2M -3M off the beach and pop the push away main safety, the leaves your leash connected to the top front line and the bar gets pulled away from you. At the same time you pull on the flag out line (which is the only line still attached to you now), and the kite will just sit down on its LE. Once you practice this technique it will work 99% of the time. If you do stuff it up and the kite does not sit down on its LE into the wind, and rolls over, immediately walk upwind and pull on the flagging line, the kite will roll over once and sit down LE into the wind.

Before winding in your lines pull the safety line back into the chick loop, then just wind up as usual, and rinse the sand and salt water off, job done.

There was no issue and there was no secret internal memo, sorry. I don't know who fed you that info but it never came from within Ozone, maybe a local dealer thing perhaps?

Pinholes?? If its around the valve, its caused by not putting the valve back in the velcro/neoprene top hat before rolling up your kite, anywhere else on the canopy has to be from ground handling. The material Ozone use is Teijin Technoforce D2 cloth, and in our testing it has superior durability to anything else, it is the same brand of cloths as used on many of the top brands.

The Reo V4 has thicker, larger diameter struts and a revised canopy profile and bridle with some other tweaks to increase performance and durabilty, it is the best performing Reo so far, especially in the smaller sizes.







ozonob
2 posts
11 Jan 2017 5:53PM
Thumbs Up


thanks for your explanation to selflanding a reo...

I did not say there was a secret message around, the kite was in that stage not on the market yet, and was secretly tested by the guys from Kiteworld, before it was released on the market.

The valve is always twisted on its side inside the neoprene cap when I roll the kite ( I have flown ozones from the first type just before the element sports, sportII ,Catalyst, C4, Edge and have beenwith ozone for years, one little sidestep to Switch and back to ozone Reo's, so I assume I know how to treat a kite)

I assume that the pinholes must have come from selflanding the kite and in several occasions it flew up and because of me holding the top powerline and running upwind the kite set itself on its back...and might have rubbed over the sand which is not a coral sand ( we do not have this over here)

.but all in all normally one does not have to pull the QR, if you drop the kite pull the top powerline run up wind it should be death on the ground and that is where the V3 I have lacks, they fly up no matter what. and I do not do this is real extreme and while overpowered conditions.
and this is not to bash Ozone as I wrote I would definitvely buy the V4 ...

I assume I am not the only one, who thinks about that like this read the part below that I got in an official email...
Well they inmproved it it says, so it means it was not the easiest way to selfland, compared to other kites, not a shame just a constatation...and I think I was allowed to write this in the pro's and or cons, ( which every kite has and all are sometimes a bit personal too, what one likes is bull**** for the other...just as life hahha)

text extract from the email I got

Reg the differences V3 vs V4 - we knew that our design team did an awesome job to improve the depower and the upper end of the wind range without jeopardizing the nice turn and grunt of the V3, and we feel reassured as testimonies trickle in. Here an excerpt of one written by N. G. , a tester from Kiteworld, in a personal email to one of the directors:

[...] the V4 seems to have fantastic depower-the real improvement from the V3 for me is that the new kite is much more maneuverable when you’re sheeted out, so you can still fly and utilise the kite through the whole bar range. [...] Used the 9 in about 20-23knt and it was still fine, whereas maybe the last kite would have started to pull me around a little because you had to sheet in to turn hard even when a little overpowered.
[...] it relaunches stupidly easily from the beach or the water, and self-landing is way easier than previously.
Seriously impressed with the new shape- i don’t think it would take anyone long on these kites to appreciate just how good they are. I reckon testing one always better than listening to other people, and i honestly think anyone who tries these will love them



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