Rider: 80kg, pro
Style: Racing
Weather: 10-16 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: I own a school and retail outlet and sell kitesurfing gear

My Comments:
Won two races during nationals on that kite after my Core got taken out. Stunning speed, upwind performance and super stable. Felt very good with my race board.

OK Marv,

So where's the review? Surely that's not it???

Thats like saying, Hey Bro, wanna buy my car? It's fully sic!

DM

I have been waiting for ages for someone to give a review on this kite.

I bought the 2011 11m Ozone Edge and love it. Have not been able to ride the 15m and compare it to the Zephyr or the 17m Core LW but you can and you say "Felt very good with my race board"

You can do better than that..... please

In the Air the Edge 15m does not look or feel like such a big kite. In my hands it feels rather like a 12m like than a 17m. However, the kite is super high aspect and got a big wingspan and long swept tips.
I found positive steering characteristics- it felt quite snappy and responsive,
much quicker and more responsive compared to the 17m Zephyr.
I noticed that the Edge has only 5 struts this year instead of 7 struts like previous- the weight watchers at Ozone made the Edge loose some weight which is better for very light winds.

I recognized the better downwind performance of the 2011 Edge compared to the 2010. It just sits nicely and powers downwind. Kiteloops have improved as well as the 2011 Edge loops quicker and in a smaller radius but is still very smooth and has a continues pull through the loop making powered transitions on a race board a treat.

The kite flies smooth through the air, is very stable and builds great speed, especially when creating apparent wind in marginal conditions.
This will suit the advanced and efficient kiter that knows how to get speed up, especially going downwind on your race board and then looking the fins in once enough speed is created.
I felt it lacks the initial grunt that the Core 17m XR LW Riot has which often is important to get going using TT in light winds.

The 55cm bar works great with the 15m kite and gives the rider good feedback which is not the case with most of the 17m.

What astonished me the most is the amazing upwind ability especially for a big kite.
Also i am very happy with the stability of the kite when gusty. The kite is super smooth on the bar making it easy to adjust the amount of power required to keep the race board hammering in 10-15knts.
Once you got the speed going there is no need to fly kite up and down. Just park and hammer and adjust the bar pull sometimes.
When going fast on the race board the Edge just sits at the perfect position allowing a constant powered pull, it never flies to far forward towards the edge or sweeps back to much either.

I cant say anything regarding top end wind as i havent used the kite in more than 15knts but i assume that it will pull hard from the front lines like the other Edges do.
Relaunch is def better with the Core XR LW and also the Zephyr relaunches easier. However its not too hard to relaunch the 15m edge and most kiters flying the Edge 15m will not drop the kite much anyways.

I havent really had the urge to jump the kite so i leave that to review for others.

Go try one in light winds, especially all the 70kg and lighter kiters will get heaps out of this kite in their off season!

Happy kiting

^^^^^ That's what I'm talking about

Cheers,

DM

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AKSonline said...

OK Marv,

So where's the review? Surely that's not it???

Thats like saying, Hey Bro, wanna buy my car? It's fully sic!

DM

LOL fully sic funny bro!

15M Edge is an amazing kite and is my choice for light winds, at 75kg.
Upwind is as good as anything I've tested, even foils, and the kite turns and boosts too. Turning speed is comparable to many brands 12/13M kites, and light wind relaunch is also excellent.

No one mentions the settings. On factory settings, back lines on the middle position on the kite, the kite has a bar feeling like a Rebel let say but will turn like a Flysurfer 21m (dead slow). IMHO, the only acceptable setting is the light bar setting if you want to turn the kite a bit since it will turn at least 3 times faster.

An Edge 2010 rider told me that it should be flown on the shortest possible back line, I just made the change but I was fine with the middle knot to handle 7-18knots (87kg). In gusty conditions (7-25 within seconds and back down to 12-13), I would use the middle to have better depower.

So far very happy with the kite, the only time I could not relaunch it, it was just not flying and nothing else was. so relaunch does not need any specific creativity in winds in excess of 7 knots. The Catalyst relaunches better but the Edge 15 was not a problem. Very hard to get that kite falling out of the sky anyways.

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flipper231BA said...

No one mentions the settings. On factory settings, back lines on the middle position on the kite, the kite has a bar feeling like a Rebel let say but will turn like a Flysurfer 21m (dead slow). IMHO, the only acceptable setting is the light bar setting if you want to turn the kite a bit since it will turn at least 3 times faster.

An Edge 2010 rider told me that it should be flown on the shortest possible back line, I just made the change but I was fine with the middle knot to handle 7-18knots (87kg). In gusty conditions (7-25 within seconds and back down to 12-13), I would use the middle to have better depower.

So far very happy with the kite, the only time I could not relaunch it, it was just not flying and nothing else was. so relaunch does not need any specific creativity in winds in excess of 7 knots. The Catalyst relaunches better but the Edge 15 was not a problem. Very hard to get that kite falling out of the sky anyways.

Not sure where you are getting your info or your kite has been modified??? I'm only wanting to clarify how the kite is set up and maybe I've misunderstood what you were saying?
The 2011 Ozone Edge 15 does not have multiple connection knots.
The kite has only one position for connection, for both front and rear lines. There are 3 tabs on the kite, for different and bar pressures. I recommend flying the 15M on the light setting (tab closest to the trailing edge).
The 15M Ozone Edge turns lightning fast compared to the 21M FS, even on the highest bar pressure tab. The Edge 15M turns quick for a 15M kite, and is as fast as many brands 12/13M kites.

sorry bit of a hijack
tried my 7m edge (rider 72kg, board 128 lunacy 09/10?, 6 yrs riding) yesterday (first time in decent wind, only one another lame try previously) wind was gusty 25-35kn.
Started off as a great sess, kite is superfast and does boost great (my riding style is, in my own pea brain, fast, big boosts and jsut trying to add the loops at the top) with much longer hang times than my previous revs and fuels.
Bar feels too big for the kite but it is effective and i love the adjustment on the bar for the rear lines, though obvious care needed when adjusting in gd wind.

So first 40mins great, then, not really sure what happened may have been a touch gusty, well it was, but the kite tips started folding in and the kite quickly inverted back and forth a couple of times and i couldnt save it, looped a few times (unpowered fortunately) and fell into the water.

Comments so far were maybe i didnt pump it up enough, but i was pretty concious of that at start being new kite and such so i thought it was pretty well inflated. im thinking more along lines (no pun) of trim and any other experiences out there, ive never had a kite fully invert like that b4 so gave me a bit of a shock. As its my high wind kite im keen not to repeat the experience.

Some constructive comments greatly appreciated
And not with standing the inversion i am impressed with the kite all over

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Stormboy said...

sorry bit of a hijack
tried my 7m edge (rider 72kg, board 128 lunacy 09/10?, 6 yrs riding) yesterday (first time in decent wind, only one another lame try previously) wind was gusty 25-35kn.
Started off as a great sess, kite is superfast and does boost great (my riding style is, in my own pea brain, fast, big boosts and jsut trying to add the loops at the top) with much longer hang times than my previous revs and fuels.
Bar feels too big for the kite but it is effective and i love the adjustment on the bar for the rear lines, though obvious care needed when adjusting in gd wind.

So first 40mins great, then, not really sure what happened may have been a touch gusty, well it was, but the kite tips started folding in and the kite quickly inverted back and forth a couple of times and i couldnt save it, looped a few times (unpowered fortunately) and fell into the water.

Comments so far were maybe i didnt pump it up enough, but i was pretty concious of that at start being new kite and such so i thought it was pretty well inflated. im thinking more along lines (no pun) of trim and any other experiences out there, ive never had a kite fully invert like that b4 so gave me a bit of a shock. As its my high wind kite im keen not to repeat the experience.

Some constructive comments greatly appreciated
And not with standing the inversion i am impressed with the kite all over

I have not flown the 7M but have had the 9M out in some strong winds similar to what you rode the 7M in. I've not experienced any canopy or LE instability on the 2011 Edges, and I really think that this could only happen if the kite was underinflated, and you may have rapidly sheeted out while the kite was flying fast. I 've only mentioned the sheeting out while flying fast bit as I've seen other kites do this when they are rapidly depowered in a kite loop or similar.
You should pump the Edge (and all kites) so that you cannot bend the leading edge tube easily or at all, with one end of the LE on the ground and you pushing, trying to make it crease or fold.
Its worth repeating though that the only time I have ever seen a kite that is known to fly well and to be stable, do this sort of mid air collapse, is when they were underinflated!

thanks if lucky will get to try again tomorrow
:)

Watch out small pieces of sand in the inflate /deflate valve, make sure no sand is on the large seal when you close main valve to pump up. My 15m defated the other week in 30minutes, only reason I knew about it was because I dropped it into the water in very light winds, the kite was as limp as Charlie Sheen after days in Las Vegas, I tried to get back up and noticed. Went to shore couldn't work it out and looked at deflate valve and their was a bit of sand on seal. Re pumped up and all good, used 5 times since and no problem. The kites love to be pumped hard to 8psi as is printed on kite.

I pump my Edge to the recommended 8 psi also, but be mindful of the deflate valve when removed as the pressure release tends to blow off the valve from the securing ring and the next time you go to pump it up it's missing! Don't forget about the spare one in the repair kit if you get stuck.

A similar thing happened to me, half way through a session the kite started getting all spongy and the tips folding in.
Turned out that I had not done up the value correctly and there was a small leak. Pumped it up again, and made sure I twisted the top/lid of the value super tight.
no problems since then.

Your description of the way the kite was flying is a classic symptom of it being under inflated / or losing air.

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BarryDawson said...

I pump my Edge to the recommended 8 psi also, but be mindful of the deflate valve when removed as the pressure release tends to blow off the valve from the securing ring and the next time you go to pump it up it's missing! Don't forget about the spare one in the repair kit if you get stuck.

All the latest kites now have the retainer ring sewn to the kite via a loop of 2mm amsteel.
We have managed to get in touch with the kiter above through our local Ozone dealer in SA, sounds like underinflation, but we will keep in touch and make sure.