Rider: 78kg Advanced
Style: Boosting, Freeride, Hydrofoil
Weather: Gusty 10-25 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: Kitepower/Ozone team. Have ridden 2013 Edges religiously and know them like the back of my hand.

I have now had two sessions on the 10m 2014 Ozone Edge and it is an incredible kite. It is a different beast to the 2013 Edge in a number of ways. I thought it would be hard to beat the performance of the 2013 edge but the 2014 really set a new standard for this style of kite.

First of all it is more stable in the sky. Both the sessions in which I used the kite were extremely gusty (NNW and SSW in Sydney) and the ability of the kite to deliver constant power really stood out to me. It is a very smooth kite to fly. When throwing the kite around in the sky it is very predictable and behaves very well even in gusty conditions. I felt more feedback from the bar in the 2014 kite.

Secondly, the boost of this kite is phenomenal. I am usually a racer, but I ended up jumping on a twin tip and throwing old school moves all day. The kite provides so much lift, and on the elevator ride up and at the top of the boost there is so much time to take in the scenery and bust out the board offs. On landings the predictability and smoothness of power delivery lead to less crashes! This translated to more lift through the tacks on the hydrofoil and surfboard making these maneuvers easier. It also feels very tight without canopy flap or tip movement.

As always with the edge, it is a powerful kite with a big wind range. On the foil in around 10 knots there was plenty of power to smash upwind and downwind. Upwind ability is again improved especially in the way that the power is delivered more smoothly, allowing for more tension in the lines translating to better upwind performance This gave me more confidence to really hike the foil out upwind. Downwind my performance was completely limited by my competence on the foil! On my 130cm twin tip in around 16 knots I was able to head upwind easily. Big arc turns, power strokes and loops generate plenty of power.

So what else is different ? Well the overall shape of the kite is different! The strut profiles are different. The one pump system has been redesigned and is sleeker, hugging against the struts.. This particular kite is black and bright orange, which really stands out from the pack and looks great. I did test the deep-water relaunch and got the kite back up pretty quickly. The new type of Dacron also feels very crisp and strong.

Overall ? An awesome kite for freeride, boosting and racing. Left me with a massive smile after both sessions!

Good to read a review of the 10m Edge. New dacron sounds good. Why do you rate the 2014 Edge 10/10? Based on two sessions and being team rider? How do you rate the 2013 Edge now? 8/10? Thanks!

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geloof68 said...
Good to read a review of the 10m Edge. New dacron sounds good. Why do you rate the 2014 Edge 10/10? Based on two sessions and being team rider? How do you rate the 2013 Edge now? 8/10? Thanks!

Two sessions covered a lot of wind range and different riding styles so I felt as though I could comment on a variety of things. I cannot yet comment on wear and tear. I have since had a 3rd session riding a formula board as well and I wouldn't change my opinion.

The 2013 Edge is still a great kite and no one really disagrees with that I have spoken to, but it has been improved as is the nature of development.

Also have now had a session on the 2014 17m Edge, switching between raceboard, twintip and surfboard and I really like it!

The differences between the 2014 and 2013 Edge are similar to that of the 10m above. I found in really light wind the kite to be more stable and a smoother power delivery than previous years, in essence less input needed to fly in in the marginal winds. This also lead to easier tacking, both on the surfboard and raceboard. Plenty of power available on tap.

Another kiter who had never flown a 17m kite was not able to keep his 12m in the sky and was able to get out and back on the 17m Edge - All day the 17m never had to be relaunched

I have the 2013 11m and 19m edges and they are my favorite kites of all time. i use them mainly on race and free race boards also occasional twin t, they are just amazing.

ive recently bought the 2014 15m edge to slot in between. ive used it 3 times now on the race boards and twin tip, powered up 20mph winds and down to 12 -17mph wind with holes in.

first thing i noticed was how slow it turns, ive set it on the lightest bar pressure setting like all my kites. in fact my 2013 19m Dark angle or the shadow maker as its know, turns faster!!

Secondly, something of which i have never ever even got close to experiencing with the 2013s, and that is it will try to shoot over your head and take a nose dive, in light ish conditions if stationary. This happened to my mate, while he was in the water learning his foil. After recovering from a wipe out, when he was getting it back on his feet the bloody thing slid back over his head and nose dived in the drink!! Now we know they like to do that, we will be on the ball with it. nearly happened to me the weekend wind dropped off a bit, i was stationary in the water adjusting a strap, all of a sudden the bar went light. i managed to start the kite moving and stopped it from doing a dirty on me.... but sadly now i am un easy knowing that if i stop, for what ever reason in marginal conditions, i could have a relaunch on my hands.

This is one thing i love about the 2013s you can trust it with your life, it can take you to the moon, propel you at great speeds and do what ever you command of her. This 15 on the other hand, is a bit different, it does have great pull , great up wind ability smooth and does not luff etc like said before but for me the 2013 is still my favorite. smaller sizes may be different so i cannot comment on those.

Just my initial observations, would be interesting to hear any other findings.

Cheers

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waroo said...
I have the 2013 11m and 19m edges and they are my favorite kites of all time. i use them mainly on race and free race boards also occasional twin t, they are just amazing.

ive recently bought the 2014 15m edge to slot in between. ive used it 3 times now on the race boards and twin tip, powered up 20mph winds and down to 12 -17mph wind with holes in.

first thing i noticed was how slow it turns, ive set it on the lightest bar pressure setting like all my kites. in fact my 2013 19m Dark angle or the shadow maker as its know, turns faster!!

Secondly, something of which i have never ever even got close to experiencing with the 2013s, and that is it will try to shoot over your head and take a nose dive, in light ish conditions if stationary. This happened to my mate, while he was in the water learning his foil. After recovering from a wipe out, when he was getting it back on his feet the bloody thing slid back over his head and nose dived in the drink!! Now we know they like to do that, we will be on the ball with it. nearly happened to me the weekend wind dropped off a bit, i was stationary in the water adjusting a strap, all of a sudden the bar went light. i managed to start the kite moving and stopped it from doing a dirty on me.... but sadly now i am un easy knowing that if i stop, for what ever reason in marginal conditions, i could have a relaunch on my hands.



Just my initial observations, would be interesting to hear any other findings.

Cheers

Just a thought Man. Slow tunring, over shooting the zenith and lack of lift is a sign of not enough back line tension. Is there a chance the back lines are too long? or front lines too short?

Only had problems with this on the edges in marginal conditions, and with kite set at the shortest back line settings, shortening the back lines opens the face of the kite which will give you better performance in good winds, but in marginal winds I've found a longer back line setting is best, generally the ozones are set at the middle under the floats at the bar, have a play with these knot settings to find what suits, I constantly change my setting at kite and bar dependant on conditions,

Thanks Plummet, I know it's not my lines as my 2013s fly perfectly on them. I have two bars, a race bar on 32m and jumping lines at 27m. Also like you know if there is any stretch on lines it will be the front power lines not the rear as much, which will power it up any way.
What I might try is a knot in the rear bridal to take up any slack done this on my old 2010 Waroo s. Doing this will be tuning the kite instead of messing about with your bar. You should be able to just put your bar on any kite without messing with it.

Just shows how they like to fly right to the edge of the window, they are called an "Edge" after all lol I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

Cheers