I took delivery of my new 9m Hyperlink kite from Ozone yesterday and though that it would be useful for others to hear my feedback.

The first flight was on the beach outside Kitethrills on the Sunny Coast at Currumundi. The wind was onshore and about 6 -8 knots. I did a hot launch which allowed the chambers to fill with air and there were no issues. This is the first time I have flown a foil kite but I have been kiting for many years in the surf using Reo's and have been foiling for about 8 months.

the kite was more stable than anything I have flown in the past, it has plenty of power in light winds when you work it and it does not fall out of the sky in 6-8 knots.

Mike Walker and I then took it down to Caloundra with the intention of foiling in the channel. The wind was about 5 knots. Mike was able to get up on the foil, I am a bit heavier and less skilled so only managed to briefly get up on the foil ... in 5 knots!

Today the wind was stronger so I took it out for a kite in about 15 knots at an open beach using my J Shapes foil. Launching in higher wind means you need to launch from the edge of the window. It takes a bit of practice but after launching 4 times today in different sessions, it is now easier. The kite needs to fill with air so when you launch from the side of the window it flies but with the wing tips folded in until enough air gets in the cells.

On the foil it takes a bit of time to get used to the kite flying overhead with power, you have to slow everything down until you get used to it but as far as power goes, it was very smooth and predictable.

I then took a strapped surfboard out. This is the highest boosting and longest hang time that I have ever experienced. I would normally be jumping 2-3 metres in these conditions (15 knots on a surfboard .. I'm not great at jumping) with the Hyperlink I was getting 6+ metres with insane hang time.

I was also easily able to kite upwind. I would normally fly a 10m Reo on my strapped surfboard in 15 knots and be able to hold ground but going up wind is difficult. On the Hyperlink, same board, I was able to easily go upwind.

I then did a downwinder on a strapped surfboard. The wind had dropped to 13-14 knots. The other guys were on 9m Reo kites and were underpowered. I was not. Again the air time was amazing.

The Negatives:
1. The bridles need to be carefully managed as the easily get twisted.
2. If you drop the kite in low wind, it will fill with water. You will not be able to relaunch if this happens.
3. It turns a bit slower than a 10m Reo

The Positives:
1. Amazing lift when you jump
2. Long hang time
3. Shoots upwind in a way that inflatable kites can not
4. Even power distribution at all times, no jerking in the gusts
5. Relaunch on the water is easy if you let it go downwind, you can either hot launch or fly it in reverse, pivot and continue kiting.

I reckon you have about 1 minute to relaunch before the water becomes a problem, that said I spent 2-3 minutes in light airs on the first day trying to relaunch off the water and once in the air the water easily flows out the wing tips.

I would definitely recommend this kite to anyone that is foiling or wants big boost.

We get 4/5 mths of very solid wind here and 2/3 months of 13/16 knts ish, this is what I'm keen on but only powered kiting, wouldn't mind a run on the hyperlink, and interested in its upper limits

I'll report back when we have had some heavier weather but I think the 9m will be fine up to 20 knots then very powered to where I think the top end will be at 25 knots. In 13-16 knots it should be ok for a surfboard depending on your weight, I could hold ground at about 13 knots. (I'm 90 kg)

Hi GreenKiter

They sound like a truely innovative kite, I would love to demo one
My question to you is what do you think the kites surf suvivalablity is like.
I noticed on the international site, under Important Notes it state "Do not use the kite in waves"
ozonekites.com/products/water-kites/hyperlink-v1/

As long as you never crash kite in the waves. It's all good.

But seriously, there are better kites for riding waves...

Hyperlink feels the most like a inflatable out of Ozone's ram air range.

I had a fly of a 9m Hyperlink in 12-15 knot winds a few weeks ago. I was surprised with the upwind ability of the kite. I was riding a Shinnster (160cm directional, unstrapped). It was quick and responsive in the light wind and I powered upwind effortlessly but sadly it's not the kite for me. It doesn't suit my style of riding.

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IanR said..
Hi GreenKiter

They sound like a truely innovative kite, I would love to demo one
My question to you is what do you think the kites surf suvivalablity is like.
I noticed on the international site, under Important Notes it state "Do not use the kite in waves"
ozonekites.com/products/water-kites/hyperlink-v1/

Hey Ian, I would say that they would not survive white water any bigger than 1 foot and from more than perhaps a single wave. It would become full of water and washing up on shore is the only way out. You would then need to carefully manipulate the water to the wing tips to release from inside the kite.

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polykarb said..
As long as you never crash kite in the waves. It's all good.

But seriously, there are better kites for riding waves...

Hyperlink feels the most like a inflatable out of Ozone's ram air range.

I totally agree this is not a wave kite but in the small stuff we get on the sunny coast it is fine. I am keeping my Reo's for when there is swell and higher wind on a surfboard.

I'm not as impressed by the hyperlink as poly carb. Sure it's nice and stable but it's a bit boring compared to my v1 Chrono. It's an even lower aspect more detuned Chrono v2.

I say no. It's not lei comparable foil. It's simply a lower aspect Chrono. It fly's like a medium aspect foil fly's.

Cauncy. Look at the Chrono, not the hyperlink.

The only time a kitesurfer who doesn't snow or landkite would want the hyperlink over a Chrono in my mind would be if they actually wanted a more boring safer kite.

Experienced dudes surely would want more performance.

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Plummet said..
I'm not as impressed by the hyperlink as poly carb. Sure it's nice and stable but it's a bit boring compared to my v1 Chrono. It's an even lower aspect more detuned Chrono v2.

I say no. It's not lei comparable foil. It's simply a lower aspect Chrono. It fly's like a medium aspect foil fly's.

Cauncy. Look at the Chrono, not the hyperlink.

The only time a kitesurfer who doesn't snow or landkite would want the hyperlink over a Chrono in my mind would be if they actually wanted a more boring safer kite.

Experienced dudes surely would want more performance.

You should check other thread on here for what I liked and found with the 9m Hyperlink.

Ive flown the 9m Hyperlink, on both snow and water.

I was more impressed that Ozone have made a kite to do both, but it's not better than a Frenzy / Blizzard for snow/land. (For a few reasons)
Or a Chrono / R1 for the water. IMHO

This has been my consistent Conclusion since having a good go on the 9m Hyperlink,
And being able to compare to my ChronoV2 Ultralights, Frenzy's and Blizzard.

EXPERIENCE DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL HIGH ASPECT BEING BEST , especially if using in ****ty winds etc. So there is times when Hyperlink is actually better, but generally I prefer the Chrono for water use.

I also tried to keep my comments positive, focusing on things I liked.

I changed myself from R1v2's to ChronoV2UL's
This should be seen as a true testiment as to how good I think the Chrono's are.

Also using high aspect kites in the snow can be very dangerous. So must be careful if you do.

I guess it all comes down to using the right kite for the right situation

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Plummet said..
I'm not as impressed by the hyperlink as poly carb. Sure it's nice and stable but it's a bit boring compared to my v1 Chrono. It's an even lower aspect more detuned Chrono v2.

I say no. It's not lei comparable foil. It's simply a lower aspect Chrono. It fly's like a medium aspect foil fly's.

Cauncy. Look at the Chrono, not the hyperlink.

The only time a kitesurfer who doesn't snow or landkite would want the hyperlink over a Chrono in my mind would be if they actually wanted a more boring safer kite.

Experienced dudes surely would want more performance.

Plummet you are an experienced kiter, and of course your opinion matters, BUT you are wrong on a couple of points.
The Hyperlink is not a Chrono derivative at all, it is a completely different kite, something that Rob Whittall has been working on for a few years.
The Hyperlink was designed as a crossover kite from snow to water and vice versa, but the main market is snow to water, in countries that have way better snow than we do, although NZ craps on Australia for snow its got nothing on the Northern Hemisphere has it?

The other point is that it is not a dead safe slow kite and it definitely is a higher performance kite, just not as high performance as the R1 or Chrono.

And Cauncy should not look at foils at all, not where he lives with all that weed and beach debris, Edge V9 is what he should lust after.

So I got out the other day in 20-25 knots on my strapped surfboard in small surf.

I was again gain impressed with the airtime but also found that the delivery of power was really smooth.

Again, this is not a duel kite and in higher winds I found that you really have to be aggressive in the turns as it wants to fly high in the window when turning.

i did not have to deposed at any stage. (I'm 90 kg).

i really like the kite and am keen to do some flat water foiling with it and I'm even thinking about getting a twin tip again.

I hope this helps those interested in the Hyperlink.

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GreenKiter said..
Again, this is not a duel kite

Huh!?

Sorry for the typo's ... I meant to say that this is not a surf kite.

We get a lot of small waves here on the sunshine coast so I am comfortable flying this kite for downwinders when it is small but I will be keeping my Reo's for the bigger days.

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Plummet said..
I'm not as impressed by the hyperlink as poly carb. Sure it's nice and stable but it's a bit boring compared to my v1 Chrono. It's an even lower aspect more detuned Chrono v2.

I say no. It's not lei comparable foil. It's simply a lower aspect Chrono. It fly's like a medium aspect foil fly's.

Cauncy. Look at the Chrono, not the hyperlink.

The only time a kitesurfer who doesn't snow or landkite would want the hyperlink over a Chrono in my mind would be if they actually wanted a more boring safer kite.

Experienced dudes surely would want more performance.

Or you could man up and use it for gliding. Gliding onna chrono is pointless gliding on a hyperlink is far better

Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

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snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

no, and same goes for lei kites.

the distance from the kite to the distance the center lines split has a huge impact on how a kite flys and performs.

do a bit of a google on low v / high y splits

besides ozone bar and lines are the best on the market why drop all that coin on a kite and have a terrible control system
even the line thickness plays a large part in a kites performance

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snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

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Ozone Kites Aus said..

snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

Cheers thanks for the response

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snalberski said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..

snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

Cheers thanks for the response

But... If you have a lei bar you are probably missing a landing strop. Landing strop makes it a lot easier to solo land. You can add the strop if needed.

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Plummet said..

snalberski said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..

snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

Cheers thanks for the response

But... If you have a lei bar you are probably missing a landing strop. Landing strop makes it a lot easier to solo land. You can add the strop if needed.

Is there any special way or could you just attach some 2mm dynema from leader to leader?

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snalberski said..

Plummet said..

snalberski said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..

snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

Cheers thanks for the response

But... If you have a lei bar you are probably missing a landing strop. Landing strop makes it a lot easier to solo land. You can add the strop if needed.

Is there any special way or could you just attach some 2mm dynema from leader to leader?

Just attach a leader. Go for maybe 5mm. 2mm is a little thing and could dig into your hands,. When powered up it takes a bit of force to bring the kite down on the landing strop.

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snalberski said..

Plummet said..

snalberski said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..

snalberski said..
Can you use any 4 line bar with equal length lines with foil kites?

You can use Ozone foil kites on bars that have a low Y or all 4 lines equal to the bar, and that use a single front line flagging system.

Cheers thanks for the response

But... If you have a lei bar you are probably missing a landing strop. Landing strop makes it a lot easier to solo land. You can add the strop if needed.

Is there any special way or could you just attach some 2mm dynema from leader to leader?

Yes, what Plummet said use 5mm. Tie a knot in your existing leaders within an easy arms reach of the bar, then larks head the landing strop across the two leaders. You can buy the Ozone landing strap for not a lot of $$ from an Ozone dealer. When landing using the strop you just grab it in the middle and pull down on it hard enough to stall the kite and get it moving backwards and then also walk towards the kite until it is on the ground, TE first.

Well I had my first post Xmas session foilboarding with my new 9m Hyperlink today (I had 3 sessions pre Xmas then about 3 weeks of nada). Man that kite is too much fun. Never having had a foil kite before the cons are outstanding....
Boost and float... still dialling in the timing but its high and long.
Power delivery... power is delivered much more constantly and consistently than an LEI kite... a real joy
I have dropped the kite a couple of times (the last time the kite really went to a ball) and managed to get the kite up easily, but I am not counting on that to always be the case.
Question is can I kite loop it?

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snalberski said..
Well I had my first post Xmas session foilboarding with my new 9m Hyperlink today (I had 3 sessions pre Xmas then about 3 weeks of nada). Man that kite is too much fun. Never having had a foil kite before the cons are outstanding....
Boost and float... still dialling in the timing but its high and long.
Power delivery... power is delivered much more constantly and consistently than an LEI kite... a real joy
I have dropped the kite a couple of times (the last time the kite really went to a ball) and managed to get the kite up easily, but I am not counting on that to always be the case.
Question is can I kite loop it?

*the PROS are outstanding* !!

Ozone is amazed with the global response to the Hyperlink, sales have far exceeded their expectations. Here is a comprehensive review from Iksurf mag
www.iksurfmag.com/reviews/kites/ozone-hyperlink-v1-9m-2017/

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Ozone Kites Aus said..
Ozone is amazed with the global response to the Hyperlink, sales have far exceeded their expectations. Here is a comprehensive review from Iksurf mag
www.iksurfmag.com/reviews/kites/ozone-hyperlink-v1-9m-2017/