TEST TEAM NOTES

The kite steed we used to test the foils in those super light conditions was the 11 metre Ozone Chrono 2. All the serious foilers are now using foil kites but, like many of you, we’d written this category of kite off to the pros only in our minds. We ride on water 100% of the time, so why wouldn’t we just want a kite with inflatable tubes? Well, you’re about to find out, but please note, we didn’t back-to-back test this kite with any other foil kites, so there are no comparisons, only the feel we had from the Chrono 2 itself.

 

The first look at the kite can be terrifying – there are so many lines on that bridle! Take the time to study the set-up guidelines carefully before your session when you’re not rushing onto the water. Once familiar it’s actually pretty easy to set up correctly each time – especially if you put the lines away properly and neatly. You can launch and land a foil with an assistant at the side of the window as for your regular tube kite, but it can be a bit more of an effort for your assistant. You’ll see experienced foilers launching their kites themselves with the kite positioned straight down the middle of the window – this however requires you to have your kite set up perfectly and to be able to control the kite as it rises through the main power zone in the window (and we all know most accidents happen on land). But what it does demonstrate is the intricate control you have over the canopy on a foil – you can literally bring the kite up and down with input to the front and braking lines. As the kite goes up the cells need to fill with air. Before they do that the kite looks awkward and unruly in the sky as the tips are usually folded in at the sides. Use the brake lines to move the tips, they will fill and then once the kite is full it becomes incredibly stable over head.

 

 

And this is the first huge point. We had already tried to take a 15 metre tube kite out. We just about got it to launch, but keeping it in the air required enourmous amounts of careful piloting and several times it backed up and fell out of the sky. The Chrono would have you believe (if you closed your eyes) that it was super steady regular 12 metre weather and rarely needed any attention at all.

 

We’re not totally without experience of foils and we can remember the older foils from the early 2000s that had much less finesse and depower. If you got it wrong with one of those, you might have ended up in a car park. The Chrono is just a delight. At the bar it feels and turns like a big kite, but it has staggering depower, is insanely stable and quite graceful in its pull. There’s actually very little change needed in your flying technique as, compared to a tube kite in these super light conditions, the Chrono actually wants to stay flying. This really is another world in terms of light wind performance. You can almost switch off from the kite and just focus on what you’re doing with the board. Even if you fall forward off the foil, the kite can correct its flight and sit steadily waiting for you. Sheet in clumsily and it won’t back up either. Although it’s not lightning quick, it will respond to your steering fast enough around the bottom of the window if you need to correct your steering and will then almost auto-zenith. Unlike a tube kite at the side of the window in light winds, a foil doesn’t want to pull itself down to the water. As long as there are air in the cells, it naturally wants to fly. If the kite does happen to back up in the window at any point with the tips collapsing in super light wind, you can pull on the brake line and sheet out again and the vast majority of time the cells will re-fill with air and the Chrono will stabilise.

 

Sure, hyrdrofoil boards have incredible light wind performance, but had we not had this Chrono, there’s no way we could have been riding those boards in what was probably averaging sub ten-miles-per-hour of wind. In terms of turning and generating power, the Chrono is steady and smooth. When you turn the kite you’re effectively stalling the tips, allowing it to pivot, so there’s no power through the turn really, but once set it then keeps on pulling quite majestically. Unlike a tube kite in light winds, the bar pressure remains moderate – it’s not tiring. Your own input should be about getting the kite moving smoothly, and the faster you start moving, the more apparent power it has – which is true of any kite, but with a double skin it’s double bubble. For our own freeriding we probably wouldn’t need anything much bigger than this 11 metre. Yes, we have pretty good kite handling skills, but dipping the kite in and out of the power for a board start is simple, and considering the winds we were in, once up and going we had stacks of power. We thought we’d be spending much more time looking at the kite as usual in those winds, but it takes very little management at all. Instead, the Chrono gets very nicely forward so you can really crank upwind and then when you want to go downwind you can sheet in to get it to drop back. Overhead you can almost forget about the bar and the kite won’t overfly.

 

Obviously the big elephant in the room for intermediate riders is the relaunch. If the kite does touch down, you can still relaunch it, but you need to be fairly swift. However, the other fact, and this is true for any kite, is that you need enough wind to be able to get the kite off the water.

 

 

SUMMARY

If you rarely drop your kite, are confident in the water and find yourself plagued by light winds, this really could change your life. Plus, as the wind gets stronger and if you enjoy getting out on your twin-tip too, there’s lots of boosting in this kite as it’s so very steady overhead with lots of lift. We tested the regular out of the box set up for the Chrono – no very thin or long race lines – just a super nice and easy freeride set-up with very easy to understand performance. In combination with a foil board, this has changed the way we look at the weather forecast.

 

KW LIKED

Uncomplicated performance in very light winds that feels more like the handling of your favourite 12 metre freeride kite in steady 15 knot winds.

 

KW WOULD CHANGE

 
The extra fiddling with the bridle compared to a tube kite, adjustment in launch technique and lack of inflatable tubes aren’t suitable worries for intermediates. You need to be confident with your kite handling, safety knowledge and have experience in a wide variety of conditions and situations. However, for the reasons described in the notes, if you fit the category, there really are very few downsides.

 

SIZES

18, 15, 13, 11, 9 and 7m

 

More information at www.ozonekites.com

 

Here’s the official Chrono V2 designer talk from Ozone

Ozone Chrono V2 – Designer Talk from Ozone Kites on Vimeo.