Postby GreggerKBR » Mon Oct 09, 2017 3:07 pm
Our new 8, 10, 12 Enduro V2s arrived Thursday and I got 6+ hours on them on Saturday.
I deliberately took the 12 out in 8m conditions, and the 8m out in 12m conditions. And then went nuts on the 10m with TT boosting for days and then 8m + Surfboard.
Ear to ear grins - the whole day. Put simply, the most capable and balanced kite I've had the joy to fly. Plenty of elegantly balanced power, it'll compliment your abilities without rubbing your nose in it - it's the business! So a new 6m is now on order!
Wind range is excellent, on both sides. It's very capable of dragging you upwind in light conditions. And on the other end it deals with being loaded very well, nicely balanced, smooth, well mannered which makes you comfortable and happy to get engaged with it.
Background context - our quiver currently includes Enduro V1 Edge V8s, 4x F-one Bandits, & C4 V6. We'll keep our 15m Edge as a light wind and landboarding option, but will now sell the rest as the versatility of the Enduro make the rest redundant. The Edges are great, send & go boost, super fast, smooth & float is so accessible. The C4 when flown confidently is an animal, the Bandits are not that dissimilar in how you access the boost, the problem is finding confidence to give it them sufficiently stern steering.
The BIG Q? Could I tell or at least reflect on the differences between V1 & V2?
A tentative yes, it's a bit faster, boost a bit better, bit more eagerly, and the float is closer to Edge in manners.
I thought when in FR mode it had a bit more drive, seemed to stick it's nose upwind and pinned it's ears back a bit. Nice feature to have!
In the waves and riding down the line I couldn't really say it was any better, it seems easier to pick it back up when it had been left at the extremes of the window, but this could be conditions more than the kite, hard to say as I'm not that good in waves and not had sufficient time comparing V1 s V2. I regret I do NOT have the skills and credentials of many of our expert kiters, especially in waves. But I'm competent enough at freeride, wave & landboarding, I'm still beginner at freestyle and total novice at foiling. So we want/need kites that I can share with my wife and cross all disciplines, and I'm sure we'll end up snowkiting at some point too. We need a quiver that covers our different styles (Mrs Sickly Smooth and Mr Wang-It) and mass/weight, 50kg vs 85kg.
To me, kiting is fun when you are progressing, getting more dialled in, adding a tweak, or rotation, adding a loop etc. When you are challenging your fears and breaking into new levels. It's not fun when you're battling conditions, under/over powered or fearful/unsure of the kite. I noticed loads of others moaning about conditions and leaving the beach, but I was having the time of my life. They went in because the wind dropped but I was still sending it on the 10m? Very odd.
Progression
My wife is a smooth kiter, doesn't have a massive array of tricks but she makes what she does look inspiringly easy. I was a witness to her sending the kite way harder than normal, getting huge toes to heelside carves; afterward she said as she felt it was so well mannered she was more aggressive with it. Was that the V2 or just a "I've got a new kite thinking"... maybe? Her jumps looked smoother (and much higher) and she was definitely getting more hang time, especially in her rotations. We both commented about how comfortable you feel under the kite, it doesn't float straight downwind as far as the Edge does as it goes up more vertically to start with, but the float and descent is smile-inducingly smoother - a real "confidence booster" (pun intended).
Personally I haven't done a darkslide in the UK for ages (more to do with finding space and flat spots), but within an hour on the V2 I was dialled in and popping out of sweet DS with smooth easy loops. I'd added a new grab to my FR, was looping my BL trannies much earlier than usual. I've always struggled boosting on goofy side, more with the landing than getting in the air. But for some reason I was landing like a butterfly with sore feet on both sides, super smooth touchdowns. I'm confused on why this is, but I like it, and my knees like it a lot! So I started adding late heli-loops and downloops and I was blown away.
I recall one particular jump I lost my edge, and the jump was flattened out and I landed super fast, I knew I was in trouble, just trying to keep myself upright, I was fully expecting to outrun the kite and have that dreaded line slack then inverted kite scenario. When I got my eyes back on the kite it had drifted down with me and was just saying, "yeah, I saw that you fool, no worries, can we go now?" Whew. Downloop at edge of window, carve it out, ride away. Happy days!
I'm usually a strictly hooked-in rider and have been trying to muster up the minerals to progress into unhooking - and I did, on my brand new kite, and I didn't drop the kite once. So progress wise I got more out of this one day than I have in the last 3 years.
What I'm saying is Ozone have nailed it, the V2 is incredible, I'm a huge fan. Can't fault it. Wish they hadn't put the prices up and although Ozone do give you bits I wish it had a waterproof bag.
I wouldn't say it's heaps better than the V1 or anything, as they're so similar (obv.), maybe that's why the V2 feels so good, the start point, the blueprint/platform is so Ozone, so V1 that we felt so dialled in right away. Hard to tell someone who loves the V1 that they need to upgrade, I couldn't say. But they should definitely go test a V2 for themselves. OZ have made a better kite, but that doesn't make the V1 a bad kite - the fact that changes are so subtle basically says the mark 1 version was a solid machine! Kiting skill & style is a lot more about developing your touch with the kites you fly than having the newest but of tech, but if you want something new, or something to really help you nail your tricks even better... get your hands on a V2 for an hour or two.
Personally I'm all smiles, I think the V2 is an absolute belter, I'd take this quiver anywhere to do anything.
As I said, I've owned North Evo's, become very attached to F-one Bandits and flown C4s, Edges, Dice's, Flexi etc. and there's nought wrong with them.
But if you like how Ozone's fly, this is the kite for you. My trumpet is now blown.
And I haven't even raved about the double-stitching, build quality, the new bag, new pump... etc.
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