Serious pinholes issues on the 2014 Ozone REOs

[ShaveTheWhales]

Its a Surf kite... It should be built tough.
The new material is proving to be bullshit and reminessant of "The Kings New Clothes" !!!

[KiteRunner]

Its a Surf kite... It should be built tough.
The new material is proving to be bullshit and reminessant of "The Kings New Clothes" !!!

I could not agree more.

[captainharrdock]

agree

[windrupted]

I don't have Ozone kites, but I once laid my 2008 Ozone Instinct out on some rocks after I dropped it in the surf, to better dry it out. The wind had died you see. I failed to notice when the wind came back up and in just 15 minutes there were lots of pin holes in the canopy. I felt like an "idiot" naturally, but it never occurred to me to blame them for it. I have seen guys who put a brand new kite (different brand) in a tree or pop it in the surf, and blew the the leading edge, took pics and claimed it was a defect, and made them fix it. And then sold them on as new, of course. I pity these smaller companies, all it takes is a few guys like that and someone bashing them online to put them out of business.

Lighter kites fly so much better, I welcome the future when all kites are made as light, and as well, as Ozone are.

Same goes for surfboards. Pick up Slater's board, it's undoubtedly made of the lightest core possible and glassed with the least possible material, but it's made of 4 oz. "S" (the fiberglass equivalent of D2): just one thin layer on either side. It is the best ride money can buy, but if you even look at it crossways it will ding, and it could snap in half on the 1st wave. Try taking that back to the factory and blaming them, you would be laughed out of there, no one would even consider it a warranty issue. Yet no doubt there will always be those who will try.

[Eurus]

Ozone does not own up to the fact that their 2013 line of kites were made with inferior quality materials. I know 5 different Ozone riders in my area who have all had significant issues with the canopy material and the leading edge of their Ozone Edge kites. All kites in question are the 2013 Ozone Edge. These guys all contacted Ozone and Ozone gave them all the same response. "Normal wear and tear." Except all of these Ozone riders had only flown their kites around 20 sessions each.

So if anyone here thinks that after only 20 sessions you should be seeing signs of fatigue and wear in a kite then you haven't been kiting very long. This is BS and shouldn't be happening. Case in point is the fact that the 2014 line up from Ozone is reinforced material and a reinforced leading edge. They knew their 2013 line was weak. Period.

Ozone had a bad year for kites and didn't want to own up to it. Not a plus in my book for a company who doesn't stand behind the quality of their product.

[fdvj]

I am just interested to see the pictures as it is possible that there is a fault in the material or a cause due to the construction of the kite. The OP refuses to post them. Why? I believe Ozone uses Tejin, so if there was a fabric issue it would be showing up in all the brands that use Tejin. Just post some picture up so we can all be informed and understand the problem, otherwise nothing can be learnt from their thread as there is no evidence.
I have just discovered that the reason I was getting so many small holes in all my t shirts in a similar place was because one of my belts had a sharp edge on it, previously I had been blaming the washing machine.
Pics Please

[captainharrdock]

it'd be better to see the pictures.

[ShaveTheWhales]

Windrupted - obviously youve got money to burn, slaters boards are free for him to snap as many as he likes...
How many limpd**k riders cant steer a kite because it got beefed up with an extra 300grams of material thickness - a glass of water weighs less and that snack you ate on the way to the kite spot just blew you out another 500...
Damn kite wont break the sound barrier now huh !!!

[windrupted]

Not the case unfortunately, all my current kites are hand me downs and 2012 or older, with many repairs. Can't afford ANY new gear, let alone high end Ozone race kites, or Channel Islands boards for that matter. If anyone should lobby for beefier construction, it would be me, but the overbuilt kites don't fly well in the lee of a bluff, where all the good protected waves are. Lighter kites and boards fly and ride better, no question about it, so I choose to pay the price for that. I get my boards 2nd hand too, Stretch surfboards in ultralight construction off Craigslist. A light gear addict to be sure, but there's no going back now.

[William Munney]

Is Technoforce D2 used in different weights for different kites? Does a Dyno have lighter canopy fabric than a Rebel, or is the weight reduced in the LE and struts?