most durable kite brands/models

[szert]

My current 12m seems to be end of its lifespan, just had 2 canopy repairs and now a leading edge tear (without any hard crash)

So I started to look into last year's models on sale. (all rounder, crossover: freeride / big air / waves)

My priority is durability over a few percent better performance. I did a lot of research on forums and my head is just spinning with all the opinions.
So asking for more opinions will surely help

I found good deals on these models so far:

* Airush Union V5 2020
* RRD Passion MK10
* Ozone Enduro V2
* Naish Pivot 2020
* Ocean Rodeo Gen 6.5 Prodigy 2019
* Blade Trigger 11th gen

Which recent brands / models standing out in regards of durability (in either way)?

[windsuks]

I really don’t think there is a lot of difference between the kite brands regards durability. You’d be better choosing a kite that suits your needs and is from a local store that will support you.

[GregK]

IMO kite brand & model preference is such a personal decision, it's kind of like asking " what car should I drive ? "

I suggest you try as many different kites that your local shops have on demo and select the one that suits you best.

[gibsonandpickett]

I really don’t think there is a lot of difference between the kite brands regards durability. You’d be better choosing a kite that suits your needs and is from a local store that will support you.

Id disagree with that. Ive been flying V9 ozone edges. Fantastic kites but my 9 and 11 both have had leading edge repairs from stress rips in exactly the same place after only 15 months( All i do is boost and only in one direction)

[atomic-chomik]

Prodigies are tough kites. I've beat the hell of a couple of them and they shouldnt have survived...but did

[Havre]

I really don’t think there is a lot of difference between the kite brands regards durability. You’d be better choosing a kite that suits your needs and is from a local store that will support you.

Id disagree with that. Ive been flying V9 ozone edges. Fantastic kites but my 9 and 11 both have had leading edge repairs from stress rips in exactly the same place after only 15 months( All i do is boost and only in one direction)

It all becomes very anecdotal though.

Considering the number of Edges that have been sold there is no way they just fail after 15 months.

Not to say there aren't kites that got design flaws. But I don't think anyone got the data to say one brand is better or worse than others. Even for cars that is difficult - where you got an enormous amount of data.

I'll probably go with another brand next time around just to try something new. I have done a lot of research, but going Duotone, Core or whatever I would have no clue as to which would be the better in terms of durability. What you tend to see is that the high volume brands tend to have more of these anecdotal stories on boards like this.

[szert]

IMO kite brand & model preference is such a personal decision, it's kind of like asking " what car should I drive ? "

I suggest you try as many different kites that your local shops have on demo and select the one that suits you best.

I agree that's why I included kind of a shortlist of kites which I owned, tried or find it a fit based on reviews. Trying them all would be the best but not all of them available for a test ride. And even if available I find it challenging to compare as I can't try one right after the other so easily ending up riding in very different conditions.

Anyway my question is really about "which car brand or model is the most reliable".

[or6]

I find my RRD kites to be very tough. Tougher than the rest? Hmmm, hard call. I'd say their leading edges are def. very tough.

[szert]

Id disagree with that. Ive been flying V9 ozone edges. Fantastic kites but my 9 and 11 both have had leading edge repairs from stress rips in exactly the same place after only 15 months( All i do is boost and only in one direction)

It all becomes very anecdotal though.

Considering the number of Edges that have been sold there is no way they just fail after 15 months.

Not to say there aren't kites that got design flaws. But I don't think anyone got the data to say one brand is better or worse than others. Even for cars that is difficult - where you got an enormous amount of data.

I'll probably go with another brand next time around just to try something new. I have done a lot of research, but going Duotone, Core or whatever I would have no clue as to which would be the better in terms of durability. What you tend to see is that the high volume brands tend to have more of these anecdotal stories on boards like this.

Indeed, my question is methodically flawed: whichever model sold more will have more issues by chance. Also it's more likely people reply if they had an issue and there is no reliable level of detail provided about usage and conditions.

But still it's kind of red flag if a specific issue is raised by multiple ppl for a particular model. Eg. I've seen complains about ozone bladder issues. To be fair I also seen a few posts arguing that they didn't have any problems. And somewhere Ozone chipped in that it was an issue with earlier batches which day addressed. Anyhow my feeling from feedbacks is that edge is a great kite but for a price of durability (they made it lighter to perform better?)

Its all skewed , as ozone enduro might be one of the most popular model from my list.

It would be great to come up with a fairer durabilty survey.

Until then keep it coming about all brands/models anecdotal bad and good

[vela99]

Hello szert,

I am curious as to how many hours of use you got from your dead kite.

Could you please estimate and share with us? (Hours of active kiting plus hours flapping at the shore).

Thanks