Ozone cracking valves

[petato2]

Hi all,

I know there are old posts on this, but I just suffered from it on all of my Ozones and want to seek for advice.

I ride Catalyst 6m and 8m (previous models), Reo 10m V3 and Reo 12m V4.

All kites are perfect, no repairs needed in bladders nor in the textile, but the valves.....

- Inflating valves broke and needed replacement in all of the 4 kites.
- The connecting valves, up to know 4 in the 6m, 3 in the 8m, 3 in the 10m, and 4 in the 12m, broken and needed replacement.

All kites were purchased 2nd hand 2-3 years ago, so dont expect any consideration from the brand. They were purchased in perfect conditions, and from different sellers.

I kite in east Spain, hot in the summer, but is not a question of clima. The valves crack in the hard plastic part, not in the soft connection with the bladder.

Can not understand why Ozone saved costs on material quality in the valves which is not an expensive part of a kite, but it ruins your day when they crack.

I am afraid that my Ozones are now condemned and asume that I will end up replacing all of them. 4 kites, 6 valves per kite, 24 valves, at 15€-20€ each....

I love Ozone kites, for me they fly the best. But I am wondering if my future kites should be Ozone, or change brand. I understand wear and tear on textile, lines, ropes... But not hard plastic valves cracking one after each other.

My question to Ozone users is, is this problem solved in current models ?

Can anyone comment how valves on current models behave after, lets say, 3-4 years of use ?

Thanks for your feedback !!

[ham-er]

I only had 1 valve issue on my 12m catalyst, but this was opposite situation to yours. I was flying in winter and the valve become brittle due to cold and snapped when accidentally pressed on it when packing down. Bear in mind, this is 10 years old kite. Other than that plastic cups on inflation valves broke off, but again flying in winter makes them much stiffer. I sourced these from another old kite.

My other kites are too new to say, no issues so far.

How much is a new kite these days?
If only valves are a problem it's still cheaper to replace them than buy a new kite.

[IWB2]

Petato2,
In general all kites manufacture valves/bladders will fail at some point and frustrating when they do, especially when starting or in a session. The good news is that Ozone now have the V2 valves and bladders available for your older model kites which have the V1 valves/bladders. When will the valves fail, can be down to many variables... ie climate, storage, usage, packing etc.. Best bet is to contact your nearest Ozone dealer to get your kites sorted out. I personally would upgrade the entire bladder system if you are finding the valves are failing on a specific kite, as there is good chance the others might start to go as well, as they were all expose to the same conditions, handling, storage etc.. Get those V2 valves installed and you will be back on the water with piece of mind. The V2 valves are larger and therefore use a larger tube connecting the LE valves to the strut valves. If you get the V2 bladder replacement, it comes with all the new tubes, and parts to complete the job.

[petato2]

Many thanks both for your coments.

The kites are in good conditions so I am replacing all old valves.

I wonder in what year did Ozone introduced the V2 valves. It would be great to avoid future 2nd hand purchases with the same issue.

Un saludo y buen viento !!

[IWB2]

The kites are in good conditions so I am replacing all old valves.

I wonder in what year did Ozone introduced the V2 valves. It would be great to avoid future 2nd hand purchases with the same issue.

The new V2 valves look totally different in shape, size and color and currently have that opaque/translucent, clear looking color while the V1 valves are black and much smaller. Once you see the new ones you will understand what I am talking about. The V2 valves I think were introduced in Jan 2021. It makes total sense to replaces the old V1 valves and or bladder to give a fresh start... It is like getting a flat tire on a bicycle.. you dont need to replace the bicycle if it is fine, just put in a new inner tube or tire. Ozone kites are very well built so not surprising to hear you say your kites are in good condition albeit the current valve issues which are easily repaired.

[edt]

I love Ozone kites, for me they fly the best. But I am wondering if my future kites should be Ozone, or change brand. I understand wear and tear on textile, lines, ropes... But not hard plastic valves cracking one after each other.

I have the same question. It's an easy repair on a 3 strut kite you buy 3 strut valves, 3 leading edge valves, 1 inflate/deflate valve. The total cost is around $105 which to be honest is not a huge factor.

The huge factor is the damn inconvenience of it all. My best guess is that there was a manufacturing defect that they never caught and it only affected certain batches on certain years. Some models some years are fine.

I believe it's all solved on the new kites. I recently did a valve replacement on my enduro and they are now using huge MEGA high volume valves on all the struts and not only are they beefier it seems like the manufacturing defect is gone. I dunno, it does leave a bad taste in your mouth when you get stuck halfway through a downwinder because a valve rips open for no reason on the other hand, I do really like the enduro for wakestyle. My best guess is that the problem is fixed, but of course we'll have to wait 3 years to know for sure, and after 3 years the warranty is expired.

Every kite manufacturer has occasional lemons. If you only used kites which never had defects you would never kiteboard.

The mega valve looks beefy and I kind of wonder if the reason they switched isn't the actual high flow to the struts which barely matters but to put this manufacturing defect behind them. I don't know how common it is but it happened to you, it happened to me, but most never encountered it.