Ozone Frenzy 7.3M

This is my first review posted on this site, having read a lot of others looking for advice. I've never felt the need to add anything to what's already here, until my Frenzy arrived.

Why a Frenzy?

Living near the coast, with a beach just a short stroll from where I live, I've been flying for about a year, and falling off my board for a couple of months. The depower concept is fascinating, allowing you to use one kite in a wide wind range - without the need to carry a quiver of kites, and all the packing away and unpacking that could entail.

So, weighing only 11 stone, and having only flown a MkI 3.6 beamer the thought of a 9 meter was a little frightening. Luckily for me, a 7.3m 2004 Frenzy came up on e-bay, and it had to be mine.

Build Quality

I bought this kite second hand on e-bay for GBP280, roughly EUR 420. Getting Ozone gear can be costly at the best of times, but in Ireland this can be very, very expensive, so second-hand was the only route for me. That being said, you are paying for quality and I have to say that the frenzy is built to last. The bridle, stitching and material are top-notch. Others have done more justice to this that I ever could, suffice to say that the repair kit that came with the kite will probably stay in the bag for quite some time.

First Flight

Inch beach in Co. Kerry is almost 4 miles of flat sand on the south coast of Ireland, and ten of us headed down for a weekend of flying. Force 6 gales on the first day, and torrential rain on the second, meant that the Frenzy stayed in the bag until Monday. The Beamer was a little too much for me in the 15 - 20 mph winds, so I packed away to watch the others racing up and down the beach using 4 meter kites. However, I was gently encouraged to try the frenzy as the wind dropped down to 10 -15 mph.

So, I unwound the lines, staked down the hand brake, unfurled the kite and piled sand on the trailing edge. First impression - it's BIG. Very, very big. Even my friend with his 6m Bora looked at it and took a deep breath. I was a little nervous to say the least, but having done a lot of research online, I was happy enough that fully depowered, I would be able to handle this sized Frenzy. The others hadn't seen one up close, so we all took a few minutes to look at the bridle setup - lots of pretty colours make it easy to make sure that the bridle is fully untangled and ready to fly. Each set of bridle lines attached to the kite is a different colour, yellow for the trailing edge, blue, red and purple for the other A, B and C lines.

So I hooked into the chicken loop, un-staked the brakes, pushed the bar fully our and took a step backwards. The kite rose gracefully into the air, and was almost fully inflated by the time it reached the zenith. The 7.3m turns quickly for it's size, and control is just like riding a bike. The tips collapsed a little at the edge of the window, pilot error or not enough wind perhaps. A quick tug on the opposite end of the bar and the problem's solved.

The transition from handles to bar may take some time, but initially it makes sense - pull the left end of the bar to turn left, and the right end to turn right. I flew the kite round the top of the window with the bar fully out to get a feel for the handling, which is light when depowered. Pulling the bar in needs a bit of effort, which means you get a good feel for how much power is up there without having to look at the kite.

Safety systems galore on the frenzy - the main safety is a quick release on the main lines. Pulling this means the kite is on the ground in 15 seconds. There's another quick release on the chicken loop, which releases the kite onto the wrist leash. If all that doesn't bring the kite down, there another quick release on the wrist leash as a last resort - but pulling this means you are completely detached from the kite. These systems do give you confidence in taking the kite out.

With the safety systems tested, time for some more fun. Second flight with the bar pulled in slightly generated massive amounts of pull, with a little hint of lift. Jumping is not something I've done before with any kite, but with the frenzy I'm really looking forward to trying. Fully powered up in 10mph winds with the kite passing just couple of feet off the ground results in massive scuds, longer and much more fun that anything else I've ever done.

Braking the kite and bringing it to the ground in a controlled manner, (without using a safety system) does take a lot of effort - there is a lot of wing to pull down and it does take a few nerve-racking seconds to see the effect pulling the hand-brake has on the kite.

So to sum up, what can I say? The first couple of flights have given me a tantalising glimpse of what this sport is all about. The Frenzy has masses of controllable power available more or less instantly. It turns quickly, and safety is well-designed and built in. All in all, I can't find a single fault. You just can't put a price on the massive grins the Frenzy generates. Time and experience may prove otherwise, but for now I'm more hooked on flying than ever before, and can't wait to get back down the beach.

By : Cormac Moran