Ozone Yakuza 6M

Where to start.......

Reason for aquisition: Needed a bigger kite for use in moderately light winds.

Here's the story so far. I have small Razors, 2.5m & 3.5m, which are ideal in anything above 15mph wind. I also have a 6.3m cquad which is good above 8 mph. What I needed was a kite that could provide at least minimal traction in very light winds.

A call to AirBoss in Notts to order the Razor 6.8m as was the logial route to take........... only to be told that the Razors producion run was over. NO MORE RAZORS??? Bugger. Was informed that the Yakuza was soon to be released. Huh? What is that? The New! Imroved! Ozone race kite. Cool! I'll take it!

I was then told that it was still in the final stages of testing etc etc. So, there I was, with no bigger kite and no way of getting the one I wanted. Oh well. Anyhow, 2 days later Elly at AirBoss phoned to say my kite was ready to collect.

The Kite: First impressions really do influence you. I unpacked it in the shop and lay it out. It is the most amazing looking kite I have ever seen. I was a bit puzzled as I had not ordered a paraglider............. it was HUGE.

The build quality was perfect. Reinforced everywhere. Bridles out of that ultra strong prestretched stuff. Sewn, not knotted. The kite itself was red, black and yellow. With the Yakuza logo screenprinted in the middle for all to see. Stunning kite to look at. I must say at this point that I have a definite bias towards Ozone kites. They are everything a kite should be and more.

Still thinking I would need about 2 tons to hold me down, I shot off to the local field to set up and attempt a maiden vogage. My mate John came along as it was during the week and the field would be deserted. He set up his 4.5m Bullet and was promptly dragged around like hell as the wind was about 18mph gusting into the 20's. At this point I am thinking Should I? Shouldn't I?

I did. I went up in the air about 8 feet. And shot down wind the full length of the lines. 40 meter lines. Hell, it pulls like a train on steroids. Make that 2 trains. I was surprised at how gently it put me down too.

In the true form of a race kite, you cannot park it above your head whilst chatting to you mates, or trying to locate your buggy. Try that and it will fly out of the wind window and nicely scrunch itself up for you. The same goes for the edge of the wind window, though not so pronounced. I have found that unlike the Razor, it resists twisting itself into a bow-tie until the last possible moment, but if you see it coming you can nearly always stop it, give it a good shake and curse and away you go again. Marvellous.

The difference between flying a razor around over your head and flying a Yakuza around over your head is the Yakuza will be away with your arms if you are not careful. The 6m is a very long kite, but soooooooooooo fast. With the correct application of main lines and brakes, you can get it to turn in its own length. It really is responsive. There is one thing I will point out at this stage. Whatever kite you have flown in the past, whether it is a bullet, blade, samurai, cquad, elliot, speedy, and any other non race kite besides, the Yakuza needs watching ALL the time. You have to keep it moving constantly when you are static. As I said before, It is a long kite (high aspect ratio), and the wingtips seem to have a mind of their own.

Well, the wind was picking up and bringing the wet stuff with it, so packing up and home was in order.

2nd Flight. Same field. alot less wind. Excellent. Time to test the light wind virtues of the beast. Unpacked her with a feeling of pride as everyone stopped and stared.......... lots of whispering going on.......... hehe. Light winds? huh! I still squealed like a girl as I hurtled downwind. I was still on 40 meter lines you see. And the wind could not have been more that 7-8mph. But she still pulled like aforementioned trains. I LOVE THIS KITE.

Much fun was had that afternoon, kept it on 40 m lines for the hell of it, got to know it a bit more and went home feeling extremely happy.

3rd Flight. The Gower. Somewhere in Wales. Time to see how fast she was. Tried my first launch sitting in my buggy, and ended up being catapaulted out the front. The pull of this kite is beyond belief. Sorry to keep repeating myself. But it really is Awesome. Anyhow, light winds, sub 10mph, and I was stonking up and down the beach, overtaking everything and everyone there, scaring the hell out of myself. You see the kite does not know the meaning of slow. It has 2 speeds. Fast and Bloody Fast. The difference is, when you are going fast, all three buggy wheels are pointing towards where you want to go. Bloody fast is when all 3 buggy wheels are doing their own little thing, and you are still going Fast. Get it?

Back to the kite. The Yakuza will fly perfectly well in light winds. As with all largish kites, you need to plan your turns well in advance. The most effective way is turning upwind. (keep your eyes on the kite!) or just as fast is turning sharply downwind and looping the kite half a turn DOWNWARDS. This keeps the kite powered up and there is much less chance of it losing its apparent wind and doing its knot impression.

The Yakuza has plenty of pulling power at whatever speed you are going. Tweak the brakes to slow it a bit, release and you're off, ever accelerating, overtaking EVERYTHING. I was still overtaking everyone when I had a tandem buggy behind me, in about 4mph wind. Staggering. Why has no-one else written about these kites?

Yes, the Razors are awesome. But imagine a Razor that has gone feral. Left alone in the wild for a bit to tone itself up. Then recaptured and re-trained. You have the Yakuza. Wild as Hell but with that bit of control.

P.S. Do not let any of the above review put you off getting one of these beasts. But be warned they are very different from box standard traction kites. You WILL be frustrated at how they can do every knot in the boyscouts handbook. You Will wonder why you have to try so much harder to get to know them. You Will fall out of your buggy alot. (Hell, if I do not fall out my buggy at least 200 times a weekend, I am not pushing hard enough!) But when you get it right, it is the best feeling in the world.

By : Buzz