Tkb Review: 2019 OZONE Catalyst V2

Sizes Available: 5, 6.5, 8, 9.5, 11, 13.5m
Sizes Tested: 8, 11m

Ozone Says:

The Catalyst V1 has been a great success but the Ozone design team is never at rest, searching to improve on this confidence inspiring model. the v2 takes it to the next level ”” it is based from the original design and has been reshaped and refined to enhance performance and accessibility for entry level to intermediate riders.

The first thing you will notice is the V2 is very stable and predictable to launch, land and fly. It has “sheet in and go” power delivery, helping you to get up and ride easily. The wide wind range and progressive de-power lets you ride in variable and gusty conditions comfortably. The updated airfoil section produces efficient power even when the kite is at the edge of the wind window, helping you to ride upwind, giving you more time to spend improving your skills!

A huge smile factor comes standard on the Catalyst V2 ”” it is a fun and easy kite to ride that will make your progression in the sport fast, safe and enjoyable. The predictable power and lift makes first jumps a breeze with easy loft, good hangtime and smooth landings. Making life easy the water re-launch is incredibly simple and intuitive due to its unique shape and increased leading edge tube diameter. By simply turning the bar or using the re-launch balls on the leader lines, the kite will easily roll over into the re-launch position ready to take off from the water.

Our time-proven Front Line Flag Out release system is simple and effective, it is the same system featured on our entire water kite range. When the Click-in Loop is released the kite will flag out to one front line, immediately stopping all power delivery from the kite. The Catalyst V2 is the choice for anyone getting into the sport or for riders looking for a fun, confidence inspiring kite with ease of use at its heart.

Visit for more info: www.ozonekites.com/products/water-kites/catalyst-v2

Our Testers Say:

“Super stable, slower steering speed with stronger bar pressure ”” this kite is definitely geared towards beginners.” // Micha Dassler

“This low aspect 3-strut kite is super stable, grunty, slow turning with good relaunch. Great for beginners, but for those looking at a quick progression I would recommend the Reo.” // Dylan Dobbyn

“Great kite for trying to ride a new board because I didn’t have to think about the kite. It’s stable and slow turning and was incredibly predictable.” // David Kirkup

Meet Our Testers

TKB Says:

Ozone is back from the drawing board on their dedicated progression kite creating a very stable, predictable kite that is easy to use for those learning the ropes of kiteboarding. The Catalyst features a 3-strut low aspect canopy with sweptback wingtips which gives it a delta shape. The Catalyst features the standard Ozone inflation point which is a high flow Boston valve that requires the larger inflation nozzle. The front bridle is a simple fixed single setting bridle with no pulleys and the wingtips has two attachment points to adjust between turning speed and bar pressure, with the factory setting being the outermost setting. Tester universally praised the Catalyst as the ideal beginner kite because of its incredibly user-friendly and confidence inspiring handling and super stability in the air that refused to overfly the window. The Catalyst turns at a nice medium pace with a pivot style turning arc that has a steering response that is both predictable and user-friendly to someone that’s still trying to dial in kite control. The power delivery along the bar throw is evenly progressive, the kind of sheet in and go that delivers an intuitive amount of power by just sheeting in the bar wherever the kite is in the window. This means the Catalyst doesn’t require a ton of aggressive kite flying which helps people who are just getting their power control under wraps. In terms of bar pressure the Catalyst has medium plus bar pressure which is probably a good thing for those trying to develop their awareness for kite placement in the window and its turning. This is not one of those kites that initiates a radical turn when you take your eyes off the kites. You will feel the pressure on your hands through the bar and therefore the turning tends to be intuitive and intentional for those who are still familiarizing themselves with our sport.

When it comes to relaunch the sweptback wingtips and semi-delta shape makes relaunch quick and easy. When the kite is down in the water, facing nose down directly downwind the Catalyst tends to rock back and forth on its nose, as it clearly wants to go in either direction with a minor tug of the bar. In our relaunch tests the Catalyst immediately rolled up onto a wingtip, started to roll and taxi towards the edge of the window. The one thing we noticed about the Catalyst is that it does tend to want to taxi to the side of the window before it wants to release its wingtip from the water. This is a great quality to have in a progression kite because the relaunch tends to be a kind of gentle launch from the edge of the window rather than a hot launch from the bottom of the window. Other kites, like the Reo, tended to launch immediately from the bottom of the window which is maybe better for more confident riders and surf situations. In terms of jumping the Catalyst is a great entry level kite to explore the first steps of getting air. It’s not going to set any height records but it also won’t hold an entry-level kiter back from learning how to jump; it certainly doesn’t hold the same amount of lift and explosive boost that you find in the other Ozone freeride kites, including the Reo or even the Alpha. The Catalyst can jump for nice predictable jumps ideal for those learning how to boost. Testers universally acknowledged the Catalyst’s user-friendly attributes that put it squarely in the beginner/cautious intermediate/school category. Overall the Catalyst stands for reliability and demonstrates all the qualities needed by someone just getting into the sport, a trusty friend to get people of all athletic skills through the beginner to intermediate stages of kiteboarding.Ozone released the new Contact V4 control bar this year which is a 4-line bar that has received significant updates from Ozone’s previous bar along with one massive upgrade in the quick release department. The Contact V4 features Ozone’s new ”˜Seat Belt’ technology which offers a completely new quick release design that features a groundbreaking mechanism that allows you to effortlessly reconnect your trim loop after a safety release by simply pushing the loop into its recess and it automatically clicks closed. There are a number of these systems on the market, but Ozone’s by far is the easiest mechanism to reassemble. This is a colossal improvement, as it is simple and surefire in the way in which this system works. The scenario goes like this: there’s a problem, you push the quick release, the kite depowers, but then you want to reconnect the quick release in the water and resume. Normally this is a 10-finger/two-handed struggle to hold the release open while you stick the loop back into its mechanism and close the gate apparatus to continue. Some models try to keep the release open upon release, but the Seat Belt design doesn’t require you to hold the release open to reconnect the loop into its locked position.

Ozone  tested this system extensively for three years with its schools, team and every day riders before it was released but as it is a new design, we had to see for ourselves whether the mechanism would behave under normal operating conditions and abuse with the usual sandy saltwater wear and tear. We’re happy to report that we were quite satisfied with its reliable functionality.  The quick release has the standard push away handle, a hand swivel above the release that also doubles as a travel guard and a molded locking finger to prevent accidental unhooking as well as a safety attachment point with suicide option. The Contact is a fixed length bar (available in 38, 45, 50 and 55cm sizes) that features a single center line safety depower with a low V. The center lines end in grey color-coded pigtails with loops for rigging purposes and the outside lines end in knots color coded with red and blue pigtails. The Contact features above the bar tuning with a cleat and a small carbon toggle that uses a bungee built into the tuning line to keep things clean in depowered situations. The bar has a plastic coated/PU throw line with no sliding stopper or adjustable length throw. The padded bar ends are tunable (three knots stock is on center) and feature integrated floats and retractable bar bungees. The bar ends are soft in the event of accidental face contact. This year the bar got a significant color change with much less obvious colors; there is no longer red on the left side of the bar grip although the leader lines coming out of the floats are color coded for red and blue. The grip indents have very subtle red highlights for those that are looking closely. Testers gave the new bar solid praise for its comfortable grip that is both wider with a nice raised pattern and smaller indentations for a fairly dense grip.

Visit for more info on the bar: www.ozonekites.com/products/control-systems/contact-water-v4-control-system