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Sizes Available: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19m
Sizes Tested: 9m

Ozone Says:

The Edge is a genuine icon, delivering a mind-bending free ride and big air experience with speed, power and performance. True to its name, the Edge has long proven itself to be at the forefront of the inflatable kite performance sector. Built as a high adrenaline free ride machine, the Edge delivers massive air and hang time while its high performance LEI race kite pedigree is capable of reaching warp speed riding. At the same time, the Edge V11 is a user-friendly powerhouse that anyone can handle. If you want to ride fast, send it for massive air or kite loops for insane hang time to reach altitudes reserved only for the gods, the Edge is for you.

Visit for more info: www.ozonekites.com/kites/kitesurf/edge-v11/


TKB Says:

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten our claws into the Edge, but the classic big air vehicle with its legacy of race kite pedigree returns with some very sweet refinements that make this kite a must try for both the big air fiend as well as the casual freerider who wants easy upwind performance on command.

Inflation Valve: Boston valve / nozzle attachment required
Attachments: Center bridle: Center bridle: Lark’s head loop / Wingtip bridle: Knots (reversible)
Centerline Split: Low-V
Front Bridle Options: Single setting / fixed with no pulleys

Design and Features
The Edge features a 5-strut airframe with a high-aspect canopy shape that looks much more exotic than your average freeride kite, or even its competitors in the big air freeride class. The Edge’s airframe is both substantial with its 5-strut configuration, but it also utilizes slim struts and smaller leading edge diameters that keep the frame looking racey and fast. The wingtip is pretty sparing on Dacron and the trailing edge uses a double ripstop reinforcement and also features foam battens to stabilize the departing surface. The Edge inflates with Ozone’s large diameter Boston valve which requires a standard hose attachment that is included with most pumps. For V11, Ozone has increased the size of the distribution hoses to the struts and this makes inflation fairly quick for its size.

The Edge comes with a single setting fixed bridle that doesn’t utilize pulleys to aid the angle of attack. The wingtip offers three adjustment points to adjust bar pressure and turning speed with the stock position in the middle. The front bridle attachment pigtails end in a knot and the wingtip attachments end in a lark’s head loops. However, the Edge’s pigtails are also designed to be reversible so you can swap the polarity of the loops and knots to match any control bar.

Impressions
The first things we noticed on the beach were its high-quality build and the impressive light weight of the Edge’s overall airframe. Ozone has always been very skilled at building stable but high-performance canopies and the Edge continues in that vein of maintaining its extra sporty look and feel with the use of conventional materials. In the air, you could feel the forward flying characteristic of the kite as it penetrated farther into the wind window, yet it didn’t feel unstable at the zenith or want to overfly the window. From our first power stroke, we immediately felt that we were no longer in the sheet & go freeride realm of kites like the Alpha or Reo, but rather the Edge builds its power through movement across the window; whether that is a big power stroke or through building board speed, the power comes fast and easy. The other aspect that sets the Edge apart is the upwind tracking angle that you get from the specialized canopy. It was as if all our visual landmarks changes and each tack brought us higher and faster to our designated upwind point. If upwind is a chore or a challenge, the Edge will make quick work of the tedious bore with no apparent comparisons except for bolting a hydrofoil under your board.

In terms of feel at the bar, the Edge has a medium plus bar pressure at the stock setting that gives you constant feedback on the canopy performance. It’s turning requires solid input which feels surprisingly crisp for such a high aspect kite, yet the rounder and larger turning radius takes a few tacks to get used to compared to the majority of freeride kites in our test. With Version 11’s changes to the wingtip, the turning seemed slightly tighter which makes the Edge feel a little less of a specialized weapon or an acquired taste, but rather a more practical freeride kite for the rider who spends 90% of their time boosting and riding upwind. The power delivery along the throw felt reasonably progressive, with the travel between depower and full power happening in a relatively shorter stroke. It felt as if the last three inches of sheeting in gives you a little extra power, as if the last three inches of bar stroke was reserved for the bold riders ready to take the Edge into ludicrous speed. When it came to canopy stability, we were impressed by the long trailing edge’s stability which had absolutely no flutter, and at the end of the bar throw, we found more depower than we were expecting. With the forward window charger releasing its power on demand, it made this thoroughbred feel much more forgiving and approachable for riders just getting started.

The Edge is a finely tuned machine that gives you insane amounts of boosting power once you’ve dialed in the right launch trajectory. The 5-strut airframe allows you to hold a ton of power with confidence and when you apply that power into a vertical send, you will get some really big lifty jumps where the kite keeps elevating you through each successive puff. While the new wingtip dials up the turning just a bit, we found with each successive jump, the Edge trained us into better timing and steering trajectories that matched the kite’s thirst for big air. The turning arc took a little bit of getting used to, but once we got in sync with the kite’s handling, that was where we found some of the biggest jumps of the day.

One of the biggest feature of the Edge that shouldn’t be understated is the luxurious hangtime that the airframe gives you. The airframe continues to lift at the apex of the jump and seems to hold you steady with a super slow descent that allows you an extra couple seconds to really process how high and how long the Edge is capable of keeping you afloat. Sometimes when you have a super hangtime performer you have to think about how much upwind tacking each big boost is going to cost you, but with the Edge’s supreme upwind ability you can max out that hangtime and burn up the downwind distance knowing that you can beat up wind in a fraction of normal time to get back into the big air action.

The testing team universally hailed the Edge’s big lifting capabilities but found its power, acceleration and rounder turning to be a bit explosive for the average rider’s kiteloop. The canopy likes to build power and penetrate forward and this worked best for jumps and upwind riding and the occasional soft downloop on a landing, but kiteloops are probably better left for advanced riders. When it came to relaunch, the Edge does a great job of responding to bar inputs with an easy rotation out of nose-down in the center of the window to a confident taxi to the side of the window. The Edge traveled about ¾ the way to the edge of the window before releasing from the water with what we considered to be a confident relaunch every time without any magical voodoo.

The Edge continues to march the progress forward with subtle improvements to the formula, but largely the Edge stays true to its mission; take you as high as possible for as long as possible and then shorten the conveyor belt back to the top to do it all over again. The Edge is still very much a big air thoroughbred that will train the rider to maximize big air skills, but it can also be enjoyed by the casual rider that prizes up-wind ability and anything with speed, from straight-line drag races to fast and furious carves. If you find yourself daydreaming of these specific types of riding then the Edge may very well be the kite for you.

We rode the Edge V11 with the Ozone Connect Water V4 Bar. Read the review here.

 

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