Ozone Samurai 6M

Background

After a few months use of a 2.5 Bullet, I needed a bigger kite for when the wind dropped off a bit. I wasn’t struck enough with the Bullet to get another one and wanted something different to my Flexi mad mates. After much research, the Samurai seemed like the clear winner on paper and Wildcard’s excellent review of his 6m finally persuaded me to take the plunge in time for Flexi Wallop One. A quick call to the powerkiteshop and the next day my shiny, new, red Samurai was on my desk.

Build & Packaging

Much has already been said about the Ozone quality and I have little new to add. The kite comes in the obligatory ruck-sack which is very well made and has a useful “stuff-flap” to push the kite down into the bag and keep the sail, lines and bridles away from the zip – very thoughtful. The kite itself is wrapped in a compression strap. This is useful when setting up and launching as you can keep the kite in a bundle out of the wind without needing the bag around. It’s also great for keeping the kite tidy when packing away. You can even use it as a tow-rope on your buggy! There are two small mesh pockets on the side of the bag to store extra bits, with an elasticated strap on one side to store a bar or handles. My only gripe with the bag is that the pockets are not very safe for storing small valuable items as they will fall out. A nice zipped pocket would make a world of difference. Ozone has added one to the Yakuza bag, so maybe they have had similar suggestions from other customers in the past. But it’s a bag at the end of the day...

The kite came with 25m lines, handles and kite killers. The trademark pink and orange lines look beautiful when wrapped around the handles and are the best in the business in my opinion. After 5 months of heavy use I cannot see any sign of stretching at all. They do take a bit of getting used to however. Firstly, the dyes leak onto your fingers for the first couple of months. The first time I packed the kite away I thought I had lacerated my hands! I know this is a design fault but I think it’s a really endearing quality – it looks like you’ve got battle scars every time you’ve finished a session! The good news is that the dye doesn’t seem to leak onto the kite when packed away. At first, the lines seemed more prone to twist compared to the Flexifoil ones I was used to (I handle-wrap). You do get used to them though; you just need to wrap the lines more carefully and with a lot more wrist, especially when unpacking.

The handles look like real quality and feel great to the touch. Initially, I felt they were a tad thin for my hands and thought the strop was a bit short. Now I’ve grown used to them, particularly in conjunction with a harness, I genuinely wouldn’t want to fly with anything else. There’s a reason why nearly all non-Ozone race kites are supplied with Ozone lines and handles – they’re perfect. Finally, there are the kite killers. I don’t like KKs and have only used them a couple of times. There has been some debate and reviews elsewhere on this forum about the relative merits of different manufacturer’s KKs. Personally, I think an amalgamation of Ozone and Flexi ones would hit the spot. The Ozone ones don’t feel as comfortable on the wrist and are more difficult to get on. The upside is that they are the easiest to take off – a real bonus when you are in serious trouble and need to be detached from the kite ASAP. Otherwise, all KKs seem to do the job they are designed for equally well.

Finally, we come to the sail itself, and what a wonderful sight it is too. When I reviewed my Bullet (my first kite) I said that I couldn’t see how the Flexifoil build could be improved upon. Well, I was wrong. The Samurai sail is truly the epitome of quality, and moves things onto a whole new level compared to the other mainstream manufacturers. Its worth pointing out that Ozone originally manufactured paragliders (and still do) before moving into the comparatively simple world of kites. Obviously, the attention to detail required for aircraft is far greater than foil kites. This manufacturing heritage gives Ozone the ability to build kites of the very highest standards. Ozone are not unique in this, and the other paragliding companies like PKD, Gin and U-Turn build to similar standards, but all of them offer a build quality that the original power kite manufacturers can only dream of.

The fabric is very light and of obvious high quality. Everything seems double-stitched and is millimetre accurate. The vents and trailing edge are Mylar taped, which helps keep the overall structure more rigid and apparently reduces the possibility of stretching, so that the kite holds the same shape and trim years after it left the factory. All bridle line's are stitched then connected to the wing via attachment tabs which are sewn into the cell walls for added strength. The bridle is reasonably simple in design and has thin orange line used in part to help reduce drag. There’s also a very handy Velcro strap on the leading edge to gather the bridle lines when packing away to reduce tangles.All in all, very small foible with lack of zipped storage on the bag aside, the quality and packaging of the Samurai is faultless, as good as it gets, the best in the business. You won’t be disappointed.

Set up and first flight

The set up is in theory moron-proof – I can vouch for this as I had no problems at all! Red lines for top, orange for bottom and the handle and bridle attachments are numbered 1-4. I’m sure you’ll work out the rest! The kite Gods had of course worked overtime to ensure that the conditions for my first flight were totally unsuitable. There was wind though… lots of it… oh and really gusty and nasty. The rational side of me said “Tim, you’ve achieved all you wanted to today by setting the kite up, now pack it away”. But of course this is a brand new kite, just sitting there waiting to be flow. So the irrational duly won the day.

I tried launching it from the edge of the window, but due to my lack of experience, misread the wind direction and took it up pretty much through the middle of the window. The resultant 20m stumble, arms aloft, must have looked ridiculous to the small flock of sheep that had gathered to watch me and it certainly brought a smile to my face (if you could see through the grimace). My word this kite is powerful, there’s a huge difference between 4m and 2.5m, I thought. Anyway, there wasn’t much to learn from the first flight. I flew for about another 10 minutes, mainly with the kite at the very edge, arms stretched to the full. It overflew a bit, which gave me some cause for concern. In hindsight, this was hardly surprising when I look back at the conditions and lack of tuning (thanks to Wildcard for the advice and helping me keep faith).

Getting to know it

Static

My first real flight was a few days later on the Friday evening a Middle Wallop. No buggying was allowed, but it was a beautiful, sunny evening, with a nice steady 10mph wind. Perfect conditions for getting to know the kite for static flying.

You only need use superlatives to describe the Samurai. It looks beautiful in the air, my ones red, but blue and purple also look great in my view, though I’m not convinced by the yellow one – which you don’t see very often either. Due to its uber-low aspect, the Samurai is not a quick kite and is noticeably slower than a Bullet for instance. Everything is just very smooooooooth and there’s never any surprises. The power is very solid and steady all the way through the window and not at all on/off. It makes a wonderful, constant, mid range bellow as it saws its way across the window, something like the V6 equivalent of the kite world. The foil always looks solid, well inflated, and it keeps its integrity throughout. I found the kite flew better on shortish brakes and responds better to brake turning, rather than push pull. It certainly turns a bit quicker this way, and given its size and low aspect the kite is still very responsive, with good sharp handling so that you can spin it on its tip without the fear of turning it into a propeller.

There is a little bit of lift there, but this is minimal in my opinion and only happens if you work a pendulum in the top end of the wind range. I’ve had a couple of good 5+ foot jumps with this in high winds and the kite is surprisingly floaty and certainly won’t dump you back to earth like a blade can. I’d say its probably a great kite for learning to land-board, nice and stable, great for cruising, and will get you jumping, although ultimately you will no doubt crave a bit more lift.

My only criticism, from a static flying point of view, is that this super stable, smooth and easy manner do cost a bit in the excitement department. Wonderful as this kite is for a beginner, you might want something a bit quicker and zippier if static flying is all you want from a power kite. That said, a 2m or 3m is that little bit quicker if you’re looking for more thrills. This is knit-picking really, and ultimately the Samurai is built for traction, and this is where the “steady eddy” qualities supersede all else.

Buggying

I was very much a buggying novice when I first bought my Samurai, I didn’t even have a buggy of my own at the time. The kite has done exactly what it said on the tin, and has been a true blessing as a beginner and never ceases to amaze me as I enter the intermediate phase. It really is so easy-natured and user friendly, no-one would ever have a problem with learning to buggy with it. Infact, my only real criticism is that the kite is so good it will make a really bad pilot look at least average, and will flatter you into thinking you’re better than you really are – at least that’s what its done for me! Its smooth and steady power delivery means you’ve always got plenty of time to think about your next move, and if you need to do something in a hurry the kite is still quick and responsive enough to help see your intentions through. Its lack of lift means you can throw the kite to the top of the window without too much fear of seeing your buggy carry on without you. Powerslides and turns are an absolute doddle. Its super stable at the edge of the window and now I’ve got the set up sorted, overflying isn’t an issue at all. Once moving, it holds apparent wind really easily, just a tweak on the brake will move the kite gently around the sweet-spot – never erratic, never twitchy. Locked into a harness with handles you can turn one-handed and indeed fly no-handed once the kites in apparent wind. Just smile, relax, enjoy and wave – that’s what buggying with Samurai is all about.

Yes, the Samurai is no race kite, but its no slouch either. I’ve had 36mph out of it in a borrowed buggy with a GPS and believe (subjectively) that I’ve been quicker. Certainly a more competent pilot in the right conditions would have no problem smashing the 40mph barrier and could maybe push towards the 50mph mark - more than enough for a beginner basically, and plenty for an intermediate. Quite simply, if you want a kite to learn with that you’ll keep forever, this is the one for you.

Durability

After 5 months of soakings, draggings, smashings, dunkings, poundings and muddyings there is nothing to report. The kite just washes up and looks as good as new. Honestly, there’s not a stitch that’s been scuffed. The glorious lines have faded a bit but the handles still scrub up perfectly. Did I mention this was a quality piece of kit? Oh the bag, there’s two stitches that have come loose on the grab handle! Naughty bag... but then Ozone probably didn’t make this themselves...

Conclusion

I’ve really tried to be unbiased when writing this. I don’t think I’m capable of being unbiased about Ozone kites now though, so taken am I by the Samurai – but I’ve tried. Really, there is very little to criticise apart from the bag and there’s nothing really wrong with it and you don’t fly it anyway! Yes the kite could be a bit quicker and more exciting at times, but this would no doubt be at a cost to the all-round, rock solid, user-friendly and damn right superb characteristics it boasts. This has to be the ultimate beginner’s traction kite. It might cost a bit more than the others but this is the age of you get what you pay for. Believe the hype – ozone makes the best kites.