The Ozone Zephyr has defined the category of light wind kiting since it’s first introduction in 2010. At the time of introduction, there were a few attempts at large light wind kites by other manufacturers however truly the only other contender for the title of best light wind kite on the market were the 21m foil kites of the time. The largest advantage that the Zephyr had was the wind range, speed of turning and tighter turn radius (at the time, no other large kite would do a kiteloop in the top middle half of the wind window).
Many things have changed since and now every major brand offers lightwind specific kites. The Zephyr V5 has borrowed many design elements from the Edge which is designed to be as the pinnacle of performance LEI design. Using thinner bladders, sail tension and other design factors, largely helped by the new bespoke design software Ozone uses for all its kites, now dubbed, OzCad, which is now the industry standard for kite design. All these elements make for an incredible experience, a large kite that actually works, is fast turning and the main advantage over other kites in this category is the huge wind range. To give you an idea, at 70 kg, a rider can fly this kite on a larger twin tip, say a 146×46 from around 7 knots and hold this kite down comfortable to around 20 knots. At 20 knots, you would use more strength to edge and stay upwind but at no point do you feel out of control or overpowered. We’ve had feedback for heavier customers (+90 kgs) that they are able to comfortably ride with the Zephyr in over 20 knots.
The Zephyr’s ease of use, massive wind range and intuitive power delivery make it a perfect one size quiver, even for lighter riders. One of our customers weighs under 60 kgs and the Zephyr was her only kite for a year of kiting in Dubai and her second kite was a 9m. These same features make it extremely versatile. It can be used as an allround freeride kite, freestyle, wave riding and hydrofoiling.
For kiters based in Dubai, weighing from around 55 to 95kgs looking for a kite that is forgiving, easy to relaunch, and offering maximum riding possibility, the Zephyr V5 is the perfect 1 kite quiver. A quick look at our local wind report of previous years will give you a good idea of what we’re up against. The Zephyr is the ultimate weapon to handle 99% of the days here (2016 only had 5 days with sessions above 20 knots according to Windcam.com)