Ozone Flow Powerkite Review

Introduction: The Flow is Ozone’s primary beginner and intermediate 4 line powerkite designed with traction in mind. The Flow sits above the Imp and Imp Quattro and ranges in sizes between 2 and 5m. Available kite only, with handles or with bar there is an option for everyone to get you started or progressing in the world of powerkiting.

Talk the talk: The Flow is a great beginner/intermediate power kite for anyone aiming to get into the sport of power or traction kiting or simply moving up from another 2 or 4 line kite. The focus on the Flow is to help you learn and progress in the sport with good quality and performance and the Flow certainly delivers this. The kite features several design and user friendly features that either just make the kite work like it should or to make flying and maintenance as easy as it should be.

The mesh on the leading edge ensure no dirt or other debris end up inside you kite where they could damage the kite and help clean airflow. Just incase anything does get through the kite features velcro dirt outs on both tips of the kite – great for getting any sand out of the kite after a day at the beach. Ozone also use an extremely high quality Oztex 40D Ripstop Nylon fabric on their kites which handles abuse and the test of time that powerkites need to endure.

The kite comes package with 20m 180/110kg pre stretched dyneema flying lines, neoprene coated handles, kite killers and a great instruction booklet which also gives a basic learning guide covering kite assembly, wind conditions, flying techniques and how to use the safety, safely. Because the Flow is sold in different options the kite will always come unassembled from the control gear initially. Assembling the kite is very straight forward both at the control gear and bridle end of the kite. Each line is colour and number co-ordinated and requires a basic larks head knot to attach the items together. Unless you are using one set of lines/handles or lines/bar with multiple kites you will not need to un-attach your lines after each flight so after the kite has been initially set up, packdown and future use takes far less time and effort to get out of the bag and into the sky.

One of the main benefits of owning a 4 line kite over a 2 line kite is the added control and safety aspects. With the added support of the kite killers/wrist straps you can always ditch the power of the kite in an instant by letting go of the handles or bar. Letting go will result in the trailing edge of the kite being pulled under tention, stalling the kite back down to the ground. This is a great tool for learning, or simply because things do not always go to plan. If you are a bit over powered by the kite or fall down you can use the kite killers to prevent yourself or anyone around you harm.

The other benefits of flying a 4 line kite are the ability to self launch and land the kite, and also the ability to control the kite on the brake lines by tilting the top of the handles away from your body. It would be really nice to see a ground stake included in this package for when the kite is on the ground to secure it.

The Flow can also be a great addition to an existing kite quiver in the smaller sizes when the winds up and you demand stability. The 2m in strong winds makes a great buggy engine and handles inland gusty conditions with ease. With regards to the sizes of the kites we found the 3m and 4m to be the most user friendly all round kites. The 2m was fantastic for whizzing around in high winds or for lighter weight riders but the 3m and 4m in most fixed bridle kite models are always going to be the nicest. Although the 5m was nice to fly we certainly thought it was less impressive than the smaller models. It felt a little sluggish through the air and a bit less exciting to fly than the small models. We appreciate Ozone have released a higher aspect kite the “Method” which offers far more performance in this size of kite which sits above the Flow in their product range.

Due to the kites predictability and stability the Flow makes using a landboard or buggy for the first time as easy and safe as possible. When it comes to boarding on the flow the kite travels down wind extremely well, this is helpful as most of the time when learning to traction kite you will find yourself moving towards the kite at quite steep angles until you master tacking and holding a line upwind.

Despite the Flow being designed for more horizontal pull than lift it is still possible to leave the ground with the kite. The kite must be flown towards the top end of its wind range and also be flown quite aggressively to get this type out of performance from the kite. Although not a boosting and float machine the Flow is more than adequate for mastering the technique and timing for your first steps into jumping both static and with a landboard strapped to your feet.

Liked: Ease of use, performance for target market and the whole package contents are of the highest quality.

Would Change: The Strop is to small between the handles to really serve much use in practice – we advise removing this and adding something longer if required for flying on a harness. The Kitekillers could also be slightly easier to attach with one hand, potential to add a ground stake to complete the package.

Overall: The Flow is an extremely solid performer and does exactly what it says on the tin (Flyozone.com website) great build quality, performance and affordability backed by one of the largest kite and paraglider manufacturers in the world.

Size on test: 2m / 3m / 4m / 5m

Kites provided by Flyozone.com & ATBShop.co.uk