Kitefoiling with the Ozone Chrono v2 Ultralight 18m

While I am enjoying other sports such as paragliding, paramotoring and regular kitesurfing, one of my huge passions is kitefoiling. Trying to improve my skills foilboarding is such a fun challenge because it needs a lot of patience and perseverance. It’s just this foilboard that needs such a good feeling for balance and a healthy amount of courage as you are higher above the water and accelerating much faster than with a regular kiteboard.

A big improvement for me was to get a new foil kite. Till this point I have been using my regular inflatable kites, the North Rebel 9 and 12m and the 21m Flysurfer. My goal with kitefoiling is not so much tricks but more the ability to go the furthest and maybe fastest, with the least amount of wind at the best angles up- and donwind. The 21m Flysurfer Speed 3 had to be retired, I used it so extensively that it was very worn and after also an unlucky crash with damage that I did repair, it just didn’t have the original performance anymore.

So I purchased an 18m Ozone Chrono v2 Ultralight, and have been trying that out on the foilboard. The very first thing I noticed is indeed it’s extreme light wind ability. In 5 knots (with the temperature at 35’c making the air quite thin) it launches easily and just stays up there. I remember the first time I launched, it feels like there’s a magnet up there somewhere holding it up. On the water that means that for me, weight of 100kg, i am up riding confidently in just 7 knots of wind. And that’s without any worry whatsoever of the kite dropping out of the sky or anything like that. I’m really imressed with that.

What I had to get used to, was the slightly different steering behaviour compared to the Flysurfer 21m. The Chrono at the dge of th nd window flies quite a bit more down if not corrected. If the kite is depowered it becomes apparent even more that a significant input is needed to stop it from heading into the ocean. This is hardly a downside, it’s just different to what I had before and I’ll soon get used to this.

The foilboard combined with the foilkite make for an amazing near flying like experince, just above the water surface. It really is like nothing else to experience this. I have been getting as many miles and hours on the water as possible and am getting close to start concentrating only on mastering turns while staying in the board and even better, staying out of the water, up on the foil. Expect this to come in future episodes!!