REVIEW PROFILE
Manufacturer: Ozone
Model: Yakuza
Size: 6.0m
Year: 2007
Skill Req'd: Advanced

Overall rating
Build Quality
Performance
Stability
Turning
Wind Range
Versatility
Bar / Handles Setup
Safety System
Value For Money

The Ozone yakuza or Yak 6.0m is an amazing kite, a newer one is coming in from the UK as I write this but I have had a fair bit of use with one already :). First time I flew the yak 6.0 was a planned demo of two kites, Yak 6.0, Reactor 6.4, and later a Blade 4 6.5 was tested.

I arrived with my reactor 3.8 on demo day and had little fun towing around at about 10-15 kmph in maybe 5 knots of wind (some times less), it was a clean onshore day at a local beach and I was very pleased when the larger kites turned up as it was perfect to try the kite I was looking for in the very wind I needed it for. First bigger kite flight was the brand new reactor 6.4 , cousin of the PL viper , the kite launched smoothly and turned just as well as my 3.8 in the light winds ! Off down the beach it pulled far better than the 3.8 as expected but as i turned to return up the beach the going was much tougher due to the kite having to point very high to make it back , 25km down the beach and about 5kmph back, almost losing the kite out of the sky on the way back. Next the Yak 6.0, it flew up to the zenith nicely and dragged me forward about 1-2m (in 5 knots) it required a constant movement to keep alive, just some lazy 8s , it turned fairly well but probably 1/2 as easily as the reactor 6.4 which is the fastest turning 6m i have ever used. The wing tips folded over at some points but snapped back as soon as i powered up in the opposite direction so no big problem.

Time for the buggy run.... i harnessed into the buggy and set the kite off in the opposite direction to about 2 oclock and reversed it into a dive to get going. The thing pulled smooth and hard, i was already at 20+kmph after the first dive, i sine cycled the yak one more time and was up to 35+ kmph in 5 knots, top speed 41kmph on those runs. The kite is unreal, i really mean that, it seemed impossible to me that the kite could achieve the speed it did , folks were looking at me ripping along seemingly in no wind, what a machine ! Where the reactor had trouble returning up the beach the Yak was easily double the pace initially and the built to 25+ once the shape filled out, making the reactor look fairly poor in the pointing department although it isn¡¦t. The yak points so well it's hard to know where the real wind is coming from, you can access almost any angle you like on flat sand.

Yak is available in 2.2m to 14m , the 2.2 will likely get you the fastest speed on a very high wind day and evidently the 14m flys in 1-3 knots for those days most of us would write off the opportunity to go. Quality is the best i have seen, line set is top notch, Carbon handles are an option. The yak has little side pull compared to its smoking front pull, lets face it, we want to be pulled forward, any side pull is a down side if speed is called for in a buggy. I have wine glassed the 6.0 a few times so far , but the speed is so amazing I'm still grinning anyhow, what it lacks in stability it kicks ass in speed, on days you wouldn't even bother normally.

For the record The third kite, blade 4 6.5 was easier to turn than the 6.0 yak and harder than the reactor 6.4, lots of lift/side pull, it points similar but lower to the yak , heaps better than reactor. Perfect for jumps and sand dunes, cruzing and much easier than any of the others to get the job done, very stable. But not quite as fast or as easy to kite a beach with a less than ideal wind direction. Why anyone would want a bigger foil for ripping along a beach is currently beyond me, bigger isn't always better it seems , on other days with 5 more knots wind speed the 6m kites have been much easier to use with bigger foils simply pulling buggies sideways while I go off in the direction I want to travel . A 6.0m kite will take a bit of a puff without too much fuss but a bigger beast is much harder to handle, it will be 6.0 for me for quite some time I expect as an all rounder the blade 4 6.5 is cheaper and very stable and versatile.

For flat land buggying the yak has the edge with the exception of a high grade of stability, if you are and intermediate flyer or better the yak is an unbeatable rush and is a very, very regular winner of every world racing comp. If you get the chance to try the magic number 6.0m yak in 5-10 knots GO For it !! but there is a down side , you may want one :D

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