Serious pinholes issues on the 2014 Ozone REOs

[matth]

Are you by any chance folding your kites on concrete side walks?. I see guys do this all the time and personal think its a big mistake. Concrete is super abrasive and it does not move. Just a little kite movement can cause a lot of damage imo. I prefer to fold in the sand and clean up at home, 5 minutes in the sun and a soft broom, fold and pack. If its crappy out I use my 1500$ kite dryer, aka airhockey table!!

[KiteRunner]

Are you by any chance folding your kites on concrete side walks?. I see guys do this all the time and personal think its a big mistake. Concrete is super abrasive and it does not move. Just a little kite movement can cause a lot of damage imo. I prefer to fold in the sand and clean up at home, 5 minutes in the sun and a soft broom, pack and fold. If its crappy out I use my 1500$ kite dryer, aka airhockey table!!

The most important fact here that i had tons of kites over the years, i treat them all the same way, I ride them the same, I fold them the same, etc. I treated this brand new REO the same exact way, and it is starting to fall apart for no reason. This is why I know there either something wrong with the one they shipped me, or the entire production line this kite was spitted of. It's not that complicated.

The problem is, Ozone will not man up, and take responsibility, and basically told me it's regular wear and tear. I gave them every opportunity to do so, and was very patient with them. Eventually I realized they don't care, so I gave up. (And shared my experience on the forums to alert other kiters) It's a real shame.

[jetboy]

Are you by any chance folding your kites on concrete side walks?. I see guys do this all the time and personal think its a big mistake. Concrete is super abrasive and it does not move. Just a little kite movement can cause a lot of damage imo. I prefer to fold in the sand and clean up at home, 5 minutes in the sun and a soft broom, pack and fold. If its crappy out I use my 1500$ kite dryer, aka airhockey table!!

The most important fact here that i had tons of kites over the years, i treat them all the same way, I ride them the same, I fold them the same, etc. I treated this brand new REO the same exact way, and it is starting to fall apart for no reason. This is why I know there either something wrong with the one they shipped me, or the entire production line this kite was spitted of. It's not that complicated.

The problem is, Ozone will not man up, and take responsibility, and basically told me it's regular wear and tear. I gave them every opportunity to do so, and was very patient with them. Eventually I realized they don't care, so I gave up. (And shared my experience on the forums to alert other kiters) It's a real shame.

Just because you treat "all kites the same" doesn't mean Ozone is at fault. That's ridiculous! When you say the kite is 'falling apart' what are you talking about? the holes in your canopy? You sound like you are not even willing to consider that the canopy damage may have happened since you owned it. Post some photos.
I'm happy with the strength to weight ratio of the reo. They work great in waves. As I said I've ridden them for a number of years. I'd hate to see a company listen to a forum and change a great kite, because of what you are saying. I asked around and no one has had canopy issues with reos or c4 here. The pinhole stuff was surprising and has not happened here either. Look out, you may have a few 'pricks' in the grass in your area.

[billybob]

Kiterunner, I feel your pain. I made a post here a few months ago addressing the same issue. I have used many brands since 2000 and the only canopy problems were small cuts from shells. 2012 was my first year with Ozone ( 8 Reo 10 Catalyst) and I had heard a lot about their attention to detail and quality. The pinholes on the Reo came early on and several other Reo owners at my beach had the same pinholes. Response to my post was mostly happy campers with no issues. A little research on the web shows quite a few references to canopy durability, but it seems most guys are happy with Ozone. As a side note, I had the same problem as Hawaiis with my Reo exploding in midair after 50+ uses. Kite was out of warranty and shit happens. My Catalyst developed a leak from cracked bladder valves and I told my dealer about. Kite was out of warranty, but in a few weeks I had a new set of bladders. So I can't say anything bad about Ozone service, actually it was quite good. Patch up the pinholes and go kiting, the Reo is awesome.

[KiteRunner]

Kiterunner, I feel your pain. I made a post here a few months ago addressing the same issue. I have used many brands since 2000 and the only canopy problems were small cuts from shells. 2012 was my first year with Ozone ( 8 Reo 10 Catalyst) and I had heard a lot about their attention to detail and quality. The pinholes on the Reo came early on and several other Reo owners at my beach had the same pinholes. Response to my post was mostly happy campers with no issues. A little research on the web shows quite a few references to canopy durability, but it seems most guys are happy with Ozone. As a side note, I had the same problem as Hawaiis with my Reo exploding in midair after 50+ uses. Kite was out of warranty and shit happens. My Catalyst developed a leak from cracked bladder valves and I told my dealer about. Kite was out of warranty, but in a few weeks I had a new set of bladders. So I can't say anything bad about Ozone service, actually it was quite good. Patch up the pinholes and go kiting, the Reo is awesome.

Thanks for the kind words billybob. I agree with all you are saying. I just don't understand why people get upset that I am sharing my views. If anyone look at my previous posts, they will see that when I first got the REO, I bragged about it and even in this threat I kept repeating that it is a great kite performance-wise. It's just that in my opinion, it is built from shitty material, that is not up to industry standard. I can comfortably say this based on my personal experience with kites I owned previously.

[KiteRunner]

Are you by any chance folding your kites on concrete side walks?. I see guys do this all the time and personal think its a big mistake. Concrete is super abrasive and it does not move. Just a little kite movement can cause a lot of damage imo. I prefer to fold in the sand and clean up at home, 5 minutes in the sun and a soft broom, pack and fold. If its crappy out I use my 1500$ kite dryer, aka airhockey table!!

The most important fact here that i had tons of kites over the years, i treat them all the same way, I ride them the same, I fold them the same, etc. I treated this brand new REO the same exact way, and it is starting to fall apart for no reason. This is why I know there either something wrong with the one they shipped me, or the entire production line this kite was spitted of. It's not that complicated.

The problem is, Ozone will not man up, and take responsibility, and basically told me it's regular wear and tear. I gave them every opportunity to do so, and was very patient with them. Eventually I realized they don't care, so I gave up. (And shared my experience on the forums to alert other kiters) It's a real shame.

Just because you treat "all kites the same" doesn't mean Ozone is at fault. That's ridiculous! When you say the kite is 'falling apart' what are you talking about? the holes in your canopy? You sound like you are not even willing to consider that the canopy damage may have happened since you owned it. Post some photos.
I'm happy with the strength to weight ratio of the reo. They work great in waves. As I said I've ridden them for a number of years. I'd hate to see a company listen to a forum and change a great kite, because of what you are saying. I asked around and no one has had canopy issues with reos or c4 here. The pinhole stuff was surprising and has not happened here either. Look out, you may have a few 'pricks' in the grass in your area.

Not sure what you problem is but if you actually take a minute and pay attention to what I wrote, you will see that I only compare this kite to ones I owned previously and based on that it is my opinion that the canopy material on the REO Ozone shipped to me is shitty. It may not be Ozone's fault, but I never had a kite that got so many pinholes in so little time. And I can blame Ozone for not calling me back or replying to any of my email. That's a clear indication of a company that does not care.

I will also add that people on my beach make fun of this issue because when I first got my Ozone I was bragging how great it was, and now this kite has become the joke of the beach.

I understand you love your Ozone, and I hope you enjoy riding it, but this has nothing to do with my experience, or my opinion.

[Westozzy]

For every bad story there's a good one.

Must admit my cats and edges felt far more thin and used after less than a year riding compared to my norths ridden right now at the same time. Washed them down the other day, immaculate.

Ozone are using the same D2 as north now, enough said.

[jetboy]

I'm on your side kiterunner, I'm a consumer as well. As I said earlier I'm all for feedback that improves any companies product. If I had a kite that I believed failed after minimal usage I would be looking for a resolution as well. If you can discount all the scenarios I and others have mentioned that may have caused damage, and document your complaint in a well written letter then your warranty should be valid. This then would form the basis for escalating your complaint re product and service to next level. Look at your local statuary consumer laws for warranty disputes if you are not happy with the outcome. In Oz the threat of that legal escalation quite often brings a positive response. I'm guessing a lot of these companies that ask you to post back at your expense, (which quite often is written into warranties) have the silent majority of customers just put a patch on it and couldn't be bothered.

[plummet]

I just don't understand why people get upset that I am sharing my views..

The answer to this is that there are many individuals with a financial interest in ozone (and or other brands) on these forums. Shop owners, sponsered riders, distributors.

Some of them seek to discredit threads like these to protect the brand and their back pocket.

The reality is that this type of thread could loose ozone thousands of dollars of sales if a number of forum readers decide not to buy ozone based on the information in here.

[fdvj]

I just don't understand why people get upset that I am sharing my views..

The answer to this is that there are many individuals with a financial interest in ozone (and or other brands) on these forums. Shop owners, sponsered riders, distributors.

Some of them seek to discredit threads like these to protect the brand and their back pocket.

The reality is that this type of thread could loose ozone thousands of dollars of sales if a number of forum readers decide not to buy ozone based on the information in here.

That would be crazy as any one can come on here and bad mouth products just to trash their sales, I understand that kites get problems but the OP hasn't even posted any pictures and until he does then it just looks like someone having a fit because the are getting their own way.