Appo
Yesterday we got out and had chance to play with 2 of the new models of this years “Imps”. 1st out of the bag was the 1.5mtr IMP “Trainer”. On a bar and sporting 3 lines. Obviously two of the lines going to the front leading edge, and the 3rd line going to the trailing edge. First thing we noticed was the shape of the wing, a lot diffrent from the imp we all know and have grown to love over the years, a lot squarer than previous models and the end cells of the leading edge have been closed off.
This helps maintain cell pressure and canopy shape. Next to notice were new lines, looking a lot finer than the old lines and what appears to be a wax coating to them, real nice.
To top it all nicely new graphics in black/silver look real real good…this is followed through onto the new style bags.
Upon flying the kite there appears to be more grunt than previous models, probably helped along by the closed outer cells……. Time to try that 3rd line, let go of the bar, 3rd line instantly kicks in on the new style elasticated kite killer, down it came, no problem.
The kite layed there, trailing edge down….reached forward, picked the bar back up and pulled on the centered 3rd line and over the kite turned, re-launch was a doddle. Wicked little kite…fun fun fun.
Next up we flew the 2.5m 4-line IMP “Quattro”.
Again the new shape of the wing is the 1st thing that hits you, along with the snazzy graphics that all of the current range of Ozone kites are sporting. This one came in a wicked bag that is like a baby “Instinct” bag, very nice touch. To be honest i was expecting this kite to be supplied with “baby” handles like what are supplied with other “starter” kites from other companies. I was wrong, they come with nice padded full size handles, no corners cut there then!
Flight wise, i found this very similar to one of my fave 4 line kites, The “samurai”. loads and loads of grunt and very responsive to break input, this thing turns on a penny, a very smooth operator and bound to be a sure hit with those looking to get into the sport on a budget and for those of us looking for a little fun kite to keep in the boots of our cars for some static fun. I can see this being great fun in a buggy in high winds.
The sizes range from 1.0 meters squared for smaller people or higher winds up to 4.5 meters squared for a kite with more power.
So get out there and have fun!
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