I have been kiteboarding for 5 years and teaching for 4 now in St. Augustine. I have taught on Slingshot, Flexifoil and RRD kites up until now in that order. This season, I decided that it was time to look for a bow kite for teaching. I am always very skeptical when new gear comes out, and I like to wait a year to see how it all pans out. This season that strategy was a success.
http://www.windzup.com/instinct.html
Daryl from Extreme Kites recommended the Ozone Instinct back in April when I returned from the Ozone Snow Kite Masters event in Utah. So in May, I bought an 11 meter Instinct. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to setup. The lines are color coded, with kook proof connections, and if you are color blind there are even numbers on each line that match numbers on the pigtails. The lines come prestretched from the factory, and they dial them in perfectly, so there are no adjustments needed. The bar is very simple yet effective, with a 2 to 1 on the 5th line when you pull the depower strap that is very innovative.
Now, we had an epic summer for wind in St. Augustine, with 3-4 days of wind a week from May through early August. The wind was typically in the 12-13 knot range in the early afternoon, and then boosted to 15-18 knots by 5 or 6 in the evening. In these conditions I would have been on a 16 or 17 C-Shape. With my 11, I found that I could stay upwind comfortably in 13-15 knots unstrapped on my surfboard, and by the time it boosted to 15-18, I was starting to get lit. But the depower is so drastic on the Instinct that I never get pulled off the board.
The thing I like most about the Instinct is that it feels exactly like a C-Shape, with no pulleys and a direct feel. The difference is that it turns faster and has very light bar pressure, for which my tennis elbow was repeatedly thanked me. It relaunches easily using the bow kite method of pulling an outside line if there is sufficient wind, and in light winds you can pull on the 5th line and do a standard relaunch. The Instinct was designed to be a 1 kite quiver, and since I bought it, I haven't flown anything else.
One night a few weeks back we were all kiteboarding at Ocean Trace and the wind came up to 25-30 mph. Normally on an 11 I woulc be blown out, but the Instinct seemed to be just starting to come alive. So I decided to see what the kite would do in these conditions. I was frothing since I had not flown the kite in that much wind yet. I was not disappointed. I think Scott from Extreme Kites has some video from the session, but I haven't seen it yet. I will say that in those conditions I felt like the Instinct had more lift and float than any 11 meter I've ever flown. I am still waiting to find the high end on this kite, but I imagine I could easily hold it in 30 knots. If you need proof check out the video of Chasta in Tahiti flying the 13 absolutely killing it on the water:
http://www.kiteboardingmag.com
