Select to expand quoteMiser said..
steve please stop purchasing yellow kites so that they stop producing them.
Haha! I actually ordered an Orange one, but by the time they were shipped 2 different customers wanted Orange ones, so I gave my precious away and took a yellow one....
Select to expand quoteTerryMcTool said..daveisthekotz said..
It looks like the wing tips have been slightly squared off more. Have you ridden the new one yet?
Yes I have ridden it, see my post above yours, and my second post in this thread. Its more than just squared off tips, but you are right they are squared off, but so is the whole kite. By that I mean the kite is constructed or designed more "upright". You can see this in the way the struts stand up straighter in relation to the LE.
In use the kite turns tighter and the turn point is closer to the tip, develops a lot of power when "worked" in lighter winds, excellent for downlooping. Goes upwind better, and also better downwind, it was more stable and easy to work off the wind. Definitely the best Zephyr yet, same big wind range.
Have you done any unhooking on it? Previously the Zephyr has been arguably the best LW kind for unhooking, squaring off the wing tips I assume has given it a more bridled c-kite feel. Hopefully Kitepower has a demo one I can bust out and try.
Onto my third Zephyr and it's my most used kite! Never had a problem with them, or my Reos, Edges, Cats or Enduros. How people treat their kites is likely to be the cause of most problems, but then they never admit to that... And no, not a team rider, just a satisfied user that pays for their kites!
Here's my review of the Ozone Zephyr V5 2017 17m:
Background -
Me - 100kg, Kiting for about 18 months.
Other Kites - Bandits (11 and 14)
Planning a holiday to light wind land I decided to get a bigger kite than my 14m Bandit. Also, winds have been garbage this winter!
I chose the Zephyr because other light wind kites tend to tap out around 15 kts and I don't usually have time to change kites. Pushed my supplier for one ASAP and so ended up with a brand spanking Zephyr v5 (mine is orange 
).
Since I've got to have a play I thought I would add to the argument. 
I've had the Zephyr out for 4 water sessions. Here's a summary of my impression.
Looks pretty solid in build, and the large inflation port makes for fairly quick inflation despite the 5 struts.
55cm Bar and 27m lines are well made, happy with the depower/ single line flag and the very low centre line V makes for convenient self landing.
In terms of build and construction, I would comment that the bag it comes in is pretty small which requires a fairly precise pack up. Once you're familiar it's not too bad but if you are having to do a wet windy beach pack down don't think it will be going straight in the bag. Incidentally the bag has a separate section to hold the bar which is a nice touch.
Flying the Kite:
- I'm impressed with how well this flies. Stable in the window, reasonable turn speed, easy to fly (takes no time to get used to), no backstall in light winds.
- Flying in 9-11 kts today, no problem keeping the kite in the air and could hold my edge (just) although not enough to have any fun. Keep in mind I'm 100kg and if you were more like 80kg I reckon you would have had an okay day.
- During a downwind session the wind ranged between 12 and 16 kts. I never needed to depower even at the higher end. Somehow this kite seems to have a wider control range than my 14m Bandit. At 18kts plus I start to feel a bit overpowered. This was 16kts on a 17m and I always felt in control fully powered.
Relaunch:
- This is a big kite and my only comparison is a 14m Bandit. The Bandit is much easier to relaunch than the Zephyr. The Zephyr does relaunch ok but I have found i need to relaunch using the floats or the lines just beyond the floats. There is a small bead on each line just beyond the float and I find this the best spot to relaunch from.
Overall:
I'm very happy with this kite and if you are looking for a kite to get you out in the 10-15 kt days then this is definitely one to consider. Not even sure whether I'll use the 14m much anymore.
Feel free to shoot some questions at me, I'll do my best to answer them.
Select to expand quoteMark50 said..
Onto my third Zephyr and it's my most used kite! Never had a problem with them, or my Reos, Edges, Cats or Enduros. How people treat their kites is likely to be the cause of most problems, but then they never admit to that... And no, not a team rider, just a satisfied user that pays for their kites!
I'm not into the pimping either. But to be fair - I am still using my 2012 (V1) Reos and I kite a lot. Durability has been fine. My mate is on 2010 C4s, he also kites a lot and durability has been fine, although the kites are almost done.
