The first flight with the Access was on Watergate bay beach at the end of September. Cross-On shore winds gave us a little turbulence, so it would be a good test of stability. Wind strength was 12knts so although it wasn't blowing it was good weather to try a new kite.


Looking at the Package it comes complete with lines, control bar, spare material patches, spare bridle line, instruction booklet, chicken lock and key ring, not forgetting the One month Free repair voucher it's a comprehensive package.


The Bag is excellent, as the opening to it is basically the complete back of the bag, which when open allows you to drop the kite straight in and then pull it tight with the drawstring system.
 
Pulling the kite, lines and bar out it came to no surprise the quality was yet again excellent. The build quality of the kite was as the Frenzy with taped Dymar seams all round, the new Ozone 40D rip-stop nylon sail material and Edelrid SK75 Dyneema sheathed bridle lines. Pulleys are stainless steel, rated to 500kg and the lines are 25m 300kg SK 75 pre-stretched Dyneema.
Some nice touches are the Butt Hole Velcro opening in outside cells to allow easy removal of debris/snow and the optional leash for flying unhooked for teaching/beginners.
 

The leash less re-ride safety system has to be one of the best systems out there, situated on the main centre lines, the red grab toggle is directly and easily visible when flying. Using a pulley at the end of the main leader line it instantly doubles the leader lines length, hence allowing the leading edge of the kite to fly backwards and in effect pulling the rear lines fully on. This system is so easy and effective you can land the kite this way, and every time we did it, it backed down to the ground perfectly without twisting or folding up, In my mind perfectly.

12knts gave us chance to test how the 6m would react in light winds, easy to launch from the side of the wind, it flew straight to the zenith and sat there, no over flying. Steering it to the edges gave no problems of wind tuck and again no over fly, this kite was beginning to show signs of being excellent!

As the winds were too light to board I opted for a buggy to try the dynamic side of things. Within a few minutes of flying the Access, it gives you confidence and security that it delivers what you ask of it. There's no feeling of it wanting to bite you at any particular moment as it smoothly delivers power when you want it to. Banging it on the edge if the wind window when buggying in light wind gave it no problems at all, small lulls in the wind made the kite fall backwards rather than wing tucking, which I found most impressive, as my time with the Frenzy always gave the opposite opinion.

 
There was not a massive difference from power to de-power, but as it was 12knts I did not expect there to be. Taking it back to the zenith it felt comfortable enough to let your hands off the bar and allow it to fly above your head, again stability was the best in the world of open celled bridled de-powerables.
Pulling the safety toggle in this position just dropped the kite backwards to the ground without any pull at the chicken loop or harness.
Lets test it under power! Flying it directly across the wind window giving full power I pulled the safety and again, it just switched off the power and fell to the ground unbelievably the correct way round ready for take off!  
 
Packing away is straightforward with the new style bag that allows you to completely open the front of the bag and drop the kite in.
Day 2 gave us a chance to really test the Access, as it was 26 gusting to 38knts!
Launching proved a little more tricky, but we found the best way was to treat it like a kitesurf kite and sand up one tip, then walk to position the kite at the edge of the window, tighten up all the lines and pull the wayward tip up so the kite flies off side ways and then steering it up to the zenith, this way you avoid having a launcher and missing out the main power of the kite.
We left the setting as the day before and found it flew just as good. I was very surprised to see it did not tuck as the wind gusted and lulled, even over head it stayed very stable, this was a great tribute to the designers at ozone as I feel the only thing that has hampered the Frenzy has been its instability in gusty/inland conditions. The Access has cracked that problem without a doubt!

Once again pulling it through the power and pulling the safety, just stalled the kite to a powerless yet graceful landing.

  
 
The depower is not immense on the Access and although you have the full power to depower dynamic option from the bar (push away to depower, pull towards you to power up), not being able to adjust the main lines via a clam cleat on the fly means you do need to land to adjust the trim, saying that we found that once the trim was set we did not need to alter it.The really nice option with the knotted main lines means you can set the trim to the shortest main line length and fly it unhooked without the kite oversheeting and stalling all the time, this is great for learning with, as using the wrist safety leash allows new flyers to just let go of the bar and it dumps the kite to the ground without any pull from it. At the other end of the scale unhooked bar passes are easy keeping the kite powered up by adjusting the length of the main lines via the knot system. Another major plus point for this kite!
Overall, the Access is a very stable and friendly kite, loads of grunt with some lift, perfect for boarders who want to cruise and roam the beaches or snowscapes. Safety is excellent with the re-ride system (that will also feature on the New 06 frenzy) and I need not mention the build quality, after all it's an Ozone.

If you want loads of lift then look at the Frenzy, if they've cracked the design as well as the Access then that will certainly be a kite for freestyle boarders!
8 out of 10 for me, I can't give it 10 as I'm sure there'll be an Access II

  
 
Since Watergate I've flown it inland with gusty conditions and if the Frenzy is as good as this, the rest of the de-powerable open celled world will have to step up their game.

Excellent work Ozone!
Colour Range
Reporter: Gary
3.0 Metre
£342.90
4.0 metre
£367.95
6.0 Metre
£403.25
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£435.20
10.0 Metre
£477.80