I have been riding the 07's and 08 Edge in 9 & 13 quiver. I was sort of prepared to be dissapointed after reading about the move to 4 lines. Early reviews seemed to include lot of good and some bad feedback on this years kites.

I now have a couple of sessions on both sizes and I have to say that I went from neutral, ok these things work... to a complete, holy s.ht these things rock.

My initial feeling as well was that they were a bit slower and perhaps lacked some low end. Well, this changed. My importer said - give them a few sessions before you make up your mind and I have to agree. I have been swapping with my old kit that I sold to a friend and I have to say that they are substantially different and in my opinion substantially better.

The 09s sit a bit further back, menaing they are more grunty. Sort of like driving a V8 as opposed to a supercharged japanses small engine of last years. This does not mean they have dropped in pointing ability, they still crawl way higher tacks than most of my friends kites on the water. Turning speed, well first I thought slower, then I changed to faster... I simply had to adjust to the fact that I had to crank a bit more on the bar. The 07/08s sort of left you thinking all kites were slow and heavy I realize now. Jumping. Well they smack the 07/08s by simply being less critical on the bar sheeting position. De-power throw is bigger and less critical leaving you with a kite that you are less likely to choke on boosting. De-power rate is lower and the kite does not have the kind of on/off feeling in the bar of last years.

Build quality as I have come to expect AAA. I would like some extra wear pads on the LE tcurved tips to prolong the life of the kite. Also, throw out the net covering the valves. I have a hard time seeing a potential bridle snag as they are built currently. Pump PSI meters, well no top points for reliablity. I realize Ozone buy the same crap as everyone else. But for the kind of money these retail I want a better gauge.

Rigging 4 lines, well you simply just appreciate that it i a lot easier. Combined with thicker lines this year laying them out is a quick job. Bar, finally a below the bar flag out safety.

All in all a more mature kite than last years. They ride better in my opinion. A lot better, but you have to give yourself time to adjust if you like me are an old Instinct rider.

I changed my 2007 Edge 11m2 for the 2009 model and was very disappointed. You have to work very hard to move the kite up and down to create a little bit of power. I could even fly my Edge 9m2 2008 kite without any effort but the 11m2 2009 model didn't do the job. The wind was about 18knots and there were some waves on the north sea. With the 2007 model I wouldn't have any problems, but this new model is nothing what I had expected!