Anything different about them? Are they unique? Worth the money?

http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/products/fix-bridle-lin...

I want one just for the cool name :D

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Originally posted by Kamikuza I want one just for the cool name :D

yeah, but their nickname is "Yak".

never flown one, but id love to give it a shot.....

easiest race kite to fly out there....in clean conditions

Ive been flying the Yakuza's for a couple years now. Love em! Absolutely awesome kites. If you need any info let me know. Very fast, very powerful!!! Excellent buggy engines.

+1 to what AWOC said. I haven't flown the II's, but love the I's. Handles really well for a race kite and very fast and powerful. Great build quality as well! If you get a chance, definitely pick one up...

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Originally posted by BeamerBob yeah, but their nickname is "Yak".

And what pray tell is wrong with that?



Other speedy things that carry the "Yak" name:

Yakelov Yak-130 Combat Trainer



Waiting for Ozone to do a crossover ad now.

ATB,
Sam

I only have experience with the 14m Yak.

It doesn't want to spring to life like the vapor. Launching in near no wind was almost as much struggle as I was having with my 9m Blade. The 9m Blade seemed to be keeping up to the Yak once flying ? When the wind did pick up a bit the yak needed downsized very soon while I just kept on going the whole day on the 9m .

Conclusion. 14m Yak ( or anything ) is too big for me to get any reasonable wind range out of it .

so these yaks go up to 17m and they're fixed bridle?? that's crazy!! still i think i could handle them--got 3 fbs over 10m and have flown them all up to 15...... are these yakuzas lifty? whats the A/R ?

My results have been very different to yours Bladerunner. One of the riders in our group uses Flexi Blades exclusively and the Yakuza's outperform his Blades in every size, including his 9m (for speed comparisons in the buggy). The 10m Yakuza GT produces much better speed and power than his 9m Blade and goes up easier in the lightest of winds, it also has much better upwind performance, the larger sizes are even more so. Granted it is a 10m compared to a 9m, but I can outrun him with his 9m blade with my 8.3 - its not even close and I weigh a bit more than he does. I can buggy with my 12m Yakuza GT in 1-2 mph winds and it goes up very easily, if there is any breeze at all the kite is very easy to inflate and fly.

When flying the 14m Yakuza, it obviously will produce much more power than the 9m Blade and yes, you would need to downsize earlier than you would on the 9m. The 9m would obviously handle higher winds better than the 14 meter will - same as the 17m compared to the 14....the 14m will handle higher winds than the 17m will - but these giant monsters are not really designed for high wind flying. If the winds are somewhat clean, I can buggy with my 12m Yakuza starting about 1-2 mph winds up to around 8-9mph. After that I usually switch down to my 8.3m.

That being said, I can handle more wind with my 10m Yakuza than my friend can handle with his 9m Blade. The Blade has so much brute downwind force that when the winds pick up, it starts to drag you sideways and you can't get forward speed out of it. The Yakuza flies so much better out on the edge that you can park it out there and get much better speed and handle more wind. To prove this, my friend and I swapped kites and the exact opposite happened. He outran me with my 10m Yakuza while I was flying his 9m Blade. The results were the same. I couldn't get near the forward bite and speed out of the Blade as he could get with the Yakuza - although the Blade was trying to rip my arms out of my sockets, it couldn't keep up.

The Blade is an excellent kite and I don't want to come off sounding like I am bashing it in any way. It just doesn't produce the speed that the Yakuza's do. In the same breath, the Yakuza's don't produce near the lift that the Blades do.

Anyways, these are my findings. Having flown nearly every race kite on the market, I find the Yakuza's are still the best for my flying style and conditions. The closest second would be the Vapors. Both of these kites are absolutely awesome and it really comes down to personal preference as to which one is better. For me the Yakuza's top my list.

This opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

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Originally posted by awindofchange My results have been very different to yours Bladerunner. One of the riders in our group uses Flexi Blades exclusively and the Yakuza's outperform his Blades in every size, including his 9m (for speed comparisons in the buggy). The 10m Yakuza GT produces much better speed and power than his 9m Blade and goes up easier in the lightest of winds, it also has much better upwind performance, the larger sizes are even more so. Granted it is a 10m compared to a 9m, but I can outrun him with his 9m blade with my 8.3 - its not even close and I weigh a bit more than he does. I can buggy with my 12m Yakuza GT in 1-2 mph winds and it goes up very easily, if there is any breeze at all the kite is very easy to inflate and fly. When flying the 14m Yakuza, it obviously will produce much more power than the 9m Blade and yes, you would need to downsize earlier than you would on the 9m. The 9m would obviously handle higher winds better than the 14 meter will - same as the 17m compared to the 14....the 14m will handle higher winds than the 17m will - but these giant monsters are not really designed for high wind flying. If the winds are somewhat clean, I can buggy with my 12m Yakuza starting about 1-2 mph winds up to around 8-9mph. After that I usually switch down to my 8.3m. That being said, I can handle more wind with my 10m Yakuza than my friend can handle with his 9m Blade. The Blade has so much brute downwind force that when the winds pick up, it starts to drag you sideways and you can't get forward speed out of it. The Yakuza flies so much better out on the edge that you can park it out there and get much better speed and handle more wind. To prove this, my friend and I swapped kites and the exact opposite happened. He outran me with my 10m Yakuza while I was flying his 9m Blade. The results were the same. I couldn't get near the forward bite and speed out of the Blade as he could get with the Yakuza - although the Blade was trying to rip my arms out of my sockets, it couldn't keep up. The Blade is an excellent kite and I don't want to come off sounding like I am bashing it in any way. It just doesn't produce the speed that the Yakuza's do. In the same breath, the Yakuza's don't produce near the lift that the Blades do. Anyways, these are my findings. Having flown nearly every race kite on the market, I find the Yakuza's are still the best for my flying style and conditions. The closest second would be the Vapors. Both of these kites are absolutely awesome and it really comes down to personal preference as to which one is better. For me the Yakuza's top my list. This opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

that has been my experience with the 10.5 blade while buggying, just too much side pull to make it worthwhile and if there's hardly any wind, forget about launching it---you end up killing yourself just trying to get it going--otoh, they are killer for jumps--i used my 4m blade for buggying, and it was perfect--had too much trouble with the larger sizes, although i buggied quite a bit with the 6.6..... i may have to buy a yakuza from you when i get the dough, sound like an awesome kite........

I think you are correct AWOC.

I think what was going on was that Gerald was holding down about as much power as he could handle almost right off the mark. I could pump the 9m and get going faster while Gerald was having to hold back.

He stepped down to his 10m JoJo and as always outperformed me.

I am NOT bragging up the 9m Blade. I am however amazed at how often it is the " right " kite for low wind day.

My point of referance was on snow.

For sure different terrain will require different style kites (or at least a different flying style). For us here on the dry lake beds - where speed is king because of the near-zero resistance, kites with a lot of grunt or side pull are not nearly as preferred as kites that will scream out to the edge of the window. For different conditions such as sandy beaches, tall grassy fields or snow you will probably prefer a kite that has a bit more grunt to get you going. This extra grunt will help power you through the resistance of your terrain - and in many cases will be better than a high aspect foil such as the Yakuza or Vapor.

Flying the Yakuza's at the park is much different than flying them on the lake bed. At the park you need to sine the kite a lot more, keeping it in the power longer to get you up to speed. On the lake bed, usually one or two pumps and you are wanting to park the kite on the edge and go.

Pilots who don't spend a lot of time on race foils may struggle more when flying them at the park or in heavy resistance terrain - over a kite that is much lower aspect ratio or considered a "beginner" kite. The main reason for this is that the "beginner" kite is slower through the window which makes it easier to get up to speed. The race kite heads to the edge so fast that you need to redirect it several times to get the buggy up to the speed of the kite.

BTW, I hate the terms "Beginner" and "Advanced". Because it implies that one kite is more powerful than the other. Instead, I would rather use something like "Slower" and "Faster"....or...."Power" and "Speed". I think these terms would better describe the kites without implying one is a "kiddie toy" and the other is a "Big Boy" kite.

One thing has shown to be true though, once a buggy pilot here gets experienced enough to handle the higher aspect ratio foils and use them to their fullest ability, it is hard for them to go back to the lower aspect ratio ones. When flown properly, the race foils are absolutely awesome!!!

Hope that helps.