Hi Micah . Love your channel and content. Thanks for all your do. It was great meeting you while I was attending my class in January. I just purchased a Kona 3 based on your recommendations and the fact that I plan to get my P2 free flight rating in the future. -Jay
Although my Spyder 3 is still a newborn I am definitely interested in paragliding specifically for hike & fly. Not knowing what will be on the market when I’m ready to upgrade, it’s still never too early to get educated on options and this was a fantastic review. Teacher Steve gives you an extra gold star for vocabulary! 😄⭐️
Hola, estoy entre el Kona y el spyder,por motivos de salud preciso un parapente que infle bien incluso con viento cero, pregunta,cómo es la spyder en condiciones flojas de viento para inflar?
Watched through again and had a few[!] more comments... The trailing edge feature you mentioned, I believe those are called mini ribs. Ozone calls those thin leading edge straps G-Strings... personally I think it sounds kind of gross for a wing to have both leaky buttholes and g strings but 🤷♂😉. I mentioned some of this part to you earlier, Micah, but for your viewers' info: I took my Kona 2 to Valle de Bravo, Mexico, for freeflying in December. I wanted to simplify the glider for mountain launching and thought the 2D steering might make my turns too "dive-y" for freeflying. The Kona was my first wing but I now also have a Sirocco for more dynamic flying, so I was feeling like I could now dedicate the Kona to simplicity, safety and efficiency. So I wrote to Ozone to ask if I could get Buzz Z6 risers for the Kona 2 (the Kona is based on the Buzz) and what to do with the tip steering lines. They said yes, you can put Buzz risers on it, and they recommended removing the tip steering altogether for dedicated freeflying, or moving the tip steering ring guide thingy to the C maillon and adding a magnet to the riser to hold the tip steering handle. With the Buzz risers I guess you would get all your speed range in the bar rather than a combo of bar & trims... I would be scared to use trims in freeflight, at least thermalling, at least at my level of experience. I gather old PG wings had trimmers but they were eventually considered dangerous... hard to get untrimmed once you're trimmed! Anyway, I did not get the Buzz risers but did remove my tip steering lines. I thought it was perfect for learning to freefly. I was already used to the wing, and apart from the risers it is a state of the art low B PG wing in all ways. I think that tendency to come up a little slower was a real strong point for breezy mountain soaring launches - very manageable! My buddy brought his Spyder but it was less than ideal and he ended up using our coach's Skywalk Mescal, an A class PG wing, for the whole trip. The Kona is also nice for situations where fast running is more difficult, like on snow. It is just glorious for peaceful sunset flights floating almost like a balloon on a perfectly still summer day. Overall I have been so happy with this two wing quiver. The Kona was great to learn on. I eased forward from no tip steering, to using the separate tip steering, to tying the 2D in, then I bought the Sirocco. I still use the Kona a lot. If I am trying to learn or improve something like wingovers or asymmetric spirals I start on the safer, slower and less dynamic classic-profiled Kona, where I need to really understand things to make them work. Then when I move those skills over to the reflexed Sirocco they are easier yet I feel less likely to get in trouble because I have gained deeper understanding of the maneuver on the Kona. This was recommended by several of my instructors (including you, Micah, as I recall) a while after my basic training, when I was wondering if I should sell the Kona. I feel like switching between the two wings frequently makes me appreciate each one's benefits. They are different enough to make it worth having both. If I had started with a Spyder I wonder if I would feel the same.
Thank you for sharing this level of detailed experience, Mark! And for that info on the G-strings 😂 I love that you continue to progress with this wing!
Of course Josh, while I have a scheduled list of videos I want to get out there I also want to provide the content that’s of direct interest to you! Thanks for the suggestion 😄
Nice! I own that wing as well and I can pretty much verify everything you said, comparing it to my Sirocco. I really like having both, hard to choose a favorite because they are so different. Oh one other "pro" of the Kona is the lower airspeed makes winter a little more tolerable :)
Hola, hay algo que no entiendo,probé la kona 2 con cero viento a la altura del mar e infla espectacular ! Quedé sorprendido! Yo vuelo una ruhs 3 y no infla como esa
Good stuff! I would love to hear/watch you explain the method of tying in 2-d steering. How long or short the tip steering tie-in should be. Techniques on using during flight and during takeoff and landing.
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Hi Micah .
Love your channel and content. Thanks for all your do. It was great meeting you while I was attending my class in January.
I just purchased a Kona 3 based on your recommendations and the fact that I plan to get my P2 free flight rating in the future.
-Jay
Awesome Jay!
Great info... didn't know much about this wing.
Although my Spyder 3 is still a newborn I am definitely interested in paragliding specifically for hike & fly. Not knowing what will be on the market when I’m ready to upgrade, it’s still never too early to get educated on options and this was a fantastic review. Teacher Steve gives you an extra gold star for vocabulary! 😄⭐️
Haha awesome Steve! When you make it to CO, we’ll definitely have to do a trip. 😱⭐️🥳
Hola, estoy entre el Kona y el spyder,por motivos de salud preciso un parapente que infle bien incluso con viento cero, pregunta,cómo es la spyder en condiciones flojas de viento para inflar?
Wow! Thanks for this very informative review. When I finally am looking for a 2nd wing, I will know a bit about it.
Excellent Brother. Thanks for the review. God bless.
Watched through again and had a few[!] more comments... The trailing edge feature you mentioned, I believe those are called mini ribs. Ozone calls those thin leading edge straps G-Strings... personally I think it sounds kind of gross for a wing to have both leaky buttholes and g strings but 🤷♂😉.
I mentioned some of this part to you earlier, Micah, but for your viewers' info: I took my Kona 2 to Valle de Bravo, Mexico, for freeflying in December. I wanted to simplify the glider for mountain launching and thought the 2D steering might make my turns too "dive-y" for freeflying. The Kona was my first wing but I now also have a Sirocco for more dynamic flying, so I was feeling like I could now dedicate the Kona to simplicity, safety and efficiency. So I wrote to Ozone to ask if I could get Buzz Z6 risers for the Kona 2 (the Kona is based on the Buzz) and what to do with the tip steering lines. They said yes, you can put Buzz risers on it, and they recommended removing the tip steering altogether for dedicated freeflying, or moving the tip steering ring guide thingy to the C maillon and adding a magnet to the riser to hold the tip steering handle. With the Buzz risers I guess you would get all your speed range in the bar rather than a combo of bar & trims... I would be scared to use trims in freeflight, at least thermalling, at least at my level of experience. I gather old PG wings had trimmers but they were eventually considered dangerous... hard to get untrimmed once you're trimmed! Anyway, I did not get the Buzz risers but did remove my tip steering lines. I thought it was perfect for learning to freefly. I was already used to the wing, and apart from the risers it is a state of the art low B PG wing in all ways. I think that tendency to come up a little slower was a real strong point for breezy mountain soaring launches - very manageable! My buddy brought his Spyder but it was less than ideal and he ended up using our coach's Skywalk Mescal, an A class PG wing, for the whole trip.
The Kona is also nice for situations where fast running is more difficult, like on snow. It is just glorious for peaceful sunset flights floating almost like a balloon on a perfectly still summer day.
Overall I have been so happy with this two wing quiver. The Kona was great to learn on. I eased forward from no tip steering, to using the separate tip steering, to tying the 2D in, then I bought the Sirocco. I still use the Kona a lot. If I am trying to learn or improve something like wingovers or asymmetric spirals I start on the safer, slower and less dynamic classic-profiled Kona, where I need to really understand things to make them work. Then when I move those skills over to the reflexed Sirocco they are easier yet I feel less likely to get in trouble because I have gained deeper understanding of the maneuver on the Kona. This was recommended by several of my instructors (including you, Micah, as I recall) a while after my basic training, when I was wondering if I should sell the Kona. I feel like switching between the two wings frequently makes me appreciate each one's benefits. They are different enough to make it worth having both. If I had started with a Spyder I wonder if I would feel the same.
Thank you for sharing this level of detailed experience, Mark! And for that info on the G-strings 😂
I love that you continue to progress with this wing!
Hey! This was one of my requests! Thanks for taking it seriously and giving a very thorough review of the Kona 2! Great video 👍🏻
Of course Josh, while I have a scheduled list of videos I want to get out there I also want to provide the content that’s of direct interest to you!
Thanks for the suggestion 😄
Nice! I own that wing as well and I can pretty much verify everything you said, comparing it to my Sirocco. I really like having both, hard to choose a favorite because they are so different. Oh one other "pro" of the Kona is the lower airspeed makes winter a little more tolerable :)
Hah great pro!! Thanks Mark 🤙🏻
Hola, hay algo que no entiendo,probé la kona 2 con cero viento a la altura del mar e infla espectacular ! Quedé sorprendido! Yo vuelo una ruhs 3 y no infla como esa
I'm torn between being here for the chin dimple or the puppy in the background.
Y not both?
Good stuff!
I would love to hear/watch you explain the method of tying in 2-d steering. How long or short the tip steering tie-in should be. Techniques on using during flight and during takeoff and landing.
Kona 2 vs Universal 1.1?
Kona 2 is quite a bit slower, Universal has lots of trim (speed) range but is less efficient.