The RIOT is a new kite from Ozone designed to extend their range between the Samurai allrounder and the Yakusa buggy race kite. It has been seen as a direct competitor to Flexifoil's Blade whuch has been around in three guises for several years. The RIOT is superbly made by Ozone with all their usual and expected details including the superb fabric, full reinforcement, a quality bridle, excellent backpack, lines and handles. The kites are available in FIVE sizes: 3m, 5m ,7m ,9m and 11m and four colour schemes (similar to the Fury and Yakusa).

So......what's it like to fly. In fact ,very, very nice. The 5m was compared to a Blade III 4.9m. One of the most obvious features is the aspect ratio. Whereas the Blade's is 5, the Riot is "fatter" at 4. Once in the air, the Riot feels incredibly smooth and refined whereas the Blade has a raw edge to it as if the Riot is "better developed". No doubt the raw edge of the Blade will attract flyers but it still has the almost trademark tip collapse in lighter winds or at the edge of the wind window which gets annoying. The Riot however IS more stable with only a hint of tip deflation when pushed right to the edge. When the kites were flown statically back to back (no buggy etc) , the Blade did seem to pull harder in the same wind but in this case it was lumpy and unpredictable whereas the Riot was rock solid and MUCH nicer to fly in the same conditions. The Riot certainly felt as if it would be a much better buggy kite and has a more useable and "user friendly" wind range. The blade 4.9 is often criticised because its power is either off in lighter winds or full on when the wind picks up. The Riot is far superior in this respect and hence in my opinion the better of the two kites.

In terms of price, the Riots compete very well with the Blade III - the 5m Riot for example is £356.95.