Ozone Snowkite Bar Recall - From Brian Schenck, Windzup
Hello All,
This type of issue is never fun to handle, yet it is an important issue that must be addressed.
First off, if you have purchased an 08 Frenzy FX or Manta II before February 1st, please check this link to the official recall notice from Ozone Snowkites:
Off the record, this is the truth from Brian as I have learned it.
All products that can be sewn are made in the Ozone factory that is owned/managed by Ozone personnel (Lead designer and Engineer genius Dave P). Vietnam is highly acclaimed for its quality stitch works... North Face, Mountain Hardwear, EMS and many other large technical fabric companies have moved production to Nam in the last few years. All hard goods (bars and moulded parts are made out of country and shipped to the Ozone factory in Nam for assembly and packaging with kites.
The bar factory in China was chosen for its known quality, and its reputation for making 80% of the worlds kite bars. Ozone had a custom carbon bar designed there specific to our higher strength standards. Unlike the Vietnam factory that watches every step of the process, the China factory allowed a bad batch of bars to be shipped, miscellaneously mixed with hundreds of good bars.
Since 2005, Ozone has used the same bar style without a single failure... the new 08 design is the only model that had a bad batch, and it was completely the China factories fault. Something to think about, is this same factory produces bars for many leading brands... so far only Ozone has recognized that the bars are below our accepted standards.
Good news, rather than continuing to trust the China plant as most do , we have both changed the bar design in January, and implemented a new testing procedure at the Ozone factory in Nam. Every single bar is now load tested before it goes into production, a step we feel necessary to hold a higher quality standard, also preventing this type of recall again, and setting a new QC standard in Kiteboarding.
So to the deal at hand... Soon as Ozone realized that there was an issue with the current bar inventory they began testing every bar at the factory. The unfortunate realization was that bad bars were mixed in randomly with good bars. Even tho it was a small percentage of failures, no failure is acceptable. The only thing to be done is a complete recall. Most bars are actually good, but none can be sure until tested. Many manufacturers would just wait until failure, and replace under warranty as needed. Ozone has always worked hard to set a higher standard, as their designers and team riders put their lives at the sharp end of the lines way above the ground all too often. Ozone wants all to know that they were supplied with a bar that we have retrospectively found to be below our high standards... and we do not want anyone to have anything other than a positive experience.
The simplest way to eliminate suspect bars is to test them and remove them from the planet. As with any recall, a warranty procedure must be followed, and customers choosing to follow thru on this highly recommended recall should send their bars back in immediately.
To offer the best possible customer service in the USA, Windzup, distribution for Ozone Kites USA, is replacing every bar with new production bars, to instill the highest level of confidence in your Ozone equipment. Ship your 08 Snowkite Bar along with serial number and all applicable info to:
Windzup
PO Box 190
Mt. Pleasant, UT
84647
or email
info@windzup.com for more information.
I personally will stand behind the product that I have helped promote and sell, and will do whatever needed to keep snowkiters as safe as possible. If you own an 08 Frenzy FX or MII purchased before January 31st 2008, please contact me so we can replace and test your bar. The testing is for Ozone purposes so we can eventually track down and elimate this problem. Ship your bar to me, I will replace and cover return shipping costs, to get the replacement bar back to you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience in helping us keep Snowkiting as safe as possible.
FYI - all bars are marked with a circle branding on the bottom of the bar, once they have passed the Ozone Load Test.
Windzup,
Brian Schenck
