Flysurfer POW vs. Ozone Pocket Rocket | What Sets These Parawings Apart?

Ozone and Flysurfer are two brands well-known for their ram-air foil kites, so it comes as no surprise that their entries into the new parawing category are some of the most popular and top-rated. With many years of experience making non-inflatable kites, both companies have a bit of a head start into the technology that's going to produce a high-performing parawing. So how do you choose between them?

First off, both are great parawings. The most important thing is to pick the right size for your conditions and you as a rider. Both are high-performance wings with excellent upwind range. They've got good high wind stability. Tucker's been riding them and would recommend either without hesitation.

However, each has features that might make it a bit more suitable for your needs. If you need a larger wing for light wind or because you're a heavier rider, only the Pocket Rocket currently goes up to 5m. However, the POW has a bit more low-end grunt to get you moving from a standstill. So there are a variety of factors to consider.

What's the Best Wind Range for the POW and Pocket Rocket?

The POW has a stronger pull and a bit more lift, so its initial punch after first throwing it out is going to pull harder. The Pocket Rocket has a little softer bar pressure with less strain on the arms and likes to create apparent wind before it delivers its power. The POW can help you get up quick on a slow, fat, chunky board, but the Pocket Rocket's steady, building speed works better on smaller, faster foils and longer, more efficient boards that don't need that immediate acceleration. The difference is not huge, but it can be a factor depending on how you like to ride.

On the upper end of the wind range, the Pocket Rocket has the advantage. With these brands' experience in designing this type of wing, both parawings are well above average in overpowered handling, but the Pocket Rocket holds its composure a little better when you're driving hard upwind and pushing it to its limits. It's great for riding small foils at top speeds. You can size up by half a meter and still hold it down.

Part of the reason for this stability at the high end is the Pocket Rocket's horizontal bridle line across the apex of the kite. It helps hold the wing's profile and keeps the wind flowing across the wing as it was designed. When parawings get overpowered, they tend to collapse on themselves, but Tucker hasn't had that issue on the Pocket Rocket. He's even had the 5m out in 30 knots and it handled well right up until it was practically being ripped from his hands.

If you want to push the top end of the wind range and ride smaller foils, you might prefer the Pocket Rocket. If you want to fly the smallest possible parawing so you can get up and pack it away, then the POW might be your wing.

How Do the Handles and Bridles Compare Between the POW and Pocket Rocket?

Right away, you can see that the POW's handle is different. It's got a bend at one end that'll allow you to get a more ergonomic grip when you're flying off the front end of the lines. Parawings can really pull hard when you're powered up and building apparent wind, and this gives you a little extra leverage while remaining comfortable.

The shape also sheds the bridle lines very well. There isn't anything that's going to want to snag your lines when you go to redeploy the wing after having it all bunched up. It's also easy to remove the front bridle line with just a screwdriver so you can slide a harness line onto the bar.

Another feature setting the POW's handle apart is the pulley on the second set of bridle lines. Most parawings have three sets of bridle lines, but the POW has four, and the pulley allows the second set to self-adjust to find the happy medium as you're sheeting in and out. It gives you a more fluid feeling, especially on the smaller parawing sizes.

The third set of lines attaches to the handle with a velcro band that you can move to adjust the wing's angle into the wind. This can be handy if you're riding underpowered or overpowered, though Tucker found a sweet spot where it works well in most winds without needing to micromanage it and where it's out of the way of his hands.

Ozone went in the opposite direction with their bar, opting for something that's elegant in its simplicity. It's straight and lightweight. It also has nothing for the bridles to catch on. The end lines are almost as easy as the POW's to remove for installing a harness line, but a pliers is the right tool here. This design allows you to attach a pigtail to the end of the front or back line, and then you can attach your leash to that. It's simple and out of the way and will depower your wing if you drop the bar.
Tip: Tucker prefers to use the front lines because it makes relaunch a little easier and helps keep the cells from filling with water.

The center bridle line can also be adjusted on the Pocket Rocket, though Tucker found the wing was perfectly happy with that line dead center. Still, it's nice to have that option if you want to fine-tune it to your personal style. There are also the more typical three sets of bridle lines vs. the POW's four, so if you like to keep it simple, the Pocket Rocket might be more appealing to you.

The bar itself is very comfortable to hold, with knurled finger positions that also serve to give you a tactile reference for where your grip is. They even help keep your harness line from sliding around.

The bridle lines themselves are quite soft and smooth, almost like well-worn kite lines. It's very nice on your hands as you pull on them to stow your parawing. We can appreciate anything that saves wear and tear on the hands or gloves.

The Pocket Rocket uses shorter bridle lines than the POW. The POW's longer lines are part of the reason it's got more low-end grunt, but that also makes packing it in a little more work, especially if you've got shorter arms. If you catch and release your parawing several times during a session, you might find that a bit easier to do with shorter bridle lines.

Some people also find having color-coded bridle lines a little easier to deal with, especially if you tend to get tangles. The Pocket Rocket uses a different color for each set of lines, while the POW's are all the same color. Ultimately, you'll want to spend some beach time practicing stowing and deploying your wing so that you don't have to deal with tangles very often.

How Do the Canopies Compare Between the POW and Pocket Rocket?

There are a lot of similarities between the sails of these two parawings. Both use a very lightweight, high-performance nylon that is much softer than you'd find on a kite. This makes them more packable. The bag size is a bit deceptive here since the wings can pack down to about a third of that size. That's a good thing, though. You don't have to be super efficient while packing the wing away, and it lets them breathe a bit.

The leading edge of both wings uses a similar profile with flexible nylon battens to help hold the shape. This is why they perform so well going upwind, and it helps improve both the top and bottom end range. Both allow air to equalize between cells, and both leading edges are squared off at the ends, which is pretty common in the high-end designs. It contributes to maintaining the shape of the kite, helps hold air in the sail, and ensures that every square inch of the canopy is working to deliver power rather than tapering off into a floppy, useless section. Tucker can definitely feel a difference in wings with this feature.

Does the Pocket Rocket or the POW Have a Better Bag?

Both bags are pretty basic, but neither is intended as a stash bag for on-the-water use. If you want one, you should pick up a pouch that you like. The Pocket Rocket has a sling type bag, with one whole side being mesh to let sand and moisture out. The POW's bag has a small mesh window and is a little higher quality padded material. If you feel like you need some extra protection for your parawing, then that's a nice feature, but both bags are adequate for everyday use.

Should I Get the Pocket Rocket or the POW?

If you're still undecided, that's okay. Both wings are by experienced design teams that understand what riders want out of a parawing, and you'll likely be thrilled with either one. Many parawings on the market focus solely on the downwind aspect of foiling, but the Pocket Rocket and POW are both very capable in their upwind ability, have above average wind ranges, and are easy to fly one-handed. Tucker was even able to hand them to his kids at the beach, and although they'd never used a parawing before, they were having fun flying them within seconds. Packing all that performance into a beginner-friendly wing is a hallmark of experienced and thoughtful design.

Both wings have taken up permanent residence in Tucker's car and get two thumbs up from him. They're going to maximize your time on the water and get you to the best breaks. If you are mainly paddleboarding and just want a backup power source, they're reliable and stable.

The POW and Pocket Rocket have both been very popular sellers, and depending on how quickly you want to get on the water with one, availability may be the ultimate determining factor for which one you choose. The factories are having a hard time keeping up with the momentum that built up once riders started reviewing them. MACkite usually has stock of one or the other if you don't have a strong preference between the two, but if you've managed to make up your mind, then more will be along soon if your choice is sold out.

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