Ozone's Forza 2 Harness: Honorin Hamard Explains the New "Easy Competition" Design
パラワールド【超多面的パラグライダー情報チャンネル】PARAWORLD
At the 2023 Coupe Icare in Saint-Hilaire, France, Ozone displayed its newly released Forza 2 harness. Honorin Hamard, an R&D team pilot for the brand, walked a Japanese interviewer through it. Their main points were that the Forza 2 is a new product rather than a small update, that it now covers the role of two earlier harnesses, and that its design puts durability, easy repair and practical storage alongside performance.
One Harness in Place of Two
Hamard presented the Forza 2 as "just released." It replaces the original Forza and also the Exoceat, so Ozone will now have one product where it previously had two. They returned to this point later: the Forza 2 is "a good compromise," which is why Ozone stopped making the Exoceat.
The harness also sits within a wider lineup. Above the former Exoceat position, Ozone now has the Submarine, a more performant harness with a longer tail. Because the Submarine covers the higher-performance end, Hamard said a separate Exoceat was no longer needed. They described the Forza 2 as "the easy competition harness," positioned below the Submarine.
Replaceable Parts and Weight
Hamard spent much of the demonstration on durability. The soft shell at the front is removable, so a pilot who crashes and breaks only that section can replace just that part. The tail works the same way: it attaches with a zip and can be changed. Hamard summed this up simply: "that's durable."
They gave the weight as 6.5 kilos and called that "quite light." Under the seat is a ballast pocket that can hold a lot of ballast for competition flying.
Hamard described the soft shell material as a middle ground. It is not like Lycra, and it is not as stretchy as neoprene. They called it "really in between" and "a good compromise."
Inflated Nose and Packing
The nose of the harness is inflated. Hamard said this helps "win space in the bag," so the harness packs smaller. They also pointed out that the closure is quite clean.
The Cockpit
Hamard called the cockpit detailed. It gives direct access to the inside, so a pilot can reach a sandwich or other items in flight. Two instruments can be mounted on it.
One section of the cockpit is adjustable. Hamard explained that this keeps instruments from tipping too far and holds them in shape on the pod. The cockpit also has clips, and the harness has lines that attach to the instruments, so each instrument is secured to both the harness and the cockpit.
There is also a tool for cutting lines if a pilot lands in trees. Hamard noted, half-joking, that this happens a lot in Japan, so Japanese pilots might need it.
Rescue Handles and Pockets
The harness has two reserve parachutes, one on the left and one on the right. Hamard stressed that the handles are big enough that "you can't miss them." They described the handles as super thick, super strong and easy to pull.
For storage, there are large pockets with zip closures, where Hamard suggested keeping tree-landing equipment. There are also very deep pockets that close with a magnet.
Inflatable Back and Air Intake
The back of the harness inflates through an air intake pipe. Hamard contrasted it with the Exoceat's pipe: the new one is stronger and should not bend. It is also not aligned with the harness body but set at an angle. According to Hamard, this lets it catch the airflow better and inflate the back well.
Inside the back is soft foam, which Hamard described as comfortable.
In-Flight Impressions
Hamard said the harness is quite stable in the air. They also noted that they had not yet flown the final version with its latest modification, which should be better. Their impressions came from the previous iteration, which they found comfortable with a good seating angle. On that basis they said they were "really confident" in the harness.
Ballast and the Speed Bar
Returning to the ballast pocket under the seat, Hamard pointed out that it does not interfere with the speed bar. The speed bar runs through its own small pocket inside the harness, so it will not be blocked even when the ballast pocket is heavily loaded. They closed the Forza 2 presentation there.
Hello Japanese pilots, Kisha. I hope you are well. I'm Honorin and we will show you how are the Ozone harnesses.
This is the new Forza 2, just released? Yeah, just released, the new Ozone Forza 2, and that's a good product. It will replace the Forza 1 and also the Exoceat. We will just have one product now.
There is a soft shell in front that is removable, so you can change it. Even if you crashed and you broke just this part, you can change it. It's the same for the tail: there is a zip and you can change it. So that's durable, and that's quite light, that's 6.5 kilos. But there is also, inside under the seat, a ballast pocket where you can put a lot of ballast if you want for competition.
So that soft shell, which is durable, it's not like a Lycra and it's not like a neoprene, so that's really in between and that's the good compromise. We have an inflated nose to win space in the bag.
As you can see, the zip to close it is quite clean. And here we have a cockpit with quite a lot of detail, so you can have access straight inside to take your sandwich or other stuff. You can put two instruments here. This part will be adjustable, so that if your instruments are heavy, they can't fall too much and they form the pod.
Here you have some clips. The other part will be with the harness, also with a line, and you can attach them to your instrument like that. They will be also attached to your cockpit.
Here you will have something for the trees, to cut the lines if, with bad luck, you are in the trees. And in Japan it is quite... ah, yeah. So maybe you will need that.
There are two rescues with big handles, you can't miss them. It's super, super thick, super strong, and it's easy to pull. One in the left, one in the right part.
You have also really big pockets here. You can put what you want; you can put the stuff for the trees. That's really nice. These ones you can close with a zip, and then you have also access to some really deep pockets where you can put some other stuff, and you can close them with just a magnet.
And here the back will be inflatable. So here you have the pipe. It's not like the Exoceat pipe, it's a stronger pipe which should not bend. And it's a bit not aligned with the harness, like that it takes the wind better and inflates the back quite well. Then in the back you have some foam here, quite comfortable. So yeah, it's soft, it's quite nice.
The harness in the air is quite stable. In fact, I haven't tried this last version with the last modification, which should be better, but last time it was quite comfortable, and the angle is nice, so I'm really confident.
Like is down for the... Yeah, sure. And that's why also we stopped the Exoceat for this one, because it's a good compromise that will replace the Forza and Exoceat, in fact. And now on top of the Exoceat we have the Submarine, so we don't really need this one. A harness more performant than this one, with a longer tail. So this is the competition, the easy competition harness.
And here you have the big ballast pocket where you can put ballast, and it doesn't interfere with the speed bar, because the speed bar is going here inside a little pocket also, so it will not block here even if you put a lot of ballast here. Yeah, it's looking good. And that's almost... that's it for the Forza 2. Thank you so much. Thank you.
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