F-ONE Kiteboarding Signature 6’0 2012
Reviews / Surfboards
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At A Glance
Possibly the most beautiful boards from 2011 have made a welcome return, although this time there are some new shapes. The Signature series has been developed with kitesurfing in mind. Instead of tweaking a surfboard for kiting the team at F-One realised you can make the ultimate kite surfboard by designing exactly that. What’s new? Well the Signature series features a scooped out deck area on the front section of the board. This lowers the centre of gravity, but retains the rail shape. It also means you can have thicker more forgiving pads underfoot. Additionally it reduces the chance of the nose getting “blown” in high winds. Secondly it is a quad fin, which brings many benefits in it’s own right. Quad fins are faster, looser and offer more drive off the back foot. On paper then the 6’0” is shaping up to be somewhat of a beast!
On The Water
The Signature 6’0” feels very natural to ride, there is a little less volume than a more traditional shaped board, but it is hardly noticeable with a decent amount of wind in your kite. We rode the board in a variety of conditions and it really performed at the top of it’s game at whatever we could through at it. Driving a bottom turn the 6’0” feels solid as a rock and the extra speed gained is welcome especially when chasing down those big ocean swells that frequent the Indian Ocean. The quad fin set up also gives the board a looser feel and you can really get the tail out in the critical section on demand. In smaller waves the added speed this board has enables you to get around sections and basically use speed to your advantage when the wave lacks power.
For
Achingly beautiful, classic design with nods to a modern future. Quad fin adds speed, drive and makes it easy to kick the tail out.
Against
You could argue the 6’0” is a little power hungry, but then it is that low volume that makes it so good at what it does.
Overall
Great to see a new shape coming from the F-One camp and we are really pleased it has turned out so well. The 6’0 likes to be ridden powered up, and let loose on big or small waves it will be sure to put a smile on your face.
This review was in Issue 32 of IKSURFMAG.
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By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
