F-ONE Kiteboarding Acid HRD Lite Tech 130 x 40cm 2016
Reviews / Twin Tips
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At A Glance
The Acid has been in the F-One twin tip line up for some time now, 2016 sees it get a significant revamp, though, and it gets the HRD rail treatment too. It’s always, and still is, billed as a new school freestyle board, featuring a wide outline with square tips to help you pop. The HRD rail was first seen on the Trax last year and now makes it onto the Acid.
HRD stands for Helical Rail Design; the premise is that having a uniform rail shape doesn’t offer the best performance, so the rail is shaped differently along its length. There are softer sections for carving and sharper sections for edging and riding upwind. In addition to the HRD rail the board features the new Lite Tech construction, this allows light to shine right through the board, it is purely cosmetic and doesn’t add performance, but it will help you stand out on the water.
The board comes with the tried and tested UniBox fin system which allows F-One to give the board thinner more hydrodynamic fins, as opposed to having fins think enough to fit bolts in. It also comes with the new Platinum footpads and straps. These have to be one of the best strap and pad systems on the market right now, every little detail has been thought of, there is even a place to store your bolts in the base so you don’t lose them when you travel! They are also very comfortable and exceedingly adjustable to just about any foot shape and size.
On The Water
The Acid is a reasonably stiff board, a nod to its freestyle intentions, the stiffness runs the length of the board, the tips offer a little more flex to help give you that extra boost off the water. On the underside there is a deep, wide channel cut into the base, this helps the board grip upwind but also more importantly takes away some of the slap from hard and fast landings.
Pop on the Acid is easy to find ad the energy released as you leave the water is impressive. Landings are smooth, helped by the flex tips and the channel we mentioned earlier. The wide square outline also makes a stable platform, which adds to the control you have especially if you slightly over rotate a trick or don’t come in for a perfect landing. This adds an element of forgiveness to the board that makes it a pleasure to ride.
Being quite stiff, we thought the ride through the chop would be uncomfortable, but this wasn’t the case. It’s not as buttery smooth as the Trax, but it can cope with different water states exceedingly well. The HRD rail adds a new dimension to the board over last year, it feels a lot smoother and more controlled, especially at high speeds. The Acid will suit any new school freerider who values pop and performance over the smoother rider offered by the Trax.
Overall
A beautiful board that has a heap of technology bestowed within it. We love the effect the Lite Tech has on the looks, but the addition of the HRD rail is the real gem here, combined with the stiff flex, wide outline and that deep channel they all come together to make an excellent freestyle twin tip!
Videos
This review was in Issue 57 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit F-ONE KiteboardingRelated
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!
