F-ONE Kiteboarding IC6 850 V2 2019
Reviews / Hydrofoils
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At A Glance
F-One were early to the foil game years ago and have thrown their full weight behind it as a brand. They have a whole range of wings for a multitude of different sports and have come up with some exciting tech along the way. The IC6 V2 850 might seem like a mouthful, but when you break it down, it makes sense.
IC6 refers to the Injected Carbon moulding process. Traditionally carbon is laminated, resin is added, it’s then compressed and heated. This whole process takes time and is the reason why carbon is so expensive. By using a mould and injecting a carbon resin, F-One have created an incredibly stiff and robust product with almost all the benefits of carbon, less the cost.
V2 is because this is the second version of the wing, the profile has been updated to give it more lift and make it more stable. The 850 refers to the surface area in CM, foil measurements are still not all using a standard, but the actual surface area in CM seems to be a method many brands are now adopting, and it makes sense.
The set up uses Injected Carbon wings coupled with an aluminium fuselage, mast and base plate. The Fast Connection Device is used to attach the front wing, and a male-female socket ensures it is always correctly aligned. The rear wing is removable and bolts on with Torx fixings as does the fuselage to the mast and base plate for the board.
F-One have created a whole range of base plates so you can fit this set up to any board on the market. From Tuttle to KBox and this classic twin-track we have on test, they have it all covered. The industry is moving towards the twin-track standard, but the good news is that if you have an older board with a different setup, you can get a head for the mast that will fit.
The entire system feels incredibly well constructed, the extra feet on the fuselage that slot into the mast is a lovely touch too. In fact, when you consider the retail price of this foil it’s incredible value, the aluminium parts and beautifully manufactured, and the stainless steel inserts for the bolts should mean you avoid the natural oxidisation of the aluminium on steel, although we would still recommend regular removal and flushing with fresh water.
On The Water
The IC6 V2 850 (we’ll just call it the 850 for the rest of the review) is billed as a freeride/beginner wing. It has a large pitch on it, and while it is relatively high aspect, it does generate a massive amount of lift at low speed. Once up and riding, you have a very quiet set up with no whistling at any speeds.
Stability is probably the key factor to take away from the 850, it locks into a track and stays there, filling you with confidence up top. If you are learning to foil, you’ll enjoy this characteristic as it loves tracking along and does it with ease. It will also fly at very low speeds thanks to the profile and pitch angle of the wing.
The top end is impressive too though, this isn’t a wing that you will grow out of fast and while the trend might be moving towards slower lower aspect wings the 850 reminded us what a blast going fast can be. It’s stable and controlled at all speeds and if you wanted to couple this with a strapped board up top to do some distance runs it would be the perfect companion.
One point to note is the stall speed it will fly at quite a low speed, but when it stops, it stops. You get a dropping sensation as the speed gets too low for the wing profile to generate lift. A lower aspect wing won’t have this characteristic, but then it won’t be as fast either. We felt it was a good trade-off for the sheer speed range the 850 has.
If you are learning it will get you up at low speeds, but experienced riders will enjoy the faster nature too. Tacks and gybes were easy to master on the 850, and what surprised us was how stable the relatively high aspect wing was. F-One have worked some magic here in the sense the wing is so easy to ride yet packs some excellent performance in too.
This IC6 material is incredibly resistant to knocks and bumps, we hit something really hard and went flying on one outing. I honestly thought the foil would have been destroyed. We were in deep water, there were no buoys around, and it definitely wasn’t a big fish. Whatever it was, there was no damage to the wing or whole set up at all, despite it being a hell of a crash!
This wing is going to suit the beginner to intermediate riders and even some expert riders too. Anyone you wants something stable that is easy to ride who also might want to go a bit faster as they progress too. It’s OK for wave riding, but there are better wings in the F-One and other ranges for this purpose, and this isn’t where the brand at pitching it either.
Overall
The package you get with the IC6 V2 850 is an impressive one, injected carbon wings, beautifully machined aluminium components. Coupled with well thought out steel inserts and the excellent FCD connection system, a lot is going on before you even mention the incredibly durable injected carbon. Exceedingly stable, forgiving to a point and with a fantastic speed range the 850 is a set up a lot of riders will enjoy, from first flights to long blasts up and down the coast, this foil has you covered! Oh and the silence too, that was impressive without having to tune the wings or the mast at all!
Videos
This review was in Issue 76 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!
