1/19/2024 0 Comments Kite magazine![]() ![]() HOW DID THE IDEA COME ABOUT, AND WHY THE CHOICE OF NAME?! The initial project was to make a simple kite just for hydrofoil cruising in light winds. Thus the kite is rigid enough so that the top surface does not flutter and the whole canopy stays solid and stable even in extremely gusty and strong winds. Here, the struts are inflated by the ram-air in- takes and made rigid with long high-density ny- lon rods. The five full chord inflated closed cells work just like the five struts of an LEI kite. Our design is a cross-over between LEI and single skin. This result- ed in an unpleasant feel in the bar and a very low upwind, pop and hangtime performance. The main drawback of single-skin and sin- gle-skin hybrid kites was the constant flutter of the trailing edge when depowered. TALK US THROUGH ITS UNIQUE TECH- NOLOGY AND WHY YOU’RE SO EXCITED ABOUT IT. It has good Big Air freestyle capabilities and sizes 4 and 6m are really good for megaloops, maybe even doubles! Finally, the easy relaunch, clear bar feedback, strong materials and lightweight design make it a good kite for beginners learning to kitesurf or twin- tip riders learning to hydrofoil. It suits hydrofoil freestyle “carving” riders particularly well, with or without straps. Thanks to a tight loop, smooth power generation, great drift and good up- wind/downwind performance, the Alma really transformed my foiling style. With smooth sheeting depower ability, and easy clam cleat trim above the bar, the LINX Bar control system checks all the boxes for high standards of safety and functionality.Tom did a really interesting Q&A for The KITE Mag! Read on below! FIRSTLY, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT STYLE OF RIDER YOU’VE PRODUCED THE ALMA FOR? The Alma is intended to perform in every style and all conditions, but it really shines the most when hydrofoiling in moderate to strong winds. This is a simple and effective system with nice streamlined bar floats that house the adjustable bar length ends and leader lines. The Quick Release cup is also easy to assemble and engage. The main center line employs a rectangular PU sheath which provides low friction sheeting and won’t pinch fingers that are close to the stainless insert. The bar has a very comfortable EVA grip with ergonomic shaping and easy colour coding. The LINX Bar is a streamlined and refined control bar system well-matched for smooth driving control. Kiters that want to practice their big air manoeuvres with a familiar F-One feel and function, but with more hang time and upper end wind range provided in this five-strut design. Less direct feel and slower turn initiation than some standout three strut kites like the Bandit XVI. For riders looking for the most hang time and explosive lift per square meter the extra structure and stability in the upper wind range, the Trigger is your ticket to the stratosphere. Like many of these new five-strut dynamos the Trigger continues to increase in performance with more wind and power in the upper end. The Trigger has great upwind drive and it offers some decent low-end power compared to some of the competitors in this category. It also has very quick and reliable turn speeds with a fast loop that won’t easily stall. The sweeping turns and higher aspect kites can take a bit more timing to get the right loft and trajectory to jump bigger, but the Trigger rewards even sloppy boosts with decent hang time and has a more easy jumping character than some of the more wind hungry five strut designs. Sometime the flatter arced five strut kites with lots of pulleys can feel lagging in turn initiation and have a more sloppy, less reactive feel through the bar. The Trigger is designed for going big and holding its form through mega gusts and mega loops but it’s not a difficult or clunky kite to fly and it feels light and crisp in the air. Both the new Bandit XIV and the Trigger show how kite performance can be substantially improved using improved design with high quality and proven, traditional materials. Their philosophy is to use the highest levels of “sail engineering” to maximize performance without necessarily using ultra expensive materials that can double the cost of the kite. F-One’s development and test team, led by the company founder, Raphael Salles, is passionate about rigorously testing and tuning their kites to ensure they meet all the parameters of performance outlined for each product. It features a five-strut frame with flatter arc, high aspect canopy that delivers the explosive lift extra hang time that is sought after in a big air kite. ![]() The Trigger is the newest model in the F-One kite line that offers top-level performance for boosting big air with lots of hang time. The Trigger is a 5-strut, big air kite that has that classic direct and nimble F-One feel, but with even more amazing lift for soaring jumps and hang time. ![]()
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