2025 F-One Plume K-Wing On-Water Review | Between a Kite and a Wing Place?

Tucker's back with a review for the 2025 F-One Plume. It's a... well, he's not quite sure what to call it. It's essentially a small, strutless kite with a handle attached directly to the bridles. It flies much like a parawing, but with its inflated leading edge, it is also similar to a wing. We'll call it a "K-Wing", or maybe just the "Plume" since this hybrid kite-wing is unique.

Regardless of what it is, the real question is whether it works. Why would you want this over a wing or a parawing? Let's take a closer look at the features of the wing and then at Tucker's experience riding it to see if it has any advantage over other options.

Plume Features

The Plume has a surf handle on the leading edge, much like you'd find on a wing, but not a parawing since you'd stow a parawing to surf. The Plume is totally depowered when you're holding on to that handle, and it's also a handy place to hang on to it when you're getting ready.

Under that handle is the leash attachment point. The leash runs through the bar and acts almost like a fifth line on a kite to flag it out and kill the power. You can attach the leash to your wrist or harness, but you do need to use it since if you let go, the Plume will tumble away with the wind.

Tucker's Plume was still a prototype and everything is subject to finalization, but the one he had used two valves. The inflation valve was a nipple-style one-way valve that you could even use with just a hand pump. The leading edge has quite a small diameter and doesn't take much air. You can certainly use a kite pump, but it'll be full in about five pumps. If you want to keep your kit slim, don't be afraid to stick a smaller pump in there. Since the inflation valve is one-way, there is also a dump valve, and that works well to quickly deflate the leading edge.

The bridles are quite simple and look like a kite's bridles. The bar connects directly to these, and it feels similar to flying a parawing, but is a bit easier to maneuver. The bar is color-coded with orange being up or forward, and the safety line through that is red. You can connect a harness to it, and that works great when riding upwind or powered up.

Who's It For?

Because the Plume is easier to fly than a parawing, it may be a good choice for those new to the sport who want to get into parawing. Because it's inflated, if you drop it on the water, relaunch is going to be as easy as moving your wrist up. It's rounded and will pivot up and off the water without becoming waterlogged the way a parawing can. The bridle is also simpler than a parawing's and it won't invert and get tangled up. You'll get a feel for parawing without the hassles that can come with it.

The Plume might also be attractive to people who want to travel, or for anyone who goes on a downwinder where conditions are expected to change. Although you'll need a bit more power for a given wing size, you'll have a wider wind range for that size as compared to a parawing. A 4m Plume can be flown in as little as 20 knots but is very comfortable to fly in 25-30 knots without feeling overpowered. You can get upwind with it and you won't feel overpowered or get yanked.

For travelers, that means you can pack fewer sizes and have yourself covered for the expected wind. With no struts and a single simple bar, it packs down smaller than a wing. If space is an issue, this could be a good choice.

If you're doing a downwinder and won't be able to come in and grab a different size if conditions change, you should still feel comfortable on the size you have with you. If you anticipate a major shift in conditions during your run, you could even tuck a small pump and another size into a pouch, but you won't need to pack a second size as often as you would with a parawing.

While you can't pack the Plume away without deflating it, it does surf well with the leading edge handle. It flattens out and doesn't pull in any direction the way a wing can.

Tucker's Review

Tucker was impressed with the Plume's upper end range. It was smooth and comfortable, even in bumpy wind. He felt like it would be a great recreational tool for cruising flat inland lakes, though it was certainly capable in the waves and on downwinders as well.

He found that, as an experienced winger and parawinger, the Plume was very intuitive. He hopped on and took right off for a rip and had a lot of fun without needing an adjustment period. It's an odd bird for sure, but it could be a really nice option for the right rider and Tucker was glad to see F-One willing to take a risk and think outside the box when developing the Plume.

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