F-One Strike V3 Overview: Tucker's Initial take

Welcome back to MACkiteboarding Wing Wednesdays with Tucker. Today I'm going to talk with you about the new F-One Strike version three, released in April of 2023. We've been looking forward to this wing; it's a favorite year after year. This is going to be a quick overview of the wing, and then we're going to have a comprehensive review once we've had some more time on it to get a good feel for it. We'll also give you a comparison to the version 2 wing, and maybe some other popular wings.

The Bag

The bag is beautifully redesigned in a mint teal color. It's got elastic pump straps and vent netting so you can get all the sand and moisture out of your bag when there's some left on your wing. The accessory pack comes with a valve wrench and inflation pump adapter, so you don't need to buy a separate adapter. There are also some bladder patches included, so that's really handy if you get a little poke in your wing at the beach from the dune grass or some shells. You can quickly pull that bladder and get a patch on it so you can get back out on the water and have some fun.

Improvements for V3

Dual Point Inflation

This is a new wing, for sure. It's got the same pedigree as the v2, so Strike lovers will be happy, but they've made some significant improvements for the v3 that I think everybody's going to be happy with. The first thing I noticed when I went to inflate it was a dual point inflation, which I'm a big fan of. If you've been following my reviews, you know I have been screaming at the top of my lungs for brands to isolate the leading edge and the strut bladders. It just makes everything so much more simple, safe, and versatile, and it's not that hard to move your pump from the strut to the leading edge. The dump valve situation is so much easier and quicker, so I'm really happy to see that they've gone this direction with the dual point inflation. They have that same style of HP inflation valve that they've always had. It's the same as Naish or FlySurfer, or if you have an inflatable paddleboard it probably has the same valve, so you can share adapters.

I didn't even realize it until I was halfway through pumping, but they're recommending that you inflate the leading edge first. This is backwards from what most brands would say with a dual point inflation; usually you're going to want to inflate the strut first because that creates the curved shape of the strut into the leading edge. With other brands, if you don't inflate the strut first, then sometimes you can have an issue where the bladder doesn't want to conform to the curvature of the leading edge and it can blow out, but F-One is recommending the opposite, so we're going to trust them and inflate the leading edge first and then the strut.

High Pressure Frame

It also has a higher PSI rating than previous years, so now we're at 9 PSI recommended on the leading edge and 10 PSI on the strut. The reason they're able to do that is because they have really leveled up the toughness and durability of the material they're using. It's a stronger Dyneema this year.

Canopy Material and Design

They're also using some different types of ripstop in the canopy. The trailing edge section is a 2x2, but with very tiny cross-sections of squares, whereas in the main canopy it's more of a traditional dual ripstop, so it's light but strong, and extra strong where it needs to be. They really thought about adding durability where it needs to be, but not just everywhere and increasing the weight too much. The panel layout is completely different from anything else on the market and even from anything we've seen from F-One. They've really thought about where they're placing those seams and why they're there. It reinforces the load and how it gets displaced across the canopy, and that's going to give you a stiffer, better-responding wing that can handle being overpowered better and whose performance is going to last longer. It's not going to bag out as quickly as your standard square layout, double ripstop, basic canopy. You can tell they've put a lot of work into leveling up the durability and the stiffness of the wing, which was my biggest complaint in previous years. I've loved the Strike year after year and it's always a go-to for me, but as a heavier rider that is always riding overpowered, the flex in a wing is always a concern. When you have that flex and you're always riding them overpowered, then the durability and how quickly they're losing performance becomes a concern in the long run. So I have high hopes for this, and just by looking at it, I know it's going to be that much better because of the improvements that we're seeing this year.

Strike V3 Overview

Surf Handle

The leading edge or surf handle is similar to years past in shape and size. It's got the nice Neoprene patch so you don't scuff up your knuckles. It is a stiffer handle this year; they've found a way to sew in a plastic reinforcement. It's not a full-on hard boom-style handle; it's got a little bit of give, but it's much stiffer than years previous. They've also added some reinforcement on the ends of this handle so that even when you're dragging it through the swell and taking hard falls, it can hold up better.

Leash

It's got the same leash as last year- that nice rope-style bungee with the same comfortable cuff. It does the job, but the cuff is removable, so if you want to connect the leash to a waist belt instead, you can do that.

Handles

At first look, you might think these are the same handles that we know and love on the Strike, but they're not; they're slightly improved and changed this year. Like the leading edge handle, the dimensions are roughly the same, maybe a little bit thicker, but they've sewn in that plastic "rigidifier", as they call it. That gives it a more direct response, which gives you more control of the wing and how you're moving it. The handle doesn't slop as much, so that's a positive move in my mind. It makes it easier to grip the handle because the nylon outer coating isn't shifting; it's sewn in all the way through that reinforcement, so it's a really cool solution. It's not a proper "hard handle", but a harder handle, so those who have loved this style in the past should still love it, and those people looking for a bit more direct response with less slop in the handling are really going to love this. Just like the surf handle, they've extended the ends, plus there's a strap around the strut to improve the durability and stiffness and to increase the longevity of the wing. When you're buying a new wing now, it's lasting you longer and the performance is staying good for the life of the wing.

The back hand handle has been shifted a bit backwards, so heavier riders like myself and riders wanting a bit more power in the sail should have a better balance between your front and rear hands. As a heavier rider always riding overpowered, the Strike in previous years has been a little back hand heavy for me. Not so much that it's something I don't like to ride, but it's enough that I notice more fatigue than I would with other wings where I can balance closer to 50/50 power between my front and back hand. Previous Strikes would be more like 60/40, so I'm hoping, with these new handle positions and those rigid handles, that I'll have a little more ease-of-use and a bit more ergonomic ride experience. Come back for the full review and I will let you know.

Harness Line Connection

It's the same as previous years, but it's been reinforced a bit more. For the most part though, it's the same harness line that you know and love, with an easy loop connection on the front handle and either a loop or a lark's head connection on the rope style connection.

Canopy

On the bottom center of the wing, there is a stiff swept shape coming through the back end of the wing. It's really stiff, almost like a windsurf sail. There's some Dacron in there, and some other magic that helps stiffen that section of the trailing edge to reduce flutter, as well as some soft battens along the trailing edge of the canopy. It is a very tight canopy.

Shape

The overall foil section of the wing looks very similar to the v2. I don't know that there are a lot of changes there. It does say in the literature that it's a little faster and a little better upwind, so the race guys will be happy. Those people riding a bit more overpowered should be happy as well as this will help expand the range on the top end of the wing. Hopefully that doesn't sacrifice that low end grunt and lift that the Strike is known for, but we'll find out and we'll let you know in the full review. But for the most part, it looks a lot like the Strike we know and love, so I wouldn't anticipate this deviating too much from that Strike pedigree of a real lifty, grunty, powerful wing that's going to pull you right up on foil super easily. It should be one that's very lofty and will catch you during jumps, so I'm really looking forward to riding this more.

Stay Tuned...

We have the 4m and 5m that we're doing some extensive testing with. We want to ride it in light wind, medium wind, and high wind, and compare it to some other benchmark products before we come to you with a comprehensive review. Today we're just giving you the nuts and bolts of what the wing is and how it's changed in terms of materials and design, but soon we'll let you know how the rubber meets the road. This has been Tucker with MACkiteboarding.com, and we'll see you next time.

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