F-One Strike V3 - Tucker's On-Water Review

F-One Strike V3 - On-Water Review

Welcome back to MACkiteboarding Wing Wednesdays. Today we are going to talk about the F-One Strike Version Three. This is a review; you may have seen the overview we posted on what's changed and what's going on with this wing, and now we're finally to a point where we feel like we've ridden it enough in varied enough conditions to get you a comprehensive review. I never like to ride something just once and rate it; we want to test it in a variety of conditions and really get our time in on it so that we can get adapted to the new changes and find out in depth what's going on, what's to like, and what's to not like, so that's what we're doing today.

Improved Design and Materials

After riding this wing on really light days, average, middle-of-the-road days, and completely blown out, overpowered crazy days, I've come to really love this wing. It is, without question, my favorite version of the Strike so far. On previous versions, some qualms I've had as a heavier rider that wants to always ride overpowered are that I felt like it was always a little underbuilt in terms of the Dacron layout, the canopy, and the kind of load it can take and how easily it would deform. Eventually that would cause premature bagging out or premature failure of the fabric, but this year with the upgraded canopy, the reinforced trailing edge, and the new layout to help disperse that load with the new load panels, F-One really leveled up their game in terms of the rigidity and what I anticipate will be a very long-lasting wing that's going to keep its performance. As a heavier rider, I'm totally amped on this wing. On the previous ones, I loved the way it behaved in the surf and I loved the feel of the wing, but as soon as I started to get overpowered, it would deform and just not be balanced right for my weight and that power. They've really taken that up a notch, and I would say more extreme, advanced riders, riders riding with more power, and riders that are asking more from the structure of the wing are really going to be amped on the new improvements.

Increased PSI

The other part of the rigidity is the higher PSI. We have 10 psi going into the strut and 9 psi going in the leading edge, and that brings the wing to a new level of stiffness. The bladders aren't huge and draggy and slow; it's still very sleek and refined like it always has been. With those higher pressures and that extra reinforcement, it brings that wing to a new level of responsiveness and holds its structure so much better when you're overpowered.

More Balanced Handles

Another change I like a lot as a heavier rider and somebody that's riding overpowered a lot is the orientation of the handles. They're stiffer, as I mentioned in the overview, but they're also placed in a different spot. They're shifted slightly backwards, and that gives you a more balanced feel in your hands. In previous years it felt a little back hand heavy to me, especially once I'd start to get more and more power and was asking more and more from that wing. I think that was partially the frame, but the handle placement was always a bit back hand heavy for me. It's much more balanced now, especially when riding overpowered, and it still feels comfortable. It's definitely a more ergonomic way to ride and a more comfortable ride from this year's wing. The same thing applies for the harness line: I always had to be reefing on that back handle to get that wing in the right orientation, but sliding it back slightly improved that for me.

Wrist Leash

It's a great leash. It's got the metal D-ring, so it's durable no matter the temperature. It's not going to break. It is a little small diameter-wise for me with a cold water wetsuit on, though.

Independent Inflation

I love the independent inflation! I've been asking them to do that for a few years now. I ask every brand to do that, and thankfully they listened. I don't know that they listened to me, but they listened to somebody and I got independent inflation. Now we can go to different PSIs. Because we have isolated bladders, if one fails you have the other to back you up. It simplifies things with regard to the bladder design, too. If you need to replace a bladder, there are fewer connections and the bladders are cheaper because there are fewer connections. Plus it's one less valve to fail or leak or delaminate. Good job, F-One- you're geniuses. Thank you for doing that.

Less Dihedral

I didn't realize it when I first opened this wing up and was doing the overview, so I'll mention it now. There's a little less dihedral in this wing. I think that's partially because the foil section of the wing is a little shallower. It's not as deep and it doesn't have as much curvature across the back edge of the wing, so you don't need so much dihedral to support that. What that gives you is a more stable, easy-to-ride wing. It's faster into the wind when you're luffing, there's less drag, and in terms of the upper end range, one of my favorite things about this new wing is that they've sped up that foil section. The wing is a lot faster, it drives forward a lot faster, and you can really shear the wind and keep moving faster and faster, building more apparent wind, especially on the high end. The previous versions of the Strike, as much as I love them, would get overpowered very quickly, so if you're in a situation with a lot of gusts or you're riding the wing in more wind than you really should ride in, it would get overpowered so quickly that you could hardly manage it. This new version 3 really handles being overpowered well; you can tell that was a priority of theirs. You can tell they wanted to make it faster. You can tell that they wanted to make it ride overpowered more comfortably and more easily. They've definitely accomplished those with this wing, so I'm really excited and happy about that.

Jumping Ability

It still has that legendary Strike grunt on the low end and definitely has that legendary Strike loft and jumping ability. This thing goes straight to the moon when you send it. If you've got good power and you launch a jump, this thing goes really high really fast, so be ready for that. That loft also helps to catch you coming down and helps you re-engage the wing so that you can get back on foil or land on foil and keep riding. If you're into freestyle, this wing is a top-notch choice, especially for the version three. It lets you ride powered to take advantage of that jumping ability and, being so light and maneuverable, you can just whip that wing around and do all your spins and flips and whatever. I'm really amped on this wing.

Who's It For?

I would say this wing is best for riders doing freestyle or surfing. F-One wings are legendary in the surf; every year, every model is phenomenal. They just hang there in your hand. They're so well-behaved and light-feeling in your hand that it's really a top choice for our team year after year in the waves. This is one of the best surf wings I've ever ridden, period. I love it in the waves and would never, ever hesitate to grab this wing. In terms of freestyle, I think they definitely leveled it up in terms of its speed. The faster you can go, the more apparent wind you can build, the more power you have, the higher you can jump, the faster you can ride, and the more opportunities you have to do what you want to do. They've definitely accomplished that here. Being a stiffer frame, it's going to hold up better, it's going to allow you to catch yourself more easily and not deform the wing, and again, to build those speeds that allow you to reach those jumps and do those maneuvers. It's so light, it comes through the wind so cleanly, and it maneuvers so well that it just makes your life easy. If you're a person that wants to learn how to do a Flaka or do your first jumps, this is an awesome wing. If you're somebody that wants to jump the highest at your local spot, this is the wing that's going to take you there. So two big thumbs up for me.

Tucker's Nitpicks

If I had to choose anything I didn't like about it, I'd be really hard-pressed to find it, if we're being honest. I'd probably say the handles, for me. The nylon-covered handles can be a little slippery, especially with thick gloves on. Again, I wouldn't hesitate to grab this one, but I do think, with some hard handles, you might be able to shift your hands across the handle a little bit more easily without having to grip it tightly. With a straight bar rather than a curved bar, you can hang on lightly. if you're looking to hang on at one end of the handle, you're going to have to grip that a bit more or your hand is going to slide to the center. That's just what comes with the territory with soft handles. They do make the wing incredibly light and packable, and you're not going to break these, so it's a give-and-take, but if I was having this wing designed personally for me, I would probably want some really lightweight, narrow-diameter hard handles on this. That's just my two cents, and I think a lot of the people riding F-One have ridden the soft handles so long that they're going to absolutely love the rigidification on these with the plastic insert to help have a more direct feel. I do think that's a step in a positive direction. I really have nothing else bad to say about this wing. I love it, and it's perfect for what it's designed for.

Best Riding Styles

Is this going to be a wing that's going to be the fastest on the race course and the best upwind as compared to a wing that's designed specifically for racing? Probably not. It's really fast and it's competitive in a race, for sure, but I think the upwind angle versus something like a North Mode is going to struggle a little bit. Other than that, if you're looking for a huge range of 20 miles an hour, this wing is simply too grunty and powerful to do that. Once you get really, really overpowered, it's just not going to be that comfortable. You can still ride it, but it's not going to be ideal. There are wings out there that pull forward like a truck, but they don't have that grunt, so you lose a lot of low end range on a wing like that. With the Strike, you can have great low end and really respectable high end, so for anyone freeriding, doing freestyle and doing waves, this fits perfectly in that.

Strike V3 vs. Previous Versions

With regard to range as compared to previous Strike models, I would say to go with the same size. you're going to gain a little top end range, but you're still going to have the same bottom end. You might need to pump one more time to get it going because it doesn't have that super deep canopy anymore, but once you adapt to it after a couple of hours, it's all positives and no negatives on that front, so I think it's a huge improvement. Anything lost in the grunt is gained with the speed you get and the rigidity of the wing as you're pumping.

Conclusion

I have nothing but the best to say about this wing. It's absolutely going to be one of the most popular wings this year, I can guarantee it. Reach out to us at the shop with any questions and we'll see you next time.

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