€1479
F-ONE BANDIT Now in the twelfth year, the Bandit 2019 is a bit of a genre spanning anomaly of a kite, so prolific that when it comes to assessing it later on you’ll find it in both of the freeride categories. Over the various sizes, the Bandit quiver is very much tailored to its predicted purpose in those wind speeds. We have noted previously that the smaller sizes have handling so direct and perky you can steer them one handed, letting you open your body and shoulders if you are waveriding, which enables you to get really good natural surf positioning. The level of power dump available on sheet is up there with the best wave kites in class with minimal pull as the kite crosses the window in an onshore scenario. For the test team, the Bandit’s stand out feature is how well it handles at all stages of depower. It has a relatively long depower system, but wherever you decide to cleat it off, the handling remains really consistent and is never sketchy. The trailing edge of the smaller models also has quite a pronounced bat tail on the middle strut, we guess lowering the aspect ratio in the center of the kite which seems to stabilize it further at lower wind speeds and improve the drift. In particular the mid sizes lend themselves well to freeride twintip action, and the 9m and 10m in particular are really excellent boosters, clocking up some formidable WOO scores with very little effort involved. Unhooked, of course a kite with this much sheeting range needs trimming fairly precisely which takes a little experimentation, but once that sweet spot is found it works very well, and produces a fair amount of slack for more of an all-rounder. The purist may at this stage wish to slow the kite down a touch and there are options to do this. The larger sizes have been optimized for light wind with a slightly higher aspect ratio, and they feel like they have more leverage in the tips to aid turning speed and they still feel like they match well with the rest of the range. You can see the dual pulley system helping the kite find a comfortable spot at all
angles of attack. They feel very well trimmed, which is important when the wind Dynamic is being less than Handling cooperative.Attributes (subjective 0-10) PARTICIPANT
Downloop catch from sent jump test Forward board speed Upwind ability Overall stability
Downwind drift Low / leeward ability end ability Popdepowered / slack test Bar feedback when Kiteloop power test Top end ability
Downloop catch from sent jump test Linear power development on sheet ForwardUsable board range speed Overall stability Lift on sheeting Low end ability Hangtime
T E C H N I C A L D ATA : Physical Attributes Size tested Kite weight (kg) Kg per m2 # Pulleys # LE hangpoints # Steering hangpoints # Struts LE diameter at widest point (cm) Recommended pressure (PSI) Line deflectors Battens Self-rescue handles Line attachments Ease of maintenance (0-10) Valve protection Tuning points
10 3.15 0.315 2 8 2 3 15.28
8
Yes No No Knots on front and steering 7 Yes No
Construction Canopy material TE material Bridle material Canopy seaming LE closing seam Strut / LE Material LE segment bump stops Overall build score (0-10) Inflate valve type
D2 Teijin Teijin Dacron / 2 x ripstop Braided polyester / 2mm sheathed Dyneema 2 step overlap 2 x straight stitch Teijin Dacron 15 8 SUP
TheKiteMag.com
Bar feedback Ease whenofdepowered relaunch Top end ability
Linear power development on sheet Poor
Good
Excellent
Usable range LiftAttributes on sheeting Static Handling
Practicality Hangtime (subjective 0-10)
PARTICIPANT
Ease of relaunch
UNITS SOLD
Pumping / deflation and valve Turning speed system Bar pressure Rigging simplicity Loop radius Self land Practicality (subjective 0-10) Bag size Bar feedback Repair kit quality PARTICIPANT UNITS SOLD Lateral stability - 12 o’clock test Travel friendly Stability at/ Zenith - front stallvalve Pumping deflation and system Oversheet to stall test (10 hard to stall) Rigging simplicity Pumping / deflation and valve system Self land Rigging simplicity Bag size Repair kit quality Self land Travel friendly Practicality Bag size
7 8 8 9 9 8 7 8 8 9 9 8
Repair kit quality Pumping / deflation and valve system Travel friendly Rigging simplicity Self land Bag size
AOA Force Test (12m) Wind speed (knots) Static ground pull value (N) Full sheet value max (N) Difference
UNITS SOLD
A lot of the marketing hype this year was on lessening the lateral pull on the 10to bury an Upwind Bandit,ability essentially making it fly you upwind more easily without having Downwind drift/leeward ability constantly. They’ve definitely pulled this 8 off and it edge and push the kite forward Pop / slack test 8 creeps upwind in a sneaky and effortless fashion, it seems to find the edge of the 7 KiteloopDynamic power test Attributes (subjective 0-10) window itself andHandling sits there very reliably. It genuinely does reduce your fatigue, Downloop catch from sent jump 9 particularly in your legs and core. test PARTICIPANT UNITS SOLD Forward board speed 9 10attributes. Upwind ability A lot ofstability the enjoyment in the Bandit is in its almost telepathic handling Overall 9 Downwind drift/leeward ability 8 It’send exceptionally 9 power as Low ability easy to initiate your turns with, and provides as much Pop / slack test 8 you want, exactly you want, with powerful yet predictable response. It’s 9 Bar feedback whenwhen depowered 7 Kiteloop power test Top end ability 10 infinitely trimmable at the bar, and has a really consistent bar feel throughout the Downloop catch from sent jump Linear power development onof its long development history. 9 size range which is indicative 9 test sheet Forward board speed 9 9 Usable range Overall stability 9 9 Lift on sheeting 9 Low S U end B J E Cability TIVE TEAM FEEDBACK: Hangtime 10 9 Bar feedback when depowered Ease of relaunch 9 Top end ability 10 Dynamic Handling Attributes Linear power development on 9 sheet Upwind ability 9 Usable range 9 LiftDownwind on sheeting drift / leeward ability Hangtime 10 Pop / slack test Ease of relaunch 9 Kiteloop power test
20 182 479 297
Repair kit quality Travel friendly Poor
Good
Excellent