F-One Rocket Surf 4’6 2022
Reviews / Surf Foil
5,790
At A Glance
Right now, I’m frothing on all things prone foiling. So when the Rocket Surf 4’6 arrived through my door I was buzzing to get it on the water (when the waves arrived!). F-ONE has carefully designed this board with surf foiling in mind, so a lot of the features are really specific to the discipline. First things first, it looks rad; bold colouring and a beautiful shape make for a stand-out board at the beach.
The 4’6 is 33L in volume, with the outline adjusted from the last model to reduce volume at the nose & tail slightly. The board is a full bamboo construction with a double bamboo deck, designed to create a strong and light board. It certainly feels light.
Shape-wise, it features a kick tail, double concave hull & slightly concave deck. The Rocket Surf comes in four sizes; 4’2 (28L), 4’6 (33L), 5’0 (38L), & 5’6 (43L). Both the 4’2 & 4’6 come with two inserts for foot straps.
On The Water
I only successfully learned to prone foil about 4 months ago, before this board I was on a 4’10, 39L. That was a bit of a chunk for me (I'm 68kg) but it helped me catch waves and progress. Therefore, I was fairly nervous about whether I’d be able to get going on the Rocket Surf 4’6.
Before I go into that I’ll give you some background, I’ve spent a good year now dock starting a 4’2, 32L board, so I’m pretty efficient when it comes to pumping and have done 4-minute flat water pumps. When prone foiling my old 39L board, however, I found the swing weight just way too high. I’d often be completely gassed after just a minute, turbulence in the waves does make a difference but I was super keen to try the Rocket Surf and see if I could link waves for longer. I just had to get on foil first!
Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. I was catching just as many waves as I did with my old board, I believe the volume up front & under your chest really helps with that. Once I was up, it was a dream, suddenly I was prone foiling on a board with a far reduced swing weight to that of the past so I could connect waves and pump so much further. The board feels stiff & super controllable once airborne and the deck pad is grippy & comfortable. Part of that control also comes from the concave deck, allowing your feet to be closer to the foil for a better connection & feel.
The other thing the concave deck does is give you a bit of extra space to move your knees & feet through when you pop up. Something that, being fairly new to surfing and average at pop-ups, I’m a big fan of. I didn’t get round to winging or towing with the Rocket Surf yet, but that’s where the foot straps would come into their own. While not specifically designed for winging, I have wing foiled similar size boards and am sure that on a windy day it would be superb.
Size-wise, I find the 4’6 perfect for me. I actually think that the 4’2 wouldn’t quite have the length I’m looking for to catch waves. However, for a more experienced or lighter rider, it might be a worthwhile sacrifice to lose some volume.
Overall
If you click on the embedded YouTube link you’ll see I had an absolute blast on this board. I’m fairly confident that prone foiling has become my favourite ever sport, and the F-ONE Rocket Surf has helped lead me to that conclusion.
The Rocket Surf looks epic, catches waves with ease, and pumps like a dream. It’s everything I’m looking for in a prone board, F-ONE is going to have a hard time getting it back off me!
Videos
This review was in Issue 13 of Tonic Mag.
For more information visit F-OneRelated
By Jack Galloway
