F-One Strike CWC 6m & 7m 2021
Reviews / Wings
5,790
At A Glance
F-ONE have been at the forefront of the wingfoil game from the start of this fantastic sport. First with the Swing now over two years ago, then with the Strike and now with the innovative Strike CWC.
F-ONE have created a unique concept here, the three strut wing. CWC stands for ‘Compact Wing Concept’. the idea behind it is to allow for a deeper profiled wing without compromising on width. The 6m for example has exactly the same wingspan as the 5m Strike. When I first heard about this I really thought F-ONE was onto a winner so I was really keen to get a hold of one. Luckily F-ONE sent us two! The 6 meter & 7 meter.
The CWC follows all of the design successes of the original Strike. It keeps the two handle design and maintains the rigidity & tightness in the canopy that the Strike is so well known for. The colours are bold and ‘striking’ but not over the top. F-ONE have always created stylish kites/wings and this is no different. It also keeps the large one pump valve, which is also a dump valve, as well as an extra dump valve on the centre strut. Great for a quick pack away at the end of your session and I believe essential on large wings such as these.
On The Water
The CWC almost immediately changed my view on light wind winging. I’ll be honest in that I initially thought I’d just stick to kite foiling in light winds, the previous large size wings I had used had felt too big, heavy & chunky.
Once I got my hands on these two CWC’s though my opinions changed. I could feel that compact shape working to my advantage and the light but stiff material made pumping to get on foil in the gusts much easier than expected.
I had a number of great sessions on both wings, I used the 7m in a wind range of 7-11 knots and the 6m on days that were gusting closer to 15 knots but still with some very light lulls. For context I weigh 70kgs, used a 90L board and often went on my faster 1300 foil.
Let’s start with the 7m, what an awesome machine this is! Never did I expect to be flying over patches of next to no wind and still be on foil, it’s an incredible feeling and I’d highly recommend it. I was often out in gusty conditions, I’d need the gusts of 10-11 knots to get going but could easily continue flying in lulls of 7 knots or lower. You find yourself changing your technique completely, in the gybes if I kept my wing ‘powered’ the apparent wind of me turning away from the wind would actually stop me dead in my tracks. To gybe I would have to fly the wing above my head in a more streamline position.
Onto the 6m, I found myself using this wing when there was a chance of more wind in the forecast or it felt like a marginal ‘windy day’. Due to the wingspan being the same as the 5m Strike it was actually great when it came to manoeuvrability. I think this wing comes into it’s own on a marginal day when other people can’t get foiling, you’ll still be having a blast I guarantee it!
The wingtips have a swept back design so if you do happen to dip them in the water they have an impressive habit of bouncing off the water straight back at you. On several occasions I thought I was a goner only to actually find that I saved it.
Overall
This wing is the perfect weapon for those light wind summer days. Just imagine hitting the beach on a hot day, waiting for that light sea breeze and cruising off to the horizon. The CWC is lightweight, compact & easy to use. I can’t recommend it enough.
Videos
This review was in Issue 9 of Tonic Mag.
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By Jack Galloway
