Kitesurf

Bandit 6

The Delta C Shape design, the revolutionary patent known to F-ONE, is the base of the Bandits development. With 5 best-seller editions, the choice of the Delta shape speaks for itself and is known to be a great long-term option. This shape guarantees an easy relaunch, with the auto-relaunch feature and offers a great performance in all kiteboarding disciplines. In conjunction with the EVO bridal system, which allows a 5th line safety system but without the inconvenient, the design is a definite winner. Compared to other kite shapes with great depower, the Bandit’s bar depowers on a short distance, which allows the rider to depower completely his kite without having to extend the arms fully and offers more reactivity. Another advantage is the easily accessible trim cleat, for an easy adjustment of the power. We can confidently say that the DELTA C Shape is one of the latest great evolutions in kite design on the market and even though the design was copied many times, none ever equaled the performances of the original.

The test list that we put our kite through is the most thorough and demanding off the market, since our criteria have to apply to all aspects of the sport. The kite is tested and approved in the South of France, in difficult conditions and various wind speeds, which means it works perfectly everywhere.

For the 2013 collection, faithful to our strategy and to our commitments, we maintained our development politics for a high performance, exceptional kite adapted to all the disciplines and riding styles.

It has now been 6 years that we focus on one challenge: improve the Bandit. We want to conserve the qualities of the previous years while adding new ones, and we succeeded for the 6 generations of Bandits.

After innovating on spectacular points like the Delta patent, outline changes and a reduction of the number of struts from 5 to 3, the design team concluded that we needed to use the B5, which they now know perfectly, as a base to develop the Bandit 6. Making this one perfect meant working on a new dimension: fine-tuning. We had to work on details invisible to the eye but that we all feel when riding: making it perfect by bringing modifications that are not the outcome of mathematical models and aerodynamic smoke tests, but that come from the feeling.

We hence entered in a “feeling” era, which is a little less precise when it comes to pin pointing the design modifications needed. For example, how do we change the bar feel or the dynamic weight of the kite? These are very complex questions since an important number of options could solve these issues but would also affect other aspects. It’s is therefore not a pure design choice, but also a choice in the material, bridals and general thoughts on how a kite works…

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