The Bandit 2021 does an excellent job of delivering a grunty pull that leads to adrenaline pulses during aggressive maneuvers, yet it’s got great upwind abilities and offers a super stable flight that still earns marks for ease of use during basic freeriding. One of the key areas that impressed us was the power and steering response throughout kiteloops that inspired confidence to push boundaries.
The Bandit S continues to deliver that perfect mix of surf characteristics that offers a really tight handling feel that is both controlled and precise. The Bandit S is hands down a top-tier surf kite, but it’s progressive power delivery, crisp steering and depower makes it a great option for all-around freeride for fun boosting as well as foilboarding.
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After 14 years of development of the Bandit we always get the same question: how will you improve it again? Our passion is to improve things and for us even when we go into the validation process, it’s just a step in the evolution process. Every season we choose to work on a specific point that should be improved. Let’s take the automotive R&D example to illustrate: one season they work on the engine and gain power, the following year, they need to improve the body to allow it to fit the new engine power, then they have an issue with the shock absorbers and so on…
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This year the Bandit platform has been divided into two distinctive kite models based on sizes. What was simply the 2019 Bandit is now the Bandit 2020 and the Bandit-S models. The Bandit 2020 is now optimized to perform as a big air freestyle megaloop kite and the Bandit-S is designed to perform as surf kite. F-One had been valiantly attempting to optimize the Bandit for multiple disciplines, but having taken ‘one size fits all’ to the limit, the freestyle big air crowd now gets a dedicated launch platform in the sizes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17m
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The steering response continues to be one of the crispest and instant on the market with a smaller tighter radius steering path that pivots around the center of the kite which makes the Bandit incredibly agile and easy to place wherever you need it, confidently creating power in any part of the window. The Bandit-S shines for surf because it will happily hover deep in the window and riders can use the progressive power control to dial in the perfect amount of power. Many of the surf-oriented qualities that have been instilled in the Bandit S are also qualities that make it great for the casual cruising liter and foilboarding. The crisp turning, linear and complete depower and lighter bar pressure make for a
kite that is really comfortable and user-friendly with precision handling that will resonate in the hands of dedicated surf kiters first and foremost but will also bring smiles to the broad spectrum of freeride kiters
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Bandit V12 2019 kite has been fully tested by The Kiteboarder and they have nothing but great things to say labeled as “The kite that defies all labels and limits!” Find out what sets the Bandit apart from the rest. Tested 8, 10, 12m sizes.
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“Very quick, lots of depower, loves to jump, a bit punchy but fast responsive boost and really fun kite on the more aggressive side.” // Dray Murray
Now in its 11th year, the BANDIT is the ultimate do-it-all kite on the market. The R&D team puts all its knowledge into this kite, year after year, with many many prototypes and countless hours on the water. Features Sizes 4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/14/17m Top performances in all disciplines Huge wind range Controlled lateral pull for improved comfort […]
The Bandit has nice medium bar pressure that gives the rider solid feedback on kite placement and in underpowered conditions, you will detect oversheeting fairly quickly. For lift and hangtime, the smaller sizes will deliver solidly in the explosive boost category and will give you some hangtime but the latter is not really what you expect from small kites. Overall, the Bandit is a very fast, responsive all arounder that our team found to work extremely well in high wind surf.
In its 10th year, the Bandit has been through a number of big and small changes that have made it one of the industry’s most successful examples of a kite that does-everything well. The Bandit’s classic medium aspect 3-strut Delta shape was the first of its kind back in the day and it has since evolved into one of the top leading delta-shaped kite that meets the needs of riders in the freestyle, freeride and surf category.
