Source: The Kiteboarder Magazine
F-ONE Slice Bamboo
Sizes Available: 5’1″ x 17.9″ 21.5L / 5’3″ x 18.3″ 22.5L / 5’5″ x 18.7″ 23.5L
Sizes Tested: 5’1″ x 17.9″ 21.5L
F-ONE Says:
The SLICE has become an all-out strapless freestyle machine and is as well an easy and intuitive board to ride in the waves! The board has a straighter rocker and a parallel outline, which fades into a dynamic winger tail to increase its maneuverability. There are three sizes for you to choose from. The 5’3” is perfect for larger riders over 75kg who would usually ride a board around 5’8” while the smaller 5’1” is ideal for smaller riders. We have this year added a 5’5’’ for the riders over 85 kgs or those looking for more stability.
We’ve kept the rails of the board thin to allow you to hold a better edge and also to increase the pop, making freestyle tricks easier. The distinct kick in the rocker line around the fins has been emphasized to get more pop out of the board. The nose is pulled up slightly to help nailing the landings while the long channel provides the stability required.
The board delivers plenty of speed, both on flat water, for tricks, and in the waves too. The flatter rocker line enables the board to carry itself through weaker sections of the wave. The thin rails and pulled in winger tail make for dynamic turns on the face. The thruster fin set up offers maximum versatility across a wide range of conditions, while also making the board easier to use.
The SLICE will switch your level to “fast forward” mode!
Visit for more info: www.f-one.world/product/slice-bamboo
Our Testers Say:
“Super floaty, rides high on the water, works great in light wind with super buttery smooth turns but always goes where you want it.” // Kelly Grief
“Freestyle board with light feel, good for chop and small waves, lively with a little skatey tracking but holds an edge when needed.” // Roland Erni
“At 5’5” this is a bigger sized cutoff. Super stable, planes with ease and goes upwind really well, great for riders new to directionals, big riders or those looking for stability practicing transitions.” // Dray Murray
Tkb Says:
The Slice is F-One’s compact surf shape that we tested this year in the bamboo sandwich construction that offers up a dense reflex for solid chop dampening and good middle of the road weight for strapless freestyle. The Slice employs a slightly straighter mid-section outline with the use of a winged tail and chopped off nose with a gentle single concave bottom shape and a wide channel running through its center from tip to tail. The tail utilizes F-One’s XS Flow fin set in a thruster configuration with Future-style fin boxes. The Slice comes in four options: Carbon, Flex, Bamboo and Bamboo with foil tracks. A front deck pad is an option on the Bamboo, so you can run wax up front if you want, but the board we tested came with a ¾ length deck pad that features diamond EVA grip that feels fairly plush. There are two insert options for forward/aft front footstrap placement and two insert options for forward/aft strap placement on the back foot with duck built in. The pad has a nice heel bump up front to keep your leading foot from sliding off the nose and a solid kick on the tail pad to keep your back foot from sliding off the board on harder landings.
The Slice does an excellent job of covering both strapless freestyle and small to medium-sized surfing with its winged tail that keeps the rail outline straight and fast but allows the tail to be highly reactive for quick turn initiation. The Slice feels really fast through the water with its relatively flat mid-section rocker but also scored high marks for going upwind with ease. The thruster setup offers good grip but is loose enough to keep the Slice feeling active and playful during carving turns and slashing lips, yet the center channel does a good job of locking in the edge when railing upwind for a confident easy ride. The larger sized Slice proved great for stability while practicing footwork while the smaller sizes feel a bit quicker and nimbler. When it comes to strapless airs, the winged tail initiates easy setups into ramps for good load and releases that generate solid amplitude for freestyle as big as you want it. The shorter length works great for bigger airs and rotations with the bamboo construction offering medium weight that levitated against our feet fairly well in stronger winds, but we have to say not quite as sticky as the featherweight carbon version of the Slice we have tested in the past. The bamboo feels a little stiffer than the Flex version we have tested in the past but still felt good through the chop and rougher wave faces. When compared to the Mitu Pro, the Slice isn’t quite as aggressively nimble as the Mitu and in that regard, the Slice appeals to an audience broader than just surf. The Slice does an excellent job of balancing a quick and skatey feeling that encourages aggressive strapless freestyle with reliable carving and control that delivers fun freeride cruising and smooth lines in small and medium surf.
