Source: The Kiteboarder Magazine
Sizes Available: 135×39, 136×40.5, 137×42, 140x45cm
Sizes Tested: 136×40.5cm
F-One Says:
The F-ONE TRAX is one of the most popular twintips on the market. It is a versatile board that excels in terms of speed, comfort and glide. In its carbon version, the TRAX offers an instant feeling of control at speed and performance.
The exclusive HRD rail plays a significant role in its exceptional performance. In the middle of the board, the rail is thin for grip and improved upwind ability, under the feet the rail is inverted and curved like a surfboard rail allowing the board to smoothly track through chop and improve its carving ability. As the rail reaches the tips, it thins out again, allowing superior grip and bite to give excellent pop. The board is so popular because it works for such a wide variety of riders, from experts in freestyle to beginners and everyone in between, the TRAX is an excellent choice. Combining early planing, upwind ability and control, there is plenty of performance at your disposal when you need it.
Visit for more info: www.f-one.world/product/trax-hrd-carbon-series-2022/
TKB Says:
We love the Trax in its regular construction, but when we get our hands on the carbon version it’s always a cause to celebrate as the reduced weight and flex works seamlessly with its unique design features to deliver a perfectly tuned riding experience that always puts a smile on our face.
“Turns chop into fun and works surprisingly well in light wind. Great load and pop with good edge control for instant good times.”
Marco Bartscherer, Tkb Tester
Design and Features
The Trax has evolved with a very successful single concave bottom, a bit of contour and a flat channel that runs through the center of the board. The template offers some extra width in the center with the rails pulling into the tips, yet still leaves you with a wider nose that delivers extra surface area for solid load and pop and powered carving. The Trax utilizes F-One’s HRD rails which alternate between hard edges and softer reverse rounded rails to give you both a smooth ride through chop and carving along with precision for jumping. The Trax comes with F-One’s Unibox fin design featuring 50mm fins and comes with three inserts in the deck for adjusting stance width.
Impressions
The first thing we always appreciate about the Trax is the luxurious weight that strikes the perfect balance between achieving a featherweight board on your feet, but enough material to give you a stable and reliable ride during hard riding and more aggressive maneuvers. The carbon construction contributes to a reduced weight while creating a flex that is not overly stiff – instead the Trax blends just the right amount of flex to feel very active and forgiving while still allowing more aggressive riders to load and pop power into the deck without complaint. Carbon twintips can fall on the harsh side which favors harder riding and heavier input, but the Trax in its carbon construction seems to balance all of that out with its materials and design features that keep the board feeling plush and forgiving.
The Trax’s wider template provides some extra surface area for efficient gliding in the water. With its rounded template into the nose and extra bit of rocker, the Trax loves to go upwind, and the HRD rail does a great job of cutting though the chop while also providing a smooth ride. By combining the tight rails in the tip with the softer reverse bevel at your feet and return to hard edge in the center, the hybrid rail feels precise and glued to its edge, which allows you to handle more speed with greater comfort even in the most choppy conditions. Despite its easy upwind locked-in feel, riders will find a bit looser tracking on carving which allows you to break the tips free quite easily for transitions.
“Sick performance. Feels light with nice shape and good boosting. Easy handling in the air and extra playful in non-choppy conditions.”
Chad Barber, Tkb Tester
When it came to jumping, the Trax offers precise control through the load and pop maneuver. With the channel down the center of the board, it feels like you can handle plenty of speed with control, and the extra bit of rocker and wider, more square tips give you the right amount of loading surface area to spring into big airs. The carbon construction does a great job of storing energy and releasing, finding a nice middle of the road flex that won’t disappoint more aggressive riders, yet keeps the Trax feeling luxurious and comfortable in all other aspects of riding. The overall light weight is much appreciated in the air; with the board’s low swing weight it’s easier to initiate rotations and manage board-offs because it has less resistance to changes in trajectory.
Overall, the Trax Carbon is one of our favorite boards, and in our personal opinion, the upgrade into the carbon construction is well worth the extra cost. The Trax offers a mix of comfort and performance that will appeal to riders of all levels. The combination of precision and forgiveness creates an infinite loop of reinforcement inspiring the confidence needed to push your riding harder. If you aspire to longer sessions, bigger airs and more progressive tricks, the Trax Carbon will certainly be a great choice to get you on that path.
Pads and Straps
The Trax Carbon came with F-One’s Platinum3 Bindings which features a dual density foam bed and are available in three different sizes (S, M and L). The third version of the Platinum bindings come with the added feature that allows you to move the strap forward and aft in the foot bed to adjust the strap’s position over your arc. While you get only a single Velcro tension over the strap, this simple design keeps adjustments easy to make. Testers found the strap to have plenty of padding while the footbed uses a smooth rubbery feel that has a good amount of cupping to keep your heel centered in the pad. There’s a solid toe bump for your toes to grip into which helps your feet stay glued to the pad during aggressive riding. The smoothness of the footbed can be slippery upon your first session, but the lack of aggressive texture is appreciated over time, particularly for people with softer feet.
Overall, the Platnium3 binding keeps the recipe simple while adding some extra tensioning dimension to your strap. Bindings can get really complicated and amass extra weight, but the Platinum3 steers the middle road with a solid frame, sufficient duck adjustment and simple tensioning straps for quick non-fuss tuning on the beach.
Visit for more info: www.f-one.world/product/platinium3-bindings-2022/
