Even FONE’s top rider Edo Departed Fone,
I have a feeling that probably wasnt mast connection related…
Lots of riders locally. I’m a daily Unifoil rider. 200lbs, good pumper. Multiple years and zero issues. Same with all my friends ![]()
I just listened to the foil life podcast with all the guys from F-one. Really interesting. They had been working on the new connection system for 2 1/2 years before releasing. They discussed the main fault being the saddle connection & screws. They knew it was a bad connection with the loading being placed on the 6mm screws. So all this time when screws were breaking & foils were being lost & fanbois were telling us there’s no problem with the existing system they kept quiet but knew themselves the T1 couldn’t keep up with the new foils they were manufacturing. I hope in admitting their products fault they replace the foils that have been lost.
I’m a fan of F-one gear & glad they’ve hopefully fixed the problem but am interested to see how thin the fuse is. They were describing it as thinner than Code or Axis. I cancelled my F-one order as I wasn’t confident with the connection system & went with Code but the big difference was the chunkiness ( & I guess higher drag) of the Code fuse.
To me the new Fone connection looks like a copy of the Takoon which has a noticeable angle to all sides and always fits snug. The Axis / Code / Uni foot is more of an exact friction fit that can become loose over time.
Personally I really like the Takoon connection, it’s rock solid.
Can’t speak for the others but Uni has a decent taper on all sides. 11 to 16mm over the width and 110 to 115mm over length ( about 3cm depth). With almost daily wing changes over a few years, the wear on my mast is even over all surfaces and still seats solid - maybe 1mm deeper now compared to new. No bending load on the M8 bolts.
Saddle connections might be fine while the fit is perfect. As soon as there’s a little wear or buildup the bolts start carrying cyclic bending loads. F-one made the right call with T2
The Axis / Code / Uni foot is more of an exact friction fit that can become loose over time.
Been on the OG Code mast for 2 years now. Foiling many many hours a week. Same two wings (720 & 980). No issues with fit. Side note that I just realized… I’m actually using the same M6 bolts that I started with ![]()
I am not sure I agree with F one. I have never heard of a AFS, Mikes Lab or F4 saddle connection failure
Consider that f-one as probably sold an order of magnitude more foils than the others combined and its not that surprising that you hear about more f-one failures. there’s just more out there. That said, I did switch to Code after my second bolt shear on F-One.
I’ve never had the old m6 system break, but I also regularly swap hardware. It’s cheap stainless. Allows for clean threads and heads. Not sure why folks don’t do it more, it’s all off the shelf. I just get a bag from McMaster. Personally I found the design consumer friendly. Some of the titanium m8 hardware is wildly expensive to find and replace.
Switch to North. All probs solved. ![]()
Tons of people here in Oahu have bailed. One big wave when they discovered the f4 orca and weeks later another big wave wen they started seeing team riders w the new connection. Mayb 40-60 people if I had to guess.
My shop posted pricing today. Woof. 1900 UHM masts, even the AL is going to be $600. I’m won’t be moving up yet.
Any word on what this “Sushi” front wing is?
I think it’s the surf wing referred to on the generic foiling podcast.
I’ve never heard of this issue with the Uni connection.
A full on surf wing, it was on the x foils podcast,
A lot of people like the F One foils regardless of the connection. I’m sure the company will take a bit of a hit this year with the change but they’ll bounce back just fine.