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almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

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skysail
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almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

Postby skysail » Tue Jun 21, 2022 2:39 pm

Hi guys,

Long story short:
In 2010, I bought a brand-new F-one Bandit Uno 7m2 & Bandit Dos 10m2. I started with kitebuggying 10 years before and got into kitesurfing in 2010, first getting my IKO 1, 2 & 3 at a local school.

12 months after buying them and enjoying them, I got bitten by a tick and got Lyme disease invalidating me pretty bad. Over the the years, I couldn't kitesurf due to my health issues but managed to kitebuggy from time to time with my Peter Lynn reactors (high performance 4-line handle kites). The Bandits are as good as new, only having about 12 sessions been used. Kites are packed neatly and visually looking to still be in great shape. It seems that the bladders also are still fine, they don't lose any pressure.

Last two years, I have times that I feel somewhat better and want to try to go out again to do some kitesurfing on a beginner friendly spot.

What's the current opinion about the first two F-one bandits to nowadays standards? Still usable? Or considered a no-go?

If I knew for sure that I could kitesurf again regularly, I wouldn't doubt and just buy some modern kites. But since I mostly want to try out if it's still possible for me to kitesurf, I don't want to make high costs buying new kites while potentially not being able to use them.

Ice101
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Re: almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

Postby Ice101 » Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:40 am

Bandit 5 onwards in my opinion.

nothing2seehere
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Re: almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

Postby nothing2seehere » Thu Jun 23, 2022 11:38 am

The North rebels I owned from 2009 were not bad kites. I believe many of the designs (like the bandit) are solid designs but less refined than the current ones. Bit like learning to drive in a car from the 80s/90s vs a new car. The brakes are heavy, the steering is heavy, the ride is bouncy and the safety systems are primitive but if you can do without airbags, ABS and reverse parking sensors you can learn to drive perfectly well.

However, the glue on the valves is likely to fail - maybe the first time or maybe the tenth time you use it. Best to peel them off now and re-glue them. I've been lucky to only ever have them fail on the beach but there is a good reason why brands switched to laser seam welding.

skysail
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Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 2:06 pm
Kiting since: 1997
Weight: 84
Favorite Beaches: Les Hemmes
Style: freeride
Gear: F-one bandit uno 7
F-one bandit dos 10
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
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Re: almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

Postby skysail » Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:29 pm

Thanks guys for the help.

@nothing2seehere: great analogy, sets things in perspective in a great way. Good point about the valves! I remember that on one of my very first kitesurf kites the brands also used different bladder materials. After a few years they would totally dry out and rupture midflight or when pumping them up.

I think that's better to just buy some newer gear, both in terms of safety as in terms of better flying characteristics.

Sarda
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Re: almost unused F-One Bandit Uno & Dos, still usable to todays standards?

Postby Sarda » Sat Jun 25, 2022 6:23 am

I still have and use a rrd type z and type 8 that get an airing occasionally. They both work great in good wind and its nice to see them flying.


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