F-ONE Trax HRD Lite Tech

The Trax is one of an elite number of boards that have achieved pure ‘legendary’ status. It has been around for many years and the changes each year are always incremental meaning that the Trax just get a little bit better each year. This year sees the Lite Tech continuing to add a bit of bling to the Trax and the graphics overall have had a visit from the graphics department. We’re pretty pleased to see a bit of color introduced into the lineup…

In terms of construction the standout feature for us is F-ONE’s HRD rail which is unique to their board line and delivers precise rail response depending on the part of the rail that is engaged at any particular time. So the tips have a thin rail for precise take offs and landings and plenty of grip, then between these and the mid-section of the board – where your feet are – the rail is thicker and inverted. This prevents the board from bouncing around and also generates additional lift for early planing. The mid-section is then thin and sharp to maximize grip and hold on the water. It’s clearly not the simplest or cheapest way to put a rail together but it is great to see that F-ONE are prepared to put the R&D time and money into this kind of thing and it pays dividends on the water, where you would be hard pushed to find a more comfortable ‘high performance’ board to cruise around on. The grip is fantastic, and we rode this in some serious chop in the UK and for a board that is capable of top-end freestyle moves it is a very comfortable ride – it really feels like you are riding above the water.

For all elements of freestyle, the Trax can deliver – the pop is impressive and there is plenty there for wakestyle trickery and for really getting some height. For boosting you can really load up and hang on to the edge giving you a great launch pad for some serious airtime, and landings are then nice and smooth with the rails and bottom contours dispersing the water nicely and preventing any unpleasant jarring…

In a sentence: For top quality construction and performance in all intermediate to advanced freestyle departments, the Trax continues to be right at the top of the pack.