Tkb Review: 2021 Airush One

Sizes Available: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17m
Sizes Tested: 9m

Airush Says:

The One is a lightweight single strut kite that has incredible relaunch capabilities. Made with lightweight components and durable D4 cloth that keeps the One surprisingly light in the air and forgiving at the bar. With a huge wind range, the One is a fantastic kite for safe light wind and fast progression.

Check out our plug-and-play design for ease of use, with instant depower, large wind range and simple relaunch. Built to excel in gusty or lighter winds.

Visit for more info: www.airush.com/product/kites/one/

TKB Says:

When we unpackaged the Airush One for a first take on this new design, we scratched our heads because Airush already has an award-winning single strut (the Ultra). What we quickly learned is that the new One platform fills a progression/general freeride gap with performance that will charm the seat harness off unwitting kite school students well into their intermediate stages of kiteboarding.

Inflation Valve: Boston valve / attachment required
Flying Line Attachments: Center bridle: Larks head / Wingtip bridle: Knots
Centerline Split: Low-V
Front Bridle Options: Single setting / three pulleys

Design and Features
The One is a single strut kite with a low aspect canopy that simplifies some of Airush’s robust canopy construction to offer a lighter airframe with plug-and-play tuning. The leading edge has a ton of sweep into the angled wingtips which helps its incredibly easy relaunch and pivotal turning. The leading edge has a little extra diameter and some extra draft built into the center strut which gives the One excellent sheet-and-go power delivery. The leading edge bridle is a single setting bridle that is plug and play, using three pulleys to offer smooth and expansive changes in the canopy’s sheeting angle. The front bridle ends in a larks head and the wingtip attachment points end in a single knot for solid kook-proof connections with clear color coding and info labels that will keep beginner/absent-minded kiters rigging the right/safe way. The wingtip has two attachment points with the stock position being the forward attachment which offers more bar pressure (the prevailing thought is that beginner kiters need extra pressure as they are becoming attuned to kiting’s details). The inflation happens via a Boston valve which requires the common Boston attachment that comes standard with most pumps. The canopy has a much simpler layout with fewer panels/seams and leach stability is achieved without the use of battens. Instead, some extra Dacron is on the trailing edge.

Impressions
If you think about the two biggest challenges to progression-oriented kiteboarders, it’s gusty wind, underpowered conditions and overall reliability. If you solve these problems, what you get is a super dependable kite that will keep riders on the water and push the evolution/growth of the sport. The One’s single strut airframe ensures that the kite is lightweight and capable of staying in the air in a much wider range of wind. Much of the canopy stability problems with one-struts has been ironed out with the evolution of the Ultra, so it’s now making more sense to have progression/entry-level kites built with minimal airframes, which makes for fewer parts, greater reliability and tons of range.

On our first tack out we noted the solid bar pressure that clues you into the kite’s tuning and position, with the pull on the bar falling somewhere in the medium range. Kiter’s progressing beyond basic skills may choose to transition to the lighter setting on the wingtip for slightly softer controls. It seemed like no matter where the kite was in the window, when you sheet in the bar the kite would generate a good amount of power. This sheet and go feel was really intuitive and covers for those kiters that don’t yet have perfect power strokes imprinted into their muscle memory. The power feels really progressive along the bar’s throw movement and you get a ton of depower at the end of the throw that can mitigate flying mistakes and allow you to comfortably fly the One well past its preferred range. One of the other big bonuses of the One’s deeper draft is that it seems forgiving when you over sheet or pull the bar too far and still generates power.

The steering feels intuitively direct, but the response and speed of its turning is neither fast nor too slow. With its tight turning radius, it’s easy to keep the One where you want it and dial in the power you need with sheeting the bar; the One never ends up somewhere unpredictable with its turning speed and bar feedback. When it came to jumping we were really surprised with its boosting skills when pushed to the limit. We were able to achieve some heights that didn’t fall in the ‘beginner’ category and the hangtime was really lofty with some soft landings. On one hand the steering and lift are dependable for your first jumps, but there’s plenty of lift to keep a progressing rider entertained.

When you look at the One in totality, you get a nice simple and lightweight frame that can handle a ton of wind ranges, which makes it great for those early kiters cobbling together a basic single or dual kite quiver and/or those that are traveling. One strut construction means fewer bladders and less things to go wrong and more time on the water. This is the ”˜one’ kite you could take and if you armed yourself with a twin tip and a foil, you could pretty much go out in anything. The single strut platform is becoming the all-terrain vehicle of kiting and the One offers a great formula for wide-ranging fun in almost any conditions.

Featured Control Bar
The Airush Cleat bar is a dual-length adjustable bar (50/60cm) that received a huge upgrade last season with its redesigned Intelligent Quick Release (IQR). The Cleat bar features 23m lines (front: 9 + 10 + 4m and back 19 +4m) and an above-the-bar clam cleat with a spectra tuning strap that has Velcro so that it locks into place. The sheeting/power line features double plastic-coated lines that have a sliding speed control stopper to adjust the length of throw for those with shorter arms or to set the bar on longer tacks. The safety is a single centerline that runs down one of the PU lines and through the quick release for a clean and tidy system, with a low V split in the center lines. The quick release features a push-away quick release with a larger hand swivel on top that also acts as a quick-release travel guard. The hand swivel features a larger diameter for better leverage when untwisting the front lines and has a smooth swivel action. The newly designed push-away quick release features a new cocking mechanism that leaves the quick release handle cocked open upon release. The reset is fairly straightforward; just insert the open end of the loop back into the release and then shift the QR handle so that it springs shut. The internal stainless heart of the quick release is a bit larger to allow for the safety line to travel through the release with less friction. Airush is one of the few companies to offer four different harness loops to fit your style of riding: wakestyle (XL), freestyle (L) freeride (S), and/or a surf metal loop (S). You can swap through the loops with the use of a surf Allen key. The Cleat bar features integrated floats and adjustable bar ends that allow you to swap between 50 and 60cm effective bar lengths. The center insert is aluminum and features a printed logo that is visible when you are holding the bar correctly. The color coding uses a visually clear light blue on the left float and bar end which will help those that are familiar with the bar. The bar ends are densely padded for safety and feature a bungee for keeping the lines stowed when not in use. The grip features a dense EVA texture with horizontal bars under the grip and a ribbed pattern on top with a rubbery diamond pattern near the center of the bar with a grip diameter that borders on small to medium. The Cleat Bar gets you a high quality bar with tons of features and great durability that will appeal to riders of all skill levels.

Visit for more info on the bar: www.airush.com/product/control-bars/cleat-bar-v4/