Tkb Review: 2022 AIRUSH One

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

Airush Says:

The One is a lightweight single strut kite that has incredible relaunch capabilities. Made with lightweight components and durable D2 cloth, keeping 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 lightwind, and fast progression kiteboarding.

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

TKB Says:

Last year we tested the single-strut Airush One kite in the smaller sizes, but this year we got to test the 14m which really impressed our team with its power, maneuverability and comfort for its size.

Inflation Valve: Boston valve / nozzle attachment required
Attachments: Center bridle: Lark’s head loops / Wingtip bridle: Knots
Centerline Split: Low-V
Front Bridle Options: Single setting bridle / one pulley

Design and Features
The One’s airframe features a moderate-sized leading edge and uses a larger diameter strut in the middle to tame the large canopy made of durable Technoforce D2 canopy material while the wingtip doesn’t utilize much Dacron and the trailing edge uses double ripstop with some Dacron patches to help control leech stability. Inflation happens through a large diameter Boston valve that requires the standard hose attachment for easy and quick inflation and deflation. If you seat the hose sufficiently into the valve it will remain connected through high-pressure inflation and deflation is super-fast when you unscrew the valve and let the air out completely unimpeded. The One has a single-setting front bridle that uses one sliding pulley to change the angle of attack and the wingtip features two bar pressure adjustments; ours came set to the factory setting which is the forward attachment point that gives you more bar pressure. The wingtip attachment pigtails end in three knots for tuning your outside line tension.

Impressions
The most apparent quality we noted right off the bat was the super comfortable bar pressure that ranged on the lower side of moderate which felt impressive for a 14m kite. The power generation in the larger sizes continues to feel sheet-n-go with solid progressive power delivery across the length of the throw. Since the One is the progression/casual freeride option in Airush’s single-strut kite lineup, it does a great job of feeling intuitive and easy-to-use as a reliable power source for getting you on the water.

The One turns in a fairly pivot-style turn that is relatively tight for its size and the turning response felt rather swift for the 14m canopy size. The low-end range on the One is substantial with good grunty power when you need it, and the canopy accelerates sufficiently forward in the window to give you good upwind performance. Our testers were impressed by the canopy’s stability and ability to resist flutter during normal flying conditions. However, if you do ride this kite in over-powered conditions outside of its range and sheet out, you will experience some flutter that feeds back into the bar as can happen with single struts.

Jumping with the 14m One was quite easy with the narrower turning arc, quicker steering response and impeccable power control. We had been very impressed with the smaller sized One’s fun jumping capabilities and this year that feel extended into the 14m size. While the lift wasn’t explosive, we were able to do decent-sized jumps fairly easily that were more notable for their impressive hangtime. One of the key qualities of the One is its ability to respond fast enough to place the kite where you want it to be, while offering power on demand, and at the same time, being incredibly stable in the window. With its light single-strut airframe, the One drifts fairly well and is super stable overhead, particularly in jumps when you overfly the window. The One floats back and finds its place relatively easily and makes it very reliable for all kinds of riding. We tested the relaunch on the 14m One and found that with some extra input on the leader lines the kite rolled up onto a wingtip and started taxiing towards one side. With consistent pressure on the bar it reliably relaunched three-quarters of the way to neutral for an easy water start every time.

While the One was already at the top of our list as a simple quiver builder that will take you from beginner to advanced freeride, our sessions on the 14m further demonstrate how the progression-oriented single-strut design remains an excellent all-arounder even in the larger sizes. For the kiter who prizes comfort, ease-of-use and excellent stability you can’t go wrong with the One.

We rode the One with Airush’s Ride bar. Read the review here.