Tkb Review: OZONE Apex V1 Foil

Sizes Available: 1200cm
Sizes Tested: 1200cm

Size: 1200cm²,
Wingspan: 66
Aspect Ratio: 3.6

Ozone Says:

The Apex hydrofoil perfectly matches with Ozone’s Apex board, both are designed and built ultra tough using top of the line materials and construction techniques. The Apex performance hydrofoil is designed primarily for kite foiling with endless potential for freeride cruising, jumping, carving the flats and waves or ripping as fast as you possibly can!

Visit for more info: www.ozonekites.com/hydrofoils/apex-v1-foil/

TKB Says:

Ozone has always been at the forefront of hydrofoiling with its foil kite and single-strut technology and now it is launching its hydrofoil program with an extremely versatile package that blends high-tech materials with impressive durability and performance that will appeal to carve-minded freeride kite foilers as well as new entrants that are beginning the progression curve.

Design and Features
The Apex V1 foil features a 1200 cm2 wing that offers a carbon layup over a lightweight foam core and has a medium to low aspect shape that covers a lot of territory. Ozone’s LA1200 front wing mates with their MA315 rear wing that has subtle winglets and optional shims for those who want to veer from the neutral tuning you get out of the box (-0.5deg, -1deg and -1.5deg shims). The fuselage is a rounded aerodynamic carbon spar with a tuttle style interface that locks the mast into the fuselage for a really bomber-stiff connection between the two. The mast comes in either 75 or 95cm lengths and features a fused baseplate with slotted mounting points that allow for easy and fast setup. The mast is made out of high-density foam and wood core wrapped in carbon and high modulus resin. The assembly is very straight forward and every piece is tightly fitted and bolts together with titanium screws that reduce corrosion and screw down with a reliable torx head.

Impressions
We rode the Apex V1 with its 90cm mast, and from the first moments on the water we were impressed with how stable and balanced this new hydrofoil feels. From the look of the special hydrophobic paint that prevents water from sticking to its surfaces and the extra stiff performance you get out of the mast, we initially thought the parts were made out of aluminum, but the super friendly weight reflects the unique hybrid carbon construction techniques used by Ozone.

The 1200 front wing does a great job of providing slower speed take-offs that feel predictable and easy without any unexpected lift or surprises. The foil-up is smooth and the inputs feel balanced from the moment you get the Apex in the air. Sometimes you will encounter hydrofoils where the yaw, roll and pitch inputs have different levels of reactivity, but the Apex makes all these inputs work together in a very intuitive way which allows you to jump on the foil and start flying without any surprises, no adaptation period needed. In the stock stabilizer setting (no shim) we noticed that there is an extra bit of front foot pressure required to accelerate. This feature is often helpful during your learning sessions because the foil doesn’t accelerate out of control, but rather requires you to lean into your front foot with pressure to pour on more speed.

One of the biggest selling points of the Apex is how it covers a lot of territory by featuring both a slower foil-up speed yet also hits a reasonably fast high-end speed when you hammer on the accelerator. For those who are learning, the foil-up is intuitive and easy while the front foot pressure and balanced turning responses help with the mastery of speed, height and steering control. At the same time, the steering still feels nimble enough for fun carving or surfing swells with just enough glide and pumping abilities to drive from swell to swell. The 90cm mast is long enough to keep the wing well under the water in choppy conditions and high upwind angles and the hybrid carbon construction makes your inputs feel crisp and reactive, with a stiff connection between the board’s deck and the wing.

One of our favorite features about the Apex is its ability to slow down without falling off foil and then carve tight turns on the face of swells. While the rear stabilizer has winglets, the yaw turning is still quite active for those who are looking to carve and surf waves. The Apex did a great job of lifting us up onto foil in utter threshold conditions with just enough early low-speed lift to finagle a waterstart in about 5-knots of wind. At the same time, the Apex impressed us with its ability to accelerate into a surprisingly fast high speed, particularly in light of its lower aspect shape.

Overall, the Apex V1 is a very versatile hydrofoil that offers intuitive steering with a large speed range that impresses on both ends of the speed spectrum from slow to fast. With its balanced steering inputs and moderate agility, the Apex is a stable platform for those progressing through the early stages, yet it has just the right nimble feel to be really fun for cruisy freeride and carve-oriented styles of kitefoiling. Ozone has hinted that there are more wing sizes on the way to fit with the modular plug and play design that will make this a very compelling platform in the year to come.