This is a copy of text from the people at the top of the F-one tree in Oz. and it sums up very well a lot of the answers to a lot of the questions.
"
Impact or Tribal ?
If you have customers unsure about which F1 kite to choose, then here is our view on how to clarify that decision. Ask them do they prioritise 1.hooked or 2.unhooked performance, and do they prioritise 1.total depower or 2.direct power ? If they answer both 1.Tribal is the kite for them, or if both 2.Impact will be perfect. Its that simple. If they choose a 1 and 2 then they need to demo the kites, and thats no problem at all for us. For our explanation read on.
Basically the Tribal and Impact are very similar kites, the line setup is the major difference between them (no its not just price for the cynical among you). Of course the Tribal has more reinforcement to handle the load bearing double Y attachments and larger struts. The unique double Y front lines of the Tribal (pic below) are a simple solution for total depower. To attain the stop and go function of total depower it is neccesary to be hooked in like other total depower kites out there. This makes kiteboarding more comfortable and possibly safer, but perhaps the real attraction is to really surf free from kitepull. However when unhooked the Tribal still performs at a very high level unlike the other so called safe kites, but it is not as snappy as an Impact.
Why then is the Impact better for unhooked style you may ask, because the Impact maximises the benefits of a C shape kites tension through the leading edge by sending 100% of its power down 2 straight lines to the rider. This gives maximum load and pop for wake moves and unhooked wave gouges. And it enhances turning and acceleration response for unhooked wave riding and kiteloops. Of course Impact kites slim struts further improve aerodynamics and light handling for new school kiteloop unhooked madness. In summary each kite is optimised for its intended use, but still good for all other styles. If you have not tried both then get in touch now to organise your demo. And do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions about F1."
this is about as simple as it gets.
Those looking on the website www.f-onekites.com
will see the stop and go footage. this is what happens, but in our experience it is a much gentler action and can be tuned via the depower settings. which means even when you have released all the power the kite is still controllable. refering to Tribal here.
best winds
Tony L
ABK
My two cents worth....... after flying the f1 - tribal 13m, impact 13m and M5 12m in gusty 20knot winds at Stkilda.
The tribal is an intermediate kite, it flys and turns slightly slower, so is much more forgiving. The stop and go feature is great for when you f*ck up that rotation or jump and let go of the bar, the kite just depowers and slower flys to the eadge of the window. I don't think this kite would be much good in the surf though because of its slower turn rate. This kite has a line system inbetween a fifth line c kite and a bridle kite. It would be a great kite for someone who has mastered basic jumps and is trying to land their transitions and rotations.
The impact is alot faster and more responsive than the tribal and therefore a step up in performance and not as forgiving as the tribal. The impact flys very similar to the M5, but on a smaller bar. It is a slightly lower aspect ratio kite compared to the M5 making it a bit more forgiving and having more grunt in its lower wind range. It turns as fast as the M5 but doesn't have the same pull through the turn that the M5 has making easier softer turns. This is the major difference between the two, and makes things like kiteloops and riding unhooked less demanding (the landings aren't as hard and fast). Also a good kite for riding in the surf because it is very quick and easy to postion anywhere in the wind window. A good kite for someone who has alot of hooked-in tricks under their belt and wants to start unhooked ones. This kite has a 5th line system.
The M5 (soon to be replaced by the M6) is the make no compromise, take no prisoners of the three. It flys fast and pulls hard thru the turns. designed for powered up / overpowered riding. This kite will get you the largest air of the three, but will also spank you the hardest. Great for people who want big air and board-offs (old school stuff) or for those nu-skool stylists who have mastered the s-bend to blind and want to show off just how fast and hard it can be done. Not for the faint hearted. You will need to hunt down this kite (the M6) as the Aussie importer doesn't seem to have many yet (might be because its only just be released).
Wind ranges are all similar across the board and will depend on rider ability. Don't be suckered in by claims of a wind range from 10knots to 30knots (bow kites included here), as while it might be possible to get the kite out in them it isn't very realistic. You'll spend most of the time just trying to stay alive and not enjoying yourself. Most of the higher ranges are due to improved safety features and the lower ones to larger boards and better boardskills. For an average rider (weight, skill, board size) a cranking session with the above kites would be more in the 15 - 23 knot range. Much more or less and it becomes a chore.
Hope this helps..
Pete
p.s I'm not associated with or recieve goodies from F-One, I just love flying their kites.
Question about the Tribal,
I want to buy two kites and want to have a range from 10 till 30 knots. My weigt is 95 kilo, and i have two boards, Spleene the Door and Fanatic Sky Solbach.
Can i beter take the 15+11 or 13+9?
after haveing owned both a 12 and 10 m5 and a 9 , 11 and 13 impact, trying everything on all of them, i'd give the following advise, some contrary to the previous post
the impact has about two thirds the bar pressure that the m5 has
the impact turns faster and definately requires less bar pressure when turning(i say this because the first thing i ever noticed in light winds is after ten minutes of pumping the kite on the m5 im buggered, but the impact turns with very little bar pressure and I now never get sore arms.)
the m5 jumps more "traditionally" & it boosts massive, your up at max height for longer, and it takes longer to get up there so = lots of air time and is awesome for board offs. !!! with heaps of float on the way down. The impact jumps just as high as the m5 but gets you up there quicker & has much less float on the way down & flies through the window at about twice the speed like a race car. You can still do board offs but you need better timing and to use the kite a lot more on the way down than you do with the M5.
The impact lines are 22m, and the m5's i think around 27/24 depending on what size, this helps the impact get it's incredible turning speed, and fly way faster accorss the window than the m5, which you learn to love , or hate, if you prefer something a little slower, and when i say a little slower, im talking normal kite speed caus i haven't seen any other kites even come close to the speed of this thing throughout the window yet, not even bows.
When the wind picks up, both kites go quicker through the window, but for unhooking, due to the heavier bar pressure I wouldn't recomend the m5 over the impact. everything about the impact makes it a joy for unhooking, and the depower on the impact is greater than the m5, so you can keep unhooking in stronger winds.
BUt
if your going for board offs, I'd definately go the m5, it's made for massive boosts, and to hold down a lot of wind, I know i said the impact has greater depower, and im referring to the comfortable wind range for unhooking ie to unhook with managable bar pressure, both kites have a massive hooked in top end, and when your out there on the m6 at the top end and send it, you'll get air sick the first few times if you've never been big before.
now haveing said that, I havn't ridden any of the new kites larger than the impact 13, whats peoples opinion of the 15/16 sizes of tribal vs m6? The kites usually perform differently when they get bigger, and i havn't tried an m6 yet either, be interested to see what they end up like, all ive heard is that the m6 is similar to the m5 but with faster turns at the moment
I've always thought my 16 m5 turned too slow
sven you'll get more use out of the 15 and 11m (tykke 
) how's the spleen? i've got a fly door.
I was flying the 9m impact today but it only kicks in around 24knots and i way 80kgs
sven.
the 11m will easily do your 30kts, I was out on a 13 in gusts to 32kts last night and I'm 95kg.
mind you the jumps were way to big.
the 10 kts is not feasable for the 13m so the 15m might get you your extra 2 kts. Personally if it's not enough wind for a 13 Impact then it's not enough wind to have any fun.
the most fun out of either 13m F-one is 17-26kts for my 95kgs on 125X39 board. maybe the 15/11 combo will extend this, but for me if there is too much wind for the 13 then out comes the sailboard.
best winds
Tony L
ABK
@robecq
I like the Spleene very much for the light wind in combination with my Caution 20m2 it goes very early! and i can also make good jumps with it, if the timing is right-;)
@RAL INN
It sounds good the 11 above the 30 knots because the website gives a range till 25 knots.
What wind range does the 15+11 approximately have do you think?
Sven, 2 nights ago I used the tribal at an inland lake.
didn't use the wind meter right and went out in what I thought was only 22kts gusts to 24kts.
turns out by moving to windward side of point it was gusts to 34kts, avg 27kts.
The 34kt gusts were wickedly awesome for ridiculusly high and long jumps. but not good for keeping an edge, the kite was fully depowered and on the secound front knot.
I deduce from this that if a 13m can be usable in gusts to 34kts then an 11m could actually be more usable/fun.
when that same 13m is capable of keeping 95kg upwind on a 125cm board in 12-13kts. I am assuming the 15m will be easily doing the same with decent jumps.
So interpretate from this what ever you think is relevent.
Having said all this I note that 11m Impacts seem to offer very similar bottom end performance to 11m GKSonics which claim to have performance of bigger C Kites.
Best winds
Tony L
ABK
