Short version: RADIX is a new way of bolting a foil to a board, developed jointly by Core and Appletree — two brands we're the Irish dealer for and ride ourselves. Instead of twin tracks screwed to the underside, the connection moves into the board itself: a single tapered box in the deck, twin plates on the mast, tightened with a screwdriver. Core say it's stiffer, lighter, cleaner in the water and easier to live with. It's not in the shop yet — 2026 is the proving year — but it's the most interesting thing to happen to foil hardware in a long time, and it's coming from the two companies we'd have picked to do it.
Why this matters
Every foil you've ever ridden has hung off the same basic idea: two parallel US-box tracks set into the bottom of the board, a plate on top of the mast, four bolts and four T-nuts. It works. It's also the weakest link in the system. The tracks add drag on the underside, the bolts and plate add weight, the joint flexes just enough to blur what the foil is telling your feet, and anyone who's dropped a T-nut into a rockpool at Rusheen knows the practical side of it too. Boards got stiffer and foils got faster, and the mount stayed the same.
Core's foil designer Jan — who also runs his own foil factory in Germany — has spent a year on the alternative with Appletree's Wieger Buurma. Core's own line on the partnership is plain enough: "We've been working with Appletree for years in the board-building space," so RADIX was "a very natural extension of our partnership."
How RADIX works
The name is the Latin for "root", and that's the whole idea: the connection is rooted in the core of the board rather than sitting on its skin. A single box with a conical, tapered geometry is built into the board during production. The mast is baseless, with straight carbon alignment all the way up, and carries twin plates that seat into the taper. You tighten it with a screwdriver. No Allen keys, no T-nuts, no measuring track positions with a tape.
A tapered fit locates itself as it's tightened, rather than relying on four bolts pulling a flat plate down. Core describe the result as "a stiffer, more direct load transfer", and the riders testing it report "a stiffer, more connected feel with less drag".
Here's Jan explaining it at AWSI this month, a year on from the first reveal:
What it's supposed to give you on the water
Core's claims are specific, which we like. A clean underside with no tracks means less drag, which they say shows up as "earlier lift and a better low-end, especially at lower speeds" and faster taxiing before take-off — on a light Galway Bay day, that's the difference between a session and a paddle. The direct connection is meant to improve "feedback and control during turns and pumping", in their words "more locked in, but also more efficient". And the package is lighter and more compact, both in the board (no track hardware) and in the bag (no baseplate).
We haven't ridden one. When we have, you'll read it here first, the same as the Pace Pro 2 and the AppleSlice V4. Until then, treat the above as the designers' claims from a year of testing, not our verdict.
Where it's at, honestly
A year ago RADIX was a prototype. This month's update is about tightening tolerances, more comfort in the fit, and the move to serial-production boxes and twin-plate construction — the boring, important step from "works on the test rig" to "works in a factory". Core have been clear that 2026 "will be about building confidence" and that they want "a fully tested, production-ready system" rather than a rushed one, which is exactly what you'd want to hear from the people making the part your foil hangs off.
Two things worth knowing. First, it's designed as an open standard: Core are actively working with other foil and board brands to make it an industry-wide fit rather than a Core-only one, and they came away from AWSI with "a lot of promising conversations". That matters — nobody wants a board that only takes one brand's foil. Second, there are no production RADIX boards or masts for sale yet, from anyone, including us.
Should you wait?
No — not if you need a board this winter. The Appletree range we stock, and Core's SLC, Chase and Roamer boards, all run today's standard mounts, and your current foil isn't going to stop working. Standard tracks will be supported for years. The people RADIX matters to right now are riders planning a full new board-and-foil setup in 2026 or 2027, who'd rather buy into the new standard than the old one. If that's you, message us and we'll tell you the moment there's a date.
What we can say is that when RADIX-equipped Appletree boards and Core masts do land, we'll have them in Ireland — we're the official dealer for Appletree and the only approved Core dealer in the Republic, and we've already got our names down.
Message us on WhatsApp if you want to be first in line, or if you just want to talk foils — the kettle's on in Barna.
