Wanted to list out top riders and the foils they were on. Hard to identify many of them, but maybe among the collective we can learn something:
Kane: KT custom mast and 700ish foil per IG.
Kai Thompson: Axis with new Ti fuse, anyone know of this is production? No idea what foils the axis guys ride.
Guido: F4 foil, don’t know which one or if it’s production stuff.
Edo: F One, don’t know which one or if it’s production stuff.
Rai: Axis
Axel: also Axis
Jeff Spencer: Duotone, which foil?
Jarrod Snow: Code, mast seems to be new/ non production. Don’t know which foils.
Finn Spencer: Duotone, which foil?
Kai Lenny: no idea.
Gage: Armstrong proto front and tail, 60 fuse. Kudos to this guy for posting on his IG what he’s riding and not making a mystery of it.
Tom Constant: Phantom foils. Don’t know which one or if it’s production stuff.
Hopefully the collective tribe can add to the list both in riders and details of what they were on.
Seems proto foils are more the rage than ever as browse around from the web. I couldn’t identify anyone riding production KT foils.
From James Casey talking through the voyager race. Everyone is on proto wings except for Tom Constant who is on the phantom foil that was just released, so it’s basically like a prototype.
Anyone on AXIS. Armstrong. Code. F-one. they’re all on prototypes. Or maybe it’s just easier to think about it like this. Anyone that is fully sponsored is on a prototype.
Hmm, seems for the M2M Guido and Constant were apparently on foils that we can buy, or at least order to be delivered at a future date. Though, not sure how many of us can ride a Ha500 like they did. Phantom and F4.
Yeah it’s a little sad that the people paying for this sport and who buy the gear from the brands at full price are the ones who get shafted in the racing😔 I fell bad for anyone who has brought the latest gear after watching the pros ride it all year and then have rocked up to a race thinking they have a chance only to find out they are all riding foils no one else can get. In many cases beaten before the race begins.
Yeah we need development and maybe certain races should be open slather like a M2O but putting some sort of restrictions on racing might not be the worst thing ever. The racing could be way tighter and way more competitive which is never a bad thing.
Something simple like the foil has to have been open to the public to buy for 6months before the date of the race unless a one of custom by a private individual. If a private individual can make a foil that beats the brands then good on them as it’s not that easy. Just an idea anyway.
It will be interesting to see what happened once we have reached our top speed as right now it’s just ocean pump racing in many cases, far from why most people get into DW foiling for, in someways it would be nice to slow things up a little so we have to surf the ocean more. Maybe like a 1m rule where your foil has to be at least 1m long but you can change the AR depending on your weight and size. Maybe it would make no difference haha
People that attend these races, have access to these prototype foils. F-one Momentum is available for the public. If you can handle 516cm² , AR16.5. It’s way more technical skill than most people, talking about proto gear, think it is.
Yeah thats the usual answer that I expected and herd it for years in every racing form I have ever done. I also agree rules suck and as few as possible is always better but in saying that every form of racing has rules of some sort to keep it fair and accessible which then drives a more competitive competition.
I have even herd some of the top guys say they would like it not to just turn into a pump race but maybe that’s just what that format is destined to become.
Just watching the M2O on Rouge TV and the footage is sick, very well done to all that put that together. Good bumps and swells and kind of the perfect channel for a foil race🤘
Top guys/gals are on protos for a reason. They are the top of the pack and worked hard to get there. That said even Kane mentioned he has ended up on a foil he didn’t design to race but surf. Things are moving quick and still being figured out that’s for sure and it’s very exciting to watch.
This is really not the case, most of the pack is just trying to complete without falling. The foils are making very little difference because no brand has a standout dominance (other than Axis because they are doing their usual “give anyone interested a go on their latest” tactic which works quite well for prominence.
It’s all on the riders at this stage.
Constraining what people use would be a huge mistake, anyone with the talent and drive to be relevant can access top equipment, and letting them experiment would block things like the below.
Once you can predict who wins based on their equipment (like F1 has trouble with) then you need to start intervening.
Matt I know you mean well but it is just not the case that foils don’t make much difference. If you know some of the competitors they can tell you exactly how much difference their new foils made from last seasons prototypes and they are easier to go fast on and control. That’s why they are riding the prototypes. Many of the top guys all know what each others foils can do per kilometre in the same conditions and its well discussed among them. The foil is massive. That doesn’t mean that a kook can win on a great foil but it does mean that some of the best can’t win without the best equipment.
The axis foils for example have been standout story of the season. Non standard mast, non standard fuse and connections and prototype wings and tails. They did a great job and invested heavily and definitely not for nothing.
At the moment Jacko is spot on. Its still an arms race and to reach your potential as an athlete you better be on great equipment.
Finally how do you prove your worthy of the equipment if you can’t do your 1min 40 second kilometers without having access. Imagine buying the full FONE momentum kit (fastest production in theory) and finding out their prototype might be 15 seconds better per kilometre in race conditions. Over before it started. They are all gambling their sponsors are going to develop with the best. A quote from one of the best was that his fastest kilometre was equal to another mates average kilometer time on the same run.
I don’t care if they limit it or not but seeing it for what it is matters to me.
I didn’t say the foils don’t make a difference, that is a complete misread and an insane idea. They make a huge difference.
What I’m saying is:
Across the top brands, they have converged on the same capabilities. Pick from 5++ brands, get talking to get access to their proto, then it’s on you.
If they restricted to stock gear only, it wouldn’t make a difference to the outcome of the race. Some middle markers would be 10% faster and make no difference otherwise
No foil is giving a rider an unfair advantage over the other rides because getting prototypes isn’t hard. It’s not like it’s sailing where some big money wnker is paying a pro team and building a $100m boat to claim the win. It’s still seems like kids having fun
Look at Kai, he switched to Axis from Cloud just before the race, to get onto faster foils. Is that bad? I don’t think so. He did exactly what I think any competitive person would do, switch.
I’d like to know who this is? Anyone in the top bunch could get onto Axis proto story, but they don’t because they are getting free gear from someone else (Eg Andrew riding Lift, he could talk to Axis and get their protos. Or switch teams). I’m struggling to see the sob stories of people not on protos
If what you are saying is that there is an extremely talented rider who has trained crazy hard is not placing because they are riding old foils, then I’d say it’s probably because they get them for free and or some other reason that has nothing to with the actual race
I’ll take it a step further. The production version of certain brands foils are incapable of being raced on at any level. The connections and screws are not smooth- create a lot of drag. That’s before getting to the limitations of the foils.
So the consumer buys into the hype, but gets some mediocre performing gear, at best.
Meanwhile the hype continues, with another year of untouchable gear. My Intent of starting this post was to try and identify who was riding gear we can buy. It looks like that is F4, and Phantom. Maybe F-one, but no one knows.
The mainstream brands are all on non commercially available gear. A few posters saying Lift riders were on production stuff. But in at least a few IG posts they say they are trying “new” stuff, leading me to conclude the few top Lift riders are not on commercially available gear.
I’m definitely not advocating for rules or gear limitations. But, I think those guys riding off the shelf gear deserve some extra kudos, particularly the ones who aren’t pro’s or influencers. Similarly, the brands that put out race ready gear, or race capable gear also deserves some recognition.
