Because Kane is designing for Kane 
Kai is designing for Kai. He had v5 of his self designed foil that he raced in voyager race. Went back to AXIS after that.
If you look at his Instagram heâs on Naish gear now.
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I did M2O and M2M last year and managed to place in the top 35 in both, using a Code 770R. Itâs possible to race and get good results even if youâre not on prototypes. If I were better and able to ride the 680R or 600R, I could have had even better results.
The goal for every brand in these races is to see if their prototypes are worth it and to test them against the best riders. Thatâs the game. Code won in 2023, and they released the R series a few months later. Same with F-ONE and the Momentum foil last year.
If you want to do these races, either you already have the level to be among the top and can access prototypes because youâve made a name for yourself in past events, or youâre there to prove that you can compete with the best using production foils. But that only applies to the top 40â50 riders. The rest are mostly there for fun or the personal achievement of finishing. This is the world championship â if youâre complaining about not having access to prototypes to be able to compete in the top 20, maybe you should try other races first to prove to the brands that youâre worthy of riding prototypes.
But donât forget that prototypes arenât everything. Take the Momentum foil, for example, which won the past two years. Jack Ho (57th), Simeon from Voyager Foiler (69th), and Keahi De Aboitiz (49th) were all riding that foil and had access to the same gear as Edo, but they didnât place in the top due to mistakes or lack of training. I believe Kahi and Manutea, both Tahitian riders, were on Momentum production foils and did really well â 24th and 25th. ClĂŠment Colmas (26th) is also riding Starboard production foils, and he won the French Open with it last year. Kaivi (27th) is on a Momentum foil. I think nearly every rider after the top 30 is on production gear.
The top guys are riding tiny prototypes with surface areas between 500cm² and 700cm², aspect ratios from 15 to 19, and tails between 100cm² and 70cm². Thatâs not something the average foiler can ride.
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He was on a Naish board, but not sure about the foil.
Thanks for this informative input. I have a lot of respect for guys, who like you, place in the top 25% on production foils.
I really think that itâs possible to place top 20 to 30 with production foils that were prototypes the year before. May be even a top 15 could be possible. Next year it might be with one of the prototypes that are going to be released by axis or KT or fone.
Those races are the most difficult for a reason and the top10 are extremely talented riders that spend a lot of time all year training for this goal. But itâs also full of people wanting to challenge themselves.
At the moment i would say the best production foils are Fone / F4 foil / axis / lift
BACK TO BACK @molokai2oahu CHAMPION @whoedo !!!
An unforgettable moment to celebrate with the entire @voyager_foiler community on Oahu! @instakahi on the mic!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYv53vBuS5/
Edo was riding
8â0 2025 Rocket SUP Downwind Comp Carbon
80 cm Mast
516 Momentum
On another note, looks like Axis have a new front mast connection.
Considering Kane is unique in that heâs both designing and riding his foils at the very top of racing I would assume that they are âhisâ and not âKTâsâ foils from a racing perspective. If KT decides to go in to production with it later then of course Kai could use it but Kane probably did the layup of the foil he was riding with his own hands.
I would hate to see a rule where you can only ride commercially available gear which would stop people like Kane being able to ride their own designs.
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Got the comparison. Hugh Mitchell code 600r. Beat josh Ku on the new proto foil. On paper Ku is better. Hugh has been training hard and the production foil won.
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I know all the focus is on the foils, but did you notice the lower chord in Kaneâs mast? Just watched the replay and that mast has crazy narrow chord at the bottom.
Wonât be surprised if we get more race specific production masts coming soon (using ultra luxury HM carbon and ludicrously priced)
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Imagine if F4 and KT were the fastest this year and 5% behind them was Axis and F-ONE and %5 behind them was code and Armstrong.
Now apply these conservative percentages across the top 40 times and see how the placingâs radically change.
It is what it is but donât call it a level playing field or judge a riders class by the results alone.
Riders are invested with their sponsors and most appreciate the opportunities that have come their way as a result and arenât about to go sponsor hoping every race season. Its just not practical or ethical especially after one or two changes.
Titanium fuses, Titanium cored front wings and Titanium tails. Aspect 19! Sound like a sport where its about the rider and doesnât need rules.
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I like how these races are still run what you brung type platform. We have too many other sports that have too much regulation and rules in my opinion. I want to see who can do it the fastest, why should I care if someone has a tiny tiny wing that I canât ride. Unregulated Racing=innovation.
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Has anyone (not a top 30 foiler) tried these high-high AR wings like duotone hyperglide or f-one momentum?
Hi,
Just wanted to mention Guido was on an F4 Orca 530 front wing with 133xs stabilizer and a 75 skinny mast all off the shelf production gear. Super exciting to see the times drop and the sport to take off!
Aloha!
Chris - designer F4
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Hopeful KT shares some of that coolness, but Iâm not holding my breath. If itâs coming itâs a well kept secret.
We definitely did pick up on that. Thanks for chiming in. Feel free to use the opportunity to tell us more about that F4 foil. Itâs my first time even hearing of it.
Hi,
Just wanted to add that our orca series wings are AR12.4. While not has high as others weâve designed, they provide a combination of low end, speed and turning that we didnât find with much higher aspect ratios. We wanted a fast foil, but really focused on a forgiving design that was applicable for everyone such as the first female in the M2M 50+ division. She is a bad ass though
Aloha!
Chris
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@Erik See post above. A developer was specifically asked about his foils. It appears he graciously replied and it got flagged. Anything you can do about that?
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Thanks. I restored the post.