I’m exclusively prone foiling right now. Can consistently pump back out to the take-off and get a couple double dips per session. I’m playing with the idea of adding a bigger second wing for the knee-high, inconsistent days I’ve been having. What I’d like to get out of it is mostly a lot more time on foil. Lots of pump/glide to connect with nearby breaks and hunt down bumps. Down the road I’d also like to start dabbling in prone down-winders though I’m not in any rush to do that. Beach starts would also be something cool to mess with but it’s just a curiosity.
I’m considering either the 180HAX or the 220HAX for this. I know some accomplished foilers who would think I’m nuts and just tell me to keep practicing the 150 and then go smaller. The 150 seems plenty fast to me right now and it would be nice on small days to cruise around, do some chill turns, and keep the connection count as high as possible. Am I thinking about this wrong, and if not which of these to go with for 75kg?
FWIW: I regularly prone on small wave on the great lakes almost always using the 120 (80kg). I’ve never felt the need to use the 180, but frequently use it for small days downwinding. I don’t have experience with the 220, but the low-end on the 180 is noticeable over the 150.
Found a clip of similar conditions I’m working a little too much on my 150 HAX, maybe the smaller sets in the clip. For me it would crumble for an instant just enough for me to pop-up on my prone board and then tiny mush rollers. This Code wing has a wider span than the 180 HAX and James is turning it just fine (James Casey though). On the smallest sets where he is just standing still gliding, I feel like I’m coming down all the time on my 150. There’s obviously a huge skill gap, but I’m wondering if that’s a sign I should be on a bigger wing in those conditions.
I have the 150HAX and 120HA. I’m 93k. For the everyday cruise I’d recommend the 180HAX. We have a local guy who’s around 82k that rides the 180HAX as his daily driver. He looks so casual and can still get turns in. On our shore runner days it noticeably benefits his approach and stamina. We are in NJ and of course that 150HAX works but I can see why you’d want more low low end for the gutless days and runners
Started prone too (daily drive progression 140/170/200). I got a giant wing to learn dock starts axis 1150. It was very fun.
Over the summer I would do ladder starts in the ocean with the big wing to “dock start” in ~1ft @ 8 seconds waves. Also, very fun! Was constantly linking micro waves from 8-30 mins per jump.
Since I had a big wing already, it was the perfect wing to learn to wing foil on too (especially for light wind)
I’m currently learning to DW sup, it’s also amazing for learning to DW sup on a bay-run kinda day.
This summer I’ll learn beach starts and hopefully won’t need the ladder anymore.
Giant wings unlock so much fun. The bigger the better in my opinion. Buy a “big wing” that’s too small eliminates pretty much all the activities above. I’m 6’3” and ~200lbs
I wing 90/120/150x mostly but had a 220x for light winds. Key points are that it isn’t really a pump and glide wing, instead it’s surfy and maneuverable, and it can ride fast and stay on swell (I remember having issues getting passed by swell on my Kujira 1440 back in the day).
Not familiar with Axis at all. The Prog 200 seems very similar to the Lift 220 HAX. I’m looking for the same exact use case you were eyeing. Seems like a lot of fun skill building on tiny days. I have a 180 HAX I’m hopefully going to be able to demo soon. Not sure if that’s going to be enough wing for some of those activities (75kg), but I’ve been warned about trying to DW the 220 HAX in Hawaii ocean swell. People are saying its too slow and will be challenging, but I still have my 150 HAX if that’s the case.
