AFS Evo thoughts?

Winging
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Enjoyed reading all the good reviews of the AFS Foils on here. I’m intermediate, currently riding HPS 1050 + 980. Quite keen to move to the AFS ecosystem as it seems really well made and have lots of good options. Ideally looking for a great progression foil that can do a bit of everything. Main aims are to make the most of wind driven swell and freeride

Anyone have any experience of the EVO range - would it be a step up in performance from the HPS or should I go straight to the Silk/Pure combo?

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Cant speak to the Evo. Seems to be marketed more towards the novice market, but could be a great foil for your use.

The Silk is quite well behaved and intuitive for its performance level and I wouldn’t be scared to steer a progressing intermediate towards the 1050. Only question is whether its big enough for your size / skill level. Its quite a bit smaller than your HPS foils, so you may need to be reasonably skilled in pumping to get it onto foil. Once its on foil, it is pretty easy. Im 80kg and use it with a -20 board down to ~8 knots (5.5-6m wing), but I’ve been at it for years and am relatively efficient.

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Haven’t tried the Evo yet either but I’ve helped out a lot of local riders with getting their first rides/demos on the Silks at this point. Beginners like the 1050 w/152 tail. Intermediates seem to prefer the 142. I prefer it with the 132 tail for the loosest feelings.

I’ll also say, the 1050 has the most ridiculous fun range of any foil I’ve ridden. W/152 tail it’s mellow, slower, more drawn out turns. With 132 tail it’s quick and spicy in the turns. I’ve been focused on riding nothing but the silk 650 recently and then popped onto the 1050 yesterday for an hour and was worried it wouldn’t be fun anymore. Nope, still a blast!

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Thank both. BWalnut, when you say beginner/intermediate - how do they get on? I’m enjoying my HPS foils and keen to find the next step but don’t want to hamper progression…

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All the riders I’ve seen hop on it who are earlier in their progression have no issues. These are folks who can gybe and ride consistently.

On the complete flip side of that, I’m on foil over 3000 miles a year and the 1050 empowered me to cure some of the weak spots in my foiling while also opening up a huge bag of new tricks. Throw in that I rode it and had fun with it in over 40 knots and it’s hard to point out something negative about it. I bounce back and forth between the 1050 and 650 now and really enjoy them both.

The silks are just wildly forgiving while being exceptionally high performance. My favorites for sure.

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I haven’t ridden the Evo but did have a long chat with our AFS rep about them. From what I gather they are intended to be a range that can do it all - Surf/ SUP/ DW with a modular system that can allow greater flexibility than the Silk/ Pure monoblocs can (Silk - surf & Pure - go fast = more dedicated to one style of riding then the Evo).

Flyer is still the beginner range I think.

I went for a Silk as surfing any type of swell going is my fav, and will probably add a Pure for speed riding at some point in the future (once I’ve saved up). But if you want the all-rounder that does everything quite well rather than one thing really well then Evo could be a great choice.

Worth noting that the Fuselink mast will work on all the ranges now - opens up more combos down the line.

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Agree with @FlyByFoil description -
If someone were to ask me a budget conscious option to have more front wings with lower budget and still be able to go all-round (sacrificing a little bit of high performance for specific modalities) I would suggest the EVO-
Take this couple factors if you’re considering the EVO

  • Want to be able to add more front wings withouth the extra cost of the integrated fuselage (It’s not gonna be UHM I think)
  • Want easier transport of the quiver - when traveling the integrated fuse can be a pain in the ass, not impossible to travel with thou.
  • There’ll be the release of the new Enduro line, which will be a HA (11AR) set of wings that’ll be compatible with the modular fuselink fuselage. So more options for an all-round range if you want to add some easier to use HA wings for Downwinding and more glide and pump. EVO sounds to me like a great choice for winging.
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Have recently received my AFS EVO set. WHAT MAGIC IS HAPPENING IN BRITTANY?

Went for 950 and 1450 with small stab and UHM 85 mast to cover a large wind range. I had been tempted to buy something more advanced but for once in my life stumped for ability appropriate gear. I was moving from Sabfoil 940/380 (1100cm2/180cm2)

95kg and a year into winging.

My immediate feeling was “hello old friend” … the 1450 felt familiar and easy straight out of the box, it was very much the foil I had missed out on for the last 12 months. Nearly too easy yet not slow by any means. Handled breaching and re-entry in very choppy water very easily while I familiarised myself with the new toy. Turning was not quite so sharp, although not far off by any means and it is quite a lot bigger so I’ll forgive that.

The glide and speed felt on a par with the much smaller sabfoil while takeoff was much more intuitive and, as expected, significantly earlier. A subsequent very light wind session re-inforced this further. Didn’t spend long enough out that day to really explore it but i get the feeling that this will be a great summer wing… A tender pump simply puts the board straight back to riding high on the mast.

The 950 has a very similar manner to the 1450 and also gives a feeling of endless acceleration on tap. The glide is insane, forgiving many rider errors. I haven’t explored either the low end or top end of this foil yet but it feels that it I will hit a glass ceiling of progression before the foil ever does.

I was surprised at the ease of takeoff relative to the larger sabfoil - What i felt was certainly not a 12% smaller foil, if anything the take-off was noticeably earlier. Didn’t need to pump it that day but had quite simply the most exhilarating session.

Needless to say the stiffness and build quality are top drawer, the setup is incredibly light too - Handy for a frequent traveller.

Having played with numerous foils of my own or of friends, it is clear that the EVO design stands out in combining performance beyond my (mediocre) skillset alongside an ease of use that I wish I had accessed earlier in my foiling journey.

AFS seem to have hit a real sweetspot with this design

My only fear is how I’ll itch the scratch of finding gear to buy in future as I cannot see myself wanting to change from this set-up for years…

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Thanks for the review. The foils sound epic, I’m fairly sure this is going to be my next setup. I went to se them in the shop and they are super light and beautifully made. Great to have the option to step up to the Enduro etc too.

My only concern is whether it’ll feel like a big enough step up from Axis HPS stuff, which if I’m honest probably isn’t the limited factor vs my skill level!

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