I’m riding a borrowed mast right now and am going to need to pick my own up soon. I was wondering what people’s opinions are on getting an aluminum universal setup specifically for prone.
Keep in mind I’ve ridden borrowed both the Unifoil aluminum and Lift classic masts for a bit and don’t really notice much difference. I don’t care about weight if it doesn’t affect me for prone.
Also, I’m 70kg, and currently riding a 150 (960cm2) right now and my next move will be smaller.
I guess one of the things I’m asking is if the performance difference between the aluminum and either standard carbon or high modulus is worth the added expense for a lightish prone foiler on smaller wings.
That’s interesting. Foilparts has a lot of adapters. I don’t know how many I’d take advantage of, but axis masts are cost effective for running a couple sizes.
I’m a little confused about this. I’ve heard mixed comments about weight. Some people have made it sound like it’s mostly irrelevant once you get in the water. Others have made it sound like it’s an important spec for them. I guess I don’t know what aspects it has an effect on for prone.
I mostly don’t care about paddle with regard to getting around, but for getting into waves, it’s kind of important for me. I’m currently on a 5’2" 45L mid-length, but I’ll be picking up a smaller board at some point.
If we’re talking negligible difference in performance due to weight, I don’t care, but if one feels like a dog and the other a race horse, that matters.
Would you believe that no manufacturer lists these specs on their website. I looked at Axis, Foilparts, and Unifoil. Nobody lists weights for their masts, base plates, or doodads. I have access to the Unifoil Aluminum still. I should be able to weigh it in the next couple days. That would probably be a safe average for aluminum masts.
I do know when I had the Aluminum mast and aluminum fuse on the Unifoil setup, it was definitely less fun to carry around longer than short distances. Not sure if I can feel much difference when I’m in the water.
Does anyone have a link to this info? I did a quick search and that didn’t seem like one of the coverage topics.
That foil parts mast has way less drag than the other two options (im just basing this on the measurements. Have only owned the cedrus alu) You’re riding small enough foils that it matters. I think you should pick the foilparts one and don’t look back. Tell everyone how it goes. It looks like a great value for money option. I never thought i would say that about anything foil related
Nope, no straps or airs. Right now I’m going for long rides and mellow turns. As I get better things will definitely get more aggressive, but that’s probably just more speed and harder turns.
Maybe with the 45L mid length board, you might not notice the weight difference between aluminum and carbon mast. When you size down, I think it will make a bigger difference.
My 4-6, 36L board feels like a dog compared to my 4-1, 32L board. I don’t like using the aluminum mast with the smaller board; not really a problem with the bigger board.
So in combination with the board, the aluminum setup is the dog.
But I’m 59 y/o, that extra weight makes a bigger difference. Younger guys might not notice the extra weight.
Aluminium masts with adapters involve more parts, and in my experience it’s reasonably common to give a poor fit. Or it may start out fitting well and then over time loosens. Horrible wobbly feeling when dropping down a decent sized wave. I would never use one again. Just get a proper carbon mast without an adapter. You buy cheap, you buy twice
I would agree with this with the caveat that if you don’t give a shit about the foil you can use epoxy/5200 to fill all those connection voids and make a stiff setup. I’ve got a vyper 150 I use for winging and kitefoil that is worth almost nothing and it’s all stuck together for rigidity.
Also, depending on the brand the stock carbon stuff might be just as bad for connection fitment.
OP - What foil are you riding - knowing the brand will help tell what connection fit issues you might experience?
Got everything pretty cheap. Tried a lot of Unifoil and Lift gear. Not sure if I’m sticking with Uni moving forward, but it’s been great gear to learn on. I don’t know if there’s a Uni mast to Lift fuse adapter out there, but that could buy me some time while I figure out where to go from here.
If you currently like the Unifoil aluminum mast that you’re borrowing then buy the same thing to stay on a budget. Unifoil does sell an adapter to use Axis foils on the Uni mast in case you want to get Axis foils.
Efoilsolutions.com does make a Lift Mast to Axis Adapter. I was planning on using my 28" Lift carbon mast to prone foil with the Axis 1201 ART Pro. Since I bought the Cedrus Evolution mast, the Efoilsolutions adapter is no longer needed.
How handy are you? I put my old prog 170 on a gofoil mast and it’s great! Prerequisites- Sander, chopsaw, drill, tap, epoxy. If that sounds fun I can walk you through it.
cheapest option is just that uni aluminum mast. Id just do that. Glue it on for extra rigidity if you want and shop for your next foil as a complete and your trash 170 can be a backup/grovler.
Also, The prog 170 is the only one of those worth riding unless you have some pumping down the line energy. I really wouldn’t bother with the vypers
That’s probably a no go right now. Not really interested in going down the modding rabbit hole.
I don’t mind the Uni Mast, but I’m starting to hate the chopped 170 progression. The Vyper 170 was great at a time when I was struggling to just keep things under control and ride down the line. Stable and forgiving. The Chopped 170 Progression feels very similar. They’re both slow though and the glide and pump isn’t great.
I’ve been demoing a lot of gear lately from both Uni and Lift and so far the Lift 150 HAX has been my favorite. The progression 125 was also great, but I I’m not there yet for it to be my main wing. I’m pretty sure I could ride the 150 and grow for a long time, but not sure if I want to buy fully into the Lift ecosystem. They seem to be in a weird place for prone right now. I have no interest in trying the Havocs based on their specs and Florence are focused on downwind.