I’ve been riding Axis gear for awhile now and wanted to start a thread for people to post reviews, especially given the ridiculous number of options available through Axis.
I’ll start with my quick reviews:
Me: 75kg, advanced prone and winger, small Florida conditions, primarily enjoy huge powder turns in waves (both prone and winging).
PNG1150
-Great for dockstarting, incredible low end, terrible turning. I don’t use this wing at all due to the turning limitations.
PNG1010:
-Great for dockstarting, incredible low end, turning is signficantly better than 1150 and this is my go to wing for lightwind winging (use KDmaui 13 tail). Not useful for prone but I’ve resurrected it for summer winging and I’m loving it!
PNG850
-Just got this Monday. Only one prone session on it but the low end is fantastic and the turning is excellent. Pump is awesome and super easy, different than the HPS series which is super thin…this wing is PNG and so it’s not crazy fast but it cruises and is very easy to pump. Breeching is very good. Loving this wing, still need to try it on wing and bigger conditions prone. It’s about 1050cm and actually quite a bit of lift for it’s size given the foil-section, I’d be interested in a PNG750.
HPS930
-Great wing for winging and tiny wave proning. Turns well and pumps excellent, very fast. If you like winging and proning and only want one wing then this is a great choice for smaller conditions.
HPS830
-Fast, cranks turns. Pumps decent but you need speed of course. Nice high-wind wing and what a lot of us will use when the conditions pick up.
ART999
-These are trendy but personally I didn’t like. Excellent glide but turning is more like PNG 1010 style but without the low end.
BSC890
-Nice turning wing but slow and pumping is inferior. I hear the BSC810 is great but haven’t tried that one.
I have tried a friend’s ART 999 for winging and while the glide was great, turning was not. Could have been due to the fairly big tail 425 progressive (I think). I’ve been told using the 350 progressive tail dramatically improves turning. Which tail(s) have you used?
I’m looking for an Axis foil to use winging in small to medium wind swell that glides, turns (surfy feel), and is decently fast (note, the 999 felt a bit slow). Seems like the HPS930 is the ticket. Which tail?
What do you think about HPS (930, 880) vs. ART (899) for winging? Seems like a bit of extra cord would be good when luffing out and ping ponging across wind swell. Or do the ARTs have sufficient low end for that.
Depends on your conditions. I’m on East Coast Florida so we have mild conditions generally, I really like the HPS930 for winging in 13-20knots, it has great low end, glide, and turns. For more wind the HPS880 could be your ticket.
Also, as you stated you don’t want a wing that will stall when winging around ripping lots of tacks etc so I think the HPS is probably better overall than the ART but there are many heated opinions on this with lots of ART-addicts arguing otherwise, check the Axis foils facebook forum.
Has the PNG850 had a significant change to the foil and shape? It seems to be described on the axis site as having some new characteristics distinct from the original PNG line.
If you have already experienced the PNG ride, then the AXIS PNG 850 wing will make you feel right at home. But its faster, turns tighter, and carves beautifully. If you were looking for a foil wing that feels like a natural extension of your body, this is probably the one. PNG 850 Carbon Hydrofoil Wing - AXIS Foils
Is 850 a red-fuse? I have a 1150 and an 860SP but only a standard fuse, and guess I both need to get a better gliding wing than the 860 and a shorter fuse. Any recommendations?
The 1150 has been fine for learning but doesn’t turn and only really good for improving beach starts at this point.
I’ve only had a single prone session on it, hopefully winging it today (or proning if better) but it appears to be the standard PNG wings just smaller and slightly thinner although that is probably just because the whole thing is shrunk down. The foil section looks identical although the AR is a bit lower.
It’s black fuse so unfortunately you would need to buy that. I use the ultrashort which is great for prone but the short is better for wing.
I was really into the HPS because of the pump/glide for awhile (high aspect mania) but now I find they outrun the waves too much for my liking, you are not so much surfing as you are “hunting bumps”. The PNG can hang in the pocket and turns like a small wing and good breech but still pumps so easy.
Iv been riding the 890bsc ultra short and more recently the 350 p and before that the 400 speed.
This was the set up I learned on (prone only) I’m 72kg and live in Margaret river region in West Aus so most of the waves are reefs with long period/powerful swell for context.
The 890 is an epic all round wing especially to learn on all the way to intermediate… really stable and forgiving. I was double dipping after 6 hours over a few sessions. Once I got past the pump monkey phase and realised how f!&king fun turning was the 890 also provided the goods…
However in powerful reefs I often found myself having too much lift and that train track feeling where you need to slow down to turn, then I’d breach halfway through the turn anyway haha …
the 350p definitely helped turning… the 890 excelled in slower, dribbly waves with its low stall speed and once you slowed the foil down it would turn on a dime…
After a year on that I Wanted something new so upgraded to the 880hps, advanced crazy short, 350p and 4’6 Amos raptor… my first session I was surprised how much lift the 880 still had ( although I was riding it in quite large surf it was comparable to the 890 but faster) so I negative shimmed the tail and made the front/back foot pressure a lot more equal, especially on the take off… probably don’t need to shim it in slower waves though although I’m going to leave it in and move it a bit more forward in the tracks according to conditions
One session in on the advanced crazy short and initial impression is it’s so so fun and definitely a worthy purchase for prone/wave riding… seems to turn better at speed and just so easy to roll without being too loose or unstable… it felt like it bridged the gap between short boarding and foiling… I was doing tight ‘round house cut backs’ and felt I could bank off the bottom into a top turn when going down the line(but I’m pretty sure it didn’t look like that in reality) … it was a bit more tippy (nose/tail) but I got used to it after the session went on.
Pump is the same as normal ultrashort black fuselage, maybe even a bit better.
75kgs, north shore Oahu. I’ve basically quit proning and only wing now (unless the wind just doesn’t show). Currently use crazy short and a Kane tail (14"?) with everything. Up till recently if the waves are small and/or I’m downwinging I’ll use the 999. Usually with no shim. The glide is better with negative shim but turns suffer a bit. If i know I’m going to only be riding small waves and not doing coast runs I’ll add a lil positive shim to make turning even better.
If the waves are good I’ve been using the HPS700. No shim unless waves are big then -1 shim. If waves are good but wind isn’t cooperating I’ll use the BSC810, but haven’t used it much in months. Just recently got the 799 and have been trying to get it dialed but summer conditions and work schedule haven’t been cooperating. But got it out in some smaller waves yesterday with a -1 shim and was liking it. (With no shim felt like it had too much lift, but i haven’t figured out board placement yet.) Looking forward to trying the advanced silly short fuse and maybe a 300 tail.
If i do prone I’ll use the 999 or 810 depending on size of surf/wave type.
I really like the art range for sup foil dw, I mostly use the 1099 (15 to 20 nd) and 999 when it is good dw (25nd+). Those wing need a stiff mast (either alu 19mm or new carbone mast).
I love the glide and the speed.
For prone, the 999 is nice on small conditions, easy to pump and connect but i agree it doesn’t turn well. The 899 turn much better but the stall speed is not great. And most annoying thing is those wing are way too much powerfull for take off (no gradual lift). Maybe the new fus will solve this ??? I really think the 899 could be a really good surf wing, there is just soemthing missing (more gradual lift, lower stall speed).
I used to have a 1150, only for super light dw, probably the easiest foil for flat water start.
Seems that Axis is really moving away from surf foiling and focusing on downwind and pump foiling. They keep building bigger and bigger glider wings (1099, 1300, 1310) instead of better surf wings! Probably a bigger demand, I think our prone surf foiling community is actually much smaller than we think and the real market is middle-aged wingers.
Jeremy was on a 799 at the cape… said off the air that he’s been working with Adrian on some new foils he can’t talk about yet. Love how they iterate so consistently.
@Rad_Duke I’m roughly the same weight and would consider myself a solid intermediate winger. I learned on the 1060, progressed to the 890 and now I mainly ride the 999 as I like the speed and glide. Im considering the 799 for windier days but my question for you is around prone.
I’ve been trying to give prone a go up here in SC with the goal to simply connect and ride the small waves we have here. Not currently looking to do turns but rather stay on foil for as long as possible. I started on the 890/375p but I wasn’t able to pump well. I switched to the 999/375p and while I can pump this well while on the wing, it isn’t very forgiving when learning to prone (I can pump it pretty well while on the wing as it needs to start with speed and seems to also like a higher cadence of pump). At 72kg, which foil would you recommend trying to maximize foil time in small surf?
Seems like the 910 is reasonably placed as a surf suitable? Seems probably too large for more advanced riders but nearly the only wing that appeals for surfing. Yet to try it. In another thread a rumour of a new surf foil
I have a 1150 that I feel is quite a bit less glidey than I feel I should expect out of such a renowned glide foil. It has a few small chips and scratches that I’ve yet to get around to fixing, so suspect it is that.
Just to get a sense check, with a 400 race tail, should it feel ultra slippery and effortless?
