Has anyone been riding the new Cloud IX FS wings and can compare them to Lift, Uni etc? They dont seem to have a marketing budget as big as some of the other brands so I dont seem to see a lot of chat about them so hoping a few may have some pros and cons to share on them.
Cheers
I would like to hear more too. I believe thatās what Eric Geiselman rides. I watched him ride it in person and he seemed to be doing pretty well on it
Hi Guys
Iāve been using Cloud IX for a couple years already, started with the F-series, got almost all of them F24, F28, F32, F38 (F42 was just tooooo big for me). I still own the F-38 and my wife is learning wing foil on it. I jumped to the FS series and man, that was a big leap forward. Unfortunately canāt compare them to UNI, LIFT and other brands cause I havenāt had access to really test profoundly other foils (except for AFS PURE 900 that Iām owning now too) but I can tell that these FS are a very underrated and not well known foils, as you mentioned they donāt have big marketing budgets (you can even notice that on their website).
I gotta be clear, that Iām a dealer in Colombia for them, but I donāt have exclusivity and I pay for my own stuff.
FS series is a very playful line, itās AR is 8.5 in all itās series (from 550 to the 1150), and these foils can CARVE and GLIDE so effortlessly. Itās that kind of glide mixed with really good low end grunt sustentation, that gives you lot of forgiveness and the ease of use.
Right now I use the FS-550 for Winging when the wind and waves are howling, and what Iām gonna take for my next tow-in foil trip to Chicama.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnzrwqMOH1i/
FS-850 is the best all-rounder for my weight (70kg), I think for good surf conditions I could still go for the 700 but never go it. This is a great wingfoil Front wing cause it can handle and carve small to medium waves. Also for prone surfing is a very complete foil that can pump and connect several waves and still carve delightfully.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChFsG3mlBr0/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpAMkfwrZYi/
And the FS-1150 is my ālongboardā, this foil taught me how to properly downwind sup foil, and itās my go to for pump & glide for connecting multiple days when waves are small. This big guy can still carve waves and itās my go to for winging in 10knts with only 4m wing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjGm8FsPRwZ/
Hope this info was of some help!
Will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Thanks for all the info - I have been scouring the internet for more about these Cloud 9 foils, and as you say, there isnāt a lot out there. But what is out there seems to be very positive. Are you still using the FS-1150 in your primary downwind setup or have you moved on to something else (and if so, what)?
I read those articles earlier, but just went back through them. They are definitely the most informative on the internet that Iāve seen. My key takeaways from the reviews relevant to this are:
If you have to choose one brand, let it be Cloud 9. The wings are somewhere between high aspect and surf in that they are pump-able with good glide but retain some playful turning abilities.
The best all around wing from the lineup is the FS-850. The second best is the FS-1150 which is more of a fun cruiser.
If youāre going to brand hop, then the Unifoil Progression Project 140 is supposed to be super nice for mellow carving in small to medium waves, knocking the FS-850 out for this specific purpose.
Side note: Consider getting a universal mast system instead of committing to one brand (No-Limitz and Project Cedrus).
Iāve been watching a lot of downwind runs on youtube, and some people are clearly locked in with pretty big cruising wings, but I enjoy the ones who are still able to play in the bump and put down some nice flow along the way, so Iām thinking the FS-1150 might be the ticket, but I need to do a little more research to see what the downwind meta is to make sure this category isnāt completely different. Iāve asked on a couple of those downwind videos to try and track down their setups, but havenāt heard back yet.
The amount of choices for foils is mind boggling. Couple that with all the other variables (body weight, board, conditions, goals), and the fact that most people donāt have experience with many different brands due to either lack of local access or just the expense, and this is a tough thing to research given the relatively little amount of information available compared to the cost of the item.
Just in case anyone has any additional thoughts on my situation, Iām located in the Outer Banks, in the 165 lb range and basically only interested in downwind and mushy waves. I like the idea of towing out to both with a wing and then either packing it up or just flagging it out, but Iām not super interested in tacking back and forth on flat water, jumping with wings, etc. Iād rather kite for that. Right now Iām kicking around the idea of a Freedom Dagger 100L with the Cloud 9 1150, and simultaneously also considering a surfy prone / wing-tow with the FS-850.
Cheers!
I ride cloud fs700 top notch gear and surfs very well still with good pump and glide at 70 kg and I have owned a lot of different foils and some of the newest releases of late but go back to the cloud 
Hi there, here my 2 cents,:
Having started with the 850 cloud 9 in January this year with the 197 stab.
Coming from the kujira line with the ,980 as my go-to wing, only winging mainly on lakes and some time on the Atlantic coast in France.
The new go-to foil is the 850!!! So much more glide, control and carving fun! Rider weight is 73kg, mostly with 5/3 wetsuit, harness, boots, except for now thru summerā¦
Stabs with the 850:
197: used in second position from front. Enormous lift and great pump ability, very stable. Used in lighter wind
Ap3dcustom: mako 172 used mostly on second position from front. More playful, carvy and still good to pump, nice turns.
157: used twice so far in last position from front and the one before. Def. more loose and the foil becomes even more alive. Great carving! Loose some pumpā¦
I can go in light wind 8-12 kn with 78l board and 6.5 wing with the 850 and stay up all the time, the glide is so phenomenal that still in those conditions tacks, jibes, 360 up or downwind all work since u have so much time to finish them.
And you can go out in 30 kn and still have a blast. Also in the waves to chest high itās fantastic!
The 550 I use from 20kn on and recently added the 700 which might work from 15kn depending on the board.
I prefer to use my Armstrong 4ā10,39l when ever possible since itās so much more reactive and fun( start possible with the 850 with 5m wing at 12kn)
The low stall speed is amazing! For the 850 I would compare it to a 1100 cm2 foil from other brand and also the getting on foil(similar to my kujira 1095), but with the advantage of super carving.
Absolute smooth and silent glide! And the turning is fantastic where you can fully push and hard carve! I compare it to snow board carving feeling.
The radius is determined by the foil size and the stab to a smaller degree.
For our conditions here in Switzerland on lakes with mostly gusty winds and lulls itās the perfect weapon to have as much fun as possible. And itās easy to ride, no technical difficulty, just plug and play.
If you love a playful yet controlled silent glide with a awesome carving style then this foil is for u.
I enjoy it each time again,
Have fun on the waterā:call_me_hand:
No affiliation to any brand, just a regular customer who wants to enjoy himself as much as possible and of course a little foil addictš
i usually ride with the cab h800 80cm noodle mast custom stab.
i tried the fs 850ā¦ it felt slow, locked and the pump needs lot of energy.
after 15 minutes i went back to the beach to switch to my cabā¦
So it depends what you are used toā¦ if you have a fast manoeuvrable thin ha foil, the cloud 9 will not feel good!
I demoād lift, code, uni, takuma, naish, slingshot, and then Cloud IX. After all that, I bought, and rode the heck out of the entire Cloud IX line this year. 550-1780, all three masts, all 4 stabs. It was an incredibly educational experience and it made me realize how incredibly nuanced your experience on/with foils will be.
Lift was too stiff for me. Uni was too slow. Takuma felt like a budget option, naish and slingshot were not enjoyable. Code was really fast, but not as surfy as I wanted.
The Cloud IX foils are surf dedicated. Not race or DW dedicated. They can do a lot of different things, but itās important to remember what they are aimed at.
1780: Ridiculous early lift and low stall speed. Hard to turn, but I learned to downwind on this and was up on foil within 30 minutes on my first day trying.
1350: Lots of glide and good speed. Still a little stiff in the turns for my taste, but the glide is undeniable when you are flagged out or have a paddle in your hand.
1150: Probably one of the stand out all arounders in this lineup. Really low takeoff speed. low stall speed, good turning, easy pump and glide, a little slow, more of a mellow foil. Top notch for DW sup and I loaned this to a few beginners this year and they freaked out and bought their own. I use it as my ultralight wind foil now.
1000: The awkward duckling in some ways. The perfect mix in others. If you arenāt a beginner and want more speed/carve, but canāt handle the 850, this is the ticket. If you can handle the 850, then you would opt for the 1150 to compliment. If your budget only has room for 1 foil, then the 1000 is nice.
850: This is where things start to get really exciting. Roll and maneuverability is really activated in the smaller sizes due to the narrow wingspan. At this size though, you need to experiment with different boards and different stabs. You canāt just take it for a 15 minute demo and expect to understand it. Great glide, fast paced pump, reasonable to get on foil. Crazy high performance on the 157 stab, mellow artistic carving on lighter winds with the big stabs.
700: My personal favorite. The roll is profound, the glide is still good, but lordy can you crank turns on this thing! Most people need some time to ease into this foil. Itās got a lot of action in it and if youāre not ready, then it will be a bit much to handle.
550: I never quite dialed this one in. It needs a lot of speed to get going and I prefer small/underpowered wings when I ride. As such, this wasnāt usually an option for me. As I quiver out my boards Iāve found longer/narrow boards are much more doable with this foil. It requires speed though, I found myself coming off foil in gybes the first few times I used it. I also need to do more experimenting with the various stab sizes to really enjoy it.
Mast lengths matter a lot too. The bigger foils 1000 and above, I prefer with the 66cm mast since it makes them faster. 850 is good with the 76cm mast. 700-550 do well for me with the 86cm mast, to slow them down a bit.
Hey!!! Sorry, left this unanswered and forgot about it ā Reading this thread back once more I found this.
I know itās a bit too late now - wonder if you finally got into the 1150 and the 850 and what would your review is after testing them!?
Right now Iām keeping the FS-550 and FS-700 in my armory as prone and winging on good waves weapons, and for Downwinding I moved to a more specialized and faster super high aspects AFS Pure 800 (13AR) and 1100 (11AR) for high wind/swells DW and lower wind/swells accordingly.
For entering the downwind world, the go to definetly would be the 1150 or the new 1350 (which I just got it for super low light wind winging and low wind dowwninders) which Iām yet to test and give some feedback on it. Why start and even progress in Downwinding with the FS Cloud IX? Well, itās a very easy foil, great low end, and still can handle quite some high speeds and carve very well while going in the bumps. And when progressing if you want to stay in the same platform of foils - You can just downsize to the 1000 or even the 850 which some advanced riders are downwinding with great results.
Have a good one!