Comparing the 950 SK8 and 890 Eagle, I’d say what you get with the SK8 is a more responsive, buttery, predictable roll, at the cost of a bit of the Eagle glide. The speed surprisingly being somewhat comparable.
Both are great prone wings, and they also both cross over to downwind. They’re fast and pump well. It depends on what characteristics you’d prefer.
For reference I weigh 85kg.
What kind of waves do you prone? Where?
In West Aus, so mostly faster waves, 10 to 16 second period. We quite often have to pop up on the inside and pump out a ways to get rides.
For each of these aspects a foil that pumps well and goes quick is a must.
If pumping wasn’t such a necessity and the waves weren’t so fast (not much rest / surf time) I’d be riding the 850 SK8 and 790 Eagle.
im thinking about getting an eagle 990 for prone and sup DW. how easy is it to pump?
My 890 pumps a lot easier than my armstrong HA925, if that means anything. definitely takes less effort.
Alright, question for those with experience. Trying to figure out what size sk8 to pick up, have the E890 already. And thinking about getting the 850 SK8.
I’m pretty light, prone in hawaii, all conditions and sizes i can paddle in to…
Any recommendations?
Having the same question… What I have collected so far :
The sk8 does not pump that great, less glide than cab H1000 for example, but surfs amazing.
The chord of a 850 sk8 would be the same as the eagle 890, with chopped tips basically. The turning of the 850 sk8 is comparable to one size down eagle, the eagle 790 that is.
Tucker has had the eagle 890 as his fav and has opted for the sk8 950. Adam bennets is using the eagles for prone and sk8 for tow/wing, my guess is better glide for prone and better turn/low end for winging.
Also riding the 890 Eagle, and have been trying the SK8s. So that I can get a similar number of wave link-ups I like the 950 SK8. Essentially, for me, a 90cm wing span is the perfect compromise between pumping and turning, for in the waves.
Previously riding the Cab 800 and 1000. Each of these also being 90cm in span. Probably a overly simplistic perspective, I know.
FYI - weight = 84kg.
Good insights thanks! How does the sk8 950 compare to the eagle 890 and the cab H1000?
For me the cab 1000 is great up to hip high then its lacking speed a bit, pumps okay. The eagle 790 is amazing above hip high, especially if clean, amazing pump and glide if maintained at speed. Lacking a bit of surface area on smaller days.
I was suspecting the sk8 950 could be an upgraded cab 1000? as in faster and surfier?
Agreed 90cm is a great compromise proning. 80cm is awesome when pumping is not really a requirement like winging for example.
Great feedback. In my opinion not overly simplistic at all; I think wingspan is huge factor for prone. At 90cm wingspan breaching tips is always a factor unless the new cabrinha and/or new MAs technology have fixed this. maybe sk8? So narrower than 90cm is going to roll the way we want but pump/glide begins to suffer.
This is even more of an issue at 83 kg. Skill level is going to have to rise and/or weight is going to come off not sure which will happen first.
I’m already prepping for eating disorder.
Using a 85cm mast helps for breaching, but its definitely breaching in the turns. Its a bit destabilizing but you can learn to keep going through the turn despite breaching a bit, so that’s not too bad I would say.
The eagle breaches better than cab, less disturbance. The new cab supposedly breach better, army MAs are also apparently amazing at that (check out real watersport army talk).
Couple of thoughts here…
I have both the eagle 890 and the sk8 850, my observations are maybe a little contrary to what was said earlier. For pumping, I don’t find the 850 much harder to pump at all than the 890, a little more effort but not a huge difference.
Between the two, 890 feels a bit more locked in with definitely more glide and just a little more speed. But the 850 rolls and turns a bit better, it’s a sick wing and I was concerned it would be slow, but really not much of a difference. Next experiment will be the 180 tail with the eagle, that might be killer. I’ll be interested to take the sk8 on some bigger waves but it’s been a bit of a drought lately out here in Hawaii.
Also if anyone wants to trade the 790 for the 890 let me know…
This is great info… I was wondering if the winglets on the eagle makes it a more dangerous foil than the sk8 or axis art, uni…?
I do find the sk8 easier to pump. But you can’t put a thick stab on the eagle you feel instantly the drag compare to the seven seas or phantom S.
I’m not a fan of the DW210 in high speed turns so i often use the 180 monobloc from my sk8 on the eagle and it enhance the liveliness without too much lost of glide.
Cheers for giving us your weight, most comments are pretty hard to see as being valuable without that sort of info. 'm 86 so your comment definitely resonates with me!!
Hi everyone,
For those of you using the eagle for downwind what are the tail you’re using ?
Are the monobloc tails like the carve 180 or the DW 190 better than the 210DW ? I find the 210DW cut at 14inch really slow and hard to pump…
It might be the eagle 1090 that is slow compare to the 990 or 890 ?
Cheers
I’m not downwinding but am wondering if you can buy these monobloc tails a la carte yet or if they still only come with SK8s. Interested in trying them out on an Eagle.
there is a monobloc downwind tail that would work better…unless you want to take your eagle in waves…then I would take the carve that is suggested with the sk8.
Same question as mthias…
What tail suits the Eagle 1090 and 890 best for downwinding - specifically which has the best speed range and glide?
Have tried the 210DW, C195, C200 and chopped C200 and I feel like the C200 goes the best. Unfortunately I only have a chopped C200 now 
The DW has better glide no doubt vs the Carving…the carving 180 vs the DW210…you really feel you glide way more with the dw. Did not tried the 160carving…but I prefer the Carving tail for winging however with the eagle.