Help me get dialed for the gorge

Foils and Boards - Gear Talk
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Hi guys,

Trying to upgrade my old Axis setup with some new gear and foils for the gorge. I’ve mostly been parawinging this year, so looking for something surfy, and able to do downwinders and also do upwind laps on the parawing and not be car reliant. Those Ozone parawings go upwind pretty well!!

Currently on Axis Spitfire 960 and 840 (which are 1200cm2 and 1000cm2 and ~7.5AR). I’m also ~97 kg, so definitely need something bigger/for larger people! I’m also not very good compared to the average here, I can wing and kitefoil proficiently, ride swell, pump to the next wave, etc, but haven’t dedicated myself too hard to foiling (yet). Trying to upgrade my set up and lock in a little more.

I can get a decent deal on F-One foils, so I’m wondering if these are good, not too dated, and would fit someone almost 100kg?

I’ve been recommended the eagle 1000, or sk8 1050 or 1150? Not sure if a less pumpy and more surf style wing like the sk8 is good here, or some sort of hybrid wing like the eagle (not full downwind at least).

Code also seems nice, and I know they are stocked around town. The Code S seems comparable to the Eagle??

KT foils also look good but they seem like slim pickings around town and online, major inventory issues! Seems like they have a similar situation between nomad and atlas versus sk8/eagle.

Ideally whatever I buy I can use for prone foiling too? There seems to be a lot of crossover between these two disciplines, besides the mast lengths perhaps? How is 80cm for the gorge, too short with the wind swell? I’m on 82 axis aluminum mast now.

As a bonus, it would be nice if the brand sold a wing suitable for kite foil! Seems like a lot of the newer brands are abandoning these sort of wings a bit. It’s a lot nicer for travel to be able to use the same mast, kit, etc for multiple disciplines.

Thanks so much for the help/advice! This sport so confusing, far cry from just needing a board and 3 kites :laughing:

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I just got back from the gorge. Found the ~8.5 AR 750-900 range perfect for winging most of the spots at 80kg. Sized up to ~1000 for parawing since I’m newer and was using it on the milder days. In my opinion you don’t want anything too fast (the bumps are not super fast), you want something with decent pump (there are lots of spots where you can connect through flatter areas) and you want something that turns really nicely. I found the AFS Silk 850 to be the goldilocks setup for me on most good days. Enduro 700 was too fast and the pump/turn sacrifice wasnt a good trade for me. Silk 1050 was good for parawing on small days but felt overfoiled when conditions were good. Theres a ton of energy in the water there so you don’t really need to get something hyper efficient unless all you want to do is glide downwind.

Id think the Sk8 or KT surf foil would work well. Don’t go too HA since the waves are perfect for hard turns.

I only brought an 85 mast, but 80 would have been fine too.

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F-One Sk8 or Armstrong (MA2 on bigger days, HA on smaller days) will probably be a good fit for what you want! You don’t need a “downwind” foil for the Gorge, especially if you’re parawinging upwind/dw and not shuttling - just repeat the best bumps on the river :grin:

I’d definitely recommend KT & Code if it wasn’t for your bonus question about kite foil - but there’s nothing really in their lineups that work well on kite. Fone has the Phantom, and Armstrong has the CF range.

Stick to 80cm for the mast size for parawinging/downwinding. You don’t need anything long for the wind swell, just make sure you’re bending at the knees when it gets big :laughing:
Some people like kiting a smaller mast - personally I can’t stand it… I like 90+

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Alternatively, consider Slingshot.

You could get the Glide front wings for parawinging and proning. And the kite 855 / 1255 front wings are epic for kite.

Their aluminum masts are cheap, so you can get even get a size for kiting and another one for parawing/prone.

They have a demo center in Hood.

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Slingshot and AFS are both available for demo at Waterfront Park. Windance, Bigwinds, Dougs all have demo setups too (armstrong, FOne, Lift, KT, Im sure there are more). You could try most options on the market while you are there.

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Slingshot could be sweet, I don’t have a big car so always need to reassemble and disassemble. No screws seems like a nice feature if their setup is still stiff enough?

What size do you think for glide wings, being 97kg? 925 or 1125 perhaps?

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Try both while you’re here! They’ll let you demo gear for 2-3 days. If you’re still working on linking bumps etc, I’d start with 1125.

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Mast stiffness should not be overlooked at your weight. Code Plus mast and front wing connection might be the stiffest of the bunch. Find one on beach and press down hard on the wing tip.

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I have been winging the same foils you have for a couple years now, 960 in the light and 840 when it’s windy. I’m only 75kg though. This season I got an ArtV2 879 and absolutely love it. It has the turning and ease of use of the Spitfire which I love, but more glide and less drag. It perfectly replaces my old beloved 899 and the Spitfire. Pair it with a Skinny 35 or 40 and it’s very slippery. Pumps reasonably well though this is not what I focus on. I can glide through pretty much all the larger waves at the Gorge without using the wing, it’s only my inability to link waves that stops me. So, if you want to stick with Axis the ArtV2 999 or 1099 would probably be a good choice along with a Skinny stab. Or go Fireball but I haven’t ridden one yet, too high aspect for my taste. Axis also has small foils that would be suitable for you for kitefoil.

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Couldn’t you kite the smaller code/kt wings? I don’t kite a lot now but when I do I use my lift 90 and 120, they seem similar to the smaller code S series?

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Also these are the same foils I use for parawing, so don’t even need separate foils for kiting :grin: I use my 28” / 71 cm mast