What winging setups are you all finding is plug and play high performance in winds that are 20mph+?
Most foil brands have options that will check some of these boxes but not all. There always seems to be some sacrifice whether it’s loose connections, mast ventilation, or just not high performance enough to be mind blowing. If you pay thousands of dollars for a set up these days, I think you should expect to be thrilled with it. Kind of like buying a sports car, motorcycle, or paying top dollar for a high class… uh never mind, you get the picture. Back to foiling.
Let’s exclude Mike’s Lab. I love the feel (especially the 700) but can’t wait a year to get my hands on a foil.
I am currently considering:
Code 720S and/or AFS Pure 900 or 700 with the M8 fuselink connection
Evo Cedrus Wind mast 90cm
Appletree Slice V3 60 ltr board. I’m 85 kg.
Wing: Gong Droid Aramid UPE 4.0M with boom. Have this already, awesome performance and a good deal. Also have an Armstrong XPS which is great too but the boom on the Gong is another step up in enjoyment which I was pleasantly surprised by.
I’ve tried an AFS Silk 1050 and 850 and being a Kujira 1095 fan, I wanted to love them but liked the Pure more. The Pure can do everything the Silks do but faster and feels more like you’re on rails when turning.
So what wing setups are you loving these days? F One Eagle X looks interesting.
If you have the wave ridding fetish, having a blast on the sk8 atm. Especially the smaller sizes, like the 750 with the S fuse, it feels very very spicy. Out of the box the fuses are too short imo.
For winging, I’m not a super fan of very high aspect wing such as the FOne Eagle X you mention.
This is too wide and you don’t need that much glide winging.
Still, it is interesting in super small size (Armstrong DWP 685, or I guess the FOne Eagle X 700)
I like AR ~8 when it’s very surfy (AFS Silk, FOne Sk8 or Kujira from what I’ve tried), and ~10 when it’s more about gliding on the swell (FOne Eagle, Lift 90/120HA)
AFS Pure 700 and 900 fuselink are not available yet.
Only 800 and 1100 which are very downwind oriented.
But it is a very good choice considering their super good mast and the new wings that will be released soon.
For windy conditions in waves a real mid aspect is fantastic. Something a little slower to keep you in the pocket, keep you from feeling over-baked in the gusts but with good enough low end to get you on foil in some big chop, backwash, etc. I feel like whenever I’m on a HA in big conditions I’m always over baked or outrunning the wave.
I’m on the vyper 150 for winging mostly these days (220 lbs) and it’s great, especially in big wind. With the focus on HA and downwind these days the MA foils are CHEAP used and you can pair them with a cheaper, less slippery but still stiff mast. You could put together a dedicated rig with a vyper 130 and a used gen1 cedrus mast for under $1000.
I don’t understand wingers obsession with these high end surf foils for winging. When you buy a silk, progression, or sk8 your paying extra for some design magic that makes something turn like a MA and pump like a HA….only your winging and don’t need it to pump…just buy the damn MA
I see you’re looking into the Appletree Slice V3 60L and are from SF bay, I’ve got Appletree Wing Skipper 4’10 55L 21W for sale in same area for $1200 which looks like it has similar dimensions. Too much volume for me (170 lb). Would save you $600 and a few months of waiting.
It’s a good point. What I heard for the case of fone is that the phantom S (lower aspect) turns better but has less glide and less speed range, so when the wave goes flat you have less glide to carry on, if the wave goes real steep you max out earlier, and if the wind is gusty the pump and glide is useful to connect the dots. So with a sk8 you loose a bit of surfiness but it makes a lot of other things easier, so overall ppl tend to prefer that. It is also pronable and downwindable so you reduce the nb of foils needed.
That being said the army MA for example seem to be dedicated to winging with higher stall speed and high ventillation recovery, so potentially its amazing to ride…
Omen foils is a good candidate. 87cm mast, 850 operator foil and the flux board. The flux board waterstarts much easier than a traditional shape. Get the 48l if you’re always riding in 20+ (you can start it in less than that). Get the 60 if you want more low end. Boards are made by appletree so construction would be the same as the slice.
I weigh 80kg. have the 48l and 84l flux, but if i was buying again i probably would have gone 40l and 60l for a two board setup. Even being in miami which is a much lower wind area than the bay. I also value a plug and play setup. Unfortunately don’t have time to try a lot of combinations of gear so i just wanted a full package that i know works and I’ve been very happy with that decision
I’m loving the silk, particularly the 850. Kind of like that you can break it off of the rails to turn when you want to. P125 is good but silk is better.
My slice v3 gets here next week and I can’t wait for it!
Is Progression 100 a confirmed new release? Honestly kind of disappointing if its the same design. I’ve been hoping for a new mid aspect surf wing, to replace the Hyper and Vypers.
Cloud IX fs900 with catalyst tail. 80cm SHM mast if you want the extra stiffness. 76cm mast if you want a good mast for 1/2 the price.
Sunova Carver board. Vapor construction and no footstrap inserts to bottom out the weight on it.
Ocean Rodeo 3m Glide AA. Have ridden through some crazy lulls with this wing and up to 35 knots on it. Lightest and most playful wing on the market that I know of.
I’ve heard the Pure 700 and 900 with fuselink are coming late April or May. I demoed the Pure 900 with the M6 tenon mast to fuse connection and it was awesome. The fuselink version has the mast connection closer to the foil for better turning and the fuse is slimmer. Should be great.
Love my Armie HA580 or MA625 or MA800 paired with 935 mast, 50 fuse, and 140 tail anytime it’s cranking in Gorge like conditions. No experience on other kit besides Armstrong, but I often leave the water riding that kit and think to myself ‘I wouldn’t change a damn thing’ grinning ear to ear.
I’m just a few sessions in on the 580 and it’s pretty mind blowing on the wing.
You already have a Gong wing.
Just add an Ypra-Surf Freestyle 700 (Freestyle XXS35 tail) or 800 (Freestyle XS 37 tail)
Titanium short fuselage.
And you’re all set.
I’m 68kg, Malo 75kg.
I have 700,800,900. 700 is my favorite esp for faster waves. Super surfy and fast. Very little low end, it’s an speed all the time kind of ride.
I used both the Gong mast and the Cedrus Evolution mast on them. Same same.
I’ve top 2 sec 26 knots with the 800, and I’m not a speed sailor.
They use the similar set up to have 3 out of 4 on the podium at the last GWA event.
How are the fuse to foil connections for Gong, is it tight or have some wobble? Square fitting doesn’t seem like a way to get a solid connection but I don’t have firsthand experience.
I used it on a 60L Gofoil (same foil position as Gofoil), the 800 &900 on Armstrong DW 107L and now mainly only Armstrong 50L
The connection mast to fuse is solid.
In fact I have to use the Gofoil mallet to get it off.
No play foil to fuse either, but don’t need a mallet, just a bit of wiggle.
I can’t speak of the carbon or aluminum fuse. The Titanium fuse is a beautiful piece.
F-One have recently released some new tails for the SK8 and have updated their plane recommendations for the smaller foils, such as the 750. They now recommend the CARVING XS 140 (surf) or CARVING W XS 141 (wing) for the SK8 750 which is noticeably longer than the original CARVING XXXS 160 tail. There are also the new CARVING XS 160 (surf) or CARVING W XS 161 (wing) as a second choice tail.
I’ve switched from the original XXXS 160 to the new W XS 161 for my SK8 750 but haven’t yet had the chance to try it out. The tail is quite a bit longer which should give better stability at speed.