Never really done a “review”, and perhaps this might not count, but here are my thoughts on the Hydrocraft Helix foils a month in…
Me: 59yo, 136lbs. Until recently, living in Idaho w/crappy wind and short season, endlessly struggling intermediate, 50/50 on jibes, no discernable pump, mostly lost trying to ride swell. Retired and moved to Hood River for the summer, getting out regularly (mostly the Hatch and Rowena). I’m winging, riding a 58L KT Arc, and got the Helix 900 and 775, using the 160 Drift tail so far. I was on a 72L Omen Flux V1 and Uni Progressions. [Before that, I was on Lift Hax’s, which I thought were fun foils, but really lacking in low end, which was a deal killer with crappy inland reservoir wind.]
A big part of my progress has been putting in the time, of course, but after getting the Helix foils, and a few sessions in to adjust, my progress really took off.
First, these foils have lots of low end, but it is pretty subtle…just there, not aggressive lift or any weirdness just doesn’t take much to be on foil. Next, the glide seems endless, and continues to amaze me…e.g.: been working on foot switches and there are countless times I’ve told myself “I can’t believe I’m still on foil,” while doing straight downwind, taking forever trying to sort out and adjust my foot position after a foot switch, then finally turning and grabbing some power. Jibes are no longer the pursuit of being able to make it around and get powered up again before coming off foil…now there is time to not only cruise but think about playing, throw in a cutback (wut?). A massive increase in the margin of error, which opens all sorts of doors for progress.
Along those same lines, the foils are just really intuitive and well behaved and predictable…and putting in the time on them, I’m not only riding swell MUCH more successfully, but now making multiple consecutive cutbacks, and carving turns at speed that I honestly could only fantasize about, and when faced with the same situation, I would have freaked out and lost my shit and crashed just a month ago. [OK, I did eat it pretty hard at the Hatch just this afternoon, but that is because I was going after bigger steeper swells and trying to lay down more aggressive turns, and I think that speaks volumes about this setup…confidence inspiring…not magic, but giving you room to think about and go after the next challenge.] The carving behavior is just solid, predictable and again, inspires confidence.
That’s about it, aside from pretty beautiful construction, and I think what might be the best mast/fuse connection system out there…super sleek and solid and original and very friendly to use.
As a total lightweight, I don’t think I’m in much of a position to talk about stiffness, so I won’t, as it’s a non-issue for me.
My pumping has always sucked (or uh…not existed?) but I am making good progress here too (if I can keep my feet back), and these foils again feel very efficient and predictable, providing an increased margin for error, and I’m now able to pump to stay in or get to the next swell, or buy some time to get to the next set. Not an authority on the topic, but no complaints on this front.
DISCLOSURE: not sponsored (Ha!), paid full freight…but I confess to really liking Matt, Brodie, and Sam and what they are up to and how they go about their business. Definitely people you can feel good about supporting and I encourage anyone to drop by or give them a call and talk foiling. So yes, I am biased. I also don’t have a ton of experience with other systems to compare with, but damn…AFAICT, this stuff is pretty amazing, and doing wonders for my progress. 100% would do it again.