been riding Axis mini dart 100L at 100kgs +and really surprised me how well it gets out of the water great PW board and seems good construction for a heavier rider
I’ve had a few sessions on the hydrocraft 80l gunboat (I’m 75 kg), ranging from barely enough to get up on foil to 25 knots. Initially I was hesitant about a board only 5 liters larger than my previous one. But the combination of extra volume and length makes a bigger difference than you’d expect. Easy to get up on your feet and less tendency to dig the nose in than my old board. Pumps great, and with enough wind I can sheet in and the board accelerates up onto foil with no pumping at all. Up on foil it feels agile and doesn’t catch the wind much. Probably not the most durable board if you drop it on the asphalt, but easily worth the trade-off for something this light.
Highly recommend it for parawinging.
hollow and tiny!
IF you live on Maui :)))
AND he rides a 1080 Armie HA foil.
cool to see the S3-specific shape tho ![]()
Maybe that’s bad times for foreign exchange, but that’s more than 2 miniDarts, or a KT and a half, without even factoring the shipping. Insane!
At that bargain basement price I’m ordering 3!!!
I’ve been winging since 2020 and PW for last year on 4 different boards of my own, and lots of borrowed ones. But I have bought the Armstrong ml v2 75l for my 83kg, its mind blowingly good, super light, feels pretty indestructible and is phenomenal PW board, floats big, rides small, thin, responsive, super stiff, stable and voluminous nose. Not a thing id want to improve on it. Im now selling my f one 85l downwind free, a great PW board, but now superfluous as the ML v2 is Soooooo good.
Mikedubs Would you be confident using the 75L as a one-board quiver at 77 kg? Mainly for both winging and parawing, including lighter-wind sessions. I’m wondering whether it still has enough float and ease of use when the wind drops, or if you’d go a bit bigger
Yes, im 83kg and am getting rid of my 85l f one downwind free as I dont need it.
Hi Mirza,
I have the 70L Skybrid D/LAB. I weigh around 85kg and learned to parawing on it. I previously had the blue 2026 model and now ride the yellow 2027 version, which definitely gets on foil more easily.
I absolutely love this board. It feels tiny underfoot, which is exactly what I’m looking for, while still being incredibly efficient at getting on foil. It’s my daily board for both winging and parawing.
If the wind drops while parawing, I’ll sometimes prone paddle it, and it’s still great fun—even though my usual prone board is only 29L. It paddles remarkably well and can catch unbroken waves easily.
For me, it works well in 14 knots and above. In anything lighter, I’d rather do something else than grovel around on oversized boards and foils.
It was expensive, and remembering to remove and replace the bung is a slight inconvenience, but the performance and feel make it well worth it.
I listened to the latest Generic Foiling podcast and looked up this preview of the new Slingshot/Ken Adgate/Kyle Touhey board. Oh my, that’s a sweet looking board. Seems decently priced compared to some top brands, light and with the option of tracks or Tuttle.
Got to use the 62L Tuttle version for over a week. Can confirm - it rides as amazing as it looks. This board is very very well balanced. Waterstarts and recoveries made stupid easy. Didn’t realize how much a board could improve your sense of foil control until I tried this. If you’re in Hood River, try to get a demo of this board!
Sounds good thanks
I’ll add the same. I’m riding the Armstrong 75 ML V2 at 82kg even in super light winds. I didn’t know what to expect. I ride small boards with a wing, usually a 55L, even in 10-15 knots with gusts to 17. Since I only have about 8 PW sessions, I started on a custom 80L ML. And it was fine. I ordered the 75ML V2 not knowing if it would be too small for PW on light wind days. Turns out it was the right call. Yes, it’ll sink a bit of I’m standing still, but as long as it’s windy enough to keep the parawing in the air, I can taxi along without sinking. Then, first gust I find I can get going. This is with a 5m Pocket Rocket V2 and a Code 1130S front foil.
Very happy with F4 emona. I’m 80kg and never really learned how to wing. For parawing I was alternating between a 110L wing door and a 125L DW needle. I thought dropping 40L would ruin ten sessions but actually no problems at all.
Nice boards…just too much brand advertisement for my taste.
I agree, the Emona is a great shape! I finally had a good session on my 75L Tuttle version. I’m only 68kgs, so this board is a 1.1x ratio, much different than my 58L mini Dart that I’m used to. I was really worried that a positive volume board would be too corky or hard to balance on, especially being a quite rockered out 6’ long x 19” wide shape.
My fears were unfounded, as the board has really great purchase in the water and feels very stable, yet nimble. It also doesn’t feel anything like my old v1 85L 6’3” Armstrong board that I used from time to time learning to PW. This boards rocker definitely allows for active pumping while gaining speed or tapping into a swell to get on foil.
Today’s session was kinda
with shoulder plus windswell sets and upwind angles that had me teetering on the edge of disaster with my toeside tacks veering at an acute angle to the peaks. I lost count of how many times I tagged my upwind rail on the tops of swells going Mach 10, one handed and hooked in on my 4.2M BRM S3, well overpowered in 25mph+ gusts. The board never once spilled me. Couldn’t believe it. On other boards, they have the tendency to get knocked away and leave me airwalking. Another time headed upwind, I had to pull an emergency gybe on a big swell to avoid a big dark shadow, hooked in, and I sank a rail to the point my front heel was in the water and the board didn’t even hiccup.
Going downwind, it surfed great. No complaints there. Feels so much smaller than 75L. I’m not sure how much of that is the Tuttle or the shape. Rebounds off the water were next level - bouncing back onto foil after bad decisions is really nice.
Lots of good options out there now! I really do feel like parawinging has pushed both foil and board design towards peak efficiency to allow us mortals to surf downwind.
Anyone tried AFS BlackBird, the current V2 version? There’s a full carbon one built in France and a cheaper glass version. It is slightly shorter and wider 6’/ 22"/90lt then most of the current PW boards of same volume.
