Several of you have said you prefer using one brand rather than mixing and matching brands. The reason being that each manufacturer designs, tests, and markets their products within their own brand ecosystem, so, for example, when Brand X tests a new foil design, it connects that foil to a Brand X mast and it uses a Brand X fuselage as well as stab. My question, to those of you who believe in going with just one brand, is what brand? Could you also elaborate on why that particular brand? Is it the foils that brand makes, or the masts, or the cost, or the fact that guys you know ride that brand, or some combination of these that decides the matter for you? Thanks in advance.
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No way, couldn’t do it. I started on GoFoil at the very beginning and swore by all the iteration going on blue Maliko, red IWA/KAI, GL, then NL. Every generation was amazing, but getting stuck on that platform probably lost me a year of cutting edge tech. When I switched over to Takuma it was like taking off a hand-brake with the glide and smoothness. Then Axis for years, and now Code. Now I’m looking at AFS or KT. Every step of the way buying new and selling used to recoup half or more of the cost. If you want to be in a fast developing sport, this is the formula.
Every brand is leap-frogging each other and you’ll be at least a year behind and more like two if you stick with one brand.
Now I’m sure there are people who will be perfectly fine on outdated gear - we used to think it was amazing then.
For me I gotta say Code.
I love their gear, foils feel amazing and great quality.
But more importantly: I love their story on how they started, I’ve met the brothers a few times now and they’re great guys, and it just makes me want to support their brand.
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AFS has risen to the top of the pile for me.
Their foils and masts are the best matched to my style.
Their business philosophy and practices establish a deeper level of loyalty than usual for me.
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To me the benefits to working within a single ecosystem are:
- Integration: Rocker angles and track placements that are meant to work together
- Community Knowledge: After adjusting for weight, some user-bases are quite large, offering shortcuts and tips within the community. Those insights aren’t always universal, so knowing XYZ Person in your region at ABC weight can send a DW run, or paddle up at your local break is super valuable
For some brands, they simply either don’t focus on the discipline - don’t have enough riders to really prove it out - or both (e.g. a lot of dedicated Mike’s Lab wingfoilers have recently added Armstrong to their quiver for downwind riding).
All brands go up and down with new developments.
One reason, in addition to the excellent build and performance, I went the Cedrus Evolution route.
I can just change foil brands with a $150-200 adapter.