It was suggested we introduce our brand as many of you may not have heard about F4 Foils! I wouldn’t be surprised since we’ve been focused on wing foils less so on surf.
We’ve been at it since 2013 and really got inspired during the Americas Cup in San Francisco. We started making early race foils for kiting then discovered/invented the first windsurf foils for racing that led to a pro tour and that eventually became the IQFoil Olympic class. Our designs were licensed to Neil Pride, Starboard, Cabrinha, NSP, efoils, and others. If you had a Neil Pryde Glide, Cabrinha speed or lift that was us!
We are a direct to consumer brand, so we aren’t at dealers or distributors and can provide much higher value compared with others!
We decided to stop designing for others and focus on our own brand over the last 5 years, with windsurf race foils, wing race and free ride foils, now SUP DW and surf foils. We’ve cross bred everything we’ve learned across different segments to create what Guido is riding. The 75cm mast is a result of the windsurf development we did for 95cm super thin and amazing stiff masts. In any case, check us out at f4foils.com
Thanks @Chrisrad99 F4 was my standout new entrant.
If you could do a custom that inverts your mast foot for AFS I’d be tempted to buy a plane!
Can you help us understand how Guido placed so well on a lower aspect foil? Collective understanding was generally heading in the direction of the glide of >16 AR being essential for speed.
Hi - there are many paths to success with foil design. AR is a consideration and certainly on paper higher AR improves lift/glide ratio. However this comes at a cost to control and turning. The greater the AR the harder it is to get the stiffness required. You might hear about high AR wings that are “sketchy” when turning at speed for example.
Guido is able to go fast and really push and carve his foil even in the larger steeper bumps with the geometry of the wing. It’s very stiff, but it provides good feedback when carving and isn’t too “tracky” meaning it doesn’t lock in at different heal angles. This combined with a great low end makes the foil very forgiving for most everyone, even super stars!
Sounds like Kane also rode a “lower” AR foil. Seems control > outright speed which makes sense to me, control allows you to manage faster average speeds.
One area of the DW race scene that seems counter to all other sports is that you have to go out of your way to find out what foils these guys are riding. In any other sport they would be holding a branded board or foil or something in their hands on the podium.
Glad to see a 12 AR foil doing so well, I think that 11-13 AR is the sweet spot for “normal” people so it’s nice to see that the pros can still hang on it as well.
My first ever foil, I think it was naish or something, said designed by f4 foils on the mast. It was really bad, but this was probably the first generation of foils. the new f4 foils looks sick, the monobloc front wing with monobloc tail just looks so sweet. i wish there was more info and people riding these foils so they can give reviews like how they compare to code, etc…
I started riding F4 gear 3 years ago when the first GP came out. The GP 1000 at the time was really amazing and is still very nice to ride these days. These days I ride a mix of fast ultra rigid foils made for racing (I use the Wahoo 700 but real races are on 540) and the newest Orca line (I ride the 685) which is really amazing in its ability to take off at low speed and has really good top speed and glide. On the mast side I ride the 95 GP full carbon which is amazingly rigid. On the wing I can really push it hard with all the foils and have perfect control. And it’s neither the thinnest nor the most rigid of their mast. But it’s really affordable as far as fast carbon masts go. If you have the opportunity to try their gear I highly recommend. The price/quality is unmatched in my opinion. And they are always improving on their past designs.
My mate gave me his F4 Orca 800 to try for a DW run last week in Australia.
I came with no expectations and left the water eyes wide and full of excitement. It blew me away.
I see the “GP Gorge” on you website, (generally 8.0 aspect is great for surf foiling), I haven’t seen or heard of anyone riding it yet… I’d be interested to hear what foils in the F4 range you have designed with Prone Surfing in mind?
The Gorge series was originally developed for windsurf as a free ride foil, and we created a free ride carving surf version for wing - its aspect ratio 8. The link for the wing version is here - GP Gorge Wingfoil – F4 Foils
There are a few riders on it, our founders son Kai has it on Oahu and we’ve been riding it in SF, however we have not really tried to get awareness in prone surf so not many riders yet.
I didn’t ge to ride it in the surf.
It tuned really well on a DW run.
Do you like to ride high aspect foils in the surf? @Topmick
I’ve not really loved using my current DW foils in breaking waves, they glide to far out in front of a wave for me.
I prefer the 10 aspect foil I have instead. (Eagle 790)
Even though the AR is high, the turning is amazing especially for the smaller sizes. As you get into 800sqm+ these are more DW SUP specific for bigger riders and beginners. The general feedback is that the riders can really push with confidence with the stiff mast even in larger conditions.
Walt from xfoils was talking about how he liked the feel of this, he mentioned exotic materials in the mast, but the mast listed on the site is very competitively priced.
The web site is a little confusing, this mast is posted in the wing foil section. Fortunately, f4 customer service is top notch when you email or call. I recently purchased an Orca 800. At that time the tapered DW race mast was sold out. They temporarily provided me with the TE standard mast you posted. I rode it a few times at home in FL, and then took out to Hood for a long weekend. The whole setup has been awesome. For me the Orca 800 compares to the KT790 and Lift 150, but I find it to be better balanced/ easier to ride. The standard TE mast is excellent, and for the average rider it’s questionable if it’s worth spending the extra money for the tapered race mast.
The standard TE mast has less chord length and is thinner than the KT mast- the only thing I had on hand to compare it to. The race TE mast is even less chord and thinner yet. I just received my race TE mast, and haven’t had a chance to ride it.
Overall I’m loving this gear in the few weeks I’ve had it. Super balanced riding, and very playful for cranking turns. Really good low end. Have not had conditions to test the top end. Acceleration is not quite as quick as the Lift, but is much more controlled - so at my skill level I am able to ride it more aggressively.
The other notable observation is how light and stiff the whole setup is assembled when compared to others. I did not weigh it to compare, but just by feel its significantly lighter.
The mast will face competition from new offerings on the market by Uni Foil, and soon to be released KT mast. I suspect Code and others will also be chasing this mast. The F4 presents awesome value.
F4 has a little what’s app group, composed primarily of Wind Surf foilers, but allows users to chat and share ideas/ experiences. It’s like joining a little club of riders dispersed around the world. I’m in Jupiter, FL. Happy to show off my setup if anyone is interested. I know how hard it can be to buy stuff without seeing/ trying. I took a gamble buying it sight unseen - I’m happy I did.
Unbelievable to hear Walt talking about our foils. We are amazed to be part of taking the sport to the next level. Apologies for issues on the website, getting everything to work with multiple currencies is harder than the foil design part!
Our standard TE masts are directly scaled from windsurf and wing racing designs. So these have great stiffness and control. We test design the mast for a specific bending and twist values. Seems that these are headed in the right direction! Thx Chris
The f4 looks awesome. So the orca is similar to the code R. Is there a code S equivalent? I’d imagine the largest orca plus the DW mast would be amazing for pump foiling?
