Hi,
I’ll check than out, 1250 is a pretty big span. What length mast are you on.
Br,
Chris
I’m on 85cm RC. Will upgrade to 80cm RC when released. Shorter will help, but not enough for me. I’d pay for stiffer 13mm high price point version. Whatever is possible, regardless of cost, before having to go 15mm.
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Given the 13 RC is the stiffest mast i have flexed on the beach, and i have flexed plenty, I am surprised you feel its worth giving up more efficiency. I wonder if the extra stiffness of the orca foil contributes to feeling the mast flex. Some of those big span foils from other brands with similar aspect seem pretty soft in the flex by comparison.
I’ll check the numbers and see what we are dealing with on the mast. The RC masts are super stiff and so are the wings. The 1250 is at the extreme end for the current design.
Thx,
Chris
I rode my Code 85+ w/ 1130s (1035 span) back to back against the Orca 1050 on the 85 RC. Choppy river water. The mast wobbles were very clear compared to Code. The Orca was 3 mph faster and glided twice the distance, power off.
I should have been riding the 800 Orca that day, but wanted to do the back to back test, because I was letting my buddy demo my Code. I sold him my Code at end of session.
Hi,
Some of that is from the mast length, code 85 is about 30mm shorter than our 85cm mast. It’s a big difference on stiffness. We measure from the bottom of the board to the top of the fuselage. The big high aspect wings have much more leverage for sure!
Br,
Chris
The 1050 has a span of 118cm compared to the 1130S of 103cm. In my experience that is a massive difference in leverage and lift. I think all these aspect 12 and greater foil with their big spans are so lovely in say 10 to 12 knots of bump but very quickly get uncomfortable in more wind. A code 1075r has the same span as the 1050 Orca,
For the heavy guys that are looking to have that much support from the foil in bigger winds and bigger energy I always wonder if they would just be better to trade some glide for the better stability of say a big manta or something around 10 aspect in their brand.
I guess the question is would a foil like the 1075R or the 1050 Orca always feel uncomfortable in higher energy water regardless of the mast stiffness?
I find this post strange. I’m In my 60’s, around 85kg ATM and am mainly into sup dw.
I have been on Axis for years and used some big foils 1300v1, 1401 Art pro, 1250 fireball, 1300v2.
I started on the Ali mast but then went to the HM carbon, then next after demoing it I had to have the UHM pro mast.
I am currently also using and loving F4 foils.
I mainly use the 1050 Orca for dw sup but also use the 800 and 1250 Orca’s for dw paddle and parawing.
I am using a 75cm RC (13mm) mast and have never felt like I really needed anything stiffer
It might not be quite as stiff as my 80cm Axis UHM Pro mast but I can’t say I notice any more flex.
It feels plenty stiff enough, I hardly notice any flex even with the 1250.
With the 1050 Orca it feels fine even when over foiled in fairly big bumps.
Their website states the Orca 1050 has an AR of 12. Why then does it pencil out at 13.2?
Having downwinded my 1075R through 2-3M swell in 35+ knots on a 12mm mast, it’s not my 1st choice for those conditions but it’s very manageable. That’s just the nature of our conditions, they ramp up from nearly nothing at the start.
Hi,
Apologies, confirmed on the AR. Will correct the specs on the website - the larger orca wings 1050 and 1250 are a little over AR 13 - more glide on these bigger ones.
br,
Chris
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Hey Chris,
Could you add the spec for the Manta on the website too?
Thanks,
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Hi,
yes for sure, apologies on any delays, sometimes we are a bit behind on the website -
Manta 530 - span 688mm
Manta 635 - span 756mm
Manta 760 - span 800
Manta 850 - span 850
The AR for the smaller should be 9, the larger ones 8.5!
Thx,
Chris
Nice video from on Maui -
Thx,
Chris
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Hi Chris,
Any news on the availability of the smaller size surf tails and DW tails?
Of course any news on availability for 900 Orca?
I am an Aus if it makes any difference.
Loving my F4 Orcas.
Thanks
I got my Orca 800/1050/1250, I rode the 800 today, xs125. Turned great, as good or maybe even better than the Code S. Pump seemed to be better than the Code R. Pretty much exactly what was advertised. I have 2 questions.
-
How is the Manta different than the AFS Silk, both are advertised as MA surf foils, but really different shape. I feel like its really hard to have something “next level” to the silk. But is Manta really like a game-changer? Like in the same way that Orca is ‘way better’ than Code S/R. Would the Manta just be better in every way than the Silk? The silk has horrible pump, i’m assuming Manta pumps almost as good as Code S, but turns like Silk, the profile of the foil is so much different, is it like a different kind of feeling, is it more like a cross between axis spitfire and silk or something?
-
I made a really, really stupid mistake. I screwed in the wrong size screw for one of the tail screws, thinking that I could get away with it b/c on Code. The carbon cracked on the other side, it doesnt seem like a huge problem but my heart is broken. Do I just do nothing and wait to see if it starts failing more, or should i do something about it. I’ve had code fuses that broken in half put back together, but for this, I feel like you’d need to drill/cut out some material and then re-inforce it, but it seems very thin, so not super easy of a fix. My plan now is to do nothing until it starts getting worse, but just a word of warning, dont do what i did! https://photos.app.goo.gl/fnyn11PDYqge1KVC6
2 Likes
Aloha Chris,
Thanks for the detailed introduction! It’s impressive to see how F4 Foils has evolved from early kiting and windsurf foils to pioneering designs across multiple foil disciplines, including the IQFoil Olympic class. Direct-to-consumer models like yours definitely offer great value by cutting out middlemen, and it’s exciting to hear how all your experience across racing, wing, and SUP foils has informed your current lineup.
For those looking for high-quality gear without breaking the bank, combining innovative brands like F4 Foils with reliable tech tools from companies such as Circular Computing can make both work and play more efficient and cost-effective.
Hi,
thanks for the recognition, we’ve been at it for a minute! Perhaps some of you saw Daniela roasting us on her instagram with a photo of her kite racing on an F4 foil from 2015. Time does fly! Now we are doing things on foils not possible back then!
There is a great x-foils podcast on the Mantas… 530 and 635. I can really comment on on relative performance to other brands - you frothers are much more keyed in to that than I am! I can say that, we’ve heard nothing but amazing feedback on Manta pumping and low end. This isn’t a surprise since we sprinkled orca dust into the wing design!!
Foil On!
Chris
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Just saw the new 108 hybrid race mast was launched on the F4 website. Super short chord, and some fancy mix of carbon and what looks like metal.
Wonder if we soon will se this technology pop up in a 80-85cm mast
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yes it looks amazing!
hard to tell, but it looks like a titanium foot, I’m sure Chris will come on and give us all the juicy details
I really hope to see a move to Stainless and go a third of the way up the mast through the skinniest section like we see on high performance moth foil masts for drag reduction. Stainless because it is stiffer than titanium and should allow the thinnest stiffest mast section at the cost of weight increase down low, which (I think) should be a reasonable place to increase mass.
Here’s a link to the mast to save the searching:
That thing looks so next level.
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