Aloha! To the few who are posting their discontent with the fast F4 evolution, I get your frustration as a super frother always wanting to ride the latest and greatest creations. However, F4 is not your typical big foil company with high overhead from marketing, team riders, sponsored riders, numerous worldwide dealers, etc.
I rode Armstrong exclusively from late-2018 until about a month ago when I switched to F4 and was blown away. I had even upgraded to the Armstrong Performance X mast and a few UHA’s. While I was pleased with what Armstrong had created, it was pretty much in line with the progression I expected from them.
However, when I made the jump to F4 (80cm SR, Orca 685 V2, Orca 900, Orca 1250, 138XS, 120XS, 125S) I realized that, based on Armstrong’s slow production cycle, they were still at least 2-3 years away from releasing something that was equivalent to F4.
My main reason for switching to F4 was the fact that Armstrong repeatedly decided against producing/releasing their M2M / M2O race foils for their customers. It was frustrating to buy practically every Armstrong mast, fuse, foil, tail since late-2018, but not being able to own their highest end gear. It kind of made me, as a customer, feel like Armstrong does not deem me worthy or capable of riding their fastest, most efficient gear. I get it, those Armstrong race foils, are definitely not what you would want as a daily driver - however, it was disappointing to see that they did not have the capability to produce race-winning gear that would also be fun for their customers. I am sure it was price point driven also, as the stiff super high aspects layups are not cheap… and with all that overhead, the price they would need to charge would be substantially more expensive than anything on the market.
I had been watching Dylan & Walt’s podcasts with Chris, which seriously caught my attention, but as soon as I saw Edo choose & win on F4, as well as a ton of other riders racing on F4, not to mention all of the other amazing reviews… I knew it was time to make the move. NOW I could FINALLY buy “off the shelf” what the top foilers in the world were WINNING races with.
We are lucky to have a guy like @Chrisrad99 , a passion-driven designer with 40+ yrs experience (and a foil library spanning 2 decades), now providing killer downwind foils that are literally top performers that anyone can ride - making us all feel like rock stars… finally unlocking the skills we knew we had all along! 
As an added bonus, since they are a small 2-man operation, we have the luxury of communicating directly with the designer. Being a 2-man operation with their production system dialed, also allows them to make improvements quickly as they remain on the cutting edge of foil evolution.
I, as well as many others, consider myself lucky to be a part of it all.
If you want to own the latest and greatest F4 gear, be prepared to get good at selling your old gear and trading up… and be thankful for their ability to improve and evolve quickly.
…or just keep riding the gear of a much larger slower moving foil brand with 2 year production cycles, so you can be riding the best that brand produces for 2 years, while other more nimble brands pass them up.
I’m 56, living in Lanikai (Oahu) and Sausalito (CA), and one thing about getting older is that you see many of your friends & family suffering from health problems… some even passing away. So, be thankful for your health, ability, and timing which allows you to enjoy this amazing sport we’ve been blessed with. Foil on and just enjoy the ride! …and the F4 evolution! (or should I say… revolution!)
Do we know the weight of that fellow - and size of wing?
