Looking to get a smaller wing for chest+ surf and/or strong winds. I would get a small Spitfire or one of the upcoming small Uni wings.
Have full Axis gear as well as Unifoil, no loyalty.
The sponsored reviews compare them to the existing Axis wings, which are almost all at least 2 years old and mostly not surf oriented wing, so the reviews aren’t very useful. Axis missed about 2 generations of surf wings so this is already going to be a huge apparent step up in performance for those dedicated riders.
Is the Spitfire ACTUALLY better than latest generation comparable surf wings of other brands? (sponsored riders and marketing aside)? Anyone compared them to the Hyper2 or Progs or Lift or Sk8 etc?
Look at what Jeremy Wilmotte was doing on his older videos. To what he was doing on his latest clip before he left AXIS. I’d say they’re better.
I saw them in person, but there were no waves to try them yet. I’ll get on them and report back when I get a chance. I do hear they want to be ridden tight in the pocket. The harder you surf them, the better they are.
A friend has one, it looks like it will be an improvement on the HPS which is years behind current, so it will easily be the best Axis foil by far… lower bar I cannot imagine. I’m waiting for him to use it so that I can swap with the prog140 and we compare notes.
Other friend has the sk8 and he is ripping the hardest of the 3 of us by far, but he also surfed better so there is that
I’ve just demoed the 900 and had some thoughts. I’m fairly average as a foiler, was on some pretty small waves and I’m 66kg. I was using the 75cm Ali mast, Black Advanced Ultrashort fuse and a P425 tail.
I’ve just swapped over from Armstrong and when I’ve used Axis wings in the past, it’s been the big dockstarting wings like the 1150, which have felt super stable, like jumping onto a door. I thought that was because of the size of the big wings, but the 900 had that same really easy and stable feel, so I think might be the stiffness of the Axis setup.
Pumping felt really good. Still knackered me pumping back out, but was able to do so on my first wave, then doubled the next. One thing I noticed was that it was possible to accelerate the wing from a really slow speed, rather than bogging down and sinking. I recently owned the Armstrong MA1000 which is a similar size and purpose, but I found that wing punished any movement that wasn’t absolutely perfect. I found the 900 much more user friendly, even though it was a new wing to me.
People are talking about how good it rolls from side to side. I’d agree with this, even though I was not pushing it in any way. I can imagine it’ll surf and flow really nicely.
I think more and more that wing preference is a personal thing, but for me, this wing is outstanding and I’ll be grabbing one as soon as they’re back in stock. Overall, really simple and easy to use, rolls and turns really well (even with a huge tail) and pumps easily and pretty darn well.
I have a question about pumping the spitfire. I saw Dom’s video and he says to pump it you rely mostly on the lifting up and not so much on the front foot down. I have the 780 only and have pumped it a few times (really not enough attempts to get used to it). I managed to get some 10-15s pumps in just by mainly jumping and not putting front foot down. It does feel like there is not much pressure on the front foot to step down on unlike the ha and bigger wings I’m used to. On ha and bigger winds there is a stiff platform feeling in the front foot (as well as back) and I don’t think it’s the same on the spitfire. Just wanted to get some more in depth technique tips from experienced riders on how to pump differently on spitfire wings compared to the ha wings which are alot easier to pump
I think he said it in that video too. Keep the board flat. Even pressure with both feet. You do not want a strong nose up, nose down, porpoise movement.
Been riding the kujira2 now, and it’s basically a higher aspect version of spitfire. Better in every way, except not as good in whitewater. And if you’re on massive waves you don’t want something higher aspect I suppose. Also pumps way better than spitfire due to the higher ar.
Downsides of kujira is the construction is mediocre to poor. Also the connection system is poor, not tight fitting, the bolts are taking all the load. The masts have an issue of cracking, once I went to nlv2 no more mast issues. I am looking forward to getting the silk in the future as that’s meant to address all the construction issues. But overall kujira is way better than spitfire.
A lot of my buddies are raving about the new takuma wings. They’re very familiar with new Fone, progression, Armstrong, but still singing about new takuma. The gap is getting much closer with everything
Many on the Takuma FB group are finding ways to use different masts like allure, and drilling holes to allow standard tails. But the Fuse/foil connection is fine I think. I use wing nuts so unlikely to damage the plate, and when I grabbed and bent a uni rig with katana mast I found if very comparable to my carbon masts, but didn’t ride it. I lent my 1250 to a superior of mine and won’t soon forget his face when he eventually came down. Want him to try my 1100 or 800.
I am super happy with the 78 nl v2 mast on my kj2 setup. I really have no complaints and its all im riding (until I get my silks). Im skeptical of the allure stuff as theres limited reviews and just one influencer pushing it (he even says its better than uhm silk which i doubt).
the fuse/foil connection is fine, but if you put some electrical tape, it has a much better fit. If you don’t, and loosen the screws, you will find the wing wobbling all over the place, which means everything depends on the screws being tighted, while a true good connection means everything should be stiff before needing to tighten the screws.
Bit of a hijack here, but yeah, I should have mentioned I put a strip of foil tape either side of the bolt holes to create a concave. That made it far stiffer. AND I took the end of my mast to the belt sander to make it not convex. I’m thinking cedrus so when I’m good enough to know the difference I can use silks.
Iv been riding the spitfire 840 after having ridden the 880 for a year or so (71kg)… once I got it dialed in some decent conditions it’s a really fun foil, as they say very forgiving… pumps better than the hps, certainly able to pump it at a faster pace covering more ground… but still requires a lot of cardio for do 2-4 x1s ( for me anyway) although what it lacks in pump ability it certainly makes up in turning… its amazing, smooth easy i was laughing how many carves i was able to do on a fairly short wave, so dam fun… I’m happy I bought it, but if I had the money I’d go code hahaha
I wouldn’t compare the code to spitfire. Code is at the same aspect ratio as the art. So I would compare it to art, but more refined and better constructed in every way. Code can turn, but nothing like the spitfire. If you want a better spitfire that’s the kujira2 or silk. Would not recommend going kujira2 as the construction is not greatest or if you must, get a nl v2 mast.
I have been riding the 900 spitfire and the 840 for about 5 month , around 4 time a week. It’s definitely the best wing i have ever riden. I have been on armstrong and unifoil before without being totally satisfied. The only little drawback you have on spitty is that you need a bit more energy to pump it, compared to a big ar wing. . But this foil has a very confortable pump and can cover big distance. The control is so natural that the pump is very efficient. Now let’s come to the real subject, the spitfire surfs like nothing else, you can slow down and come very close around the pocket, turn sharply with big angles, hit the foam…i have never been so close from this shortboard feeling i am after. And when i look the others guys on uni progression or others big ar foils, i agree they connect heaps of waves but their lignes are not the same. Too fast, too straight, too far from the critical zone. They are in the wave, but they foil it instead of surfing it.
I am just thinking that spitfire allows a more radical and playful approach of the wave. With that sort of wing the young guns will be able to carve like never before. It definitely the right tool do draw the future of foil surfing. I am fed up to see people just connecting wave and making straight lines.
The spitfire turns insanely well, the downside is that it’s very slow compared to the kujira style of wing. Slow can be good in large waves where you want to bleed speed. Slow is also good for learning how to stay in the pocket as you have to stay in the pocket or you will fall off the wave. So I say it’s great and super user friendly for a beginner to intermediate. But once you get good at spitfires you will want a bit more glide, especially if you are mainly foiling smallish waves (under headhigh). I tried the progression 170, and it can’t turn at all compared to the spitty, but the crazy thing is they the stall speed is like literally zero, it’s absolutely insane. so it’s the most forgiving wing ever if you want to pump and link. But it comes at a cost most likely of overall pump efficiency so probably a code would be better for more seasoned riders.
I’m really hoping axis releases a spitfire pro as it’s an amazing wing, just needs a bit more glide and speed
Didn’t try the new takuma, only the old 980. But i have shared sessions with the silk boys. Didn’t find they were going better. Their wings seems to be very good but not better. I agree that in small conditions, it makes sense to ride a big ratio, also when you ride large spots with big open faces. In those conditions it’s very pleasant to ride a pumping machine that can also carve. That’s the reason i will probably order the new ha armstrong . But the spitfire will stay my go to. What appears clearly, is that my skill has never improved so much since i received the spitty. And if i want to push my carves further, it’s better to stay on it.
