Extremely close. Maybe 5%? The nomad is definitely my choice for parenting unless you go for the smaller Atlas wing
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Thanks- good to know- trying to figure how small I can get away with on the Nomad. I freaking love my Atlas 790 but itās a bit of work getting going w/ PW- forces me to size up wings, then Iām way too lit trying to get upwind. Great for straight DW, but out and backs and in the surf, think I need something else.
Cheers guys. Thanks. helpful insights.
Iām much bigger than you guys at 6ā6ā 130kg, so Iāll be looking at the 1100-ish sizes for marginal parawing.
Iām winging on a mikeslab 825 most days (and occasionally the ml1100). I get crazy good glide from the speed and lack of drag (even though its a small foil for my size) but itās also easy to turn. Speed and carve hard turns to return to the power source to keep gliding, instead of pumping. Every time Iāve tried a wide span foil I dislike the yaw-style turns, and they often feel slow, so I canāt carve-for-glide; so I need to resort to pumping (which IMO is a bummer).
The tradeoff is that itās hard to pump out of a hole when you mess up.
Hoping after your comments that the big Nomad will be the sweet spot for marginal parawing. Iāll stick to mikeslabs for decent conditions, and maybe try some smaller Atlas.
Maybe I just need to improve my pumping to start liking these wide HA foils, but frankly I kinda donāt want to. To me it looks like the ugly surf Huntington-hop vs someone who knows how to work the face & the pocket for speed.
Has anyone used the KT 570? Can anyone share itās experience on it and if can be compared and how the nomad 700 in the carving (since are similar span)
Thanks!
As a light weight rider (72 kg) I prefer how the 570 feels in the turns, compared to the 700. That is, when at least somewhat powered up. If itās lighter then both Atlas 680 and Nomad 700 and even 830 carve perfectly and remain super easy and playful. Have used the 570 a lot, but for some reason only made one video clip with the 570.
Nothing much to see in the clip, perhaps check the fist 40 seconds only. An already light wind day got even lighter, and it was a major workout to pump back downwind with a 2.5 m2 wing.
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Airfoil shapes have been pretty consistent for the last 50 years, even on canard wings. I recently came across the new Embraer Praetor and itās the first wing Iāve seen that doesnāt have a flat bottom on it.
I think Kaneās design uses some tricks that rely on the density of water but it was really cool seeing a rear loaded wing in the wild.
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Can anyone compare the Atlas and Nomad foils in more detail?
Obviously, the Atlas has better glide, and the Nomad turns better ā but by how much? If we assume the Nomad 980 is a 10/10 for turning, where would a similarly sized Atlas (e.g., 960) fall on that same scale?
Also, how do these compare to other foils youāve ridden in terms of glide, turning, and stability, assuming similar usable range? For example, Iāve ridden the Nomad 980 in the same conditions Iād use a Progression 200 ā despite the size difference ā and found the Nomad turned better than anything Iāve used, possibly even better than the Progression 140.
Would love to hear from anyone whoās done back-to-back comparisons.
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Iāve ridden all of the Nomads from 700 to 1160 and the Atlas 680, 790, 960 (donāt own this one). Iāve owned and ridden Lift, Armstrong, Takuma, UniFoil, and Cloud IX. The KT line is by far my favorite. I spend most of my time on the Nomads since Iām in the surf most of the time and enjoy the maneuverability. The Atlas have amazing glide and speed without sacrificing low end but I tend to size down on my Atlas in order to get the same maneuverability as the Nomad for example the Atlas 680 rides in between the Nomad 700 and the 830. And with the added low end across the line they easily compare to foils a little larger from other brands. The Nomad 830 compares in low in to the Uni progression 140 but the 830 is faster and more maneuverable. The Atlas 680 compares to the Lift 120 in glide but better low end but way more maneuverable. The Nomad 980 I ride for really minimal days or low energy DW shorerunners and Iām always impressed how easy it is to turn yet can almost come to a full stop and keep going on the pump. For reference Iām 45 yo 5ā7 145lbs
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So how do you choose between Atlas and Nomad ?
I have a 790 Atlas, and Iād like to give the 830 Nomad a go, but I try to find out if I have the conditions for that.
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This isnāt totally correct. But you can think of the atlas as the dw line and the nomad as the surf line if that helps. The nomad is supposed to be really good. Just heard a guy say the nomad is the best foil for the gorge that heās ever used.
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I have never been in love with a foil like the 830 Nomad. I ride it with the 170 Atlas tail and feel its the best combination of carvability and glide Iāve ever experienced. I bought the Atlas 680 but ended up returning it as in my experience the nomad is way more fun and playful in the water without noticeable sacrifice on glide. This could be due to my preference for shredding waves verse gliding waves, but if the idea of pulling off previously unimaginable carves, 360s, ridiculously playful, and almost standing-still low end, I would go Nomad.
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Iāve been testing the Atlas 680 (impressive) while waiting for the 790 to be available but your glowing review convinced me to jump ship to the 830 Nomad. Cheers!
Thanks for the replies!
For SUP downwind Iām sticking with the Code R series ā for me they hit the sweet spot between performance and ease, perfect for long-distance runs.
On shorter runs they feel a bit tame (Iām exaggerating, but I used to ride Lift 110/130 Florence which are much livelier, though more technical and physical). So Iām looking for something more playful for short runs, wing, or tow-in downwind.
Iāve picked up KT 680 and 790 after hearing good things. With all the feedback on the Nomad, Iām tempted to try the 830, maybe even the 980 for small conditions. I donāt really want to go over 1 m wide, in that case Iād rather take the Code R for the glide.
As for my Lifts, Iāll sell the 110 and 130 since Iām not using them anymore, and Iāll see if the Atlas can replace my 90 and 120HA for faster surf.
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Iām on Atlas 960, 570. Also have Nomad 830 and 700. 93 kg. Came from Armstrong HA second gen and MA foils. Atlas feels a little more technical to turn hard than Armie HA or Nomad but is very good on glide and pump. It feels like an Armstrong HA with better low and possibly high end (theyād be close). Nomad feels super trustworthy turning as hard as you like and eats turbulence and wonk like the MA. Nomad feels like how Iād hoped the V1 MA Armstrong foils would feel (havenāt tried the MA V2) and have much better low end. Both lines breach tips really well. Speed range on both is excellent. Nomad 960 is often under me for parawing lately and I move to the 830 Nomad when the wind and swell picks up. 830 Nomad is not far off the Armie 880 in feel but turns better. Nomad is ultra playful and fun, Atlas is cruisey and efficient. The 570 Atlas is really fun to carve and speed around on. The Nomad range could use a 5XX size easily as the smallest foil, but the 700 covers a massive range and I prefer it over the Armie HA 680 which I loved. Same with the Atlas 570 vs the HA 680. As Iāve ridden all the sizes above over the summer more and more, Iāve only grown more impressed by these foils.
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Do you think the nomad 830 would have slightly better low end than the armies hav2 880?
Nomad 830 might edge out HA 880 on low end. Both get going very early.
Thanks Iām hoping it is slightly easier to dockstart than my friends 880. With the slightly reduced aspect ratio too, the low span could be the ultimate dockstart+wakethieving foil.
Hello
I did a downwind yesterday with the 680 Atlas.
For me @95kg, it is happy around 2:20-2:30 average speed ; which is from my experience pretty slow of a foil of that surface area.
I had kind of a wall between 2:00-2:10. But that is more than sufficient for carving conditions.
I need to tune it, it was the firsts time using the foil and random settings. Too much nose up and I probably need to shim down the tail. I can probably have more range spending some time on it.
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95Kg donwwinding a 680 - thatās actually pretty impressive!
That gives me hopes that perhaps Iāll be able to downwind the 570 Atlas in a big day at 70KG ja!
Which stab were you using?
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KD 15 Race
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