Just got off a marathon session doing runners in waist high east coast 200 lb(i’m down 20 which is nice!) Rode the North SF 930 with 178 tail on the 72 mast borrowed from my buddy Forest (thanks bro!). Just wanted to share how great this setup was.
Normally ride the 170 Progression and in the non-stock way i have it set up i is great for small conditions but feel alot of nose diving at speed. Also had some construction issues (i’ve cracked many unibody foils) and price issues so i decided to look at the north.
I found the setup to be stiff enough - not the best in the world but certainly servicable. There was a HAIR of mast fuse movement and equivalent fuse wing movement but defintely not a deal breaker. I LOVE the price of the wings, etc. I can actually afford to have a quiver and always be on the right wing - which i feel like would make up for any deficiences in design (being on the right size wing trumps being on the best design) but i don’t feel like the design was lacking.
For a “better wave foil” it was awesome. Handled excess speed really well, no nose diving at speed, stayed predictable but still had some pump to it - certanily not an all day pumper like the 170 but servicable for with the wind runners or and some 3+ dips on a beach session.
I feel like the biggest deficiency is the mast sizing. 72 was servicable but having soemthing a hair longer without jumping to the next size up (85!) would be great. I’m going to make a 77 (north, if your listening steal this idea and do a 77!) which should be perfect for a better wave foil. With that compact span on the 930 (900mm) the 72 was OK for breach resistance on turns and being so predictable i didn’t need the extra length for recovery while blasting through turblence/nosediving.
Looking at the rest of the SF range it seems really well proportioned for surf focused foils. Slightly lower AR than something like the Prog, etc so probably not pumping quite as well but based on the 930 the turning of the shorter span seems to make up for it. I like how they aren’t totally proportional size changes and but also don’t leave the span the same for all. The whole range looks well done - i’m definately eager for a good day to get on the 680. I’m thinking keep my prog kit (repaired, $0 resale) for groveling conditions, 930 for decent waves, and maybe 680 for winging and being ambitious (and maybe end up disipointed) on epic days.
The stock 13’ g10 pack. Settled on a home-re-shaped solid carbon tail that helped a lot. I think the g10 wings were to flexy but i was never so enamored with the foil I was willing to spend $300 chasing down a prog tail or a marlin.
So I’ve got my custom 77cm NL mast going for this setup, just waiting on some swell/wind There’s definately some stiffness lost with the carbon fuse vs the aluminum. Gonna do some back to back testing this week with the NL mast vs the stock mast and the different fuses to find the sweet spot. Maybe try the 680 in there too. I wouldn’t want to ever use a big big span wing on this setup though, I just don’t think the design is stiff enough for it.
OMG the aluminum fuse is THE BOMB! All north riders throw away that garbage carbon fuse and switch to aluminum! Wayyy stiffer! With the v1 NL mast it might be one of the stiffest setups i’ve ever encountered! (Connection fit being the critical factor).
I’m winging the North system the last 18 months, SF930, HA850 and recently the SF680. Love it. The SF680 is sick, never thought I’d be on a sub 700 foil and its a dream in good sea energy. The SF930 is a little slow but has an amazing low stall speed and can be pumped out from almost a standstill. We have a good appreciation thread going over on seabreeze forum, not many north riders out there.
On the carbon There’s a little flex in the fuse and wing connection. Not movement but just loading and unloading a little more than the aluminum. The mast fuse connection on the carbon has a little movement you can feel if you shove your fingers in the gap then torque the wing with your other hand.
Longer term review of the 930/178 on a 77cm Custom NL mast, AL Fuse. 200 lbs and riding prone exclusively (untill i get a new wing ding)
I just got off a crazy 2 weeks of good NE wind (the same breeze @Erik was saying on the last podcast is no good in FL has been EPIC in SC). Focused on getting as many laps as possible in. Managed to score an estimated 100 miles of downwind/runners on the 930 in 14 days. Everything from heavy closeouts in light side off to peeling runners in 25 kts to mellow thigh high wind chop. Some of them i was pumping the whole 5 miles and others i was in full DW glide mode the whole way.
I’m really feeling this setup. With the AL mast the stiffness is incredible. I’ll never ride a carbon fuse again. I will say the 930 has showed some quirks but nothing i cant live with at the price. The price is a WIN for me. It just makes me more relaxed with it. I can run it aground, push it hard, ride where i shouldn’t and not really stress.
Not all rainbows though. Cutbacks into white water were a little sketchy and i was sniped a few times in that manuever. It might have been the 178 tail OR that “on top” stab placement being higher in the water and more prone to vent. I’ve heard some of the bigger tails will pump harder - i couldn’t quite grave dig as hard as i wanted at times but it wasn’t a deal breaker. Maybe with something more in the back i could push harder in those cutbacks into the more critical parts of the pocket. I’m gonna try some of the other tails and see if i get better pump and some turning that is less “finesse” and more “throw energy at it”.
Not super motivated to get back on my progression 170 or even try the other north wings in the SF range. This one is dooable in all but the smallest conditions and the biggest and i think some work with tails can get a little farther in both directions.
