Been checking out all the AWSI gear announcements, some interesting stuff, but nothing too ground breaking. Seems like everyone is focused on either foildrive or parawing these days.
I am just curious, whats going on in the prone world? As far as wings are concerned it seems most mfg have settled on an AR 8 surf wing (new wings from Code and Flitelab), both sorta look like SK8 copies.
What about boards? Doesnt seem to be much going on there, what is the consensus on board shape and design these days? Any breakthroughs happening?
I feel like a slight higher AR is still the bread and butter for pump around surf foiling prone, these lower AR foils are more “good wave” specialists I think. My last foil purchase I got pretty granular hunting for a specific span, area, aspect ratio and the market happily obliged. Im happy but I can see someone with big Organized energy being More stoked on these.
For boards I think portal has a total monopoly on good prone boards. I make my own but if I had to buy one it would be a portal.
Even with how good portals are I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. Stiffer, more durable, and specialists designs more focused on specific wave types. My personal board is made exclusively for short period whitewater takeoffs and really crushes any middle of the road board in local conditions but if I was trying to catch deep water energy I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Also I think really specific mast lengths are something that could be dialed in more - I want exactly 77cm from the board to the top of the fuse. 80 is too long and 75 is too short - at least for me at my local - I could see others wanting their own hyper specific number.
What did you end up with for your last foil and what were the parameters?
Agreed on boads lots of room for improvement depending on what youre looking for. I know for myself id like something light that paddles super fast, but that I can also duck dive so I can try to get in a bit earlier.
The hollow boards aren’t necessarily lighter. Especially at the shorter lengths. They are often times stiffer though due to additional structure needed.
One of the downwinder here has the KT Dragonfly Hollow 8’4x17’3/4x106l. It weight 4.9kg according to KT website.
My downwind board is 8’4x17’1/2x108l. So let’s say same dimensions. It is a « reinforced » construction and it weights 5.2kg. It is stiffer and feel much more durable than the KT.
Oh and it is also 1000€ cheaper.
My next one will have some partial sandwich which should add rigidity and gain a little bit of weight (and add a bit to the bill to but not 1000€)
I ended up on a north SF 930. I wanted a span around 900 for surf and an area over 900 for low end. It doesn’t pump to the moon or anything but I also don’t really ask it to. I’ve also got that SF 680 which is fun but honestly if your daily is a 930 any of the small wings are great there Doesnt have to be a lot of nuance there small = fun. Obviously if that one is your daily you can probably read more into those proportions.
Speaking about prone specifically I think lightweight is really over rated. My 4’10” x 19 x 3 ironing board is relatively big for a prone board and fairly heavy - I think the board is 7 lbs and change and I ride it with a heavy AL fuse on my foil but it’s fantastically stiff and responsive - I’m confident it’s the stiffest prone board on the planet. When I get On other setups - esp Lightweight gear I’m mostly Thinking about the flex - not “Oho this is so Light and responsive” Maybe the weight thing is great though I’ll Never know TBH I killed 4 EPS carbon prone boards in 6 months 4 years ago so now I only ride these solid Divinycell tanks or id be homeless
Regarding hollow boards the more volume and the thicker they are the more weight savings there are Vs eps. With a 1.5 lb blank I think EPS becomes Lighter at 4” thick and 70 L based on my math. Don’t think it’s gonna be a thing for prone boards
Appletree Apple Slice was pretty cool to see in person. Minimal design that looks very functional. With all the 8 AR wings I think they are great if people are ok with sacrificing pump. We have been a little spoiled with these glidey surf wings over the past 2 years and going back to the lower AR especially with also a smaller wing in itself. Fully doable but I think it’s going to take a session or 3 to figure them out. Although I am going to try the more “mid” wings I think I like more of a hybrid. I got to ride KT while winging (which I don’t do often) and the 830 is absolutely nuts and can’t wait to prone it.
On boards - agreed, lighteight shouldnt be the number 1 factor, stiffness makes such a huge difference, so yeah ideal would be light AND stiff. I bought a Kruzer hoping it would paddle a lot faster than my raptor, and its not a huge difference in all honestly, probably not enough to justify the cost. But i do appreciate the stiffness of the amos boards, was such a step up from a factory KT.
I guess as far as pumping is concerned, i dont really care if its super super efficient like an HA wing, but then again I usually foil pretty long period organized stuff. And the SK8 pumps well enough for that. I also have the eagle x 700 but dont have much time on it yet, hoping this winter.
“Also I think really specific mast lengths are something that could be dialed in more - I want exactly 77cm from the board to the top of the fuse. 80 is too long and 75 is too short”
77cm from board to top of fuse would be very close to what a Code 80 (measured to the bottom of the fuse - It would be very close to 77, give or take a cm, to the top of the fuse, Axis 80 (about the same, slightly shorter). AFS 75 I believe is the mast only, so once you add the fuse you can get close to 77-78cm or so. Just thinking out loud here.
I’m looking to get a new prone board soon. When you say Portal being the best, I suppose you are only talking about Pedigo’s custom builds, right? Not the Uni production boards?
The new Armstrong MA is VERY impressive. You can tow, wing, kite, parawing, downwind, prone, sup, on just a couple different sizes. It’s a 8.0 AR across the whole range which means eavh foil kinda reacts the same as others but can choose for rider weight and conditions.
Whats impressive about them? A few brands have done same AR across their range, so i wouldnt really say thats innovation, but maybe some of their other characteristics are innovative? Be interested to hear more for sure.
Yeah, I can’t believe that guy! I mean my favorite thing on here is to talk about how awful Armstrong is, but at least I also have annoying and objectionable opinions on other topics!
Haha, I don’t know what’s going on over the last 2 or 3 posts… but from someone that’s not biased towards Armstrong (I like the boards tho and own a few), I did ride the new MA in 890 size, but with a wing and I really liked it more than the older MAs. I bet it prones well as well. I don’t think you can go wrong with those, but I don’t own any Armstrong foils, just boards, so just my 2 cents.
Yeah being serious for a moment, I do love the Armstrong MAII. I’ve tried the 890 & 790, with the new 130 & 170 surf tails. They’re very friendly wings too. I’d say that the Code 810x felt very similar, with the Code feeling a little more advanced than the MAII - a lot more sensitive in the roll but felt like it had more “character” than the MAII.
I think the coolest thing in prone foiling innovation right now is the new generation of these ~8 AR foils catering to more advanced riders. Armstrong, Flite, Code, KT, etc.
Way to be a buzz kill! I was having fun! For sure, though I think everyone is making a good foil, the secret sauce is out, I don’t think there’s a lot of differences in feel out there that aren’t just compromises based on different sizes and aspect ratios. The development in the lower aspect range has definitely been lacking with the focus on down wind and very small high aspects so this has definitely been long overdue - there just aren’t a lot of modern foils in these ARs. I’m sure if your someone looking for more roll and responsiveness at the expense of pump you’re stoked. Esp for winging!
For prone though, I think this might be too big of a jump for a lot of people. I personally found the code S series (esp 980) to be too high aspect and would definately find the new stuff to be too low. I can’t imagine someone on the 980 looking to progress and being happy with an 8 AR. I love my North stuff but if I was looking for a lower AR wing for prone I’d want a more subtle shift than staying in the brand family could offer. These changes are big but gear changes (esp if your dialed in and pushing it already) should be more subtle.
I mean I get it from the brands perspective - a bigger change captures more market segment - but this is probably more than I’m looking for if I’m an already happycode rider
I’d be curious to try Duotone’s exaggerated mix of high and low aspect in one wing like they do with the Carve and Glide where it’s really fat in the middle and narrow at the tips. It seems like a good design but KT Nomad / Flitelab / Code X are all the more traditional shape.
