Hey everyone- psyched Eric put this resource together for us.
A little context: been foiling a couple years now on maui, mostly prone going anywhere I can in any conditions (e.g. north shore large powerful waves, s shore small waves, etc…) I have been riding an armstrong this entire time, following kind of the normal progression CF1200, HS1250, and now HA925. I have had fun on these wings, but I think it’s time for a change… I do really like the HA925, but I think it has a lot of faults for prone surfing, it’s super unforgiving (in my opinion). And the CF V2 just doesn’t seem like something I’m all too interested in…
Anyway- long story short, looking to see what everyone here thinks the best prone wing is out there. I have really been looking hard at the cabrinha stuff lately.
Kittie,
I am in your same position. Currently on the 925, 195 and 72 mast in small South Carolina surf. Like you said, the unforgiving nature and flex in the system makes me think that another brand may have something a lil more inline with the feeling i’m after. I have been doing a bit of research into Axis. Loving the idea of a stiff carbon mast with what seems like endless possibilities of wings for prone and winging.
From what I have heard / read / seen - the cabrinha has good glide, maneuverability, and better low end. But I’m yet to try it for myself, hopefully in the next week or so.
1000 looks really good, as do those all around wings they just came out with. Have to think that some of their success is because of all the testing at that university.
I really love my Cabrinha H1000. It has been a game changer for me. Sold my 925 and never looked back. The h1000 has better glide, turns just as well, and is sooooooo much more forgiving for me.
925 can do great things in the right hands but I really prefer my h1000. I weigh 195 and the 1000 has been the perfect size for me. Use it to wing,kite, and prone. It’s a one foil quiver.
I started on the OG Cloud 9 back when our only options were that or GoFoil. Switched to Armstrong after about a year and was stoked at the major step up in performance. After a few years on Armstrong, which I proned and started winging on, I tried a Takuma setup. After getting used to the difference, I tried my Armstrong again just to compare and that’s the last time I rode the Armstrong. Went home and put the whole kit on Craigslist and have never regretted it!
I guess another question- are any of the cabrinha foils adequate for downwinding or would I be better equipped for that by adding a big armstrong HA to the collection?
I love my armstrongs whats your weight? 90kg rider and love winging / surfing the armie’s but for downwind they not the easiest in marginal sup foil conditions that I get where I live (mostly get powerful ground swell and light wind). For downwinding I go axis for now and love my armstrong for surf and wing
I haven’t heard of anyone downwinding on Cabrinha yet. I keep hearing the 800 is similar to the lift ha120. Which is a good downwind foil once you know what you’re doing, terrible to learn to downwind on.
@Hdip good info, seems like some of the Oahu guys are DW on the Cabrinha, but lots of lift, axis, and gofoil for that discipline.
@Mickfoil I am pretty light, probably around 65kg, and i do like surfing the armstrong, just have to think theres something better out there vs the HA series that is a bit more forgiving but still fast!
My Cab h1000 has made winging downwinders jump up several levels of progression. I am able to comfortably ride flagged and just pump to connect sections where I used to need to power up the wing again. It has tons of glide, is stable yet still easy to carve, and has great predicable low speed lift. I enjoyed my Armstrong 925 in similar conditions but I never felt like I could completely relax with it as it was so trim and speed sensitive. The H1000 is just so easy and fun to ride, it’s hard for me to think of anything I would improve about the foil itself. A stiffer mast would help when you are more loaded up as you can sometimes notice the flex but that’s a small issue.
My top speeds have come on the Cabrinha as well. One thing that really impressed me was how much confidence it gave me at high speed. Every other foil seems to need more front foot pressure when you are hitting higher speeds but with the h1000 I never feel like I need to move my feet. Very cool.
As for other sources on Cab downwinders Rob P on sea breeze has a good review. And some of the Voyagers on Oahu are using them, check out childrenofthefreeworld on instagram.
Cabrinha HA is just like the Lift HA: Top of the line wings with top of the line prices! You can’t go wrong if you can afford it.
Biggest issue is timing: Lift HA wings are getting old in foil-years (which is human years x 30). Cabrinha wings are probably slightly better but that’s because they are 30 foil-years newer.
Next generation wings (new Lift, Axis surf, Erik’s custom wing, new Takumas, etc) will probably come out in the next 4-12 months making your $2200 purchase older technology and could be annoying to you.
Yeah i get your point. But waiting around for the next upgrade before you buy is sort of a losing proposition at this point… I mean i am riding a 30yr old (foil years) wing right now anyway!
I know it’s far from the most popular brand, but I ride Naish and it’s all I know. I went out towing into some small-medium waves last week with an Armstrong riding buddy, but both using my board. He was astounded by how forgiving yet fast my setup was. We can both pump around and link a wave or two, but we arent advanced riders by any means.
This was on the Naish 1040HA and a custom flat stab. I just received the Naish 914 but haven’t had a chance to get it wet yet.
After 2 years of proning on unifoil hyper, i moved to armstrong 925 and 725, 6 months ago. First i found the ha too difficult, i was falling too often, and didn’t pump better . With the uni , i was able to recover from very slow speed , and i felt more confident. But, i found the uni a bit to quiet on the turns, not very agile. After hours in the water, i started to be dialed with the 925, i was able to pump it properly, and got addicted to the speed, but i never reached the confidence i had before. And i was missing many connections by making mistakes. The thing is this wing is a bit to wide for my 70 kg. I am never in a total control with it,. At that time , i started to complain about armstrong 's offer, wanting something more user friendly. As nothing was coming, i went back to the 725, that i had abandoned few months ago, judging it impossible to pump. I enjoyed this wing in the surf, felt like i was on a short board, but wasn’t able to connect like i used to do it before. I tried all the available tails, without success. After months of practice , i was a lot better on the wave , and appreciated the acceleration you can get in the turns, really magic, but was still unable to pump it. And then one day, after oskar 's video, saying to stay high on the mast, something clicked. Now, i pump my 725 nearly as well as the 925, but with more control and speed, and with a better overall feeling. So , ok ha armstrong wings deserves to be blamed because they are far to much difficult, but in a certain way, it forces you to improve your skill, and at the end to get rid of many bad habits,. Eventually you get better and more sensitive to your foil behavior. However, some days, when i am a bit tired, or not in good shape, i still want to move to another brand.
After prone surfing the Unifoil Hyper (AR around 8) for a few years, I’ve only recently had the chance to demo the Vyper (AR 6). If you’re looking for a forgiving wing to boost your confidence in the waves and still be able to pump, you should try them. I can pump the 170 Vyper the same as the larger Hypers, and their turning on the wave is so much better. I’m 92kg and ended buying the 130 and the 170. For lighter weight riders. the 130 Vyper could be a one-wing-quiver. The tow-in guys are raving about the new 90 Vyper, so i’d imagine it would work well for prone in larger waves or lighter riders too.
I’m with you , the more I ride my Armstrong gear the better I get, at the beginning of the HA journey I couldn’t pump the 1125 without stalling, but now I can pump the 725 without stalling it , I’m addicted to the speed and glide of these foils and wouldn’t want to sacrifice that for a better low end or more handling .I find cranking turns no problem as long as I use the 50 fuse with the 925/1125. The 725 is also great for steeper takeoffs and larger waves without getting boosted as long as you use 195 or V tails .Would I like the same speed/glide/efficiency but easier to ride …… for sure, but not convinced it exists without sacrifice. I can see that for slower waves with not a lot of energy these HA foils are not the the best option for sure as they don’t like going too slow.
whats your weight? 90kg rider and love winging / surfing the armie’s but for downwind they not the easiest in marginal sup foil conditions that I get where I live (mostly get powerful ground swell and light wind). For downwinding I go axis for now and love my armstrong for surf and wing