For wing and para in the Gorge I’ve been using an older Armstrong 85cm carbon mast, 70 fuse, 780 foil and 180 tail. I’m interested in getting a 60 fuse and a 795 performance x masts. The cost of those two items is getting close enough to a full foil setup, opening up the question of whether I should stick with Armstrong or go to another brand. I’ve been happy with Armstrong, but wonder whether other brands have jumped ahead.
Hey there! Have you checked with BigWinds about demoing? Im waiting on my PerformanceX to arrive but have been loving the 770/130/60 combo on a 795 mast. Happy to loan a piece of gear out at the hatch or switch on the water.
my hunch says your long fuse and longer tail are making this too locked in for carving.
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Keep the mast, get a MAII front wing, 60 fuse, & 140 dart tail. Great setup for Hatchery & Rufus bumps 
Are the high performance masts overhyped, or just not a great ROI?
Do the MAII wings have enough glide? They sound incredible when you’re on a big wave, but my downwind skills are still a work in progress. I need some pump and glide to help me out.
I used to be on Armstrong gear. I bet their new masts really are a huge help to make the foils come alive > more pump and glide depending on your weight for performance X versus the other new one.
Are the high performance masts overhyped, or just not a great ROI?
Do the MAII wings have enough glide? They sound incredible when you’re on a big wave, but my downwind skills are still a work in progress. I need some pump and glide to help me out.
I’m 90kg and tried the A+ mast back to back with the new Performance-X and couldn’t really tell a difference… maybe I’m just not discerning enough. I’m sure it has more glide with the narrower profile, but I’m not really gliding all that much when downwinding at Hood. I’d probably feel the difference out in the ocean.
Which brings me to your next question - you can definitely make the MAII foils work on small days in Hood, but you’re not getting much glide out of them, you kinda have to be proficient at carving and staying in the small pockets on those lighter days.
Plenty of guys use the UHAs here and they love it. It’s just a more glidey style of downwinding.
I recently went through the same dilemma. I am a big fan of my Armstrong kit and have kept upgrading front wings to keep up with the latest. I love how durable the Armie stuff is to impact, the fact that it doesn’t have super fine edges is to me a plus because I am always hitting reefs and rocks it seems. I had a different brand with very refined edges for a while and hated the way it took major damage from impact. Not to mention the confidence I get from not having super razor sharp stuff below me. It may be a slight performance deficit but I’ll gladly give that up for safety and durability.
I also really appreciate the Armie connection, there have been no signs of motion or wear in the joints over the past four years of hard use which I can’t say about the mortise and tenon style kit I had from another brand. Also a distinct lack of corrosion and the ability to leave it all connected even after salt water sessions without penalty or a difficult disassembly was a big plus.
What I didn’t really appreciate was all of the hardware and the exposed screw heads and lack of refinement on the overall drag profile of the connections and hardware. I do think those tail screws were probably adding a lot of drag, as well as the rear of the mast collar to fuse joint. I usually had a small gap between front foil and mast collar as well that probably wasn’t helping the drag profile. Other than those minor nit picks I don’t really have any major complaints with the kit and a lot of good to say.
All that said, in contemplating the upgrade to the newest X mast I couldn’t help but factor in that the money spent on just that mast and one new stab would get me a whole new kit from someone else. With that in mind I pulled the trigger on a Hydrocraft set up instead of upgrading my Armie gear. I figured I get a 12mm mast and a much smoother drag profile and get to try some new feels. Not to mention I have a whole second kit so I can take out my Armie in shallow reefs and anywhere I think I might be subjecting the kit to abuse, and I still have all of my old pump wings and small tow wings for various disciplines.
I can’t really say anything yet about the difference in ride quality because I don’t have the Hydrocraft kit yet. It’s expected this week so soon I’ll know, but in my short demo of the gear it felt really really good, comfortable and stable and I was right at home instantly. So this may be a little premature to say whether or not I wish I had just upgraded my Armie mast instead, but honestly my current Armie performance mast is fine and going this route I have two whole kits with different features which seems like a good use of the cash to me.
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Where are you at in terms of down winding?
I can say that Hood River is the single easiest place I’ve ever down-winded. A few friends and I were trying to make it work in SF Bay and was difficult to discern any progress, as soon as we came up to Tunnel 4 we were getting multi-minute glides.
While certain types of gear help - I personally was making it work on relatively low performing gear back then: an APF-1675, a 202 pump tail, and a 21" 1st gen Armie DW board. A Performance X mast is likely going to feel more slippery, have less flutter, and make climbing the mast easier. At very high speeds, with mid sized wings you will feel a major ROI.
It’s important to consider where you are down winding - you don’t want the gear that is designed for Hawaiian channel crossings in slow gorge swell. Armstrong has been one of the favorite Gorge foils for a number of reasons - speed range, turn ability, efficiency, and a huge community ecosystem, but I know other brands are also targeting surfy but efficient foils. Shoot me a PM and we can do a lap together!
First things first, you gotta ditch the 70cm mast. DW is about being nimble enough to position yourself at the top of power pockets. A 70cm will draw out your turns way too much, probably pushing you into the backs of swells.
If I were you, I’d go 60cm fuse, score an older performance mast off someone upgrading to the X. And buy my 130 crisp flex tail. Then once you feel like that is holding you back, consider trying something else.
I switched to F4, not necessarily because the Armie was holding me back - it’s actually very user/progression friendly gear, but I was chasing that last percentage gain and also to try some new feels. Chasing the dragon.
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Definitely ditch the 70cm fuse and get yourself a 60cm as the first upgrade. If you are winging and parawing only then a standard performance mast would be the next upgrade to the kit. 795 or 865 mast.
I’m not interested in the mast arms race. It seems like a lot of dollar for a small percentage gain unless you want to be the fastest foiler out there.
Crisp 130 or 150 tail is also a big improvement versus stock offering from Armstrong.
if I were gonna sell the lot, then F4 orca seems like the pick of the bunch for new feels.
There is a night and day difference between the 85 cm a plus and a performance Mast, and I’m only 150 pounds. As others have said, ditch the 70 cm fuse and your mast and enjoy the great foil offerings Armstrong provides
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