Switching to 80 cm mast for Para - DW

Foils and Boards - Gear Talk
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I am thinking about switching from my 75 cm mast to a 80 cm, does it really make a big difference in terms of not breaching that much? Our DW waves are very surfy and I am only interested in carving. Anybody swearing on an 80 cm mast for DW? Any input is appreciated!

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Hello,

I’ve been using a few different masts for downwinding, and I really enjoy having extra length in carving conditions. Of course, there are some trade-offs: take-off (especially when paddling) gets a bit harder, and the mast has a bit more flex.

That said, 80 cm feels like the sweet spot—you can really use it for everything. I only take my 75 cm out for light-wind downwinding; when conditions are good enough, even if I’m “racing,” I prefer the extra length since it gives more margin for mistakes, especially when going sidewind with a long board.

For parawinging or prone downwind, I tend to like a touch more length (82–85 cm), but honestly, 80 cm still does the job 100%.

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Thanks! I will try to find an 80 mast to test!

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I ride my AFS 80CM mast for prone, wing, sup foil DW, sup foil surf and its great all around. I use my 85CM when waves have some height or choppy conditions to minimize breaching.

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I feel like steep and breaking waves are where an 85 comes in handy. If its rolling swell (even if its big), I can go short. For me its all about how steep the waves are, not really how big.

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85 too long and strains the masts for riding stashed and , 75 is quite short, 80 is just right

KDW explained something that is overlooked: Short (75) is more direct and snappy, Long (85) is more delayed. So on that point alone I’d not go beyond 80. I find 80 is the best balance for stiff, controlled, snappy, but I mostly ride ocean where there is much more turbulence and much faster.

For your conditions and if breaching is not an issue then I don’t think you may not find that much benefit going longer, considering the lake bumps are tight, and you want max fun

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I parawing an 80cm and it works really well. I would love to try an 85 for really laying the carves, but I just got a new mid aspect so the wing tip breaches will hopefully be less eventful compared to my HAs.

I ride a spot that has really steep tight bumps and going upwind can be sketchy at 80cms. I feel like I do a full ollie, still scrape the top of the whitecaping swell and barely keep the foil in on the backside, all while cranking upwind one handed. Thats another argument that the 85 would be great. Maybe an 82 would be the ticket.

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Are you having problems with breaching frequently? If not, then stick with your 75cm. Once you are trained to a 75cm breaches aren’t frequent and I like where I sit in reference to the swell energy on a 75cm.

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Let’s remember that we are talking about less than 2” in difference between the 75cm and 80cm mast length.

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Shall I post that in an ozone line length thread? :stuck_out_tongue:

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yeah it’s basically short medium and long

On that point which brands do not respect the differences between masts in their own line?

I get that 85cm NL is actually like 95cm tall or something, and the variance in what is measured across brands is huge.

Are there cases where one brand has different length masts that are not actually incremented in the lengths printed on the side?

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On good days we get all kinds of waves, but the problem for me is indeed the breaching on the turns. I have ordered an 80 cm mast now and will report back :smiley:

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Breaching only in turns may be solved w a negative shim or by moving your mast back a notch. I ride a North 72cm for EVERYTHING and I do it all other than dockstart and kite. Breaches are non-existent, chop navigation is cake, power zone is always there, jumping w wing is fun n easy, and I can pump like a madman.

I dont avoid tips out turns, I strive for them. If u get wiped out by ventilation, ride a better foil.

Hope u get her dialed! Yew!

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Breaching too hard at higher speeds might still be an issue for control and will also slow you down considerably … I like the mast position as is, will report back, should get the mast today!

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Here’s my lil review from a couple of weeks back. For our surfy waves the 80 cm mast is a game-changer (as I see it). So much easier to ride, less touches, much better breaching (especially on the backside!), making turns smoother because of the longer lever (less twitchy), but also throws you off a little stronger :smiley:

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