Recently got upgraded with some new uni kit and thought it might be handy for anyone looking for some insight.
Learning to sup DW, parawing and have been prone/ winging on the prg 200 and purchased a 155 and 205.
The upgrade is monumental, the 205 has an incredible amount of glide and has reduced my need to pump by almost half. I’m now linking large DW sections and just cruising. The foil turns really well but not as good as the progression as expected. Super easy to get up on foil and it’s such a fun time once up, digs out of holes with a few pumps. It runs only slightly slower than the code 1250r, lumps the same but turns way better in my experience.
The 155 is a dream and fits the a lot for when conditions are good. It turns really well, pumps easily and is fast enough for large swell and lined up bay runs. Definitely worth stepping down from the prog 170.
These are just some of my early thoughts and hope to do a full review soon. For anyone looking to get into uni it’s well worth it. We just did an order from Direct to consumer and it was 12 days to Aus. New foils for $700 is unreal with the same quality of code and axis.
if anyone wants specific info let me know we have all the evo’s and progs
So, I’m learning DW on the P200, which I’m finding pretty easy to paddle up once I’ve eventually picked the right bump, but it feels kinda slow. So you reckon the Evo175 would be the next wing to go for? A few people have said the Evo205 would be good, but that’s a pretty big wing.
Re the Unifoil price, postage to Australia appears to have gone from $65 to $255, which kinda sucks..
Thanks for the insights Dan. I have some questions on 155 vs 205 and tail setups:
I have been doing prone shore runners while waiting (for myself) to finish a parawing board. Loving the 155 for it’s faster speed and glide on the pump compared to the P170. Been able to pump the 155 around 300m before the gas runs out. Would the 205 take my 95kg significantly further or should i rather invest in a Torque mast upgrade (currently on 83 Katana)?
You mention the Evos need an AB tail. I’m using my 115 and 155 with the red Shiv/Shunt and quite happy. What am i losing out on not having the AB tail?
Definitely worth the upgrade to the 205, you will notice a huge improvement in pump ability and glide. I’d say keep the mast the same and focus on getting a new faster foil, and upgrade mast later, you will feel the flex with the 205 but it’s not that bad it’s just a big foil.
Definitely upgrade to the AB, significant increase in speed and glide over the shunt. Don’t bother with the 15 it’s too big. I have the 14 and have already chopped it down. This will make a very big difference, and. If budget is an issue just upgrade tail over everything else, the shunts are very outdated
Out of interest are you on the medium or short fuse - I am on the short fuse + 15.5AB combo and loving it (but felt the medium fuse on the Evo’s make turning more cumbersome), what does the cutting it down do? Speed or Control or both.
RE: Evo205 improvements especially for DWinding - man I don’t want to hear that. Enjoying my Progression 200 so much for lighter wind days but do love the speed and pump of my Evo 155 for the higher wind days. I’ve told myself that there is a marginal improvement to replace the prog 200 but sounds like something to consider.
I’ve also taken advantage of the DTC pricing. Changed from a NLv2 to torq - heavier in hand but you can’t feel that when paddling or on foil. Also torq feels faster and smoother than the NL.
I was riding P170, medium fuse, 13 shank with 0 shim. Got the 155 and 115 (yet to try the 115). 72kg.
Still working out a 155 setup but today short fuse, 13 shank with 1 shim, mast all the way forward on my 4’11 Kruzer. Glide and speed significantly improved vs P170. First time also that I’ve felt a really solid pump too. Need to start pumping earlier than I thought compared to the P170 - which is hard when you’re lost in enjoying the increased glide! I got boosted a bit on takeoff a few times, so will try 0.5 shim next time.
The 205 is a great wing, good tool to have. Great pump, glide and low cardio to link waves for ages (I did a one hour round one day, the first and only time I tried to hit the one hour mark).It surfs really nice to be such a big wing. I prone it with the xs fuse and SUP it with the short fuse, always paired with the ab 14.5” mostly @0º shim. I’ve used it with both masts, Katana 830mm and T80, good feelings with both, a touch faster and looser with more yaw on the T80. If you go for it, take the XS fuse too, if you do not, maybe try a chopped tail with a bit less span, like a chopped Shiv.
I’ve chopped to I’d say 13.5 but keen to chop to 13. That’s with a short fuse. It feels faster and turns quicker, with only marginal stability loss
This is an area that Unifoil definitely lacks, they could release a 13 or something like the axis surf skinny would be unreal. PLEASE ANY UNIFOIL REPS READING THIS
I’ve really tried to downsize my quiver and now I only own the 205 and 155 (house mate owns every other size and race/prog mast, xs fuse so it’s great to muck around and try stuff out)
I’m so sorry to say this but I wouldn’t ever go back to the prog 200, the 205 just has it in every aspect and turns just slight worse which can be improved with mast/tail.
you’re so right, the evo has a distinctive front foot pressure that is very nice to pump compared to the progs, it makes the pump feel very intuitive and easy. Im pumping an 8ft dw board around a small surf break with ease now compared to using the 200.
How have you found tip breaches? They seem less stable with a a tip out compared to the progression so far.
I recently got a uni setup with an evo 115, 75 race mast, 15 AF (didn’t had any 14 unfortunately) and extra short fuse. My go to prone setup used to be Lift 120, 20 carve tail and 82M2 mast, so very comparable in terms of specs, which was the goal in order to do an apple to apple comparaison.
Overall I love the Uni setup, I think it pumps a bit better, it’s for sure faster and more pitch stable. It lacks a bit of flow in turns though and I think I could benefit from a smaller stab. Considering chopping or going to a 14. The big downside relative to my Lift setup is the 75 race mast feels a bit flexi to my taste but time will tell.
Thanks for the reply Simon. I doubt I’ll get this old engine to run for 1hr, but sounds like fun to try. For reference, what’s your longest on foil prone with the 155?
So would you say the Katana stiffness is OK with the 205? I am still tempted by the extra speed of the T80, but not sure my level justifies that purchase.
I´ve felt the Katana Ok while using the Evo 205, no flex or torsion. 100% the Torque mast will boost a little bit of extra speed, I´d say something like 5-10% extra speed, but the win for me is the responsiveness you get out from the thinner base from the mast. Wheight relation seems to be the same between the Katana (2166g my mast) and Torque (2109g my mast) but I can feel the stifness of the T80.
My longest laps linking waves using the 155 with the AB 14.5” with 0º shim might be around 20’ according to conditions, wind, energy, period, season… I’m like 82kg, 36 years.
Better gear will make anyone foil better, masts are no exception. The thing is that there’s too much good gear to buy.
