Listened to the new podcast today and Erik said it was revealed at AWSI. Does anybody have any photos or details?
I heard from people there it specifically was not released at AWSI. Erik talking about it on podcast surprised me.
There was other gear revealed at AWSI that haven’t been released yet. Like Slingshot’s One-Lock, and KT foils. I believe F-One people revealed there is an upcoming v2 Eagle or Eagle X that will be announced/released in spring.
What was mentioned on podcast? Only saw one AWSI interview that mentioned a prototype mast (uHM and less cord) and they mentioned extra short fuse and skinny stabs coming “soon”
some type of progression series replacement, such as 150
Thanks. Surprised they would replace the one range that’s carrying them instead updating the Vyper or adding a DW range
Are you sure? That does sound weird, Progression is the entire brand at this point.
Erik was talking about a 135 and 155 Evolution coming out first (in the Cash Berzolla Episode at 4:00min) Target group probably more advanced riders compared to the Progression. So more a step up or addition than a replacement. Makes sense to me.
That makes sense, maybe they’re releasing lower span foils finally. That would sound like Hyper/Vyper replacement.
Just listened to that part of the podcast where he mentions it’s like the Progression, but “faster, more nimble, more glide” and “it’s better”. Really does sound like a replacement which is unfortunate imho. The DW/FD hype is real, but not everyone can afford that direction. Surely there’s a market for an AR8 Vyper upgrade for prone in decent surf?
I was fortunate enough to be with the Unifoil team in Hood River during the AWSI week and got some good time on both the 135 and 155 evolution and they went really well there.
They address my main issue with the progression line which is top end speed and slow-down once out of the power. The 135 and 155 are pretty much a higher performance 140 and 170. I couldn’t find the top end of either one in hood, and the glide is impressive. I didn’t see much of a downside compared to the progression line, and could basically flat-water start the 155 (I can flat-water the 170 easy, almost can do the 140). The 155 will become my new DD here in South Florida for sure.
Here’s an example of the glide from one run in HR. I had to pump at times on the 140 prog, but not on the evos
Hood run on Evolution Line
Are you able to give any details on wing span?
I don’t want to comment on specs or any specifics until Unifoil does. I can tell you that even the 155 rolls tip to tip as good or better than the 140 prog.
Thanks for the detail Matt. This is very interesting.
I’m all-in on Unifoil, but find their releases rather unfortunate.
Hyper1 was way ahead of it’s time, especially the 210 and 150. Dont think the market was ready for higher aspect foils back then.
Then their Australian manufacturing experiment coincided with Covid which caused the Vyper to be released more than 2 years late. By then Bennets had moved to F-one. Yet the 130 and 90 is still prevered tow-foils today.
Then came the Progressions that pretty much made the Hyper2 release obsolete.
The Progression line, supposed to be the pump/glide/carve range for weaker waves, now gets a 100 model with more top end for shoulder to overhead. And along with that they introduce the Evolution with better everything (that sounds like it will kill the Progression the same way Hyper2 was killed).
And still no upgrade to the mid-aspect high performance surf foil.
I don’t get it.
I 100% agree, I don’t understand this either. It feels similar to Axis making ART, ART Pro, ART v2 and making their own foils obsolete and tanking their own customers used foil value.
Definitely going to keep my 140. But this is confusing with the P100 just releasing and then a new wing thats basically the progression but better that is also extremely similar in sizing. This is what causes people to ditch brands and switch to others.
Not commenting specifically on Unifoil, but I think that the high performance mid aspect is undoubtedly headed towards a revolution in the years to come. Just waiting for the industry to find it fashionable again!
FOMO is real. I think something I’ve become more wary of is hype. I get sucked into it just like anyone else but right now people are getting both hyped, and bummed, about something that isn’t even public yet.
Maybe I’ve missed the release of other foils but the fact that people are hyping the new KT foils, presale, get your order in or you’ll be left out, is just wild to me. I was wildly overwhelmed by the Progression hype as well as Code hype but when I got them under foot they weren’t quite right for me. With there being so many different riding styles I hope people start to slow down a bit and reconsider what they want/value in their foiling so they don’t continually chase the dragon.
I think there’s a global market for maybe 30 ripping mid aspect good wave/tow foils…
Full disclosure I’m an ambassador for Unifoil, so I’m definitely not completely unbiased, but I’ve ridden basically every manufacturers stuff and I still think Uni has some of the best stuff on the market. The build quality solid and pricing is competitive, and they’re still some of the best out there for surfing especially here in Florida. The team is a pretty small group of frothers who just love what they do and are passionate about it.
There’s definitely been some unfortunate timing issues with some products, take the Quiver Killer for example as that should’ve been the first mid-length on the market, but I’m confident those delays are behind them.
I think the progressions will still be relevant with the evolutions coming out, as the progressions are extremely user friendly and would be a great foil to get you from beginner to pro level. The Evolution and Progression lines are definitely different, and the evo’s won’t make the 100 or even 125 progressions obsolete.
And there are more high performance surf foils coming soon from Uni, along with some other lines. From what I’ve ridden and things I’ve seen with the product development, I think people will be pretty happy with what’s coming.
If you look at the progression lineup, the 140 to 200 are at either 9 or 8. The smaller ones are 10.5. There’s definitely a “higher aspect” gap in the upper range for downwind “surfing”. These 2 new wings will be the gap fillers. At 75 kgs the 155 will prob be my go-to downwind wing.