For anybody w familiarity w the Uni universe - a few questions:
are the standard KD tails compatible and do they work well? I’ve got a few and I’d rather not buy new tails if I make the switch.
can anyone compare the Cedrus to the Katana? Stiffness and drag. I would really rather not buy a new mast.
can someone please compare the Kujira 1095 with the h2 170 (and the prog 170 - although I realize very few have used it). I also know the h800 very well for comparison purposes.
for people riding a combination of Vyper and h2, how do you size the Vyper into your quiver?
I’m thinking of replacing my 1095 which I love, but don’t like the connections and engineering. I’m 80kg using it for winging in surf, swell and flatwater, freeride/freestyle. Love the balance of carve, pop, pump, glide and easy tip breaches. Wish it were lighter, stiffer connections, more durable, and maybe slightly less span. I will likely keep the h800 as well unless the uni renders it obsolete.
I have similar questions, plus the below. I’d like to buy while the 20% discount is still available :).
(1) When is the h2 150 going to be available for purchase? I see it listed on the foil chart on the Uni website but it’s not available for purchase. Seems like this would be the best for winging in 18 mph+ conditions in wind swell rather than the 170 which seems a bit much in terms of surface area at 1097 sq cm. I currently use the Kujira 1095 and it’s great but a bit slow due to the profile being thick. I want something closer to the Lift 120 or Cabrinha 800 that has a combo of speed, glide, and surfy turns on wind swell. Any reason to go h2 170 vs. h2 150 (e.g. much better glide)? I weigh 84 kg.
(2) What’s the latest ETA for the Progression foils being available for purchase? Looking to use these for prone and winging.
Hello- I can answer your question regarding the KD tails. Yes they work very well with the Vyper. I have used the 13 classic and the Blunt on both the 170 and 190. And the 13 on the 150. My money set up for surf (prone and wing) is the Blunt with a .5 shim. The carvability is unbelievable! You can lay it over hard and the nose just tracks perfectly.
On another note, I have the Katana 83 and the regular carbon 75. Katana VERY stiff. But the regular mast is quite stiff as well. I am coming off of Lift gear. I would say the Lift 170 may offer a bit more pump and glide performance running the same tail configurations; but it can’t come close to the carve performance on the Vyper.
Cedrus to Katana is the typical Cedrus caveat. Cedrus will be slightly stiffer and lighter, but a bit slower. Katana will be almost as stiff and slightly heavier, faster.
I have not ridden the Kujira 1095. I have ridden a vyper 150 and maybe a different 140. I own lift gear and the 150surfv2 was my favorite until I got a ha90 which is what I mainly ride in the surf now.
The vyper prioritizes carving ON the wave and pumps quite well. So if it’s surfing the first wave you catch and getting a double or occasional triple the vyper is best in class. So that means I suggest the 150 or smaller. Unless your waves are totally gutless. The other 140 I rode was the best pumping foil I’ve ridden at that size. It didn’t care how slow you were going.
I have not ridden the hypers. I could see it as a big Hyper for winging/downwind. A progression in the mid size for small waves. A small vyper for anything above waist high.
Had a chance to test a bunch of H2 and Vyper sizes towing in over the weekend. The H2 is FAST - we normally tow around 13-15mph (lift 150 surf v2), but the 170 H2 was liking closer to 22mph. The stall speed was high on the H2, at least compared to the lift 170 I’ve been prone-ing, and it was harder to pump out of a hole.
That said, the H2 was super locked in. I could get a lot deeper, and race the line making sections I never would have made on the lift 170. We could tow in a lot earlier, and glide with the waves for substantially more distance due to the increased speed. At speed the 170 H2 glides for miles. Way, way more than the lift 170, and the lift/push from the H2 is super linear even at those crazy speeds, so it’d be a perfect winging wing.
The Vyper (150/170) was the opposite, it was substantially looser, and you could really S carve the face of the wave. Towing slower, we had to let go of the rope closer to the breaking of the wave.
I didn’t notice a huge difference in the pumpability between the 150 vyper and the 170 vyper, but the 150 was noticeably more agile underfoot. The H2 obviously pumped much better, but not as much better as I was expecting - you’ve really got to keep it moving to get the efficiency out of it.
The H2 really doesn’t like to breach a tip, the vyper is more mellow. Super excited to get on the progression wing and compare, I’m hoping for a best of both worlds holy-grail with that 140.
Got a 170 hyper2 in bound, will be able to compare against the 925. I also am keeping an eye on the Progression 140. Thinking progression 140, hyper2 170 and 250 and I will be covered surf, wing, DW. 71kgs
How does Hyper2 170 low end / stall speed compare to 1095? Im torn between the 170 or the 190 sizes right now. On one hand I don’t want to lose low end vs the 1095 (which is higher AR) but on the other, I don’t like freestyle with too big a foil.
I will likely get a Hyper 150 or Progression 140 for more powered conditions as well (replacing an H800). This would be a 2 foil quiver for winging (waves + freestyle).
Right now I ride a 1095 and H800 almost all the time. I have a 1440 and rarely even touch it and don’t need that much low end.
Got some initial rides on the hyper2 170 and am very pleased. It does what you’d expect from a wing of this size and AR. Low end is significantly better than my 925 I was riding before, in fact I haven’t stalled it out once. I don’t feel like i’m going slow either, it has much better glide and I can stop pumping and turn into the swell from a good bit away which is just so fun. Pump requires more force but is a more manageable cadence, not so anaerobic. Katana mast is much better than Armstrong A+ but that’s all I have to compare to. Nice and snappy. Very happy that I made the jump and look forward to finding my ideal tuning with all the g-10 tails. Ask me anything, 71kgs
Hey Tanner and others, I’m on the vyper 190 (I’m 90kgs) but am getting overpowered in more solid waves on the takeoff. Thinking i need a vyper 150 - is this too much of a drop? How does the vyper compare to the new progression series? Thanks.
The thing that’s interesting with the hyper2 and Progression (and also what’s throwing me off in deciding how to build my quiver) is that the dimensions seem contrary to how the foils are characterized.
The Progression has more span / is higher aspect at any given size yet it characterized as being turnier and slower.
The Hyper2 is lower aspect, yet is characterized as having better glide, better top end, more speed and being less turny.
Based on prior experience, the lower aspect foil would turn better and have worse glide than higher aspect. It just goes to show that dimensions are an over simplification without understanding camber and profile, and we need a better “scoring” system to characterize a foil. More than anything I wish I could try these or get more hands on feedback.
Hey Joe. On your first question, I’m 94kg and use Vyper 170 and 130. The gap is perfect and the 130 handles steep drops and 4ft+ so well. You should get similar comfort on the 150 with better pumping. But try the 130 if possible. I was reluctant to even demo it, thinking it looked too small for my weight. But it’s perfect for 90+kg in waves with some punch.
Hey Ajam, thanks for that - great info. The 190 is my first foil so has been good for learning - I’m in Bali so not really any opportunity to demo - a quandary for sure! Amazing that you’re on the 130.
I’m 80 kg and the 150 felt really good in chest high waves, while still letting me pump around for connections. I’m not sure how well I’d be able to pump a 130 (didn’t get the chance to ride that one) but I bet with a bit more juice it’d be a ball.
Ya still thinking 140/170/250, might also have to add the 170 progression as well just because that seems like the perfect size for the waves around me. I was not the one who said the Hyper2 does not breach well, I haven’t ridden enough waves on it to comment on that. I got the new gear curse pretty bad this time…
I would agree that the 140, 190 seems like a really sick quiver. You could alway add a 170, either progression or h2 down the line to really dial it in. I wish there was a bit more footage of people riding the 190
To also comment on the Progression being more high aspect vs the H2. I am no designer but it does look like the progression has a flat rectangular mid section with almost triangular tips. My theory is that there is less surface area at the tips compared to the h2 making it easier to push it down rail to rail.
Here some feedback from one of the Unifoil guys comparing the 170 hyper2 and 170 progression
I see the original poster is in Bali so my first answer is of no use. I was going to say most of the Unifoil gear is available to demo in Southern CA through www.thefoilshop.com or a dealer.
That being said. Email these companies directly. I know of several people who got themselves a side job as a “demo guy” and have lots of foils floating around in their car for people to demo. You have to do a little bit of work for them, but these are small companies, you can build a relationship with and possibly work out something mutually beneficial.
Usually they’ll at least ship you foils to try. So you pay shipping, then if you like it, you pay the total, or you pay shipping to send it back.
