How much difference do different stabs make with the same front wing?
Given they are way cheaper, is having a healthy collection of stabs advisable, or should money be more focused towards having different front wings?
Stab can make a big difference. takeoff, speed, glide.
2 Likes
Stabs make a huge deal, but it’s not necessarily a good idea to buy a huge assortment of stabs. For example on code, I would ride the 120r 95% of the time and on occasion the 142r. However if I was inexperienced, I would probably only need the 150 and 158. Then move down.
So basically if you play your cards right you probably only need 2 stabs, but make sure you choose wisely
I find great value in chopping a stab slowly To progress to smaller stabs at a reasonable pace/as needed for smaller fronts. By chopping down a bit at a time and letting myself get used to it as a go I’ve ended up on a smaller/looser setup than I would have been happy with if I’d tried to go smaller cold turkey.
4 Likes
I have found that I usually have an optimal tail set-up for all of my front wings and maybe one alternative. Usually its a smaller stab on a long fuse for most days and a short stab large tail combo to make the small days more fun.
Big difference but even though I have 5 or 6 I just use the lift 21 flow every chance
I agree.
I ride two tails, both chopped. 1 for going slow, one for going fast.
Smallest wing I ride is an 850S right now. I use the medium fuse and 150AR tail.
I find as I go bigger in foil size I prefer a smaller stab and shorter fuse. I ride my 1300S with the short fuse and 120R tail. I wouldn’t mind trying an even shorter fuse for my 1300S.
I also only have two stabs and two fuses though.
It’s also worth messing with shims in your tail. Those can change your feel way more then most would think.
I think stabs are probably the only “cheap” thing in foiling. Almost guaranteed to make a huge difference for a small cost.
I always have one HA and one MA, start with that combo.
HA for glide, MA for turns.
The difference between a bad and good tail is also amazing. If you can, get an AFS Silk tail or Takuma Kujira both are really good for MA, probably better than anything I’ve ridden for smooth push back through turns
They sell quite easily too, or chop the HA if it wasn’t too expensive once you start finding it too locked in for turns.
1 Like
I feel like a lot can be said about finding one or two pieces of gear that work for you and your style, and then just sticking to it. So for sure, experiment with stabs and find something that works - but then stick with it.
Too many people have multitudes of options and every time you swap it takes an adjustment.
I definitely agree with this. I have one mast one fuse, one stab and two front wings to cover, prone, downwind, and wing. I almost never find that I feel like I’m on the wrong equipment.
Honestly, I don’t think you really need a bunch of stabs ever. You can run really really small stabs with larger front wings fine but your smaller front wings can be difficult or impossible to ride with bigger stabs. I found it really natural when I got my 680 to chop it down my stab until it became better suited for the 680 and then that level of responsiveness felt really good on the 930 front wing also after becoming used to it with my small front wing that required it.
if your not into chopping I’d say multiple stabs might be part of the journey but it’s not the destination
I think you only really need one stab. However you need to try a bunch of them, try some shim combos, and maybe try some chops until you find the stab that matches the feel you’re looking for. So yeah, buy a bunch of stabs to work out which one you want, then sell whatever you didn’t like.
1 Like