Nuttige info voor wie er dit jaar wil beginnen met foilen. Jammer dat er bijna nooit gesproken wordt over het totaal gewicht van de foilset. Lichter maakt het zeker makkelijker (ook duurder).
2020 Head-Head Foil Test
The foil revolution continues to evolve and expand with an explosion of new, cutting edge, wing shapes, deck models, and redesigned mast and fuselage systems for 2020. The foil’s transformational reach is wide and spans across the multiple foiling sports of surfing, windsurfing, wakesurfing and SUP. Refinement of foil wing shapes and improvements in mast and fuselage connection technology has improved the smooth and stable lift and drive of the newest freeride foil designs. The newest surf-oriented foil designs are smooth cruising and stable designs that can keep hovering at ridiculously slow speeds. All the brands have developed modular frame platforms, so the same fuselage and multiple sized masts can be equipped with multiple wing sizes and shapes. The more experienced foilers are now putting multiple wings in their quiver which can alter lift, speed, and manoeuvrability to cater to different skill sets, riding conditions and kite foiling styles. The sheer number of foil models and their performance evolution reflect the expanding skills and evolving needs of the modern day foiler. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that just four years ago, very few kiteboarder’s had a foil board in their quiver. The first expansive freeride foil board test that <a href="https://kitesurfingmag.com/"><em>Kitesurfing Magazine </em></a>conducted was for the 2017 gear line. The first generation freeride foils had advantages for learning and developing the basic hovering skills over the speedy and more aggressive race style foils that started the kite foiling phenomenon. As foiling has exploded in surfing, stand-up paddle surfing and the windsurfing industries, these larger surface area, high lift foils, have proven to be ideal for learning and expanding kite foiling skills as well. Simply put, expanding carving and transition skills was made easier by the stable, slow cruising and easy carving surf wings whose origins were in the surf and SUP foiling designs. Able to lift and go with less power in your kite and their slow cruising performance makes learning to foil safer and less daunting and makes foiling accessible to even the less experienced kite flyers.
There is truly never been a better time to learn to kite foil or expand your foiling skills and hovering style with a new foil system or an additional wing for your current assembly. The options are many and each kite brand offers their distinct feel, performance traits and different systems of assembly, connection, materials and construction. All the brands have a series of different sized wings which offer varying levels of low end lift, carving ability and access to speed. Essentially there are three categories of foils that have different performance characteristics in lift, speed and manoeuvrability. First there are the high performance, fast driving, and more kite specific wings. These smaller surface area wings under 600 square centimetres are best suited to more experienced foil skills as they can reach much higher speeds and allow the rider to handle a bit more kite power and pull. If boosting with a foil is your game then these smaller foils are definitely the ticket. More speed means bigger boosting potential and also carries you at speeds for higher wind and long distance cruising applications. On the other end of the freeride foil spectrum are the large surface area surf foil wings. These have proven to be the best for ultra- light winds and also learning the basics of foiling. These large surf wings can cruise at very slow speeds of under 12 miles per hour and need very little kite power to get up and hovering. Learning on a shorter mast, 50-to-70 centimetres is ideal with a jumbo foil, and you can also take them behind a boat or into some surf if you have a deck that is suitable to mount a foil for SUP or prone surfing. Finally there is the mid-size surf wings that still offer early lift and slower cruising performance but have more speed and upper wind range than the bigger, more surf specific or lightwind category of jumbo wings. The mid-sized wings are still surf style oriented, with nice carving ability at slow to moderate speeds, but they can handle more power and speed than the slower cruising jumbo surf wings and are more sporty and nimble at faster paces. These wings are ideal for all around freeride kite experiences as they offer the most well rounded performance and mix of early lift, stability and carving ability with easier access to moderately fast cruising speeds.
CATEGORY: Big Surf Wings; High-lift, lightwind masters, slower speed, ultra stable, learn to hover and carve, crossover performance for wake, SUP, wing and surf
Learning to foil has never been easier with these larger crossover surf wings that grant early lift and extra stability for lightwind cruising and learning the basics of staying up on a foil and learning more technical transitions and carving. These are true crossover wings that can be used with or without a kite and have applications for any rider that wants to develop hovering skills in other foil disciplines of prone surfing, wakesurfing, SUP, wing-surfing or boardsailing.
Behind a kite these big surf wings are in their element when it’s very light, sub-12 mile-per-hour winds with 11-to-13 metre inflatable kites. As well, many riders with more advanced kite skills are using this size and style of foil for catching sessions with smaller kites in moderate to higher wind speeds. In order to keep these types of foils more controlled, it’s important to keep the kite power and size lower than you would with a smaller, more speed oriented wing. Using a large foil like this with a kite that is 3-to-8 metres gives the rider enough power to get the foil up, but with the added manoeuvrability of the smaller kite and the ability to kill the pull entirely and just ride the foil. The Progressive Tri Foil encapsulates the multi-sport nature of this foil category by its very name. It’s designed for kite, wind and SUP. With a factory direct pricing model, the Tril Foil offers an ideal value to performance ratio, with all the required elements to get you hovering quickly, safely and easily. It’s a great all around design for the emerging, multi-disciplined foiler.
Check de link voor de hele review van alle wings van klein tot groot