available from 17th July

Nice.....very nice. This canard design is really the first I have seen that will actually allow you to stay and maneuver in the pocket. I need to sell a few things so I can get one. Have you been on it long enough now to tell us the difference on how they ride as far as foot pressure goes compared to a standard free ride foil?

The XLW is available July 17.
but as for normal Spitfire and my first couple of ventures into waves.
It feels like riding a surfboard but no feeling of the bumps and stuff. But turning is such that you forget that aspect of being different from a surfboard save that you are up in the air and the drop in while on foil is for me a huge buzz which will be even bigger buzz when I survive to turn back up.
its out back that I have best results where the foil makes you feel like you are riding a formed wave.
but I am still to get fully over the brain set that says there's a bump coming so react. When I should just keep going as if flat.

Cheers....what is the difference between the original Spit and the xlw?

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dafish said..
Cheers....what is the difference between the original Spit and the xlw?

Bigger wings so more lift at lower speed.
this should help the heavier riders and those wanting to foil slower.
And by the look of the video it should be awesome for those Greg D style foileurs

that's good news, being able to pivot and stall is a winner for me.

Nicolas has answered some of those questions on kiteforum

Yes yes yes!! That riding is inspirational, great vid, really makes you want ( wish) to ride like he is riding

would this his new larger slower wing mean that the canard design may be possible to learn on? As from my limited understanding the original spitfire requires a bit too much speed to be suitable for learners ?

The aim is for lower speed and power lift in waves below 1.5m
this could mean that the Spitfire becomes more beginner friendly, but not the primary design focus

I stand corrected. Zeeko are also saying the new XLW equiped Spitfire is more suited to beginners.
how much more is the question.

I like the direction this differentiated product is heading in and am looking forward to hearing reviews from early adopters.

The promo video makes the product look really enticing, but my confusion comes from:
- XLW = extra light wind... then the video shows the board being used in >20 knots
- XLW being used with 4m and 8m kites by a rider that is both more skilled and significantly lighter than me. So therefore have to dismiss promo video as pure entertainment / kite porn

When will someone focus on a hydrofoil for the big and tall? XLW sounds close...

...but having had the same problem withfinding a suitable twin tip, it wasn't until boot / wake style became popular that a suitable product came to market that I could use with straps.

I jumped onto Shinn twin tip boards because of Mark's reputed 108kg. Too short, too fragile...

Sunny Garcia FCS fins were awesome back in the 1990's... then shapers move to FCS II plugs and large pro surfers become extinct with the current air trick focus. Mind you, he only tips the scales in the low 90kgs...

Would love to hear from someone without a selling agenda to point me in the right direction. I want a carvy slow speed hydrofoil for wave / ocean conditions when there is not enough wind for the surfboard. The Airush Sector 60 wants replacing...

Am a skinny 6'5", weigh 100kg and have been kiting ~7 years.

Thanks in advance for any tips that will avert disappointment in joining this exciting new kiting direction.

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NathanG said..
I like the direction this differentiated product is heading in and am looking forward to hearing reviews from early adopters.

The promo video makes the product look really enticing, but my confusion comes from:
- XLW = extra light wind... then the video shows the board being used in >20 knots
- XLW being used with 4m and 8m kites by a rider that is both more skilled and significantly lighter than me. So therefore have to dismiss promo video as pure entertainment / kite porn

When will someone focus on a hydrofoil for the big and tall? XLW sounds close...

...but having had the same problem withfinding a suitable twin tip, it wasn't until boot / wake style became popular that a suitable product came to market that I could use with straps.

I jumped onto Shinn twin tip boards because of Mark's reputed 108kg. Too short, too fragile...

Sunny Garcia FCS fins were awesome back in the 1990's... then shapers move to FCS II plugs and large pro surfers become extinct with the current air trick focus. Mind you, he only tips the scales in the low 90kgs...

Would love to hear from someone without a selling agenda to point me in the right direction. I want a carvy slow speed hydrofoil for wave / ocean conditions when there is not enough wind for the surfboard. The Airush Sector 60 wants replacing...

Am a skinny 6'5", weigh 100kg and have been kiting ~7 years.

Thanks in advance for any tips that will avert disappointment in joining this exciting new kiting direction.

So I'm 92.5 kg and under 6' but now a sole Spitfire Foileur.
im also not personally going to be rushing to get the XLW wing set as I find that for my crap style I go plenty slow enough and the extra boost in lift on a wave is enough for me.
on flat water the Spitfire does feel it wants a bit more speed but it is much more forgiving of kite height and power for me.
i think having a spot with small well spaced waves and the skill to turn at will.
Will bring out the hidden Nico as in the video in a few.
the Spitfire is a love or leave it foil that you will never know till you have a go, and no amount of reviews or videos will help.

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NathanG said..
I like the direction this differentiated product is heading in and am looking forward to hearing reviews from early adopters.

The promo video makes the product look really enticing, but my confusion comes from:
- XLW = extra light wind... then the video shows the board being used in >20 knots
- XLW being used with 4m and 8m kites by a rider that is both more skilled and significantly lighter than me. So therefore have to dismiss promo video as pure entertainment / kite porn

When will someone focus on a hydrofoil for the big and tall? XLW sounds close...

...but having had the same problem withfinding a suitable twin tip, it wasn't until boot / wake style became popular that a suitable product came to market that I could use with straps.

I jumped onto Shinn twin tip boards because of Mark's reputed 108kg. Too short, too fragile...

Sunny Garcia FCS fins were awesome back in the 1990's... then shapers move to FCS II plugs and large pro surfers become extinct with the current air trick focus. Mind you, he only tips the scales in the low 90kgs...

Would love to hear from someone without a selling agenda to point me in the right direction. I want a carvy slow speed hydrofoil for wave / ocean conditions when there is not enough wind for the surfboard. The Airush Sector 60 wants replacing...

Am a skinny 6'5", weigh 100kg and have been kiting ~7 years.

Thanks in advance for any tips that will avert disappointment in joining this exciting new kiting direction.

I am 6'3" @ 100kg and invested in the following:

Liquid Force Foil Fish - nice starter to learn on.
Liquid Force board with the Slingshot Hover Glide (improvement on the Foil Fish)
Zeeko Blue/White (improvement on the Hover Glide and less weight)
Zeeko Blue/White with the Carver Wing (gets going before any of the above and carves brilliantly)

I would happily recommend the Zeeko aluminium with the carver wing. Bolt it onto anything you fancy.

I tried the El Stubbo (board is too small for super light wind starts)
I tried the Shinnster (works okay but the board is heavy)
Bolted the Zeeko to the BRM Paipo (works better than the shinnster because it is lighter)
Bolted the Zeeko to a CrazyFly 150x50 TT Cruiser (best light wind board I used so far)

I have the spitfire and the standard wings are good. But I will be getting the XLW wings to get the early start and have a slightly slower foil.

Nico publishes speeds of 25 to 30 knots as the top speed. He must be using race kites. The fastest I have got my foils to go is 20 knots on BRM Clouds.

If Mark is 108kg then he must always be riding in 30 knots. I bought and tried a few of his boards and I was always too heavy for them in the light wind crap we get on the east coast. I settled on a custom Nomad Wave and a CrazyFly 150x50 Cruiser.

No race kites just his Zeeko Notus revs and Notus Air which have thinner leading edges than clouds.
to elaborate, my TT Zeeko Bhoot tops out at 31 kts. After which it starts to porpoise.
i have topped it out at Shallow inlet with my Notus Air 8m
so I don't see the kites slowing down the foil.

I am interested to hear more regular guy review of the new XLW spitfire. I carved some spitfire copies out of G10. Worked ok, but ended up going back to my regular wings (stringy copies). The best positive of the spitfire/canard style was they turn on a dime, really surfy feel. Also no ventilating at all. The negative was needing more speed, which kind of took away from the potential for stall and turn surfing style. (my wings may have also been out of balance, required a lot of energy on back foot to stay balanced)

One point to consider: the online chatter seems to be that some early adopters of spitfire have moved on to GoFoil or Takuma style wings for playing in surf. These are the big wings made for Sup/Surf ... lift at very slow speeds. Reported to feel "more like surfing". Not to downplay the new spitfire, I am sure they are great, but these reports did make me wonder what the future may be for surf-interested foilers.

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juandesooka said..
I am interested to hear more regular guy review of the new XLW spitfire. I carved some spitfire copies out of G10. Worked ok, but ended up going back to my regular wings (stringy copies). The best positive of the spitfire/canard style was they turn on a dime, really surfy feel. Also no ventilating at all. The negative was needing more speed, which kind of took away from the potential for stall and turn surfing style. (my wings may have also been out of balance, required a lot of energy on back foot to stay balanced)

One point to consider: the online chatter seems to be that some early adopters of spitfire have moved on to GoFoil or Takuma style wings for playing in surf. These are the big wings made for Sup/Surf ... lift at very slow speeds. Reported to feel "more like surfing". Not to downplay the new spitfire, I am sure they are great, but these reports did make me wonder what the future may be for surf-interested foilers.

It won't be till after the 17th that those other than the Zeeko testers will have any feedback on the XLW wings.

Any idea on the price of just the XLW wings?

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RAL INN said..
No race kites just his Zeeko Notus revs and Notus Air which have thinner leading edges than clouds.
to elaborate, my TT Zeeko Bhoot tops out at 31 kts. After which it starts to porpoise.
i have topped it out at Shallow inlet with my Notus Air 8m
so I don't see the kites slowing down the foil.

Nice....

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bigtone667 said..
Any idea on the price of just the XLW wings?

Yes

Thanks guys for your detailed insights.

I had been wondering about GoFoil crossover ability, given that surfboards work for both and my extra weight might offset any extra speed coming from kite...

interesting times!

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bigtone667 said..
Any idea on the price of just the XLW wings?

$635 to your door according to the website

Any plans for the Spitfire to be offered with XLW wings only, seems crazy to have to pay $750 in addition to the basic foil cost if the XLW wings are possibly beginner friendly. And in a free ride set up, would you ever use the standard wings?

The Zeeko website lists them at 449 euros which equates to over $750 Aud once taxes,freight(not free outside Europe),bank exchange rates(not the rates from those calculator sites) bank fees, or CC fees, or PayPal fees, and insurance are taken into account.

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airsail said..
Any plans for the Spitfire to be offered with XLW wings only, seems crazy to have to pay $750 in addition to the basic foil cost if the XLW wings are possibly beginner friendly. And in a free ride set up, would you ever use the standard wings?

Yes they are. But that 750 is same.
But you save 50euro by buying the Spitfire with both sets. ;)
or you can get a Spitfire with just the XLW wings which is 50euro more.
this 50 euro means an extra 75aud on top of the std Spitfire price

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RAL INN said..
The Zeeko website lists them at 449 euros which equates to over $750 Aud once taxes,freight(not free outside Europe),bank exchange rates(not the rates from those calculator sites) bank fees, or CC fees, or PayPal fees, and insurance are taken into account.

FYI 449 euros includes local French taxes which makes it 374 euros for O/S buyers. Shipping is an extra 60.

Total for O/S buyers is 434 euros which equates to AU $635.

Plenty of transfer companies out there that are way cheaper than your usual bank for O/S transfer. Although for this amount, cost of exchange rates and bank fees won't be more than AU$30.
Using Transferwise would cost you less than $5....

I believe imported items below AU$1000 value are exempted from GST.

Thanks for the tip on TransferWise I'll look into it.
we are an Australian company so have to deal with GST. But that's ok I like to have nice roads, infrastructure, and healthcare and social welfare systems to look out for me when I'm old and all my joints are worn out from kiting.
oops too late.

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RAL INN said..
Thanks for the tip on TransferWise I'll look into it.
we are an Australian company so have to deal with GST. But that's ok I like to have nice roads, infrastructure, and healthcare and social welfare systems to look out for me when I'm old and all my joints are worn out from kiting.
oops too late.

Hahaha your not wrong mate.
Foiling should be less stress on the worn out knees & hips.:)Once we get through a multitude of wipeouts learning Foiling.:(

Yeah Leigh. Although I'm just waiting for the time I stop burning all that nervous energy and put it to better use. Like finally learning to turn.

turning is good ;)

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dafish said..
turning is good ;)

That's my mantra leading up to a turn.
"turning is good; turning is good; turning is good, relax; turning is ......., awe F**k it. ( spit water out)

Ive been using OFX (used to be ozforex) for my international money stransfers and they are $15 flat rate for me (business account). Super easy and it's basically available 24/7 on your iPhone. Sounds like I need to check out Transferwise

ive got a spitfire (original wings) I'm happy for anyone to demo. Send me a PM if you interested