My son and I (plus Jason from WA surf) had a foil session at the pond yesterday afternoon to check out the Konrad Sup/surf foil, with the smaller of the two surf/sup wings in 10-14 knots.

My son has been foiling (kiting and proning) on my 680 axis wing only since the last school holidays in Exmouth and my chief concern was whether or not he could hold this larger wing whilst kiting.

We watched a young shredder in Exmouth pumping this wing all over the Wobiri bay, so we knew it could pump well enough (and will be excellent for proning) but can it also serve as a freeride kite wing? That is, can his small 38kg frame hold this size wing down on a kite.

On first inspection it seems like this wing kind of sits between the axis 680 and 750 wing in terms of area (without getting too technical on projected area and volume which I know sweet FA about to be honest). It looks a lot thicker in the chord than the 680, and probably even the 750. So, both Jason and I were a little concerned the lift generated would be too much for the little squirt.

But we were all pleasantly surprised!

Only on a 60cm mast, Antman rarely, if at all, ventilated (we paired it with his 4 foot Konrad prone board). In-fact he really liked it and said he felt as though he could keep it down as easy, even easier than the 680. He said it felt really balanced, smooth and predictable. Well not really, he just said "it's good dad, I like it". Unlike me he doesn't dribble sh1t often, boy of few words.

I had a crack on it myself and his observations were spot on. I don't think I held it down any easier than the 680 but it was far easier than holding down the 750, especially in the gybes. In-fact I never got along with the 750 on a kite, although that is not its design objective anyway. It also didn't track too hard, and was quite loose and agile, no less than the 680 to be honest (which is my all time fav wing).

So Jason eventually had a crack (all three of us on the same board, with the mast at the same place by the way) and he too agreed with Antman's observations. He too was pleasantly surprised at how balanced and smooth it was. Of course, totally pedestrian for him compared to his normal fancy pants Armstrong carbon small wing thingy, doing his fancy pants moves, but he commented on how easy it would be for someone to learn their basic moves on it with the glide and time you have. We both observed how well this foil pumps to.

Perfect for freeride foiling and good cross over for proning and I suppose Supping with the bigger wing.

So for an average flogger like me who just wants to play around free foiling then use the same setup for proning/supping I reckon this foil is worth checking out; especially considering its really competitive price point.

Not putting my son in the flogger category though, because in 2 months he is already doing stuff I cannot do, the little prick :(

Been a lot of crew lately trying to find boards that they can kite/tow/surf and possibly wing on which will need the strap option and i feel these are 2 of the best options out there.

Armstrong Surf/Kite/Tow Board
Wave Chaser Carbon Foil Board

Update on the This Konrad foil (with the prone board). Couple of dock start sessions and he's on his way ....


also has his first prone session yesterday Morning (before the dock start sesh in the arvo). Seems to work great in the waves to. Didn't get any footage cause I was out with him.

Here is a little vid of guys riding the foils and boards:

Yeh Aussie company. Not that I care if the product wasn't up to scratch. But it is!! My son and I can Swap on the same Konrad foil with the same kite and there is a good 40kg difference between us. It has a really even and controllable foil rise and fall.

Here is a link in the foiling section to another rider review.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Foiling/2019-KONRAD-foil-review

Konrad boarding is an Australian company. It started with alloy kite foils and a few years ago branched into the surf foils with a whole new platform called the "FLYR". There are some unique designs and materials used in the foils which set them apart.

www.konradboarding.com/flyr-foil/

Stevie ss said..
Just a quick comment on the foil cord thickness as in aerodynamics and fluid dynamics a thicker cord makes for a slower and for stable wing section ,just saying :)

As most of us would have seen wing tip daggers - winglets on aeroplanes at the tips are designed to throw the vortex generated by the lift force aerodynamics (but any fluid is same) away behind the wing so impact less = fuel economy.

With these angled down especially on bigger slower wings - would assume the opposite to provide extra drag and speed control???
And as another throw-away though - with anhedral in the wing more stability????
Any knowledge on this??
Cheers
AP

I'm on the Konrad 1576 too. It's a pumping beast, I can jump on the flats for days. And it's really fun on the kite. It's lift is so predictable and gradual. Much more fun to kite with then other prone surf wings