Tails make a dramatic difference with the RS1075.
14.5FTL glide and flowy
14.5FTS quicker turning, less glide
12.5FTL faster, pitch sensitive
Have not tried the 20FTL yet but it could work well in light wind and tiny swell.
Goldilocks for me was the 14.5FTS in 20 knots with overhead waves.
Then they brought out the 17. Hmmm.

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hilly said..
Tails make a dramatic difference with the RS1075.
14.5FTL glide and flowy
14.5FTS quicker turning, less glide
12.5FTL faster, pitch sensitive
Have not tried the 20FTL yet but it could work well in light wind and tiny swell.
Goldilocks for me was the 14.5FTS in 20 knots with overhead waves.
Then they brought out the 17. Hmmm.

That's interesting
I've run the 20ftl on the rs1000 definitely made it fly easier but took the top end out

RS850 and 12.5" FTS

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pohaku said..

Fake footage. big boards can't turn like that hahahahah

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Ju_foil said..

pohaku said..

Fake footage. big boards can't turn like that hahahahah

Shhhhhh don't tell the imitators I edited this. Hahaha.

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pohaku said..

Yes,is very impressive how well it turns.
Just guessing but i think that is not a production Barracuda but a lighter weight custom.
It probably makes a difference on such big lenghts.

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mcrt said..

pohaku said..

Yes,is very impressive how well it turns.
Just guessing but i think that is not a production Barracuda but a lighter weight custom.
It probably makes a difference on such big lenghts.

This one is one of Dave's prototypes. It's about 5kg production ones are coming soon and will be slightly heavier but not by much. And stronger.

Yah big boards and big foils don't turn.

Had one of the funnest sessions the other day in 5-8 kts on the 2200. For a massive foil it performs really well. Turns great and surfs really well on the tiny stuff that was on offer.

Move forward a few days and 25-35kts on the 850/14.5s. Fast becoming one of my favourite combos. Fast and very easy to manage and glide that goes on for ever. Almost makes me want to start proning again!

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RichJam said..
Yah big boards and big foils don't turn.

Had one of the funnest sessions the other day in 5-8 kts on the 2200. For a massive foil it performs really well. Turns great and surfs really well on the tiny stuff that was on offer.

Move forward a few days and 25-35kts on the 850/14.5s. Fast becoming one of my favourite combos. Fast and very easy to manage and glide that goes on for ever. Almost makes me want to start proning again!

Prone it Rich! You'll like it even more.

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pohaku said..

Hey Dylan can you please tell us what wing/s you were riding in the video?;-)

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pohaku said..

Has anyone ever seen video of an average rider on a 7'+ board? It doesn't look like this. Pitch control is more critical than ever to keep nose and tail touchdowns to a minimum, not as easy as it looks here.

Kalama and others seem to like the 68-70cm mast too. That leaves little room for error.

Imagine if a 7'6" X 18" (guessing) Barracuda has the same swing weight as a 6'5" X 24" of another brand . It will never turn like a 6'1" X 20" but the percentage difference in swing weight might not be what you think.

But Dylan is an average rider...

Sorry mate.

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RichJam said..
But Dylan is an average rider...

Sorry mate.

80 mast, 12.5" FTL & RS850. Barracudas have amazing pitch stability opposed to a prone board. I felt way more in control here than on my 4'10 but in saying that I'm a sup guy

Finally had a session in the waves on the 850. Would normally have run the 1000/14.5S in the conditions. Wasn't in the critical parts of the wave but after today I think I'll be able to get there.

Turns were really good. Really stable in pitch. The glide and carry are as expected amazing. Couple of the nicest little sections I've had in ages.

I think I may have found the confidence to go 850/650 and leave the 1000 alone for a while. Really impressed with this foil.
Rich.

Yesterday both my son and I rode 850's. As previously stated I am light but he is low 90's + full wetty. He rode the 14.5 tail while I rode the 12.5 tail. the waves were waist high offshore and lazy.

I have been frothing this setup for a while now and think the 850 might just be the best compromise of pump and glide with full rail turning capability on the market. It is a one wing solution for me.

Now after watching my son tear this surf apart on his setup I can't see him needing another surf foil either. The performance was as good as foiling gets in the surf. For reference he prones at a very high standard and was ripping the 850 on the smallest of waves.

I am blown away that one foil could allow two people of such different weights (28kgs) to perform at their very best in the same surf. A testament to how important the tail selection is also.

I would encourage all gofoil riders to give it a demo if they can. So impressive.

Went back-to-back 850/1075. Wingding 83 mast 14.5FTL tail 5 4 kalama E3
Wow the 850 has amazing lift/carry/glide/speed. @105kg + wetsuit I got up on foil so easily. Rode some small waist to shoulder swells and it turned well. I think I could DW this wing it was amazing. Then I went out the back and caught a solid reef break well overhead wave, not just a swell. The lift was insane, struggled to stop breaching hmmm . When I went in, I pumped from a 100m out with no wing power, felt like I could pump forever made it easy.
Changed to the 1075.
Nice smooth and familiar. Harder to get on the foil, less glide and slightly slower. Turns on solid waves much better and less lift when dropping into a breaking wave. No way I could pump it 100m.
Stand by my previous comment that the 1075 should be in the GT line. The RS850 is a weapon for small waves and flat water jumps and tricks. Never thought I would say an 850cm2 wing is too powerful for me If lived somewhere with flat water/small waves I would get one in a heartbeat. The 1075 is a detuned version that suits average joes like me who like to get out in the waves.
Both are amazing foils. Just my 2c

Next time try the 14.5fts then 12.5ftl.
I think you'll be astounded what it can manage.

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RichJam said..
Next time try the 14.5fts then 12.5ftl.
I think you'll be astounded what it can manage.

Will try it on the sup. Dyl makes it look good above.

Epic comments guys. Loving the reviews. Massive shipment arrived last night everything in stock but no 850s they are coming separately .. in bulk. Looking forward to catching up with the west oz crew next week!

Harking back to the loose mast/foil joints subject, my foils had reached a stage where I could remove them with only hand pressure. No slack or slop, but not tight. No mallet tapping needed.

A quick spray of a few coats of some epoxy paint from a rattle can on the mast taper. Let it all dry then wet sand until it is exactly the right level of tightness. Job done. It takes a single tap of the mallet to settle the foil into place and 2-3 gentle taps to loosen it off again.

I put a spare 1/4 screw in the hole to keep the paint out. In future I would probably mask that with a little bit of tape. I painted right up to the collar but ended up sanding most of that part. I'd probably go a cm short.

Prior to spraying the mast taper I checked all my other foils to see if it was the taper or the foil that was worn. All the foils had the same degree of tightness so I sprayed the mast. Most of my foils and my current mast have 100 or so hours each. The RS850 is quite new with only 16 hours on it (the RS850 is my goto foil now )

I used Dulux Metalshield black matte because it's cheap and I have had great results using Dulux paints maintaining my kite foils.

Mind blown with 850 in light wind. Easy to get up and rock solid even in the slowest gybes. Glide on tiny bumps was amazing. Normally would take out the GT1400 in the conditions which were 10 to 12 knots with tiny waves.

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hilly said..
Went back-to-back 850/1075. Wingding 83 mast 14.5FTL tail 5 4 kalama E3
Wow the 850 has amazing lift/carry/glide/speed. @105kg + wetsuit I got up on foil so easily. Rode some small waist to shoulder swells and it turned well. I think I could DW this wing it was amazing. Then I went out the back and caught a solid reef break well overhead wave, not just a swell. The lift was insane, struggled to stop breaching hmmm . When I went in, I pumped from a 100m out with no wing power, felt like I could pump forever made it easy.
Changed to the 1075.
Nice smooth and familiar. Harder to get on the foil, less glide and slightly slower. Turns on solid waves much better and less lift when dropping into a breaking wave. No way I could pump it 100m.
Stand by my previous comment that the 1075 should be in the GT line. The RS850 is a weapon for small waves and flat water jumps and tricks. Never thought I would say an 850cm2 wing is too powerful for me If lived somewhere with flat water/small waves I would get one in a heartbeat. The 1075 is a detuned version that suits average joes like me who like to get out in the waves.
Both are amazing foils. Just my 2c

Flat water conditions with no wave assist the RS1075 is harder to start than the RS1150, but better once going in every way for winging that is, feel less drag than with any other GF front wing. Whether it's worth the $1335 price tag, I am yet to be convinced.....

@hilly I have such a different experience than you on gofoil, perhaps it's because you always have wave assist, foil battery assist or the WA wind, not like the sketchy east coast conditions. I find all GF wings have a similar speed (within a couple of kmph) in flat water, perhaps it's the FTL/FTS14.5 that's holding them all back?

I wouldn't touch a RS850 for flat water on the east coast with our conditions at 100kg, would need 20kn plus for sure and board speed to start, and I doubt it goes faster than the RS1000 or RS1075.

Wonder what the RS850 would be like without the steps, be interesting to try with/without having such a narrow chord to see if it makes any difference.

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north_kiter said..

hilly said..
Went back-to-back 850/1075. Wingding 83 mast 14.5FTL tail 5 4 kalama E3
Wow the 850 has amazing lift/carry/glide/speed. @105kg + wetsuit I got up on foil so easily. Rode some small waist to shoulder swells and it turned well. I think I could DW this wing it was amazing. Then I went out the back and caught a solid reef break well overhead wave, not just a swell. The lift was insane, struggled to stop breaching hmmm . When I went in, I pumped from a 100m out with no wing power, felt like I could pump forever made it easy.
Changed to the 1075.
Nice smooth and familiar. Harder to get on the foil, less glide and slightly slower. Turns on solid waves much better and less lift when dropping into a breaking wave. No way I could pump it 100m.
Stand by my previous comment that the 1075 should be in the GT line. The RS850 is a weapon for small waves and flat water jumps and tricks. Never thought I would say an 850cm2 wing is too powerful for me If lived somewhere with flat water/small waves I would get one in a heartbeat. The 1075 is a detuned version that suits average joes like me who like to get out in the waves.
Both are amazing foils. Just my 2c

Flat water conditions with no wave assist the RS1075 is harder to start than the RS1150, but better once going in every way for winging that is, feel less drag than with any other GF front wing. Whether it's worth the $1335 price tag, I am yet to be convinced.....

@hilly I have such a different experience than you on gofoil, perhaps it's because you always have wave assist, foil battery assist or the WA wind, not like the sketchy east coast conditions. I find all GF wings have a similar speed (within a couple of kmph) in flat water, perhaps it's the FTL/FTS14.5 that's holding them all back?

I wouldn't touch a RS850 for flat water on the east coast with our conditions at 100kg, would need 20kn plus for sure and board speed to start, and I doubt it goes faster than the RS1000 or RS1075.

Wonder what the RS850 would be like without the steps, be interesting to try with/without having such a narrow chord to see if it makes any difference.

For me the efficiency of the wing is much more important during prone or downwind for which the 850 is my go to.

when it comes to lawn mowing in flat water I am happy to have something like the 1150 which Is too big for my light weight in other circumstances. I even have some fun on p180 in flat water at times.

Is your flat water requirement just speed?

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north_kiter said..

hilly said..
Went back-to-back 850/1075. Wingding 83 mast 14.5FTL tail 5 4 kalama E3
Wow the 850 has amazing lift/carry/glide/speed. @105kg + wetsuit I got up on foil so easily. Rode some small waist to shoulder swells and it turned well. I think I could DW this wing it was amazing. Then I went out the back and caught a solid reef break well overhead wave, not just a swell. The lift was insane, struggled to stop breaching hmmm . When I went in, I pumped from a 100m out with no wing power, felt like I could pump forever made it easy.
Changed to the 1075.
Nice smooth and familiar. Harder to get on the foil, less glide and slightly slower. Turns on solid waves much better and less lift when dropping into a breaking wave. No way I could pump it 100m.
Stand by my previous comment that the 1075 should be in the GT line. The RS850 is a weapon for small waves and flat water jumps and tricks. Never thought I would say an 850cm2 wing is too powerful for me If lived somewhere with flat water/small waves I would get one in a heartbeat. The 1075 is a detuned version that suits average joes like me who like to get out in the waves.
Both are amazing foils. Just my 2c

Flat water conditions with no wave assist the RS1075 is harder to start than the RS1150, but better once going in every way for winging that is, feel less drag than with any other GF front wing. Whether it's worth the $1335 price tag, I am yet to be convinced.....

@hilly I have such a different experience than you on gofoil, perhaps it's because you always have wave assist, foil battery assist or the WA wind, not like the sketchy east coast conditions. I find all GF wings have a similar speed (within a couple of kmph) in flat water, perhaps it's the FTL/FTS14.5 that's holding them all back?

I wouldn't touch a RS850 for flat water on the east coast with our conditions at 100kg, would need 20kn plus for sure and board speed to start, and I doubt it goes faster than the RS1000 or RS1075.

Wonder what the RS850 would be like without the steps, be interesting to try with/without having such a narrow chord to see if it makes any difference.

For me the efficiency of the wing is much more important during prone or downwind for which the 850 is my go to.

when it comes to lawn mowing in flat water I am happy to have something like the 1150 which Is too big for my light weight in other circumstances. I even have some fun on p180 in flat water at times.

Is your flat water requirement just speed?

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north_kiter said..

Wonder what the RS850 would be like without the steps, be interesting to try with/without having such a narrow chord to see if it makes any difference.

Then you'd be left with a Lift 120.

The RS850 (per my understanding) is designed to appeal to the Lift 120 crowd, but be way, way, easier to ride. Being fun for a wide range of skills.

I find it to be easy and great fun. I'd never say that about Lift.

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north_kiter said..

hilly said..
Went back-to-back 850/1075. Wingding 83 mast 14.5FTL tail 5 4 kalama E3
Wow the 850 has amazing lift/carry/glide/speed. @105kg + wetsuit I got up on foil so easily. Rode some small waist to shoulder swells and it turned well. I think I could DW this wing it was amazing. Then I went out the back and caught a solid reef break well overhead wave, not just a swell. The lift was insane, struggled to stop breaching hmmm . When I went in, I pumped from a 100m out with no wing power, felt like I could pump forever made it easy.
Changed to the 1075.
Nice smooth and familiar. Harder to get on the foil, less glide and slightly slower. Turns on solid waves much better and less lift when dropping into a breaking wave. No way I could pump it 100m.
Stand by my previous comment that the 1075 should be in the GT line. The RS850 is a weapon for small waves and flat water jumps and tricks. Never thought I would say an 850cm2 wing is too powerful for me If lived somewhere with flat water/small waves I would get one in a heartbeat. The 1075 is a detuned version that suits average joes like me who like to get out in the waves.
Both are amazing foils. Just my 2c

Flat water conditions with no wave assist the RS1075 is harder to start than the RS1150, but better once going in every way for winging that is, feel less drag than with any other GF front wing. Whether it's worth the $1335 price tag, I am yet to be convinced.....

@hilly I have such a different experience than you on gofoil, perhaps it's because you always have wave assist, foil battery assist or the WA wind, not like the sketchy east coast conditions. I find all GF wings have a similar speed (within a couple of kmph) in flat water, perhaps it's the FTL/FTS14.5 that's holding them all back?

I wouldn't touch a RS850 for flat water on the east coast with our conditions at 100kg, would need 20kn plus for sure and board speed to start, and I doubt it goes faster than the RS1000 or RS1075.

Wonder what the RS850 would be like without the steps, be interesting to try with/without having such a narrow chord to see if it makes any difference.

It surprised me that it was so good. Was not expecting that at all. Using FTL14.5 with no issues. Average speed 4kmh faster than GT1400 in less wind with same tail.

flat water requirement is fast, easy to start, no drag and smooth through the water and carves/turns well and has glide through transitions.

The RS1075 is not easy to start at my weight, others have mentioned this in other forums/fb, in sketchy east coast wind with no wave assist. Probably harder than the RS1000 to start, but sold it so I can't compare. As mentioned it glides better than the RS1000 and RS1150 once going and because it has narrow wing tips probably turns almost as well as the RS1000. I found no reason to keep both.

For me the low end here is 16-17knots with a 6.5 unit/slick 104L board, otherwise it's too frustrating getting on foil. I can get on foil with 6.5 slick/unit and GT1400 in 12-13kn pumping like crazy.

So for these reasons I don't believe the previous comments re RS850 and some about the RS1075. It belongs on the RS series as it out performs the RS1150 once going, the RS1150 has the squarish fat tips which makes it way less agile. GT series are thicker, slower and more draggy. Having said that, using a fenix 6 to record all sessions, there is a couple of kms speed difference between all foils in all wind conditions and I've owned and used GT1250, GT1400, RS1000, RS1075, RS1150 and have kept GT1400/RS1075.

I doubt I could use the Lift 120 or RS850 in flat water and say it was an easy enjoyable experience.

I've never tried the lift foils but I'm sure they'd be buttery smooth which is the opposite of the step foils. Maybe fone has the better system with small fences preventing ventilation with minimal drag.

I guess most use gf on waves with wind assist so no one cares about it, flat water using wind power only it is a different story.

I pay full price for my foils and have no brand affiliation or loyalty, discounts etc, just an enthusiast sharing my feedback, searching for the best foils that suit me (still looking) and trying to avoid the pumpers and sponsored riders comments.