Caught up with Francesco Maffei "Frank" at the AWSI 2025 at Hood River, and he gave a great rundown on his new Para Wing Boards.
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Piros said..
Caught up with Francesco Maffei "Frank" at the AWSI 2025 at Hood River, and he gave a great rundown on his new Para Wing Boards.

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Thanks for sharing! I'm curious about the different sizes.

Update: Here's the lineup on on the Frank Mini Dart: axisfoils.com/collections/frank-mini-dart

I should have waited. I picked up an Armstrong ML after riding it this spring. They look great and priced well.

Would have been nicer if the smaller sizes were a little longer for their volume. 70l under 6' is bit bit short I think.

i wonder what the weights will be?

I am also very interested to know the weights. Also do they have foot strap inserts? Personally I hope they don't to keep the weight down.

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Youngbreezy said..
I am also very interested to know the weights. Also do they have foot strap inserts? Personally I hope they don't to keep the weight down.

The production boards only have front inserts.

Does anyone have the thickness specs?

Looks like a fantastic board. I'm eyeing that 90. Also looking at Super K2s, armies and Omens line but this could be a winner once that and weight come out.

These new Frank boards all look sick. Axis are killing it at the moment with all the new Carbon toys. I'd like to know the thickness of the boards at the boxes. Over 6" and things start feeling to unconnected. for Perth the dart sup range looks like a perfect downwind board solution. I'd be happy on that 7'4x19.5x110L all day long.

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windwaterfoil said..

Great episode. Lots of design ideas shared and I agree with a lot of the design points when comparing to the shortcomings of my Armie ML that has been serving as my PW board.

interesting that Frank mentioned that the extra thinness/rocker in the tail would NOT be good for winging, so this board apparently is parawing specific. i thought it was another all-round midlength.

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beached57 said..
interesting that Frank mentioned that the extra thinness/rocker in the tail would NOT be good for winging, so this board apparently is parawing specific. i thought it was another all-round midlength.

I have a pwing/wing crossover with similar tail rocker and I don't think it hinders me in either discipline. In my eyes, tail rocker becomes important with any board over ~6' because otherwise you are catching tail as you release. Maybe he's saying that because you can build more board speed with a wing, so the takeoff angle isn't as steep (vs a pwing which requires more leg pumping and steeper takeoff)? Thats all I can think of - but he knows a lot more than me.

Hoping to get my hands on the 80 or 90L model for a demo as a SUP surf board when the local shop has stock (currently the Appletree 87L ML and Armstrong ML85 have been my favourites for this purpose)

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drc13 said..
Hoping to get my hands on the 80 or 90L model for a demo as a SUP surf board when the local shop has stock (currently the Appletree 87L ML and Armstrong ML85 have been my favourites for this purpose)

do you mind me asking how much you weigh to be sup surfing the ML85 ?

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Wingman WA said..

Get a Frank axis ML or custom smik "the jack" that's what I need to decide. What do you think wingman?

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Youngbreezy said..

Wingman WA said..

Get a Frank axis ML or custom smik "the jack" that's what I need to decide. What do you think wingman?

The jack if you want an effortless floater, the mini dart if you want a (semi)sinker. For pw you need sufficient nose volume to not dig the nose and have rebound when pumping. The mini dart pushes volume forward for that, but that means the tail sinks more which might be less comfy while slogging. A floaty jack will have sufficient volume in the nose for pumping and in the tail for comfort.

personally, shaping my own boards, for 1:1 weight/volume, I like a rounded nose with rails that are wider in the nose and at the front foot. The result is that I don't push more volume to the front compared to a wing board, but place it more strategically by spreading it out where it matters. I remain standing over the middle of the board for reduced swingweight. At least that's my own made up theory.

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Youngbreezy said..

Wingman WA said..

Get a Frank axis ML or custom smik "the jack" that's what I need to decide. What do you think wingman?

Your Ben Tardrew custom would be hard to beat.

I'd be very curious how these board perform for winging. Hoping to use this as a one board quiver for winging and eventually parawinging.

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hilly said..

Youngbreezy said..

Wingman WA said..

Get a Frank axis ML or custom smik "the jack" that's what I need to decide. What do you think wingman?

Your Ben Tardrew custom would be hard to beat.

Yeah it is a great board, it will be hard to beat it on weight. It's more of a displacement hull though and it seems like everything is going to planing hull. The board still gets up really well though. Maybe I should just cool my jets for a bit. I will need to wait to see when the axis boards will get delivered to WA and their price.

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NicoDC said..

Youngbreezy said..

Wingman WA said..

Get a Frank axis ML or custom smik "the jack" that's what I need to decide. What do you think wingman?

The jack if you want an effortless floater, the mini dart if you want a (semi)sinker. For pw you need sufficient nose volume to not dig the nose and have rebound when pumping. The mini dart pushes volume forward for that, but that means the tail sinks more which might be less comfy while slogging. A floaty jack will have sufficient volume in the nose for pumping and in the tail for comfort.

personally, shaping my own boards, for 1:1 weight/volume, I like a rounded nose with rails that are wider in the nose and at the front foot. The result is that I don't push more volume to the front compared to a wing board, but place it more strategically by spreading it out where it matters. I remain standing over the middle of the board for reduced swingweight. At least that's my own made up theory.

Yeah I am thinking the 6'4" x 20.5 x 100L is the perfect size for my 105kg. If I was to get a custom smik it would be those dimensions or the frank looks great. I would just use this for all conditions and use an inflatable wing when the wind is too light for pwing. I have kind of gone off using the DW board for light winds as I just don't enjoy it as much. Also I am only gaining an extra 3 or 4 knots low end from using a DW board and that's getting into " why bother" territory for me. I would generally prefer to be winging on a mid length when it's below 15 knots. I usually keep my mast attached to the board and my front wing, fuse and stab all together. It's really nice being able to just screw in 2 small bolts and be ready to go. Ive got a 2 month old baby at home so when I do get sessions I just want them to be fun and successful with minimal swapping gear and faffing about.

guys I have the 90L mini dart and can report it is an epic board . Crazy light for its size but seems plenty strong enough with not even a ding after two months hard use. I've used mostly for Pw but fine for winging also . I'm 90kgs .

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slider8000 said..
guys I have the 90L mini dart and can report it is an epic board . Crazy light for its size but seems plenty strong enough with not even a ding after two months hard use. I've used mostly for Pw but fine for winging also . I'm 90kgs .

How much does it weigh?

I heard 6kg for the 100l.
Not the light i was hoping for but it would be great to hear some real measured weights.

For reference.
I have an army ML 75l 5.5kg Which feels heavy for its size to me.
We also have army ML 65l which is 5kg.

My downwind Kalama's were between 5 and 5.5kg. They felt very light for their size from 92l to 102l.

the mini darts are not light. Built to handle a thrashing. Seen one in the flesh - looks like an ideal design though
for para

I think some of the confusion regarding weight is that Frank also builds custom boards based on the Mini Dart shape (with custom dims available). My understanding is that these are built much lighter than the production Axis boards. I've got one coming soon and can report weight once I have it.

My 58L custom is crazy light! So much so that I think it makes it feel like more volume (less weight added to the equation). Compared to my 55L armstrong ML, the 3 extra liters and wider tail make the board substantially more stable. I would sink to my mid thigh on my 55L and only to my lower calf on the 58L. I'm a 67kg rider with 5/4 suit, backpack, vest, etc. added.

My 75l frank custom weighs 4.2kg

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miamiwngr said..
My 75l frank custom weighs 4.2kg

What dims is yours? Are you winging and parawinging it? Im doing 6', 20", 73L (80kg).

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Velocicraptor said..

miamiwngr said..
My 75l frank custom weighs 4.2kg

What dims is yours? Are you winging and parawinging it? Im doing 6', 20", 73L (80kg).

I'm currently just Parawinging.

5'9" x 18.5" @ 58L for my 68Kgs

58L / 68KG = .85 ratio

73L / 80KG = .91 ratio. So all things constant, you should have a bit more float than me, according to my theory.

I've only had it out in Honking wind and one light light wind session. I was able to schlog and keep balance as the wing barely stayed up. I wasn't counting on that!

Received my 100L production Mini Dart today. Just a hair over 13lbs.