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SlowlyButSurely said..
Tried it yday in 20kt , side, 6ft wind swell
rider 92kg with XPS 3.5m, ML85, HA780/865/60 and dart120. first 30' it was quite an uncomfortable ride. Couldn't close any tack. While riding back out I had this constant feeling of not being able to keep board trimmed and slowing down.
then I started to get it and these are my observations
1. it's not a set&forget experience like with the Speed180. While riding the pitch control needs to be very dialed in in order to take the juice out of this smaller stab and get to higher speed (in my opinion no more than 1kt extra vs speed 180).
2. Of course turnability is superb. Not saying you can be as radical as with a kite + surfboard but the loose and playful feeling is significant
3. You going to lose at least 1kt of stall speed vs Speed180 and at least 2kt vs Glide220.
ok now the positives:
4. glide is superb. Really is. Better than any tail I tried (flow 235, surf 205, glide 220, speed 180)
5. handling on breaching/ventilation is EXTRAORDINARY. if somebody asks me why the hell would you complicate your life with a smaller stab I'd say that this aspect is what makes this stab special. I breached both when getting out from the shore while passing on waves as well as when surfing on the waves steep sections. And I never fell. Not even once. I always managed to push the tail back under the water surface seamlessly.
After trying with the 780 I want also try this stab paired with the 1080 in lighter conditions next
So the smallest tail you've used is the 180 - had you ever used the 140? If not i can see why you had some adjustment to do. That's a big step down in size. Few more sessions you will totally dial it in.