Windoc said..
Finally got a session on the HA680. 935 mast, 50 fuse, Speed 180, red shim, KT Dragonfly 7.7, 4m KT DD. Wind was light initially, maybe 12 knots inside and later on 20 on the outside. Windswell of 1-3', so nothing to write home about. What the hell; this foil gets up easily, turns great, pumps well, and has stupidly low stall speed and good top end without any sketchiness. Really enjoyed riding this foil! Best 3 second speed of just over 25 knots and one run of 28 knots high speed (there's more on tap for sure). Great speed range. Can't call this foil slow but the ease of use and ability to nurse low speed turns while remaining on foil is excellent even at 90 kilos. Much better pitch stability than the 725 and you can turn very, very hard without it doing anything unexpected. Looking forward to spending more time on it! I wouldn't be afraid to get the 580 at all if I was a little lighter; it'll be a ripper. The new HAs seem to love operating in their middle power band but will happily go faster or slower without getting weird.

I am 88kg, got 580 and 780.loving both. Need for testing with both of them but my fear that the 580 was only for nuking days is gone and the 780 I can use with less wind than the 925. Both very user friendly, definitely feel slower than 725 but you can push them a lot more. Stall speed, even with 580 is ridiculous

935 mast, 50 fuse, shopped 195 to 140 and 60l board

bolocom said..
Quick update, had several goes with the 780. From overpowered 25+ knots to today, 20 when I went out with a 4m wing and dropped to 10 to 15 and big holes. Was able to stay on foil the whole time, ta king with almost no wind. I am super impressed with these wings. But definitely go smaller than what you are thinking. 780 is faster and better than the 925 in every way and has more lift. The stall speed is hard to describe, close to the old 1850. In Sydney I only need these 2 foils. The 780 is a quiver killer, works amazing from 10 to 25 probably 30. But once the wind is over 18, the 580 is a weapon, but still user friendly. More lift and ease of use than the 725. I love finally carrying less gear. 2 foils from now on.

eppo said..




what you weigh and what board ?

bolocom said..




88kg, 60l board, 935 mast, 50 fuse, chopped 195 tail to 140 no shims

eppo said..




that's impressive on a 780 at that weight and that board in those winds.

bolocom said..




I know.really amazing. I was going to keep the 925 for lighter winds but no need. Very happy to reduce my quiver to 2 foils

eppo said..




yeh all i'm using now is the 880/680 combo which kind of suites the less powerful waves here but as i drop down to my fighting weight a 780/580 combo is on the cards. or at the very least chuck a 780 in the mix which is more likely.

bolocom said..




Don't be afraid of the 580, I bought it for my son thinking that I was going to use it only when it's nuking but it proved me wrong.

Jeroensurf said..
a very positive test at the German Gleiten.tv.

now i,m demoing a AFS Silk, but i,m getting curious about the HA

bolocom said..




Don't be afraid of the 580, I bought it for my son thinking that I was going to use it only when it's nuking but it proved me wrong.

Siksvan said..




After riding 680 twice, I'm hoping they'll make 480 too. 680 is almost too easy to ride, but I don't want to buy 580 because then I would have difficult to select between 680 and 580 in lighter gusty condition. I'm about 85kg.

Siksvan said..




After riding 680 twice, I'm hoping they'll make 480 too. 680 is almost too easy to ride, but I don't want to buy 580 because then I would have difficult to select between 680 and 580 in lighter gusty condition. I'm about 85kg.

FarNorthSurfer said..




Armstrong must be doing something right if you are considering the HA. Still a fan of AFS foils and still have their windfoils. I would love the chance to demo the AFS Silk but there is no chance where I am. Have used the old Performer and was impressed but it wasn't quite up there with my HS series foils. I didn't get the chance to demo any of the Armstrong foils either but am happy on the MA series just now.
Also curious about trying an HA. My quiver of Armstrong foils is now up to seven front wings and six stabs, I manage to find a use for them all winging and SUP foiling but am thinking the HS's could be sold to fund an HA. Unlike AFS the early Armstrong kit still works fine on the latest masts and fuses. I think this backwards compatibility is great and will make the HA an easy choice when some second hand ones come to market.

eppo said..




HS is like a 70s built car compared to a modern HA, it's that much better. But the bigger sizes because of their width really like the high mod mast to be honest. The old mast is like an 80s built car lol - it makes that much of a difference.

maybe . surely there is a law of diminishing returns here. An analogy might be with kites and i suppose wings. There is a point a kite / even a wing (unless downwinding) becomes too small and it becomes too twitchy to use. Has anyone found the top end wind/ swell wise for the 580 yet ? And in nukin conditions and the power / water conditions - almost worth using a more stable foil like a 625ma.

just shooting the sh1t though above ..

FarNorthSurfer said..




Sure, understood about the High Mod mast, it took me a while to get but have been using a 795 for nearly a year. It definitely improved the performance of my HS series foils. 90kg and mostly using HS1050/MA1000/MA1225 winging. MA1750 for small wave SUP foil and light conditions DW. What HA would you suggest as a good size to start with mostly winging? Guessing it will be smaller than the one I would pick.

FarNorthSurfer said..




Sure, understood about the High Mod mast, it took me a while to get but have been using a 795 for nearly a year. It definitely improved the performance of my HS series foils. 90kg and mostly using HS1050/MA1000/MA1225 winging. MA1750 for small wave SUP foil and light conditions DW. What HA would you suggest as a good size to start with mostly winging? Guessing it will be smaller than the one I would pick.

eppo said..




what type of wind quality and what board are you using. most would say the 780 but i'm still rocking the 880 because i really like it for proning the weaker waves here and for DW winging.

Oahuwaterwalker said..






With gen1 HA foils, when the winds hit 25+ knots I started going to the 725 over the 525 (especially when waves were crazy too) for the exact reason you mention, it became "too twitchy." With the HA580, this is not the case. I much prefer the 580 over the 680 for nuking conditions. It's also incredibly fun in lower winds with good surf.

kobo said..





Maybe 580 is not that small when you consider the lift 90 is 580cm and the 70 is 450cm , mate rides his 90 as a daily driver winging.?

FarNorthSurfer said..




Far North of Scotland, all sorts of wind and waves but driven by weather fronts so not consistent like trades or thermals.
Powered up winging I am still using a Patrik AIO which is pretty old style now but works well. And a Gong Crusader for light and DW work.
Was 93kg but am working on getting down to mid 80's to improve may Foil SUP game on the Crusader but at nearly 59 years time is against me. Sounds like the 880 would be a good start point. It's not like it will be a one foil quiver.
I have no hard evidence for this but judging by the number of MA foils that have dropped onto the second hand market the HAv2 must be easier to use than the v1.

It definitely looks small, but it doesn't feel that way when you are riding it. I think that if you are under 75kg you can easily go smaller. 580 needs less wind than the 725 and has crazy low stall speed for its size. With these new HAs don't look at the numbers, demo smaller than you think and they will surprise you.