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gneve said..
I had my first go on the 4'10" yesterday in light chop and very overpowered conditions. The breeze was a steady 20-25 with gusts to 30.
Gear:
- 70kg (plus wetsuit & booties)
- 6m F-one Strike CWC (waiting for 4m)
- 4'10" Axis Froth (75 L)
- North v straps
- Axis ART999/375p
- ultrashort fuselage
- 90cm AL mast
i had the foil pushed pretty far forward to somewhat match the relative position to my back footstrap. I tried to mimic the position I had on my 95L sky wing. Given that it was my first session on the board AND foil setup AND the fact that I was way overpowered, I was keeping my expectations low. After wading past the small surf and climbing on the board it took me 20 seconds to figure out the best position to kneel. Once the wing was in hand, getting to a standing position was pretty easy and I was up and schlogging. I have read enough about the 999 to know that I shouldn't try to muscle it on foil like I can with my 1060 or even 890 but muscle memory kicked in and I had a few hobby horses before my brain reminded me that this foil needs boardspeed before attempting liftoff. I spotted a puff, bore off a bit, got speed and I was off. Given the fact that the conditions were on the edge for the 6m, I only switched to goofy stance a couple of times and stuck to riding switch to maximize flight time. in terms of the board, the weight drop from the sky wing was very noticeable and the swing weight in jibes was great. Starts were expectedly more difficult but once I know exactly where my knees should go, I see this only getting easier. The board behaved really well when I touched down and it felt easier to get back up and going compared to my old board. While I was wearing a fullsuit and booties, the deckpad seems grippy and comfortable. Once the water warms up, I'm hoping I feel the same way about the pad.
If I had to list any drawbacks, I'd have to say there are only two. I used both board handles (top and bottom) on my sky wing and wish the froth had one on the deck. This really comes in handy for carrying the board out to the beach and back to the car. My second drawback is the fact that there is only one row of inserts in the middle of the board. Some people like to ride with a more offset stance and this isn't really possible with a single row down the middle. This also means that you're somewhat forced to go v strap which means less control on strap size and opening. That being said, I tend to acclimate to my gear and will probably find the strap positioning to be just fine.
Overall, I'm very happy with the board and glad I went with a neutral size. The board does everything I wanted and I can't wIt to get it out into some swell and some open faces.
side note: my buddy I was riding with came up to study the board on the beach and he proclaimed that the froth was to be his next board.
I am also thinking of gtting the 4'10 but I am 82 kg...
How much does it weigh?
Did you use the foot strap screws from North?
The North screws are windsurf style screws , I believe Axis recommends much thinner ones wich I don't like...