Anyone out there try both of these front foils and have a preference? I'm trying to figure out whether to get a SK8 950 or a Spitfire 900 (for winging/prone).

I've used the F One Eagles (love them for winging) and the Axis HPS (980 winging and prone foil drive) and ART (899/999/1099 for prone/wing/foil drive), but wondering if these new front foils are different enough to warrant a purchase and which is better for foiling in the pocket.

185#, ride in any wind, and prone foil in anything less than slightly overhead waves.

Mahalo in advance for any insight -

The SK8 is absolutely electric in waves, carves like no other foil I've used. Fast, handles proper swell and predictable. It just makes me laugh every time i use it. I haven't used the Spitfire yet but my mate (Northy on here) has and he says its just an evolution rather than revolution so if your already on Axis you know what your getting..

Anyone able to feedback who has tried both?

i have Spitfire 900....maybe i need a smaller one (840 / 780) for stronger winds and bigger waves (85kgs) as last week i was out in circa 30kts and punchier waves and i struggled to do much more than straight line it at times (fine with waist high and 15-20 kts) OR i am considering if i go "nuclear" and swap Axis for f-one Sk8....

spitfire 900 is around 1100cm2, so maybe you would like to compare the 1050 sk8? I do have the 1050 and the 850, the 1050 is sooooo simple and so easy, so efficient and a blast, it's a plug and play for smaller condition, it's a great performer even in smaller condition and at low speed. The 850 is a little more technical, it takes about 2-3 jibe/surf to adapt and after that it's all good, easier to ride than the eagle I would say, even if the stall speed is really low...it unlocks his potential when you are at a certain speed, when you hit the sweet spot..wooo!!!! I never tried the 950 and the spitfire, but I used the HPS. The sk8 is very different vs the HPS, you can breach tips..almost without even realized you breached them..it's more playful. It's more playful than the eagle with almost the same glide....but without the fear of encounter the eagle sharp tips.For my level I find the sk8 easier to find the pumping rythme, but it has a tad less glide vs the eagle 990...even if I use the same fuse/stab.The sk8 for me is a no brainer, I assume axis did the same kind of job with the spitfire...foils are getting a LOT BETTER!!!!

900 is massive I'd think you want the spitfire 720 in 30knts and punchy waves. smallest can ride is always best

yeah i think thats the issue Pasty....but dont want to automatically buy another smaller spitfire if actually the performance / feel i need is from the sk8 - so intrigued to hear from people who have ridden BOTH

Both good wings I think and you can't tell just by riding for 1 session, whichever you are used to will feel best. took me a good week to dial into my new carve dlab 850 and get shimming right on the stab. Start with felt slow compared to glide 905. After 2 weeks went back on the glide and it felt really slow and stiff in turns.
if you like the spitfire in big size get the small one as it will be better in more juice for sure. if you don't like it then you could totally change system but then you have to get used to a new feel again

I, personally ride the Cloud IX line for surf and they are worth a spin if you have the chance. However, the only person I know that rode both the spitfire and the sk8 strongly prefers the sk8.

I normally ride Sabfoil but I have tried both the axis 1030 and the SK8 1050 and without doubt the SK8 is better .

it's faster , better turning and just felt less Draggy and that was on a aluminium mast for the F one and a HM mast for the Axis .

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Britfoil360 said..
I normally ride Sabfoil but I have tried both the axis 1030 and the SK8 1050 and without doubt the SK8 is better .

it's faster , better turning and just felt less Draggy and that was on a aluminium mast for the F one and a HM mast for the Axis .

Spitfire 1030 is 1308cm2 so the sk8 1050 is bound to feel faster and turn better. Spitfire 900 is equivalent to sk8 1050

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leepasty said..

Britfoil360 said..
I normally ride Sabfoil but I have tried both the axis 1030 and the SK8 1050 and without doubt the SK8 is better .

it's faster , better turning and just felt less Draggy and that was on a aluminium mast for the F one and a HM mast for the Axis .

Spitfire 1030 is 1308cm2 so the sk8 1050 is bound to feel faster and turn better. Spitfire 900 is equivalent to sk8 1050

Okay cheers , unfortunately the Axis rider didn't have the smaller size wing at the time .

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Britfoil360 said..

leepasty said..

Britfoil360 said..
I normally ride Sabfoil but I have tried both the axis 1030 and the SK8 1050 and without doubt the SK8 is better .

it's faster , better turning and just felt less Draggy and that was on a aluminium mast for the F one and a HM mast for the Axis .

Spitfire 1030 is 1308cm2 so the sk8 1050 is bound to feel faster and turn better. Spitfire 900 is equivalent to sk8 1050

Okay cheers , unfortunately the Axis rider didn't have the smaller size wing at the time .

No probs
alot of people forget when comparing Axis and other brands that Axis size is the span so on mid ar foils the actual area is huge. On the Spitfires the smaller sizes are around ar7 which makes them handle rough water & turn well but they won't pump as well as higher aspect wings. there's so much more to wings than wingspan, ar and area these days but also remember they take a while to adjust to when testing so it's hard to compare foils with a quick go as the feel you are used to will normally feel better unless you go on a much better foil for the given conditions

I got misterbennets (youtube) thoughts and he didn't like the spitfire compared to sk8. He said it was pitch sensitive and quite slow. He summarised with "The sk8s are much better". Ouch

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Powis said..
I got misterbennets (youtube) thoughts and he didn't like the spitfire compared to sk8. He said it was pitch sensitive and quite slow. He summarised with "The sk8s are much better". Ouch

No surprises there... Sk8 also would turn a lot better.

Haven't used sk8 but the SF840 is a outlier in the range, so good. Im onto that as soon as the wind is strong enough.

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Alysum said..

Powis said..
I got misterbennets (youtube) thoughts and he didn't like the spitfire compared to sk8. He said it was pitch sensitive and quite slow. He summarised with "The sk8s are much better". Ouch

No surprises there... Sk8 also would turn a lot better.

What do you mean? They are both surf foils designed I assume to maximize turning etc.

I only hope the spitfire to be a great foil because I want to stay within the axis ecosystem ($$).

I have followed up with him to let him know that the recent release of smaller sizes like the spitfire 720 has only just happened and that is still >800cm2 , which is outside his preferred range of 600-800cm2. That could be the difference for the speed but you would think he would be aware of that. Anyway will see if he replies..

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Powis said..

Alysum said..

Powis said..
I got misterbennets (youtube) thoughts and he didn't like the spitfire compared to sk8. He said it was pitch sensitive and quite slow. He summarised with "The sk8s are much better". Ouch

No surprises there... Sk8 also would turn a lot better.

What do you mean? They are both surf foils designed I assume to maximize turning etc.

I only hope the spitfire to be a great foil because I want to stay within the axis ecosystem ($$).

I have followed up with him to let him know that the recent release of smaller sizes like the spitfire 720 has only just happened and that is still >800cm2 , which is outside his preferred range of 600-800cm2. That could be the difference for the speed but you would think he would be aware of that. Anyway will see if he replies..

for prone the spitfires might make a little sense for the heavy guys trying to reduce wingspan of the higher aspect for turning and not give up much pump but I still think there are much better options. In the smaller spitfires the already compromised aspect gets even lower for some reason. More suited to winging than prone.
For prone you are always trying to find the smallest foil that you can still pump and turns well. This typically puts proners in the 8 to 10 aspect range ideally. Axis don't have anything for medium to light weight proners that is competitive currently in my opinion.

i have the spitfire 900 for winging (85kg)....debating getting the 840 now as i only hear great things

i've only heard really good things about the spitfire myself and that's from non axis riders who have tried them.

I, too, have heard complaints about pitch sensitivity on the spitfires and have heard 100% preference of sk8 over spitfire for people who have tried both. Alas, I haven't tried either but love my Cloud IX fs foils. I think I'd prefer to move towards small Code foils with higher aspect ratios (720s and 770r) than back towards lower aspect ratios of the axis and f-one lines.

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BWalnut said..
I, too, have heard complaints about pitch sensitivity on the spitfires and have heard 100% preference of sk8 over spitfire for people who have tried both. Alas, I haven't tried either but love my Cloud IX fs foils. I think I'd prefer to move towards small Code foils with higher aspect ratios (720s and 770r) than back towards lower aspect ratios of the axis and f-one lines.

Hmmmm pitch sensitive hasn't been my experience with the Spitfires at all, but with the wide range of setups with Axis it's hard to know when you're comparing apples to apples without more info. When you've got silly short, crazy short, ultra short, short, standard fuse, in advance, advance +, original configuration, a huge range of progressive and skinny stab sizes, it's hard to assume someone is feeling the same thing. There's also lots of opportunity to fine tune your rig to your liking. Small tweaks make a big difference and there's lots of tweaks to choose from.

I am riding the spitfires and with a too small rear they can become pitch unstable, but with the right rear they are perfect and very well balanced!

If I am riding on a lake, I would choose the art pro, because the spitfire is little bit boring in those conditionsMost of my friends are riding the sk8 and they are happy with it, but it depends on the conditions. We don't have clean swell in the Netherlands and they take the phantom in messy sea conditions instead of the sk8. A few weeks ago a friend of me was testing my 1030 spitfire and he thought he was riding the 840, because it was turning that well and he had the feeling it was much smaller than 1300cm2

I think that they are both very good foils and have both their pros and cons and it totally depends on your local condition which is better for you

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NordRoi said..
spitfire 900 is around 1100cm2, so maybe you would like to compare the 1050 sk8? I do have the 1050 and the 850, the 1050 is sooooo simple and so easy, so efficient and a blast, it's a plug and play for smaller condition, it's a great performer even in smaller condition and at low speed. The 850 is a little more technical, it takes about 2-3 jibe/surf to adapt and after that it's all good, easier to ride than the eagle I would say, even if the stall speed is really low...it unlocks his potential when you are at a certain speed, when you hit the sweet spot..wooo!!!! I never tried the 950 and the spitfire, but I used the HPS. The sk8 is very different vs the HPS, you can breach tips..almost without even realized you breached them..it's more playful. It's more playful than the eagle with almost the same glide....but without the fear of encounter the eagle sharp tips.For my level I find the sk8 easier to find the pumping rythme, but it has a tad less glide vs the eagle 990...even if I use the same fuse/stab.The sk8 for me is a no brainer, I assume axis did the same kind of job with the spitfire...foils are getting a LOT BETTER!!!!

Select to expand quote

NordRoi said..
spitfire 900 is around 1100cm2, so maybe you would like to compare the 1050 sk8? I do have the 1050 and the 850, the 1050 is sooooo simple and so easy, so efficient and a blast, it's a plug and play for smaller condition, it's a great performer even in smaller condition and at low speed. The 850 is a little more technical, it takes about 2-3 jibe/surf to adapt and after that it's all good, easier to ride than the eagle I would say, even if the stall speed is really low...it unlocks his potential when you are at a certain speed, when you hit the sweet spot..wooo!!!! I never tried the 950 and the spitfire, but I used the HPS. The sk8 is very different vs the HPS, you can breach tips..almost without even realized you breached them..it's more playful. It's more playful than the eagle with almost the same glide....but without the fear of encounter the eagle sharp tips.For my level I find the sk8 easier to find the pumping rythme, but it has a tad less glide vs the eagle 990...even if I use the same fuse/stab.The sk8 for me is a no brainer, I assume axis did the same kind of job with the spitfire...foils are getting a LOT BETTER!!!!

the 850 sk8 is a great size as a foil, and what is your weight? Do you think it is fine for 82kg rifer at 14-15 kn?

Have tried both. Sk8 is better in every way. Not impressed with the spitfire.