Anyone have a lifty light wind foil they like that still keeps the speed up? I've been riding my Cloud IX fs900 all year with the monoblock tail and the speed, glide, playfulness is divine. However, at 10.1 aspect ratio it's not exactly a light wind weapon at that size. My bigger foils are a bit slower, so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend something quick and reasonably playful for lighter winds. Ideally no gigantic spans, I have a 990mm span that's fine but my 1070mm span is pretty stiff.

Thanks in advance!

Mikeslab 1150. It does not get any better than that.

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BigZ said..
Mikeslab 1150. It does not get any better than that.

1080mm span? Not stiff?

Afs pure 900

I've been shocked by the Code 980s low end. It's 96 span. For this Floridian, it's all I need. At only 13mm thick, measured with my calipers, I don't understand how this could be. But I've never ridden the newer Cloud gear, so who knows what you'd think about it.

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DWF said..
I've been shocked by the Code 980s low end. It's 96 span. For this Floridian, it's all I need. At only 13mm thick, measured with my calipers, I don't understand how this could be. But I've never ridden the newer Cloud gear, so who knows what you'd think about it.

In the Cloud Range, the fs850 takes off, IMO, exactly the same as the Code 850s. The fs900 though, takes off more like what I would expect maybe a Code 800 to take off like. So, You could be right about the 980 there, probably launches like a C9 fs1000. The fs900 is under 12mm thick with my calipers, so the takeoff difference makes sense.

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BWalnut said..

BigZ said..
Mikeslab 1150. It does not get any better than that.

1080mm span? Not stiff?

Not at all. Turns beautifully and glides forever. And as any ML incredibly easy to ride even at high speeds

My Axis ART pros 951 and 1051 work for me in light wind, well from 9 knots.
If very light then the 1201 but at my 74kg it's not that fast, so far, 17 ish knots speed.

I guess some of it comes down to what you consider lightwind and also what is fast... I think you are about the same size as I am ~190lbs? I'm using the AFS Pure HA 1100. big span but not stiff feeling. Can get going pretty easily on it with my mid length board and 4.5 wing.... often when nobody else is out... cruises at 20kt pretty easily. I think fastest speed I've measured is around 21kt but usually am not pushing it.... had a really fun container ship wake ride cruising at 18-19kt on it and could still turn and play. I've found the range to be really good... I have an 18 month old kiddo now, so my opportunities to go out are limited these days... no more waiting around for it to be ideal... the midlength AFS 6'2" board with the Pure HA 1100 is my no fuss insurance policy... ride it either with 4.5 or 3.5 and it's a lot of fun.

My wife actually rode this foil a month ago... her first day on the water this year, and she had never been on a HA foil before, is not a gear head, and so I was curious to hear her thoughts.... she likes easy. She actually really liked the foil, said it was easy to get on foil, turned nice, and made her jibes easy. I've been really impressed with this foil. If you come down to the Bay hit me up and try it out.

Chubanga 1000 and ML 800 also!!

I used the Armstrong HA880 with 140 tail. Easy lift but could still be pushed. With the tail shimmed to 0 degree it was really quick. People call it slow but I just think its slow accelerating. Once you push it it does well on the speed front.

I have had surprisingly good results from switching to a smaller tail. The reduced drag makes pumping up to speed much easier.

I used to use big, slow foils in light winds. Now I use my Gofoil RS850HA (10:1) and 10.5" fixed tail in all conditions.

Before the 10.5" I used a 14.5" all the time. I found there is no real negative using the smaller tail. It's a tiny bit more sensitive to foot position getting up. It only feels a bit more twitchy using a 40L board. For floaty boards and/or light winds it's all positive.

Apart from being less draggy and faster, it allows for different foot positions for different effects. Feet further forward for a high speed skooting effect, or back foot a little further back for an ollie up style.

My current light wind setup is the KT 7' 100L with AFS Silk 1050. Gets up on foil super easy. You can aggressively pump it up too. Speed is really good and feels like it just wants to be pushed more. It's a super playful surf foil but it's still great in flat boring conditions.

Code 860R is my light wind foil at the moment. It's turn well enough for me. It's has pretty good top end and average speed.

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sunsetsailboards said..
I guess some of it comes down to what you consider lightwind and also what is fast... I think you are about the same size as I am ~190lbs? I'm using the AFS Pure HA 1100. big span but not stiff feeling. Can get going pretty easily on it with my mid length board and 4.5 wing.... often when nobody else is out... cruises at 20kt pretty easily. I think fastest speed I've measured is around 21kt but usually am not pushing it.... had a really fun container ship wake ride cruising at 18-19kt on it and could still turn and play. I've found the range to be really good... I have an 18 month old kiddo now, so my opportunities to go out are limited these days... no more waiting around for it to be ideal... the midlength AFS 6'2" board with the Pure HA 1100 is my no fuss insurance policy... ride it either with 4.5 or 3.5 and it's a lot of fun.

My wife actually rode this foil a month ago... her first day on the water this year, and she had never been on a HA foil before, is not a gear head, and so I was curious to hear her thoughts.... she likes easy. She actually really liked the foil, said it was easy to get on foil, turned nice, and made her jibes easy. I've been really impressed with this foil. If you come down to the Bay hit me up and try it out.

Would love to try it if I make it that way!

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Gorgo said..
I have had surprisingly good results from switching to a smaller tail. The reduced drag makes pumping up to speed much easier.

I used to use big, slow foils in light winds. Now I use my Gofoil RS850HA (10:1) and 10.5" fixed tail in all conditions.

Before the 10.5" I used a 14.5" all the time. I found there is no real negative using the smaller tail. It's a tiny bit more sensitive to foot position getting up. It only feels a bit more twitchy using a 40L board. For floaty boards and/or light winds it's all positive.

Apart from being less draggy and faster, it allows for different foot positions for different effects. Feet further forward for a high speed skooting effect, or back foot a little further back for an ollie up style.

Already on my fastest and smallest tail which I agree, helps a ton!

I guess I should have clarified the rest of my kit:
Rider: 86kg
Board: 85l 5'10" carver
Wing: 4m Ocean Rodeo Glide AA
Target wind range: 8-12 knots

So, pretty small target there but once it's in the teens I seem to be able to activate my 900 no problem. I do have a 6'6" 90l aviator dw on order to enhance my lightwind game.

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Taeyeony said..
Code 860R is my light wind foil at the moment. It's turn well enough for me. It's has pretty good top end and average speed.

That's a great foil. I'd consider the 980 for my situation.

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BWalnut said..

Taeyeony said..
Code 860R is my light wind foil at the moment. It's turn well enough for me. It's has pretty good top end and average speed.

That's a great foil. I'd consider the 980 for my situation.

860R is the largest R series at the moment. And the designer said The 860R has more lift than the 980S. magic is that this foil can go super slow at a very high angle of attack without stalling. Most efficient HA foils will stall at high AoA.When I wing foiling this thing in lightwind with a relatively small wing. I pump the wing to a certain speed and then activate the foil to get up. This foil will take off at a slow speed and high AoA and then I can keep dragging with that high AoA until the board is completely out of the water then level off and accelerate to normal speed for the foil. Just like an airplane doing high-performance take-off using short runway. If I do the same thing on my North HA1050 it will certainly stall and dolphin dive.It like this foil has 2 modes of operation. At High AoA it can go slow but somewhat draggy and when level off it works like an efficient HA foil.

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Taeyeony said..

BWalnut said..

Taeyeony said..
Code 860R is my light wind foil at the moment. It's turn well enough for me. It's has pretty good top end and average speed.

That's a great foil. I'd consider the 980 for my situation.

860R is the largest R series at the moment. And the designer said The 860R has more lift than the 980S.

magic is that this foil can go super slow at a very high angle of attack without stalling. Most efficient HA foils will stall at high AoA.When I wing foiling this thing in lightwind with a relatively small wing. I pump the wing to a certain speed and then activate the foil to get up. This foil will take off at a slow speed and high AoA and then I can keep dragging with that high AoA until the board is completely out of the water then level off and accelerate to normal speed for the foil. Just like an airplane doing high-performance take-off using short runway. If I do the same thing on my North HA1050 it will certainly stall and dolphin dive.It like this foil has 2 modes of operation. At High AoA it can go slow but somewhat draggy and when level off it works like an efficient HA foil.

Ohhhh you said R series, I missed that. How's the glide on that foil? Best of the code range for you?

Ha780
at 85kg. I'm getting it up easily. sub 15knots
Thing is fast when pushed. Borderline weight though. Glides forever but does lose mast height at my weight. So not to be called an endless glider. Leg pump it a little and all ok.
sweet foil. Sweet spot.

Hi all, the new videos around showing the thickness are getting interesting but are given a lot of confusion for the users thinner=better. For sure thinner have less resistance on the water but everything is about the foil profile section. I can compare many foils as I test I much as I can to understand the differences.
New Cloud IX line up is thinner yes, but they have really low camber on the bottom and the take off takes more time effort than others , also the stall is quite hight compare with competitors, with this profile I would expect a lot of speed , but there are not even fast foils.
Compare for example fs732 Vs lift90ha Vs San 769
The fs732 is the one who needs more power to take off, also the higher stall speed and the lower top speed riding the same conditions.
Sab769 have absolutely more glide feeling than 732 , feels like butter .
Lift 90 has the best progressive take off (580cm2) and the most efficient of the 3, same wind conditions I get 4knts faster than the other 2, best pumping of the 3, and the lower stall speed ( we can expect as is AR11)
Take off = lift90 > sab769> fs732
Top speed (underpowered) = lift90 > sab769>fs732
Top speed (powered) = sab769>lift90>fs732
Stall speed= lift90 >sab769>fs732

The 3 foils have absolutely different profiles, and even with similar area or span , works really different, so is not only about thickness, sab769 is the thickest, and is the faster.

Axis Spitfire 1180 or 1100?

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TheFoilJunkie said..
Hi all, the new videos around showing the thickness are getting interesting but are given a lot of confusion for the users thinner=better. For sure thinner have less resistance on the water but everything is about the foil profile section. I can compare many foils as I test I much as I can to understand the differences.
New Cloud IX line up is thinner yes, but they have really low camber on the bottom and the take off takes more time effort than others , also the stall is quite hight compare with competitors, with this profile I would expect a lot of speed , but there are not even fast foils.
Compare for example fs732 Vs lift90ha Vs San 769
The fs732 is the one who needs more power to take off, also the higher stall speed and the lower top speed riding the same conditions.
Sab769 have absolutely more glide feeling than 732 , feels like butter .
Lift 90 has the best progressive take off (580cm2) and the most efficient of the 3, same wind conditions I get 4knts faster than the other 2, best pumping of the 3, and the lower stall speed ( we can expect as is AR11)
Take off = lift90 > sab769> fs732
Top speed (underpowered) = lift90 > sab769>fs732
Top speed (powered) = sab769>lift90>fs732
Stall speed= lift90 >sab769>fs732

The 3 foils have absolutely different profiles, and even with similar area or span , works really different, so is not only about thickness, sab769 is the thickest, and is the faster.

Great stuff. What would you say the actual speed difference would be in those foils?