Hi folks,

I recently got into wingsurfing and went through the ropes of learning on a SUP board and now I'm ready to buy a foil. Living in Brisbane I was tired of driving more than two hours to go surfing. For wingfoiling I'm only 20min away from Sandgate which is quite handy.

I managed to buy an Alley Design 6'1 90L foil board for only $120 on FB Marketplace from someone who though it was a surfboard :)

Taking into account I'm not keen to pay $2k plus for a brand new learning size foil since I'll plan to go smaller later, I want to buy a second hand foil.

My questions to the community here are:

- Are all brands of foil compatible? I mean can I replace parts from one set with another brand? For instance, I found a Naish complete set foil but has a front wing small for my competency, could I buy it an replace the front wing with another foil brand?

- Are some brands who are more compatible and less compatible than others in terms of fitting other brands on their parts? Is there any issue with combining different brands on a foil set?

- And the last one, is there any brand I should avoid? So far, I've found good prices on Naish, Starboard, Go Foil, Neil Pryde and Slingshot. Armstrong and Axis foils seems way more expensive even on second hand sets.

Apologies if this has been discussed here but I couldn't find any trend.

Thanks a lot,
Oscot

Brands bits are not interchangeable, no standards in a developing sport.
Some foil brands like to forward in board, others backwards, so make sure it matches our board
You can either buy cheap learner gear assuming you will sell at a loss and change brands, or choose a brand, pay more for new and up-to-date gear, some parts you will keep as you go smaller. I would go former, though in Europe you can buy a complete Gong learner set for E1500. If you are worried about cost winging isn't for you.

Most brands are not compatible(some bit ls and pieces are but not that much) so you have to pick right from the start or it can get expensive when you want to progress but the foils brand you are riding does not make better wings to progress to so you have to sell and start again from scratch with all new gear!!

If you want something cheap to just learn on you can always call in to our shop on the Gold coast ONE ocean sports www.oneoceansportsaustralia.com.au as we have a few super cheap old prototype sets we are selling.

Maybe also keep in mind resale value as well as upgrading wings and other bits is very common if you get right into it and some brands have a far better resale value than others which just from your list of foils you are looking at you can already see this by the prices and paying a little more at the start might really pay of long term.

On the good news side with compatible foils we are about to launch ONE foils which will help alot on this side and for many foilers they will be able to ride and test our new stuff without having to buy a whole new set of foils. If you find yourself in the Currumbin area then call in to the store we can always help point you in the right direction even if we don't have what you need.

For brands that offer both foils and wing boards, check how your board compares to a typical pairing for that brand. Look at the foot placement (strap positions) and mast track. For example, Starboard has two main lines of foil boards, the Take Off and the "Wingboard Foil". The Wingboard has the track mounted much more forward, so it will work with a larger variety of foils. The Take Off has the tracks closer to the tail, so Starboard warns that it may not work well with some non-Starboard foils (those with the front wing very close to the mast).

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patronus said..
Brands bits are not interchangeable, no standards in a developing sport.
Some foil brands like to forward in board, others backwards, so make sure it matches our board
You can either buy cheap learner gear assuming you will sell at a loss and change brands, or choose a brand, pay more for new and up-to-date gear, some parts you will keep as you go smaller. I would go former, though in Europe you can buy a complete Gong learner set for E1500. If you are worried about cost winging isn't for you.

Thanks mate, I didn't know there is also board x foil compatibility to consider. I also agree with you that it might be better go for the best brands instead of getting stuck with crap gear.

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paul.j said..
Most brands are not compatible(some bit ls and pieces are but not that much) so you have to pick right from the start or it can get expensive when you want to progress but the foils brand you are riding does not make better wings to progress to so you have to sell and start again from scratch with all new gear!!

If you want something cheap to just learn on you can always call in to our shop on the Gold coast ONE ocean sports www.oneoceansportsaustralia.com.au as we have a few super cheap old prototype sets we are selling.

Maybe also keep in mind resale value as well as upgrading wings and other bits is very common if you get right into it and some brands have a far better resale value than others which just from your list of foils you are looking at you can already see this by the prices and paying a little more at the start might really pay of long term.

On the good news side with compatible foils we are about to launch ONE foils which will help alot on this side and for many foilers they will be able to ride and test our new stuff without having to buy a whole new set of foils. If you find yourself in the Currumbin area then call in to the store we can always help point you in the right direction even if we don't have what you need.

Thanks mate. I've just emailed you as I couldn't find the prototypes on your website. Cheers

Sandgate is a prick for winging, depending on tide it can be a bloody long walk out, or worse, the tide can be in and you need to wade a couple of hundred metres to find deep enough water to get going. Come over to the Redcliffe peninsula, deep water off the beach and a friendly crew.
As for foils, Naish, North or Axis are the go here. Heaps of the locals are on them so it is easy to borrow a front wing to try rather than dropping a load of cash on something you end up not liking.

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Oscost said..

paul.j said..
Most brands are not compatible(some bit ls and pieces are but not that much) so you have to pick right from the start or it can get expensive when you want to progress but the foils brand you are riding does not make better wings to progress to so you have to sell and start again from scratch with all new gear!!

If you want something cheap to just learn on you can always call in to our shop on the Gold coast ONE ocean sports www.oneoceansportsaustralia.com.au as we have a few super cheap old prototype sets we are selling.

Maybe also keep in mind resale value as well as upgrading wings and other bits is very common if you get right into it and some brands have a far better resale value than others which just from your list of foils you are looking at you can already see this by the prices and paying a little more at the start might really pay of long term.

On the good news side with compatible foils we are about to launch ONE foils which will help alot on this side and for many foilers they will be able to ride and test our new stuff without having to buy a whole new set of foils. If you find yourself in the Currumbin area then call in to the store we can always help point you in the right direction even if we don't have what you need.

Thanks mate. I've just emailed you as I couldn't find the prototypes on your website. Cheers

Yeah sorry don't really list these on our site but just replied to your DM.

Jacko

I ended up buying new stuff as there was nothing secondhand at the time. This was August last year. Of course once I bought it the 2nd hand stuff flooded onto the market. I've had my beginner gear for about 6 months & am getting rid of it to offset my upgrade to smaller foil & board. Of course now that I'm selling it there is again heaps of 2nd hand beginner stuff on the market.
The general rule with foils is if it's cheap it probably is first or second generation stuff. It's such a new sport the progress in equipment is rapid. If you buy something that is cheap & not a leading brand you may get left with it.
I'll lose some money on the gear but thats part of it with some sports.

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Oscost said..

patronus said..
Brands bits are not interchangeable, no standards in a developing sport.
Some foil brands like to forward in board, others backwards, so make sure it matches our board
You can either buy cheap learner gear assuming you will sell at a loss and change brands, or choose a brand, pay more for new and up-to-date gear, some parts you will keep as you go smaller. I would go former, though in Europe you can buy a complete Gong learner set for E1500. If you are worried about cost winging isn't for you.

Thanks mate, I didn't know there is also board x foil compatibility to consider. I also agree with you that it might be better go for the best brands instead of getting stuck with crap gear.

I actually meant I would buy cheap, maybe out of date. In UK I could by good enough cheapo foil set second hand for ?300-?400 and lose maybe a ?1200 when I sell. If I buy new for ?1200 could sell ?600-?700 when out grown.
Brands have a feel that might not suit you, and you won't know your feel until later.. Also, some brands change fitting designs, so this years parts won't fit last years, and some have ranges with different fittings. A bit of a minefield to work through.

For foils I'd stick to one of the big brands. Axis is probably a good choice, given the availability of front foil and parts (new or secondhand). If you want zero corrosion and no fuss get a GoFoil. I reckon my most used foil in my quiver is my GoFoil GT2200cm2. If you get a good leaner foil, they are worth keeping. Light wind, dock starts, mowing the lawn in no wind. My brother in law even still uses my original hand me down Axis 1020 wing that is now 4 years old and still going strong.

There are plenty of other great foil brands on the market but I think they suit the seasoned rider who knows what feels they are after in their gear. (UniFoil, Lift, Cabrinha, North, Naish, Code, Fone, Armstrong the list goes on)...

Perhaps one of the best used bargains out there is still the old Neil Pryde aluminium Glide Large or Takuma Aluminium LoL1600. I'm sure some of the east coast crew will have these foils lying around collecting dust. Old foils work but the new gear is so much better.

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airsail said..
Sandgate is a prick for winging, depending on tide it can be a bloody long walk out, or worse, the tide can be in and you need to wade a couple of hundred metres to find deep enough water to get going. Come over to the Redcliffe peninsula, deep water off the beach and a friendly crew.
As for foils, Naish, North or Axis are the go here. Heaps of the locals are on them so it is easy to borrow a front wing to try rather than dropping a load of cash on something you end up not liking.

I went through a long walk of shame first hand at Sandgate carrying a heavy sup because the tide was low and I couldn't ride upwind with my SUP without the dagger board. I saw a video of Rob Naish's daughter going upwind on a regular SUP and somehow I thought I could do the same.....
I'll try Redcliff next time. If you see a kook on a blue sup and red wing that will be myself

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- Are all brands of foil compatible? I mean can I replace parts from one set with another brand? For instance, I found a Naish complete set foil but has a front wing small for my competency, could I buy it an replace the front wing with another foil brand?

Some combinations of foils and boards just won't work together because of the foot strap and track positions. The worse thing is that no board manufacturer seems to give detailed measurements of foot strap vs track positions on the board.

If you're just starting out it's probably safer to get the board and foil from the same brand.

I knew where I wanted my foil so for my third board I sent to Swift in the UK. They gave me the default measurements for their NG board. I tweaked the foot strap positions by 25mm to get my preferred stance and got them to make me a board. It was about the same price as a Fanatic Sky Wing but much better quality, customised to my exact requirements and with a really tough deck pad (SurfDek).

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Oscost said..

airsail said..
Sandgate is a prick for winging, depending on tide it can be a bloody long walk out, or worse, the tide can be in and you need to wade a couple of hundred metres to find deep enough water to get going. Come over to the Redcliffe peninsula, deep water off the beach and a friendly crew.
As for foils, Naish, North or Axis are the go here. Heaps of the locals are on them so it is easy to borrow a front wing to try rather than dropping a load of cash on something you end up not liking.

I went through a long walk of shame first hand at Sandgate carrying a heavy sup because the tide was low and I couldn't ride upwind with my SUP without the dagger board. I saw a video of Rob Naish's daughter going upwind on a regular SUP and somehow I thought I could do the same.....
I'll try Redcliff next time. If you see a kook on a blue sup and red wing that will be myself

The season is almost over, eg, we are about to loose our seabreezes. We have options for the westerly season, Bells Beach is the main one in a W-SW but short runs only. Most of us a still gathering daily at Queens Beach North, lots of beginners like yourself. We offer free tips to get you going if you're struggling and local gear advice on what is available. We even have a resident board manufacturer, Carbonco, who will build you something to your needs when you're up to that level. See you on the water, Tim