I've been working on and just published my review on the AFS Silk 1050 and 850 in the Columbia River Gorge. I'd love to hear anyone/everyones feedback on it if you're interested! Also wondering, from a riders perspective, what additional information should be included in a review?

Cheers!

www.wouzel.com/post/testing-the-afs-silk-lineup

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BWalnut said..
I've been working on and just published my review on the AFS Silk 1050 and 850 in the Columbia River Gorge. I'd love to hear anyone/everyones feedback on it if you're interested! Also wondering, from a riders perspective, what additional information should be included in a review?

Cheers!

www.wouzel.com/post/testing-the-afs-silk-lineup

Great review, thanks!

Mast effect on tip breaching! Never occured to me... which one has less roll (mast flex bending) and which one less yaw (mast twist?)

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Hwy1North said..

Great review, thanks!

Mast effect on tip breaching! Never occured to me... which one has less roll (mast flex bending) and which one less yaw (mast twist?)

Great question!

The Evolution Surf has more responsive roll and yaw when on foil with that mast cutout which is nice from a performance standpoint.

The AFS UHM is stiffer and resists bending in the yaw and roll axis on the beach and I believe this results directly to the tip breach stability question.

I'm working on a full Cedrus Evolution Surf review as well. I'll share when complete! It will hopefully include foil and mast comparisons for Cloud IX, AFS, F-One, and Lift. No Limitz may be included, but only on an F-One foil.

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This was my verdict i write under a dwf Video :
I ride a code 980 s on a Nolimitz 72cm on Appletree V3 90 liter and a slik 1050 on a 80 cm uhm mast back to back ,my thougt on it : the code come easy on Foil, is fast pumps better and jipe easy ,very good Setup. After that i go on a Slik 1050 on a 100 liter Whitebird , after that i bought the Afs , it is all about your feel and how your conditions are. The silk is going like the name, it was the wow feeling. That mean , is comes it little bit harder on foil and pumps not so good as the Code ,but is near as fast as the code . The thing is when you riding in small windbumps ,chop ( Baltic see) you want a turny foil . You can go as hard as you want full speed in a tight hard turn and you can trust the silk . The Silk is very good surfy foil in small condition and the code is good foil in small condition, when you riding in bigger swell or only flatwater i would choose the Code ,im my conditions i like the Silk more. Anyway ,Code or Silk you cant go wrong is fun on both ,is more the feel that you prefer .Only my own thougts from a average Joe ,4 jears of winging strapless, 59 j. 97kg , have fun on the water ;-)

an other comment i find from a talentet UK rider , he made a nice silk 850 surf video on Youtube :


@guybridge8591 vor 14 Stunden Hello! What I'd say is the code has more glide but the Silk allows you to Carve on rail more and be more aggressive through turns , I'd say the AFS has a better top end than the code which has a better bottom end (slower stall speed) glide for longer! I think the AFS has a bit more of a spark to it, it's a bit livelier

Weniger anzeigen

Great review.I,m 97kg and riding mostly North sea (Europe) conditions where we have mostly wind waves. Less strong as the Gorge but often bigger waves and your findings are very similar to mine. I demoed the 1050 and didn't want to give it back so swallowed the Price tag and kept it.
Regarding to some other foils like Armstrong HA and Code the AFS is a bit bigger in cm2. So if you like to brag, I ride a tiny....cm2 foil, other brands make foils for a similar range with less cm2.
Comparing to Armstrong the Silk 1050 sit in a similar range as the HA880 with a little bit less glide that the HA880 but faster and better/tighter turning, so besides the questions on the beach why I ride 1050 instead of an 800something there is no downside in it to me.

The Silk isnt a pure Ocean glider, that where they have there Pure HA for , but riding waves and steep bumps it is the best foil I tried so far. For me the range of the 1050 is insane wide, but In power full breaking steep waves of 2m+ It can become a bit hand full when riding close to the pocket. That is where I grab the 850 and haven,t seen so far conditions where that one gets too big. I haven,t tried the Cedrus V2, but owned the V1 and with the AFS I have simply less ventilation (and feels a lot faster).

I was lately able to swap my set with a friend on the Axis HM mast with an Spitfire900 wich should be made for a similar range and to me that set felt like stuck in 3th gear compared to the Silk 1050. I don,t have a ton of experience on Axis, but felt a bit underwhelmed with it.

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Jeroensurf said..
Great review.I,m 97kg and riding mostly North sea (Europe) conditions where we have mostly wind waves. Less strong as the Gorge but often bigger waves and your findings are very similar to mine. I demoed the 1050 and didn't want to give it back so swallowed the Price tag and kept it.
Regarding to some other foils like Armstrong HA and Code the AFS is a bit bigger in cm2. So if you like to brag, I ride a tiny....cm2 foil, other brands make foils for a similar range with less cm2.
Comparing to Armstrong the Silk 1050 sit in a similar range as the HA880 with a little bit less glide that the HA880 but faster and better/tighter turning, so besides the questions on the beach why I ride 1050 instead of an 800something there is no downside in it to me.

The Silk isnt a pure Ocean glider, that where they have there Pure HA for , but riding waves and steep bumps it is the best foil I tried so far. For me the range of the 1050 is insane wide, but In power full breaking steep waves of 2m+ It can become a bit hand full when riding close to the pocket. That is where I grab the 850 and haven,t seen so far conditions where that one gets too big. I haven,t tried the Cedrus V2, but owned the V1 and with the AFS I have simply less ventilation (and feels a lot faster).

I was lately able to swap my set with a friend on the Axis HM mast with an Spitfire900 wich should be made for a similar range and to me that set felt like stuck in 3th gear compared to the Silk 1050. I don,t have a ton of experience on Axis, but felt a bit underwhelmed with it.

Awesome comments! This is especially useful to hear since I'm actually trying to track down a demo on the HA 880 in the next week or so myself!

The Axis rep actually no-showed on me for my demo of the spitfire last week but I haven't really heard much positive about it from anyone who has ridden multiple brands so I wont be worried about trying to demo that one again.

I also have to say that I would have NEVER expected to be so stoked on going up in foil sizes. I've been solid in the 800-900 range for a while now and the fact that the 1050 Silk is SO GOOD really blew my mind. Absolutely shocked by it and couldn't be happier at the moment! Plus the 850 is such a natural transition when it gets big. It doesn't feel like there's a decrease in control, just an increase in speed and turning.

Which tails are you liking? I really liked that 132 and am slightly interested in trying the ha 38.

Any chance you saw the Ultra drop recently? afs-foiling.com/product/ultra-fuselink-foil/

Regarding tails, I would think the KD Maui's are a fit. The increase to turning performance and feel on a wave for the Kujira was huge. Worth a shot especially as you are in the US.

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Hwy1North said..
Regarding tails, I would think the KD Maui's are a fit. The increase to turning performance and feel on a wave for the Kujira was huge. Worth a shot especially as you are in the US.

Would love to try those too!

I had a bit of a similar experience at AWSI last year.... not particularly amazing conditions at the Event Site or anything and wanted to try some stuff.... wasn't really looking to pick up another foil brand... but I had heard about the Silk on these forums, so went to their booth to check out their stuff. Had just come off another brand's 950 or 850 that felt very nice, but was a bit underpowered, especially on the inside, so took out the Silk 1050. could tell it had way more low end but on the swell it felt more carvy with more carry and less front foot pressure... and I think even in not so strong wind I was clocking around 22kt top end. Was a very fun foil to pump by carving... then considering the lightweight, 3-year warranty, and open slots on the mast plate, I was like, would you like to take my money?

I'm presently riding the Silk 850 quite a bit (it's windy here, my go to wings are 3.0 and 3.5).

I've got the 132, 152 and ha40 tails. Now that I have a few sessions on the 132, I can say that it definitely turns a lot quicker than the others, to the point where tacks almost feel pivoty. The tradeoff is that I find it gets pretty twitchy and pitch sensitive at high speed - like it's not enough downforce for a wing the size of the 1050. The ha40 is without a doubt faster though and I find that it rides smoother at speed, but the turns are definitely longer and carvier. The 152 is the slowest, but it brings more low end to the foil. It also balances the 1050 really nicely and adds control to the foil and slows things down (even in bigger conditions) and that's probably the only time I will wind up using that tail.

Ranked from best to worst
Turning - 132, 152, ha40
Speed and Glide - ha40, 132, 152
Control - 152, ha40, 132
Low End and Pumping - 152, ha40, 132 (not a huge difference between the 152 and ha40 here)

These comparisons are all on the Silk 1050. I don't have enough sessions comparing the tails on the 850 yet.

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Velocicraptor said..
I've got the 132, 152 and ha40 tails. Now that I have a few sessions on the 132, I can say that it definitely turns a lot quicker than the others, to the point where tacks almost feel pivoty. The tradeoff is that I find it gets pretty twitchy and pitch sensitive at high speed - like it's not enough downforce for a wing the size of the 1050. The ha40 is without a doubt faster though and I find that it rides smoother at speed, but the turns are definitely longer and carvier. The 152 is the slowest, but it brings more low end to the foil. It also balances the 1050 really nicely and adds control to the foil and slows things down (even in bigger conditions) and that's probably the only time I will wind up using that tail.

Ranked from best to worst
Turning - 132, 152, ha40
Speed and Glide - ha40, 132, 152
Control - 152, ha40, 132
Low End and Pumping - 152, ha40, 132 (not a huge difference between the 152 and ha40 here)

These comparisons are all on the Silk 1050. I don't have enough sessions comparing the tails on the 850 yet.

Well, that's all I needed to know. 132 for life on my kit!

Huge thanks for the comparison write up and looking forward to your thoughts on the 850!

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BWalnut said..

Jeroensurf said..

Awesome comments! This is especially useful to hear since I'm actually trying to track down a demo on the HA 880 in the next week or so myself!

Which tails are you liking? I really liked that 132 and am slightly interested in trying the ha 38.

Any chance you saw the Ultra drop recently? afs-foiling.com/product/ultra-fuselink-foil/

Thanx :)
I,m just using the standard set up so 152 with the 1050 and 142 on the 850 and havent been experimenting with it as I really like the package. Maybe later I order a couple to play with when I,m looking for more performance in a certain direction, but for now i,m all good with this set up:) ....and for the really glidy days lower wind days I bought 2weeks ago an ex-demo Pure1100. It is not as turny as Silk, (span of 110cm!) but endless glide on small waves/bumps.The DW foil: nope, just read yesterday about it. Such small sizes don,t really suit my main conditions, We use more often 5 then 4m. In january at the Boot Dusseldorf trade show they told that in the autumn they probably release an Silk XL. I,m more excited about that for the low energy wave days and supfoiling to Replace my old Takuma Kujira1440.KD Maui: I have a KDMaui 13R but it is quite thick so think it will ad too much drag, maybe the newer profiles are thinner/faster.

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Jeroensurf said..

BWalnut said..

Jeroensurf said..

Awesome comments! This is especially useful to hear since I'm actually trying to track down a demo on the HA 880 in the next week or so myself!

Which tails are you liking? I really liked that 132 and am slightly interested in trying the ha 38.

Any chance you saw the Ultra drop recently? afs-foiling.com/product/ultra-fuselink-foil/

Thanx :)
I,m just using the standard set up so 152 with the 1050 and 142 on the 850 and havent been experimenting with it as I really like the package. Maybe later I order a couple to play with when I,m looking for more performance in a certain direction, but for now i,m all good with this set up:) ....and for the really glidy days lower wind days I bought 2weeks ago an ex-demo Pure1100. It is not as turny as Silk, (span of 110cm!) but endless glide on small waves/bumps.The DW foil: nope, just read yesterday about it. Such small sizes don,t really suit my main conditions, We use more often 5 then 4m. In january at the Boot Dusseldorf trade show they told that in the autumn they probably release an Silk XL. I,m more excited about that for the low energy wave days and supfoiling to Replace my old Takuma Kujira1440.KD Maui: I have a KDMaui 13R but it is quite thick so think it will ad too much drag, maybe the newer profiles are thinner/faster.

@ Jeroensurf ,how much wind you need to get the 1100 going ?

Aprox the same as the Silk1050. The foil needs imo a tiny bit more boardspeed before take off, but is also pretty easy to pump with little higher freq pumps instead of bigger movements.
Exact windspeed is so hard to tell, because rider weight, skills, board, wing, wingsize and water conditions etc all are a part of it of the total sum of flying or not.
The difference with the Silk 1050 is that once on the Foil the 1100 keeps gliding and gliding like nothing else and is still pretty okay to turn and to control when going fast. We often have in the summer light wind 5m days with knee/waisthigh bumps with flats in between where the Silk might not stay on it and the Pure1100 works pretty awesome with.(and I didn't had the patience to wait for the XL Silk that might be launched in sept/oct).

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Jeroensurf said..
Aprox the same as the Silk1050. The foil needs imo a tiny bit more boardspeed before take off, but is also pretty easy to pump with little higher freq pumps instead of bigger movements.
Exact windspeed is so hard to tell, because rider weight, skills, board, wing, wingsize and water conditions etc all are a part of it of the total sum of flying or not.
The difference with the Silk 1050 is that once on the Foil the 1100 keeps gliding and gliding like nothing else and is still pretty okay to turn and to control when going fast. We often have in the summer light wind 5m days with knee/waisthigh bumps with flats in between where the Silk might not stay on it and the Pure1100 works pretty awesome with.(and I didn't had the patience to wait for the XL Silk that might be launched in sept/oct).

Sounds good ,i am in your weight class, i think i need a bigger Silk for me . My silk 1050 works great on 75 cm Mast with a big range of use and next step is the 850 so the bigger one has to wait

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Velocicraptor said..
I've got the 132, 152 and ha40 tails. Now that I have a few sessions on the 132, I can say that it definitely turns a lot quicker than the others, to the point where tacks almost feel pivoty. The tradeoff is that I find it gets pretty twitchy and pitch sensitive at high speed - like it's not enough downforce for a wing the size of the 1050. The ha40 is without a doubt faster though and I find that it rides smoother at speed, but the turns are definitely longer and carvier. The 152 is the slowest, but it brings more low end to the foil. It also balances the 1050 really nicely and adds control to the foil and slows things down (even in bigger conditions) and that's probably the only time I will wind up using that tail.

Ranked from best to worst
Turning - 132, 152, ha40
Speed and Glide - ha40, 132, 152
Control - 152, ha40, 132
Low End and Pumping - 152, ha40, 132 (not a huge difference between the 152 and ha40 here)

These comparisons are all on the Silk 1050. I don't have enough sessions comparing the tails on the 850 yet.

Any 850 updates?

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BWalnut said..

Velocicraptor said..
I've got the 132, 152 and ha40 tails. Now that I have a few sessions on the 132, I can say that it definitely turns a lot quicker than the others, to the point where tacks almost feel pivoty. The tradeoff is that I find it gets pretty twitchy and pitch sensitive at high speed - like it's not enough downforce for a wing the size of the 1050. The ha40 is without a doubt faster though and I find that it rides smoother at speed, but the turns are definitely longer and carvier. The 152 is the slowest, but it brings more low end to the foil. It also balances the 1050 really nicely and adds control to the foil and slows things down (even in bigger conditions) and that's probably the only time I will wind up using that tail.

Ranked from best to worst
Turning - 132, 152, ha40
Speed and Glide - ha40, 132, 152
Control - 152, ha40, 132
Low End and Pumping - 152, ha40, 132 (not a huge difference between the 152 and ha40 here)

These comparisons are all on the Silk 1050. I don't have enough sessions comparing the tails on the 850 yet.

Any 850 updates?

Not enough time trying the ha40 with the 850 yet. In the gorge later this week and happy to let you try it. PM me if so.

Put over 1000 miles on the Silks this year. Here's my updated review!

www.wouzel.com/post/1000-miles-later-afs-silk-650-1050-and

Thanks for this, I was all set on these, then I saw the enduro and the 750, now I've no clue which I need to get.

I'm 80kg, good standard, ride a 90 and 65l midlengths and ride in X onshore short period waves mostly below chest high but some days overhead.

Mike

If money were no object I'd be on Silks for sure. I'm regularly surf foiling and winging with one of the best foilers in the UK and he ABSOLUTELY rips the Silks. I feel like I'm going uphill when I'm next to him :(

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Mikedubs said..
Thanks for this, I was all set on these, then I saw the enduro and the 750, now I've no clue which I need to get.

I'm 80kg, good standard, ride a 90 and 65l midlengths and ride in X onshore short period waves mostly below chest high but some days overhead.

Mike

I'm the same size and your conditions sound a lot like mine and I'm loving the Silk 850/1050 combo. Brian's commentary around choosing the 650 over the 850 is interesting, but in my conditions I have only rarely found situations where the 850 feels maxed out. If you only wanted a single foil it would be a hard call, particularly without knowing the wind range, but in chest to head high waves with any punch the 1050 would definitely be maxed while the 850 would probably still be fine for me.

I haven't ridden the Enduro, but I'm very curious to try a 700 and/or 900 to supplement the Silk quiver. From talking to several people I understand that the Enduro has considerably more glide (higher AR and thinner) and is probably better suited for more carvy, downwind style riding, where the Silk is going to be for more aggressive surfy, slashy/slarvy, less locked in style riding. The Enduro apparently has a more robust build with full carbon core vs the Silk which is lighter but more fragile. If travel is a consideration, the Silks can be annoying to travel with given the fuse is attached to the wing (I travel a lot with my gear and I manage). Personally, I'm not as interested in the Ultra as I am in the Enduro -- maybe I'm discounting it but I haven't found a lot of foils with a span getting towards 1000mm that have suited my riding (although I haven't tried a foil with that high of an AR either).

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Mikedubs said..
Thanks for this, I was all set on these, then I saw the enduro and the 750, now I've no clue which I need to get.

I'm 80kg, good standard, ride a 90 and 65l midlengths and ride in X onshore short period waves mostly below chest high but some days overhead.

Mike

Well, my review on the Ultra is almost finished, so you'll be able to read that soon. I do have way more experience on the Silks though. Going forward I'll be doing the 500 and 1000 mile updates within each review so as I get more experience on the Ultra I'll add notes. I also rode the 700 Enduro, but only for short demo.

I think it will depend on what kind of riding you do and what you value most. I like changing my foil to change my experience and learn something new. I like having a quiver to move around on and keep things fresh.

The Silks and Ultra are going to be at opposite ends of the priority spectrum, but with excellent overlapping traits.

The Silk is about producing the best carving experience possible on a foil. I find this doubles into being an extremely user friendly foil for winging, easily the best I've ever used. The Silks have WAY better glide than expected for an 8 AR foil, but they are more technical on their glide and pump. IMO these are still my favorite.

The Ultra has an AR of 14. This foil is about getting extreme glide in even the worst situations. The turning is better than any other ultra high aspect foil I've ever ridden, but it hasn't produced the same "carve and drive" experience that the Silks do. This foil, for me, is really about gliding forever in a huge range of conditions and still being able to make great turns. Of all three, Silk, Enduro, Ultra, this foil feels like the most technical, and took the most time for me to figure out. The glide reward and ability to look at swell differently, and learn something new about the water, is worth it to me.

The Enduro 700 is the perfect middle ground for people who don't prefer the extremes of performance. It's the love child of the Silk and Ultra. My demo on this foil was in throttling conditions and I immediately felt at home on it. The turns felt similar to my experience of the 850 but with a speed boost to try and catch up to the 650 and a glide that lands perfectly in between the Silk and Ultra. You sacrifice weight, efficiency, beauty, and UHM carbon construction of the Silk/Ultra but gain a breakdown system that travels a lot better and you get access to additional foils for a dramatically lower price since you only have to buy one fuselage.

I had a few days where I second guessed my purchase of the Ultra, but only because I rode the Enduro. My tiny snapshot on the Enduro was SO GOOD that I considered the possibility that the Ultra wasn't right for me. However, I have now tried the Ultra in a wide range of swell, with different masts, boards, stab positions, and once I got that kit sorted out just the way I liked it, I feel as though it is the right choice for me.

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IanInca said..
If money were no object I'd be on Silks for sure. I'm regularly surf foiling and winging with one of the best foilers in the UK and he ABSOLUTELY rips the Silks. I feel like I'm going uphill when I'm next to him :(

Save up! It's worth it when you get them underfoot.

Thanks guys, interesting. I'll keep researching snd make a decision at the end of the year ehen I'm looking to swap out my SK8s.

Mike

Jonn Mann was very kind to bring me a KD Maui Marlin 14 from Maui for my Silks and first time use it was nervous, very backfooted and couldnt get allong with it. shimmed it and still didnt work at all.I messaged Kane via Insta and showed him some pics, he probably must have laughed is ass off because I had put the wrong side up
Anyway, with the right side up the Marlin 14 on the back of my Silk 1050 is a miracle!
It makes the foil more lively, turns like a smaller stab with the full grip and stability of the original one while being a bit faster as well.
An pretty awesome upgrade.
With post and the ridiculous amount of taxes (close to 35%) they are pretty expensive to order from Europe, but when I ever feel the need to treat myself I order a 13 and a DW as well.

What tail were you using originally?

The 152 and tried the 142, but this Marlin seems better in pretty much everything once you have a little bit of speed.Only on the borderline of getting/ staying on foil its a bit twitchy.
Yesterday I felt I was trying to get a bit of tailslide like you would do (wind)surfing when kicking the fins out against the lip. The stab makes you try crazy stuff like that.

That's great info I'd love to try those sometime. Of course the only tail you didn't ride (132)is the one I use ????

I've used the Marlin on other setups but sold it before I got the silks. The ha tails are probably somewhat similar. Definitely bring some speed out of the foils but the span stiffens up the turning a little. I'm going to chop my ha40 a little and I have high expectations.

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Jeroensurf said..
Jonn Mann was very kind to bring me a KD Maui Marlin 14 from Maui for my Silks and first time use it was nervous, very backfooted and couldnt get allong with it. shimmed it and still didnt work at all.I messaged Kane via Insta and showed him some pics, he probably must have laughed is ass off because I had put the wrong side up
Anyway, with the right side up the Marlin 14 on the back of my Silk 1050 is a miracle!
It makes the foil more lively, turns like a smaller stab with the full grip and stability of the original one while being a bit faster as well.
An pretty awesome upgrade.
With post and the ridiculous amount of taxes (close to 35%) they are pretty expensive to order from Europe, but when I ever feel the need to treat myself I order a 13 and a DW as well.

Don't stress, you are not the first!

"Couldn't get along with it" - is an understatement. I was in a hurry, chatting to mates while rigging up, and knew immediately after catching the first wave........Swapped it around and voila, back in dreamland...

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BWalnut said..
That's great info I'd love to try those sometime. Of course the only tail you didn't ride (132)is the one I use ????

No sorry, I don,t have the 132 but its on the ever growing wishlist.

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Jeroensurf said..
Great review.I,m 97kg and riding mostly North sea (Europe) conditions where we have mostly wind waves. Less strong as the Gorge but often bigger waves and your findings are very similar to mine. I demoed the 1050 and didn't want to give it back so swallowed the Price tag and kept it.
Regarding to some other foils like Armstrong HA and Code the AFS is a bit bigger in cm2. So if you like to brag, I ride a tiny....cm2 foil, other brands make foils for a similar range with less cm2.
Comparing to Armstrong the Silk 1050 sit in a similar range as the HA880 with a little bit less glide that the HA880 but faster and better/tighter turning, so besides the questions on the beach why I ride 1050 instead of an 800something there is no downside in it to me.

The Silk isnt a pure Ocean glider, that where they have there Pure HA for , but riding waves and steep bumps it is the best foil I tried so far. For me the range of the 1050 is insane wide, but In power full breaking steep waves of 2m+ It can become a bit hand full when riding close to the pocket. That is where I grab the 850 and haven,t seen so far conditions where that one gets too big. I haven,t tried the Cedrus V2, but owned the V1 and with the AFS I have simply less ventilation (and feels a lot faster).

I was lately able to swap my set with a friend on the Axis HM mast with an Spitfire900 wich should be made for a similar range and to me that set felt like stuck in 3th gear compared to the Silk 1050. I don,t have a ton of experience on Axis, but felt a bit underwhelmed with it.

Which mast are you riding the Silks on in the North Sea? 80 or 85 UHM?
I see that Laurent (the designer) recommends using the 80 mast (not sure if this is for winging), but in choppy sea and waves this may be too short.