Zane Schweitzer - Foiling

GoFoil Iwa ... big wing! And a 6'9" board, tiny sup. Looks fun. I am not a huge fan of the pumping, but recognize it's a means to a pretty cool end.

James: you have any experience yet SUPing or surfing the takuma clone? Able to pump it like this? Before xmas I got mine to the point of being able to get up on foil and ride for a ways on most waves paddled for. But then I broke my mount, not yet fixed, so no advancement since. Curious to know the performance potential of that wing. I suspect it may be limited ... gets up on foil so easily, but maybe less glide and maneuverability once riding? Those gofoils sure look smooth, though with price tag to match.

Are you serious, this brings the sport to a new level. I know a place where the waves line up better than this on the coast. However how ridiculous is this for a workout. Forget bike riders I think Ive just found the fittest athletes on the planet.

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Piros said..
The IWA 160 is a big wing 83cm x 25cm & the Takuma 100 is only 59cm x 26cm so you can't do a fair comparison , you should compare it to the Kai 120 wing 64cm x 23cm. Neither the Takuma 100 or Kai will pump like the IWA.

That's good info, thanks Piros. The Takuma seemed so much larger and more extreme in shape than gofoil, I was wondering if pumping is even possible. With its big scoop, It is more like a snow shovel upside down than a streamlined wing, so it gets up quick but maybe doesn't have enough glide? However, seems it is now dwarfed by IWA and others and is no longer extreme in shape or size!

It's really interesting to see how this foil sup/surf thing is evolving, as some talented folks in good locations play and learn, push the gear to its limits, and then re-design to find new capabilities. Watching Kai Lenny's ride at Jaws, the critics point out he's just standing there ... but anyone who foils understands how extreme it is that he could even make that wave. The real question is: what will that ride look like next year? And what gear will he be on, to maximize performance?

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colas said..

juandesooka said..
so it gets up quick but maybe doesn't have enough glide?

Actually, not having enough glide, that is being slower, seems for me (based on the videos) to help at the beginning: even if you go straight, it avoids going far ahead on the flats before the wave, and sinking. We now see foiling videos where heavy riders just go straight towards the beach, this would have been impossible with last year foils, where you would have to more closely follow the trim lime to keep flying.

No question ... that's exactly what the large scooped takuma wing does very well! I tried it under kite for the first time, it was rising up to foil while I was pushing it body dragging ... that's probably 3-5mph. So it's super easy to get up and foiling in waves, and nice and stable while riding along straight and slow.

What remains to be seen though: once you are ready to carve tighter turns, does it do that well too? And also, if you want to try this hopping around to connect waves, can it do this like we see in the video above? The question boils down to: does the features that make it super easy for beginners detract from its capabilities for intermediates/experts? (kind of like surfboards: easy to learn on boards are not high performers; and high performers are not easy to learn on).

All the videos out there of more advanced surf foiling seem to be gofoil ... but that may just be that they have 95% of the market and all the pros. I hope to answer the question myself over the next year with more time on the water, though certainly not to "pro" level. :-)