I thought you might like a look at the new offering from Taaroa which is also carrying the trademark of Miami-based Tillo International. This is the 2000 UP foil, mounted on the 95cm aluminum fuse and the 80cm Carbon mast, with adjustable 250 stab. The foil is a full meter wide and mounts very solidly with three 8mm screws - actually everything is tight and very stiff compared with the Slingshot i84 I've used exclusively up until last week. We'll see have to see how it holds up over time - the Slingshot is still solid after nearly two years.
I weigh 102kg - at best an intermediate - and do most of my foiling in light/moderate air on a four-batten 7.0 Flyer and a 91cm wide custom Tillo Foil-Slalom Convertible. The wider, somewhat higher-aspect foil on the slightly longer fuse is a much better match for the outboard straps on the board, and the very slippery feel of the setup seems to allow me to accelerate through gusts more easily also. I'd be more comfortable on a longer mast I think - they do make a 97 - but that would blow the price of the setup out of my range for right now and the low price is a big feature of this foil - all that carbon is still only $1400 USD.
The foil lifts very smoothly and positively but very differently from the i84. The i84 will want to lift before it's really going fast enough to stay up. The Tillo, once it starts to lift, is going to accelerate hard and keep flying. I'm not sure how much less wind it takes to get up in the first place but it does lift early. I'm an indifferent (but improving) pumper but can pump this up in 11 and I always felt like 12-13 was the minimum with the Slingshot. Once up it seems to prefer to ride lower than the i84 - not sure why this is - but it will point significantly higher and also drive deeper with stability. The additional stiffness is very evident. Jibes at my level are a work in progress but this foil does carry a lot of speed through the turn.
I've only had four days on it so haven't experimented much with tuning. The stab is adjustable for AoA by loosening the screws and sliding it fore or aft - it lifts best for me with the stab a couple of notches down-angled for more lift. At neutral it stays up well but takes longer to fly. Mast base works well at around 105cm from the front bolt. The setup is heavier than similar carbon/alu rigs from Starboard for instance - both fuse and mast are heavy although the wings are very light.Total weight is actually not much less than that of the Slingshot on the 91cm mast. The whole thing comes in a very nice carrying case with well-fitting padding and slots or loops for everything. As my riding improves I'll have a few things on my shopping list - first would be the longer mast I think, and next the high-aspect 1050 wing. For the next few months though, riding on inland mountain lakes, the current setup seems pretty close to ideal.
