Forums > Wing Foiling General

Armstrong HA 925 - thoughts?

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Created by longboard > 9 months ago, 21 Aug 2021
stroppo
WA, 747 posts
4 Sep 2021 1:26PM
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eppo said..
Get mine today. Cant wait. Especially for proning.


You have to give us a spin I wanna demo one before I buy

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
4 Sep 2021 9:15PM
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stroppo said..

eppo said..
Get mine today. Cant wait. Especially for proning.



You have to give us a spin I wanna demo one before I buy


Easy. When ya getting back your 72 mast off me man??

stroppo
WA, 747 posts
4 Sep 2021 10:07PM
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Next week I'm on call till Wednesday

longboard
179 posts
7 Sep 2021 8:19PM
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Any feedback /comparison on how the 925 compares to the 1250 in handling characteristics...?
Turning, glide & pump etc...

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
7 Sep 2021 9:08PM
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From what ive seen with antman so far (hes yet to give up the 925) it turns much sharper and glides further as youd expect. Pumping takes more finesse again as youd expect. Also you gotta keep up enough speed - recovery at slower speeds is harder.


Also the recovery from a low mast position on the pump is much easier on the 1250 he said. Like most things - higher performance requires better skills.

some swell about hopefully this weekend cant wait to try it. Will report back as the 1250 both chopped and unchopped is all i use.

longboard
179 posts
7 Sep 2021 9:52PM
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eppo said..
From what ive seen with antman so far (hes yet to give up the 925) it turns much sharper and glides further as youd expect. Pumping takes more finesse again as youd expect. Also you gotta keep up enough speed - recovery at slower speeds is harder.


Also the recovery from a low mast position on the pump is much easier on the 1250 he said. Like most things - higher hi performance requires better skills.

some swell about hopefully this weekend cant wait to try it. Will report back as the 1250 both chopped and unchopped is all i use.


I'm,wondering : for the intermediate /average winger, if the 1250 isn't a better option...?

Looking forward to hearing your feedback from this weekend...

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
8 Sep 2021 7:21AM
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No wondering needed, you are spot on. But like anything high performance gear can make you improve quicker because you have to. Just a more painful journey

that being said antman did comment how stable the take off was given its wide wing span. Others have said the same thing to me out in the water (regarding the 1125).
Antman is no beginner, probably between intermediate and really good, but this was only his third go using armstrong gear getting off the much easier to use Konrad old school fat wings.

foilthegreats
761 posts
8 Sep 2021 8:53AM
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I had a solid wing session in about 10-25 kts. Setup 925/72/60+/V200CHOP/No shim

I'm 70kg riding 4'9 70L Appletree, Dart 4M

Still need to work on dialling in a shim probably .5 with the 60. This thing is so fast when you put the foot on the gas. Lost control a few times at high speed, hard wipeouts. The 72 mast only felt limited at high speed and when really cranking a hard turn. Will use 100 next session.
For me probably a 15kts and up foil. Anything under it's a workout getting up on foil but still can if you want to pump it up.
Performance feels amazing especially when attacking waist high waves. The way you can link waves and accelerate the foil so effortlessly is extremely addictive.
Can't wait for more time on this thing but so far definitely drinking the hype cool aid.

bhc
VIC, 203 posts
10 Sep 2021 7:07PM
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Those who have been winging with HA925, what shim/tail have you tried and which one is your favourite?

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
10 Sep 2021 6:11PM
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Yes please above using mine tomoz for first time ..

Windoc
442 posts
10 Sep 2021 10:53PM
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bhc said..
Those who have been winging with HA925, what shim/tail have you tried and which one is your favourite?


Currently have only tried V-tail, no shim, 85 mast, 60 fuse. Feels great out of the gate. I'll start experimenting with shims soon.

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
12 Sep 2021 4:49PM
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The 925 is acid ball tripping ..

Foilnut
181 posts
12 Sep 2021 11:36PM
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Really liking the 925 over the 1125 for bigger swell. May more manageable. The 925 does not pump as well but jibing is really fast and intuitive with the 925. With the 1125 i really need to roll my knees into the turn to keep speed and maintain pressure. I have only been riding with the 232 tail/60 fuse. Next run I will slap on the V200 tail. Any comments on the differences on riding with the 232 vs the V200 tail if you have ridden both.

Weight 85 kg/90 l board

longboard
179 posts
13 Sep 2021 7:56AM
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Any comparison between pump & glide of the 1250 vs 925...?

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
13 Sep 2021 8:50AM
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Yeh, cause had 1250 in morning and 925 arvo sesh on the prone. With no other changes in variables

as expected a ton more glide and the speed freaked me out for a bit on the 925. Even pumping the speed shocked me.

less forgiving - drop speed, drop mast height . then all of a sudden ya in the drink.


i need to get better to use the 925.


my son was pumping the entire bay and linking up head high and above waves out back at will though.

longboard
179 posts
13 Sep 2021 11:38AM
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eppo said..
Yeh, cause had 1250 in morning and 925 arvo sesh on the prone. With no other changes in variables

as expected a ton more glide and the speed freaked me out for a bit on the 925. Even pumping the speed shocked me.

less forgiving - drop speed, drop mast height . then all of a sudden ya in the drink.


i need to get better to use the 925.


my son was pumping the entire bay and linking up head high and above waves out back at will though.


Geez Eppo.
If you need to get better to use the 925 I'm guessing that means the vast majority of us are in the same boat & need to up our game too.

Have you ridden the HA1125?
How do the 925 & 1125 stack up in terms of "user friendliness"...?

I'm almost too scared to ask...!

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
13 Sep 2021 12:03PM
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No havent used the 1125, been too chicken because my game goes from hero to zero even within sessions, for some reason. Pumping, linking, going nuts, then an hour can go by where Im a complete kook. So i wouldnt use me as a benchmark.

to put your mind at rest - first session (and i hate change) and by the end of it i was semi dialed in


guys who ive ridden with who have tried both find them pretty similar - they are actually quite stable on the lift due to their width. Reckon though the 1125 would be served best by a wider flat KD maui type tail wing (just theorising)

will just take a bit of time to adjust.


but one thing is for sure - it highlights / finds hidden flaws in your technique. It demands a better rider.


challenge accepted

bhc
VIC, 203 posts
13 Sep 2021 9:55PM
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eppo said..
Yeh, cause had 1250 in morning and 925 arvo sesh on the prone. With no other changes in variables

as expected a ton more glide and the speed freaked me out for a bit on the 925. Even pumping the speed shocked me.

less forgiving - drop speed, drop mast height . then all of a sudden ya in the drink.


i need to get better to use the 925.


my son was pumping the entire bay and linking up head high and above waves out back at will though.


What tail and shim did you use?

I had four sessions with 232/-2 and two sessions with 232/-1 in the bay with confused wind chop except today.. .at my level didn't feel too much a difference but today with -1 felt pretty good with a couple of nice rides down the rolling chop. It feels really fast and scary but I think it will work better in these conditions than the hs1250. Too early to call yet and fingers crossed for a great summer :)

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
13 Sep 2021 9:24PM
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Non A plus, V tail, -2 shim. Same as ive been using on both a chopped and non chopped 1250
Trying the 1250 (non chopped) on zero Shim tmoz morning. Should be interesting now that i can move my mast more Forward on the armie FG board.

Oahuwaterwalker
293 posts
21 Sep 2021 6:44AM
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MidAtlanticFoil said..
I've tested out the 925 around 4 sessions winging and one session prone. It pairs very well with the 1125. I could sell my 1850 and 1250, and be happy (keeping the 1050 of course). It feels to me like a smaller, more agile/nimble 1125. Like others have said, more user friendly than the 1125 for sure. It cranks turns so easy.
My last wing session was maybe 12-18mph gusts and I was on my 4M wing (underpowered). Later switched to a 5M and 1125 and it jumped to 20-30 lol, but still had a blast. www.instagram.com/reel/CSzspEZA3Ql/?utm_medium=copy_link

I would say it has a similar stall speed to the 1125. The more I ride both, the better I get at lowering that stall speed. Ride high, then dive it into a pump at stall point to regain that speed and continue. Super excited about both these wings. I knew holding out with Armstrong gear was the call. Wings keep getting better as my skill improves.


How would you compare the wind minimum needed for the HA925 compared to the HS1250? I can generally get the 1250 going in 12-15mph wind (I'm 165lbs), but wondered if the 925 was similar or more like the 1050 in terms of how much wind you need. Thanks!

eppo
WA, 9688 posts
21 Sep 2021 7:02AM
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So had a couple of proper sessions yesterday. So addictive is the speed and glide. Messed a fair few links up though as the thing turns on a dime!! Breached tips lost speed come off foil.

on the old system with zero shim then reversed and chopped a plus one red shim to make a minus one setup (so would be no shim on the A plus - my son is also at minus 1 which he likes). With a chopped V tail and 60 fuse.

It really rewards good technique but punishes bad, especially with pumping back out. You can go from a gliding speeding hero to zero quickly.


As crew have said - light, quick soft pumps at the start and to bring yourself up on the mast if you drop and slow. Muscle memory kicked in though and i instinctively chomped on the gas at the wrong times need to unlearn some bad habbits.

on the pumping side of things, i get the feeling a 50 fuse would be a better pairing to get that soft higher cadence going?? Have others found this?


Also fellas who have been using this wing - have you moved your mast forward or back relative to say a 1250 - of whatever HS you have used in the past

vogelokinawa
1 posts
25 Sep 2021 3:26AM
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Just got my HS925 the other day. I wanted to get it out day 1 but FEDEX delivered it while I was on the water. Today was my first go on the wing. Wind was 25+, knee to waist wind swell. I am an intermediate winger, 90 KG using a 95L board, A+ 72 mast, 70 cm fuse, V tail with one red shim and I am in the process of shaving the tips off the V tail. I am about half way there. I have winged with the CF2400, CF1600, HS1850, HS1250, and HS1050. A couple of weeks ago I borrowed a buddies HA1125 to test it out to see if it would work for me. I loved the HA1125 glide but did not like the way it turned so I went for the HA925. I was not disappointed. After a 1 hour session this morning I have a new favorite front wing.

The first thing I was worried about was my ability to get going on such a small wing so I used my 5m Duotone Unit. I had plenty of power and was able, to my surprise, to pop right up on foil. Immediately I noticed that the HA925 is a little more squirrely than any wing I have used except the HS1050. This is not a bad thing but just needed a little time, about 15 minutes, to get used to the feel of it. It reacts quickly to any input you give it. The glide was insane, almost as good or as good as the HA1125, and way better than the HS1250. The HS1850 may glide as good but I can defiantly ride large waves on the HA925 without getting overpowered. Riding bumps downwind just felt effortless. It is very fast and pumps very well. The upwind ability of this wing is also insane, the same as the HS1125. You can just point so far upwind. It makes upwinding then downwinding then upwinding again almost effortless. Turning was amazing. I feel like it turns as good as the HS1250.

Another great aspect of the HA925 is the way it cuts though the chop and swell. When you are riding parallel to the swell on the HS1850 and even the HS1250, the swell seems to affect the foil more than when using the HA925.

Have no idea about the bottom end of this wing yet as the wind was so good today. Need to test it with my Duotone Slick 6.5 to see how low I can go before I have to switch to the HS1850.

I have tried to SUP foil the HA1125 and while I was able to get on foil and do some pumping, the waves were a bit small and could not get the speed I needed to give it a proper go. Looking forward to the next bigger surf day so i can try the HA925 on my SUP.

I also need to try this wing with the kite. I have been using the HS1250 and HS1050 to kite foil but feel like the HA925 may work better. Can not wait to try it out.

Lastly I still need to do some back to back testing. HA925 vs HS1250 and HA925 vs HS1050. There may be some front wings on sale in the near future. I feel like the HS925 may cover the same range for me as the HS1250 and HS1050. May get the HS1550 V2 to cover the gap between the HS1850 and the HA925 or wait to see how the HA1325 performs.

Windoc
442 posts
25 Sep 2021 8:08AM
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Yes, the 925 is very sweet! I've ridden the 1125, 925, and unchopped 1250 with the V-tail and no shim back to back winging with the least time on the 1125. I actually found the 1125 surprisingly really nice to turn and ride right away with insane glide. The 925 was similar but with more reactivity and speed as you'd expect. The 925 seems to just accelerate on large wind swell without threatening to over-foil or overpower the rider and just seems to be happier the faster you go. You can really let it run and it feels comparatively frictionless to the HS wings. But going back to the 1250, I still really appreciated the all round nature of that foil and lower stall speed. I haven't quite figured out if the 925 replaces the 1250 yet, especially as I want to chop the 1250 at some point to get rid of the less desirable characteristics inherent to it. The 1050 is such an amazing foil; tight carves, good speed and surfy turns. I wish I owned one. I'm still developing my HA foil skills on the 925 but so far it's really impressive outside of the higher stall speed.

MidAtlanticFoil
818 posts
25 Sep 2021 10:30AM
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Great review Vogel. Bummed I didn't make that session. As I told ya on the beach last session, wait till you put away the 70 fuse and grab the 60. It is a drastic change for the better. Although I am a featherweight haha. Nailing gybes on a tight arc into waves is more intuitive. Less lay it over and wait, especially with the 1125.

I haven't used my 1250 in ages. I need to get it back out.with the angle grinder and a brewskie.
Sunday sideoffshores..DownWindWingSurfRun oceanfront??

Oahuwaterwalker
293 posts
26 Sep 2021 7:21AM
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Well... I ended up picking up an HA925 so I could find out for myself. Hopefully the local forecast holds for tomorrow 20-25mph winds and slightly overhead swell. It's an impressive looking foil, I'll report back.

Oahuwaterwalker
293 posts
26 Sep 2021 12:51PM
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vogelokinawa said..
Just got my HS925 the other day. I wanted to get it out day 1 but FEDEX delivered it while I was on the water. Today was my first go on the wing. Wind was 25+, knee to waist wind swell. I am an intermediate winger, 90 KG using a 95L board, A+ 72 mast, 70 cm fuse, V tail with one red shim and I am in the process of shaving the tips off the V tail. I am about half way there. I have winged with the CF2400, CF1600, HS1850, HS1250, and HS1050. A couple of weeks ago I borrowed a buddies HA1125 to test it out to see if it would work for me. I loved the HA1125 glide but did not like the way it turned so I went for the HA925. I was not disappointed. After a 1 hour session this morning I have a new favorite front wing.

The first thing I was worried about was my ability to get going on such a small wing so I used my 5m Duotone Unit. I had plenty of power and was able, to my surprise, to pop right up on foil. Immediately I noticed that the HA925 is a little more squirrely than any wing I have used except the HS1050. This is not a bad thing but just needed a little time, about 15 minutes, to get used to the feel of it. It reacts quickly to any input you give it. The glide was insane, almost as good or as good as the HA1125, and way better than the HS1250. The HS1850 may glide as good but I can defiantly ride large waves on the HA925 without getting overpowered. Riding bumps downwind just felt effortless. It is very fast and pumps very well. The upwind ability of this wing is also insane, the same as the HS1125. You can just point so far upwind. It makes upwinding then downwinding then upwinding again almost effortless. Turning was amazing. I feel like it turns as good as the HS1250.

Another great aspect of the HA925 is the way it cuts though the chop and swell. When you are riding parallel to the swell on the HS1850 and even the HS1250, the swell seems to affect the foil more than when using the HA925.

Have no idea about the bottom end of this wing yet as the wind was so good today. Need to test it with my Duotone Slick 6.5 to see how low I can go before I have to switch to the HS1850.

I have tried to SUP foil the HA1125 and while I was able to get on foil and do some pumping, the waves were a bit small and could not get the speed I needed to give it a proper go. Looking forward to the next bigger surf day so i can try the HA925 on my SUP.

I also need to try this wing with the kite. I have been using the HS1250 and HS1050 to kite foil but feel like the HA925 may work better. Can not wait to try it out.

Lastly I still need to do some back to back testing. HA925 vs HS1250 and HA925 vs HS1050. There may be some front wings on sale in the near future. I feel like the HS925 may cover the same range for me as the HS1250 and HS1050. May get the HS1550 V2 to cover the gap between the HS1850 and the HA925 or wait to see how the HA1325 performs.


Great review!

MidAtlanticFoil
818 posts
27 Sep 2021 8:32AM
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Second session in a row where I used the 925 and switched to the 1125 and ended up enjoying the 1125 more. Could be that I'm still dialing in the 925 variables, or it may be that it was almost too fast for the rather disorganized .5-1M windswell at 3-4 seconds. I kept getting these surge lifts and over foiling as the wing caught up to/blasted through, rising surges in the bumps. Bumped back the mast a cm and still same issue. I got a Personal Best speed and upon reviewing the gps tracks I noticed it was right before a memorable full-on torpedo swan dive breach while dropping in on a chest high swell. Maybe I need to dial back from the +1 tail shim and push back the mast to even out (offset) the lift characteristics between the front and tail wing. More tinkering required.
The 1125 just felt more in control and less tossed around in those conditions somehow, maybe due to the slightly lower speed and wider span. I lined up a great downwind glide that was probably my longest yet to date.

Windoc
442 posts
27 Sep 2021 12:04PM
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I feel like the last two sessions on the 925 have shown me even more potential with this foil. Really liking it more and more. The outside wind swell was over head high today at times and the 925 just lights up the faster you go while drifting down the swell. The carves from this thing are very predictable even at speed. You can really trust it to not do anything weird. A bunch of times I heard a tip gurgle/hiss through a turn and no catastrophic drop. Not like the HS1250. I really like the direction these HA wings are going! I may need to get the 1125 now

kobo
NSW, 1107 posts
27 Sep 2021 5:11PM
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MidAtlanticFoil said..
Second session in a row where I used the 925 and switched to the 1125 and ended up enjoying the 1125 more. Could be that I'm still dialing in the 925 variables, or it may be that it was almost too fast for the rather disorganized .5-1M windswell at 3-4 seconds. I kept getting these surge lifts and over foiling as the wing caught up to/blasted through, rising surges in the bumps. Bumped back the mast a cm and still same issue. I got a Personal Best speed and upon reviewing the gps tracks I noticed it was right before a memorable full-on torpedo swan dive breach while dropping in on a chest high swell. Maybe I need to dial back from the +1 tail shim and push back the mast to even out (offset) the lift characteristics between the front and tail wing. More tinkering required.
The 1125 just felt more in control and less tossed around in those conditions somehow, maybe due to the slightly lower speed and wider span. I lined up a great downwind glide that was probably my longest yet to date.


That sounds promising, I'm keeping my 1125 for DW as the season is about begin here, absolutely lovin the 925 for prone surf, and maybe some of the bigger DW days.You got me all fired up to get out there DW on the 1125 that wing just glides forever !

MidAtlanticFoil
818 posts
27 Sep 2021 7:46PM
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kobo said..

MidAtlanticFoil said..
Second session in a row where I used the 925 and switched to the 1125 and ended up enjoying the 1125 more. Could be that I'm still dialing in the 925 variables, or it may be that it was almost too fast for the rather disorganized .5-1M windswell at 3-4 seconds. I kept getting these surge lifts and over foiling as the wing caught up to/blasted through, rising surges in the bumps. Bumped back the mast a cm and still same issue. I got a Personal Best speed and upon reviewing the gps tracks I noticed it was right before a memorable full-on torpedo swan dive breach while dropping in on a chest high swell. Maybe I need to dial back from the +1 tail shim and push back the mast to even out (offset) the lift characteristics between the front and tail wing. More tinkering required.
The 1125 just felt more in control and less tossed around in those conditions somehow, maybe due to the slightly lower speed and wider span. I lined up a great downwind glide that was probably my longest yet to date.



That sounds promising, I'm keeping my 1125 for DW as the season is about begin here, absolutely lovin the 925 for prone surf, and maybe some of the bigger DW days.You got me all fired up to get out there DW on the 1125 that wing just glides forever !


Yeah I'm loving the 925 for prone and the 1125 for winging right now.



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"Armstrong HA 925 - thoughts?" started by longboard