Armstrong and me, end of a love story.... Searching for new adventures

Why no sabfoil 945?

Lots of people are really enjoying the Axis Art wings with standard aluminium mast which is very stiff. Add a high modulus mast if you have loads of cash. I ride the 1099 and 899. The glide is next level whilst pumping and turning ability is also very good. The 1099 if feel a bit hard to handle in heavy wind chop but I'm hoping the new carbon high modulus mast will help that. Mostly I ride the 899 on these days and it's crazy fun. Adrian Roper is such a good designer and makes it hard to consider other brands. So much interchangeability. So much quality. Such good design.

At your 57 kg I'm really surprised you find the Armstrong 85 mast unusable. At over 90kg it's my feeling that I really only start to feel undesired flex with my 1125. All of the smaller HAs and HS foils feel really good to me on the 85. This being the case, it sounds like Armstrong has had enough criticism of flexible connections and a softer mast flex and possibly lots of us who just don't know any better have adapted to the so called "engineered" flex. I am hoping to see a stiffer Armstrong mast in the near future as the entire system is so nice to use and customer support is amazing. Good luck in your new relationship .

I would suggest demoing a few brands, I won't plug anything without firsthand experience, just don't settle for what the kool-aid is pushing. ART is okay, but there are a lot of problems with it. And more band aids than any other brand to try and make it alright (advanced fuse, 325 tail).
I would suggest the following:
Kujira for carve.
FOne Eagle for the best of carve and glide.

First and foremost, go with a brand that you can purchase and get service from easily without having to pay $100's of dollars and weeks on end for "warranty." Second: stiffness is a matter of feel and not performance imo. I am very used to the flex of my Takuma carbon rig and anytime I get on an Axis mast, I hate it. The only time I can say flex has been an issue is using a 1440 wing and not shimming the fuse to wing connection thus leaving a little wobble. Slop in the system is very bad. But I also don't run a long mast. Lots of guys I know are much heavier than you and use the Armstrong 85cm mast with much success. Maybe the wings you are using are just not well suited to your style. HA wings can be a blessing or a curse, as can the lift profile of front foot pressure vs. a more neutral wing like the Takuma 1095 that I love.

Sounds like you are able to test different brands which is truly a luxury. Please post your rig when you settle on one!

I've done some garage testing of foil masts, eg, bolt it to the wall, hang weights of it and measure the deflection. The Phantasm is the stiffest I've found, though I haven't tested the new Sabfoil Kraken or the Cedrus.

Good thread, I was in a similar position and just setup my new setup. I came from riding the 725 on 72 mast (85 was too flexy and sold it) and now am riding a lift 90ha, nolimitz 78 mast, foilparts tail adapter and a kujira 178 tail and really liking it.
When I bought my armstrong stuff, a major reason was the zero maintenance benefits, however as time has gone by the inside of the mast against the surface of the fuse has worn away alot (even without regular disassembly). I guess saltwater gets in there and crystalises and this causes abrasion when in use. Now I have this sloppy mast and fuse (worth almost $2k) that doesnt work very well and I see this as a major fault in their system and a very poor sustainability outcome (after 1.5 year use and so much energy required to extract the raw materials).

Since you're based in Italy I am surprised you're not interested in Sabfoil ?

I use the Cedrus mast with Axis and Lift adapters. Rode Armie to start and was happy and the tried the Axis hps, then Art foils and bought them. Wasnt using Armstrong so sold them.
Heard about Cedrus through the Progression podcast and they sounded good. And the ability to change foil brands without a complete gear change.
I am happy to have made the decision.
Foiling is new sport and it is in a growth "arms race" now. Some product will be good, some not so.

Life is short so enjoy.

Damn you drank the kool aid

With Cedrus you have to order it online. You pay a deposit of $usd 500, then you get contacted discuss your requirements, mast length, adapters and then wait. When made you get an invoice, once paid it comes pretty quick. I paid $200 duty on it. In total around 2000 aud landed with the then exchange rate. Axis and lift adapters.

Have had no issues. Justed checked yesterday and it was all tight.

Check out the progression project podcast for an interview.

If you have a carbon mast that slots 'into' the fuse like Axis, Takuma, Cabrinha etc you have to keep an eye on wear. Carbon is a very soft material when it comes to abrasion. 0.5 mm slop at the fuse translates to a lot more at the mast base. Someone I knew was having trouble with the ART999 on their Axis carbon mast, said it was really unstable. I tried it and could barely foil in a straight line yet alone gybe. Checked the connection between the fuse and mast and it was noticeably loose due to wear. A couple of coats of epoxy to tighten it up and it was light and day. Same happened to my carbon mast/fuse after 200+ sessions, was struggling with transitions I could normally do in my sleep. Noticed a bit of movement at the fuse junction, a couple of coats of epoxy and back to normal again. Hold the area between the mast to fuse junction between your finger and thumb and wiggle the foil, if you can feel movement you have a problem.

keep this in mind when you demo your mates gear, you might not be getting the true experience