As the name suggests, I'm new to winging, but absolutely loving it so far.
I've got a wing and have been bashing around with it on a SUP for a while now. I've got myself a Naish Hover 125 (38 years old and 92kg), so the foil is the next thing to buy.
Speaking to a couple of the shops it seems there are Aluminium options around the $2K AUD mark (Naish, Axis) and carbon options around 3K AUD. The question is if I buy an aluminium foil will I be upgrading to a carbon one soon.
Should I bite the bullet on the carbon?
I'm sure the subtleties of the carbon set-up will be lost on me early on. But if I going to end up on one, I'd rather dive in straight away.
Any help would be awesome.
Pls see here. Also Naish has carbon mast now.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Wing-Foiling/Wind-Wings/Naish-Vs-Axis-Foils
Select to expand quotemarco said..
Pls see here. Also Naish has carbon mast now.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Wing-Foiling/Wind-Wings/Naish-Vs-Axis-Foils
Thanks Marco, appreciate it.
I'm using Naish, probably the the cheaper of the 3 mentioned. The new composite 35 mast is great, almost the same price as the alloys. The S25 and S26 wings are a big improvement on the previous years but all older front wings are fully compatible with the current range.
The Naish fuselage is already low profile, no need to replace the fuselage when moving to the thin high aspect wings like you need to do when using Axis.
Select to expand quotewingrookie said..
As the name suggests, I'm new to winging, but absolutely loving it so far.
I've got a wing and have been bashing around with it on a SUP for a while now. I've got myself a Naish Hover 125 (38 years old and 92kg), so the foil is the next thing to buy.
Speaking to a couple of the shops it seems there are Aluminium options around the $2K AUD mark (Naish, Axis) and carbon options around 3K AUD. The question is if I buy an aluminium foil will I be upgrading to a carbon one soon.
Should I bite the bullet on the carbon?
I'm sure the subtleties of the carbon set-up will be lost on me early on. But if I going to end up on one, I'd rather dive in straight away.
Any help would be awesome.
I went to Armstrong to avoid the corrosion issues on an ali setups and using tefgel. Tefgel is a PITA especially with sand in the mix. I never wash or breakdown my Armstrong setup, no fizz bro 
They also ride better than any other foil I have tried (Axis, Naish, Konrad, Slingshot, GoFoil). Any full carbon setup will be 3k, choose the one that suits you.
Alot depends on budget really. One consideration is that foil design is moving very fast. As a beginner if you spend the big bucks on a top end setup it will probably be well outdated by the time your good enough to appreciate it.
If I were you wing rookie I would be checking the buy and sell looking to get a good Ali 2 wing setup. 1 Big easy wing around 1m wingspan x 2000cm2 and one smaller better performance wing around 1500cm2.
Yes I am sure the best carbon setup will ride better but during the learning you won't know the difference. I don't find the maintenance of aluminum foils to be too big of a deal. With a couple different wings and masts I am always taking it apart anyways and every so often I add some tefgel. If you leave Ali bolted together for many months you can have issues but a bit of care once a month or so and its fine.
I would vote for Axis ( its what I ride) lots of great wings and options ( some say too many). Very rigid connections for all the components. The gear is popular so there's lots of bits and pieces readily available plus good second hand. Lots of evolution in design and new products
( again some say too many)
Yeh i second above and the brand suggested. Once you have a decent skill set then you can try some carbon stuff and see what brands work for you. Had a look at a carbon lift foil Setup the other day - real nice. That being said there is a good reason a lot of crew froth over armstrong like myself.
disclaimer dont know much about the naish gear. Hated their kites so never considered them.
No offence but I think you need to work out where your money buys you value as you improve. So you might have a foil and board that you think are great at the moment, but down the track, you may find a 'need' to upgrade one or both. So if I were you, I'd get aluminium, learn and progress and then after 6 months or so, use that $1000 that you didn't drop on the carbon setup to go towards a gear upgrade. It might be the carbon foil, mast etc that you upgrade to, but it might instead be an additional wing or an upgraded board that might provide better bang for the $? You can always sell the aluminium gear when you do the carbon upgrade.
If you have deep pockets then maybe the carbon foil gear is the better long term option?
A lot depends on your financial situation, but I'm assuming you have some means at your disposal, as this is an expensive sport. I'm of the thinking of "buy once cry once". The foil system is something you'll grow with as your skills improve. Unlike boards that get moved on, most folks end up more "loyal" to their foil brands.
If possible, find a used Armstrong set up. (1850 or 1550 with mast, fuse and tail). These are great foils to have and they hold their value better than most. All their bits fit together, and new and old play well together. I would avoid brands where there are compatibility issues between the years. My thinking is that if they are willing to leave past owners high and dry, they'll likely do it again.
If used stuff are hard to come by, try asking your local board shop for a discount. Most will reward loyalty with 10% off and such.
Good luck and welcome to the addiction.
I would put gofoil in that pack also, quite good product!! I picked axis because it's relatively easy to test a lot of combinaisons of mast/fuse length and different models of stab. I think the sport evolve fast and that was a way for me to gather my info.
Gong makes excellent foils in full carbon for similar cost to a mid range aluminum.
I had Naish and still have Moses (also great - number one foilf brand in europe) and Armstrong.
The one issue with Armstrong is the quality of fuse to mast fit. You have to buy it together and try in the shop. with both my masts the wouldn't fit properly the fuse was to tight or loose.
