Everyone here knows that foils are advancing quickly, and like most gear intensive sports, the highest performance for advanced foilers pushing boundaries get most of the attention...what is happening on the foil front to make this sport more accessible/easy for average shlubs starting out and through their first few seasons (not surfing yet...just trying to mow the lawn in comfort and style).
I started on a Lift Surf 250 v2, and when I got a foil drive and could efoil, tried the Lift 150hax, and a Sab Leviathan 1150. efoiling, I find the 150hax is by far the most fun (fast, nimble, predictable, and I would say, well-mannered), but with a wing, the speed it needs (and the attention my wing requires) makes it not very realistic for me to ride yet (I also lack consistently strong winds). What are the new foils, and what are their characteristics, that are making the late-beginner/intermediate foiling easier?
what are their characteristics:
Good question, I think in order of importance beginning at a beginner and ending with intermediate, characteristics are as follows:
1. recover from tip breaches easily
2. slow stall speed
3. wide speed range
4. easy intuitive pump
5. predictable carving without pitch instability
6. roll easily from rail to rail and won't get stuck on one side
I think the latest generation of surf foils largely prioritise these. Unifoil Progression, Axis Spitfire, Takuma Kujira.
Maybe lesser extent the F-one Sk8 as it is more intermediate.
I appreciate that list and the recommendations...
I also wonder about "characteristics" in the sense of AR, size, section, profile, camber, blah, blah...
One of the possible challenges here is that if you are new, you likely aren't getting a ton of:
1. Time on foil
2. Experience with a range of foils throughout early progression to compare
...which could explain the relative lack of discussion comparing new foils for making learning easy
Spokeydoke, I think it's not just about the front foil. It's the whole foil setup.
The Axis BSC's and PnG's I'm playing around on have been around for some time now but they're really good for me.
The PnG 910 is my go to. I can massively change it's characteristics depending on what fuse and tail I use with it. So to make it easier to use in choppy crappy conditions, I use the standard length fuse with a bigger tail (say a 440 freeride). I can foot switch with absolute ease and rarely fall with this combo.
If theres some waves or I want a bit of speed, then I can change the tail to a 400 progressive and speed it up and make it turn a lot quicker. And/or can go to a shorter fuse to improve turning even more. If it gets too pitch unstable when doing things like foot switches, then put on a longer fuse or a bigger tail.
So while I see what you are getting at with the ideal front foil, I think its good to be mindful that the tail and fuse play a big part in overall performance and stability.
I guess everybody is trying to emulate what everybody else is riding, so when you see a good winger riding a small board and small area foil, you think that is normal. when we were all starting in 2020, everybody was riding relatively big gear... now the gear is more specialized and segmented. People are afraid of outgrowing their gear. I see people going small way too early IMO and this limits progress.
My wife is actually a good barometer for gear that is easy to use... she's pretty non-technical with regard to the brand, specs, shape of gear, but she is a competent rider (can jibe, do flying foot switches, flag out and ride some swell), but she doesn't like things to be complicated or hard to use. She's pretty articulate on what she likes or doesn't like when she rides gear. She pretty much hated the SABFOIL stuff I was riding (W950 and W940), but liked the Slingshot Phantasm PTM 926 and Fanatic Free 1000 for their ease of ride and pitch stability while still lifting off easily and predictably. The first time she rode the Free 1000 she said how it's nice to be on a big foil (presumably for the lift) but that was actually the smallest foil she had ever used at the time.
She also hated my Sky Wing 60l, but loved the 75.
I put her on some new gear at the AWSI show including a Sky Style SLS 55l, and she loved it even with a small foil (in her experience) Glide 905. She picked up on the extra nose volume compared to the red Sky Wing 60l and liked the new angles of the handles on the 2024 Unit (which I was surprised she noticed especially coming from Slicks)
Anyway, sometimes it's good to get gear opinions from people who are not that advanced... they sometimes pick up on the faults/downsides of gear that more skilled riders can overcome easily (or find preferable)
Perhaps her funniest observation when we were learning when she rode a soft handled wing for the first time, I asked her how she liked it, and she said it was terrible and felt like carrying groceries.
As far as what is going to make it easier for people to learn to wing, I think glidier boards that can build speed with less power is going to help people get on foil.... of course it's going to be a tradeoff w/ roll stability when getting started. Maybe don't go to short fuselages too early... and I found riding a big foil for awhile taught me how to keep the foil down.
