Naish 914 HA foil, any reviews?

Has anyone had the chance to use the Naish HA 914 foil, what's the handling like and what sort of wind speed would I need to get her on the go?

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LeeD said..
Windgenuity did a short review.
Thin, fast, not the best for 7-12 knot breeze.
But 914 is double the size of what slalom foilers use.
Your weight, skill, and wind conditions are big factors.
I'm 72 kg., use my kite 600 wing more often than my 1150. Just need gusts over 15 and a 5 meter sail.

Thanks dude, looking to run it alongside my 1240 HA when it's pretty windy.

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LeeD said..
Not a huge diff, but a good start to a multi foil quiver.
Slalom racers are running around 450 sq cm for 6 meter sails and wind from 10-20.

LeeD, this is a question regarding wingfoiling not windfoiling. Different sports and different requirements.


The windfoil section if further up the page.

Don't be so elite.
We're all riding the foil, whether with or without the 25 lbs load up front.
Speeds are similar. Angles are similar.
914 should be easy for sub 75 kg. skilled riders.
Talking windspeeds 10-22.

I've had one for a while and not got around to trying it but today I thought.. Do it..

I'm used to big foils being 100kgs and was worried about the wind today being so gusty.. 10-30 knots

It was awesome.. Sooo smooth and very fast.. It did take more effort to get going and did drop quickly in the wind holes that I know my big foils would just cruise through..

I'm looking to using it more in steady winds.

I used the standard size (64cm) fuselage and although the 914 foil is usually paired with the smaller 280 stabiliser I left the bigger 310 on for added stability.. I left the mast in my usual position about 2cm back from the front of the boxes.. Once up and comfortably foiling my feet felt right in my normal footstrap position.

I usually use the big 2140 front foil and with this being less that half its size it took some getting used to.. It needed more speed before lift off.. It would often suddenly lift and then suddenly plummet back down and did this a few times before things settled down.. I'm thinking that was more a technique thing and it wasn't liking my heavy back foot pressure to achieve lift off and then my heavy front foot pressure to level off.

I do have the longer windsurf fuselage and I'm keen to try that one day with the mast more towards the rear of the boxes and see how that works.

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DavidJohn said..
I used the standard size (64cm) fuselage and although the 914 foil is usually paired with the smaller 280 stabiliser I left the bigger 310 on for added stability.. I left the mast in my usual position about 2cm back from the front of the boxes.. Once up and comfortably foiling my feet felt right in my normal footstrap position.

I usually use the big 2140 front foil and with this being less that half its size it took some getting used to.. It needed more speed before lift off.. It would often suddenly lift and then suddenly plummet back down and did this a few times before things settled down.. I'm thinking that was more a technique thing and it wasn't liking my heavy back foot pressure to achieve lift off and then my heavy front foot pressure to level off.

I do have the longer windsurf fuselage and I'm keen to try that one day with the mast more towards the rear of the boxes and see how that works.

I love the windsurf fuselage for downwinders, it pumps great but w a quicker and shorter style pump. Also I like to use it when leaning new moves.

Got out on the HA914 winging today. Set it up on the 80cm fuselage and the 220 rear stab. I'm 80 kg, prob 83kg with wetsuit. It was fitted to the Naish Hover 95 ltr on the 85cm composite mast. I fitted the mast in the same position as the 1240 on the 64cm fuselage, my front foot ended up about 2" further forward.

Conditions were a bit lumpy, about 12 knots gusting to 16 knots on the bay. I was flying the Slick 5.5 mtr wing.

Takeoff speed is noticeably higher than the HA1240 I normally ride, bit like riding a kite race foil, you really need some board speed prior to lift off otherwise it will stall. This would make it particularly suitable for a straight tailed slippery board, getting it flying quicker. Just a couple of extra knots to get the hover going so all good.

Once up the speed increases fast, I had heaps of power in the wing and it was a lot of fun cranking up wing with ease. It's very stable and quiet, foot switches were a breeze, probably due to the longer fuselage. You could misplace you foot during the switch with little chance of going in.

My top speed in the lumpy conditions was only 17 knots, but there was little pressure on the legs so plenty more available in flatter conditions. It's very stable at speed with really nice flowing gybes.

One thing I found was due to the light wind, you often ended up with no wind going through the gybe as this foil is fast, just needed a slightly different way of flipping the wing so it didn't end up in the water.
Pumping wasn't the best but I wasn't using the 280 stab recommended which would improve the pump ability.

Fitted to a faster planing board this would be a brilliant light wind option. Plenty of speed gives a lot of apparent wind and I was easily crank up wind when others were plodding. It's also nice that it works well for kitefoil, gives you more options. Next is to try it in higher wind.

Bit stronger today, out on the 4 mtr Unit, 13-14 knots. Needed a gust to get enough board speed to fly but once up no problem, heaps of speed. Topped at 19.8 knots, but this generally ended in a breach due to the 85 cm mast and the lumps I was driving through, 95 cm would be better.


This is a great setup for blasting around on flat water, holds a huge amount of speed through the gybe. Even in the lulls it just kept gliding to the next puff, due to the very low drag.


If you get a chance, definitely give this setup a try.

Yes it feels like solid carbon.. I'm thinking because it's so long, narrow and thin it needs lots of carbon and less foam core to give it the strength that it needs.

I just got the 914 HA and have to say it's a fantastic foil. Naish totally nailed it. I also have the 1800 HA and 1240 HA. I'd guess the 914 is 15%-20% faster than the 1240 HA. The best part is the superb control at speed. It's also amazing at carving on big wind swell too. The stall speed is great and probably similar to the 1240. The only drawback is you need a little more technique to get going. On my first few times out I would come up on the foil only to quickly crash back down. I then concentrated on making sure I had 1-2 knots more of board speed before launching and was a little more careful out coming up than with the 1240. Once you figure it out it's no big deal and quickly becomes second nature.

I'm 70kg and was on a 75 L board, 280 stab, 85cm mast, and 4.0 wing. Winds were 15-20 knots and the water was choppy but with some good wind swell to ride.

PS - before this my favorite wing for carving on swell was the F-One Phantom 940. An outstanding foil. I now think the Naish is way better.

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LeeD said..
Thanks.
I also have 310 fuze, and it works great with my 1150 and also with 600.
Haven't come to terms with the 210 stab yet, but it's always too windy for me to foil so far this season.
Thought of the 280 stab, but it's very close in size to the 310.
Wing, I use 64 fuze.
Windfoil, 79 fuze.

Hi Lee. I'm 73kg without gear on. I have the HA1240 (for 6 to 20 kts wind) and the 1150 (for 14+ kts). Both used with the 64 fuse, HA280 stab (which has most of the up-tips clipped off) and a C100 85cm mast. I find the thin 1150 is very low drag and super loose in roll to enable fun quick turning and needs a good 3 or 4 kts more water speed for lift off vs the 1240. The 1150 obviously stalls fairly easy, is difficult to recover on most breaches and pitch stability is difficult at times in gusty winds. Could you please describe when you choose to wing ride on the 1150 vs 600 vs 914? And does the 1150 have any advantages that you still like vs the 600 or 914? Thanks in advance.

Oops, sorry...
This is for windfoil.
I still use the 1150 for wing, and have only tried 600 for wing once....I couldn't sustain speed to stay up, bouncing along trying to add speed.

Pitch stability. I'd think swept like 1150 should be more stable, but setup, skill, and reading the wind are big factors.
I've never heard of anyone who used both 600 and 914.

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LeeD said..
Pitch stability. I'd think swept like 1150 should be more stable, but setup, skill, and reading the wind are big factors.
I've never heard of anyone who used both 600 and 914.

That was my thinking too. The swept back profile of the 1150 should be more stable. I'll borrow or buy a 914 and find out. My 1150 feels reasonably pitch stable when tow foiling at 15 to 23 kts (with the 280HA rear stab at 0 deg). But when wing foiling in gusty conditions I need an extra deg of neg suck in the rear stab to get more front foot pressure and keep steady ride height while the wing flicks around. The 1150 is thin and very asymmetric in section in the rear. I could easily sand out some of the concave shape in the rear, but then lift-off would be even more difficult than it is. When tow foiling with a GPS, 1150 lift-off for 73kg me is about 8 kts with a gentle rear pump.

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Hutch1 said..
Has anyone had the chance to use the Naish HA 914 foil, what's the handling like and what sort of wind speed would I need to get her on the go?

I have used the HA914 a few times now. Wing-ding. HA280 rear stab with winglets mostly removed. 60cm fuse.

The 914 Vs the HA1240: A lot thinner being around 15.5mm thick. Higher stall (and take-off) speed by a couple of knots. Turns much easier (less roll stable). Glides easier. Slightly less yaw stability. The 914 goes much faster and is happy when breaching a tip. Also easier to recover the 914 if breaching when upright. More stable for pitch control which is really nice. When the nose goes down, the 914 only needs subtle rear foot pressure for correction, so if using the same rear stabliser the 914 needs less suck-down. The HA914 is incredible for going upwind in flat water using a suitable air wing. My 914 made some slight sound noise when new, but after a light surface fairing and tidying up the fuselage join it's now practically silent all the time.

914 Vs the Naish 1150 (wind/wingfoil): The 1150 is around 12.5mm thick. The 1150 feels faster but I'm not yet sure. My 1150 has cut-down tips. The 914 cannot turn as quickly as the 1150. My 1150 rolls and turns very quickly. The 914 has a lower stall speed by couple of knots. The 914 pumps a lot easier. The 1150 doesn't like breaching a tip and I've never avoided crashing if breaching the 1150 when upright. The 1150 is much less pitch stable when pushing it (I guess above 20 kts) but very yaw stable.

Overall the 914 is a lot of fun and it makes the 1240 feel like riding an aircraft carrier and the 1150 feels faster but is sometimes hard work to lift-off and the 1150 is more temperamental.