SAB Foil Sea Devil

I've finally got mine and had a couple of sessions on the 840. The first day was 18 gusting 23kts, very rough chop and also some reasonable waves, the 2nd in light winds (10 gusting 14kt ) but nasty high tide eggbox chop.

It's designed to make light winds fun, and it definitely fulfils that brief. I've mostly used it in raw mode, and that takes a while to dial in (though in big seas on the first day which was not the conditions to try and tune it). With the stabiliser it's more conventional, but still fun.

In raw mode:
Low end: It gets going in very little. Probably equivalent to somewhere around the 899, Razor 880, Razor Pro 975? Very low stall speed.
Speed: Pretty good, superb given the low end. No drag-y feeling like some of the thicker or lower AR foils. Enough to want to jump it in 10kts of wind.
Glide: Surprisingly good. Better than my 909 and 835 (freestyle and wave foils) and more like the Razors. So like a mid-high AR foil.
Maneuverability: Very very high, like nothing else. You can spin it around, carve hard and loads more that I haven't got to yet.
Pitch stability: It's sensitive. Going over the chop is different to a normal foil, though you do adjust and get used to it. Foot switches are doable but require faster feet.
Gybes/Tacks: actually these are quite easy, almost easier than a normal foil as you can turn on the spot and the stall speed is very low. The pitch sensitivity doesn't seem to affect the maneuvres. 360s are fun as well because again you can just spin round and foil out, something you can't do with normal foils.
Waves: the combination of glide, carve and ability to just spin it mean it's great on small to mid sized waves. You can turn it like a surfboard which will open up a whole new way of riding. This, along with the turns is the really exciting bit.
Downwinding: Not something I really do, but it would be great for this. Balz has a video out using the bigger one on tiny lake swells.

With the tail:
A bit more low end, still nice and turn-y but you're carving like a normal 840mm wide foil. It's a little slower and a little less glide than in raw mode. Normal pitch stability.

Sabfoil definitely have the right idea here. Making light winds fun, rather than using huge HA monsters that don't turn. This isn't like a low aspect thick foil, it's very efficient and glide-y. It's addictive and I want to keep discovering new stuff you can do with it.

I've yet to try the 1040, but think it's going to be amazing for SUP foil and ultra light winds (I bought it to replace the Razor 980/Lev1350 that I normally use for SUP foiling on the flat and in waves).

Select to expand quote

drlazone said..
Great review thank you.

How's the upwind?

Yeah fine upwind as it's pretty efficient.

Select to expand quote

BritWinger said..

drlazone said..
Great review thank you.

How's the upwind?

Yeah fine upwind as it's pretty efficient.

Thanks.
A friend tried and the issue is it tends to float and flip his DW board to itss side and the foil tips present a danger to his wing. He was using the bigger one.
Did the 840 do that? Were you riding a narrow board?

Select to expand quote

Grantmac said..
What do you weigh?

80kg

One more fresh video review of the Sea Devil. The first half of the clip is with a 840 that is pretty fast and is never boring to ride, but it can easily and always go slower than any of the students that I am following, if needed.

Select to expand quote

Grantmac said..
Would you say the bottom end is similar to a conventional foil of half the area?

That's a tricky question to answer. When I think of it, in all conditions where I have used the SD 840 (2122 cm2) so far I could have got a KT Atlas 570 going no problem, so I clearly haven't touched the sea devil's low wind potential. But one thing is to get it going, and totally another thing to keep it going without having to put too much extra energy in. You can slow down the SD to some ridiculous speeds. And although you could pretend it to be a conventional foil, and kind of ride it like one, the feeling is quite different - from a foil with such area and volume one would not expect such softness and ease of use. It's like all the feeling of preciseness and harshness (in a good way) of your favourite conventional foil that you would normally use is gone, but you still like it.

Got to use the 840 today with DW board then 50L FG
12-18 knots
Tight chop.
Similar impressions to above detailed review.
Got some wild buckle ride without the tail until I figured out how to do it.
Lift, glide and speed is like a standard 1500 foil
Turns like a 600 foil with short fuse but with any radius you want.
Upwind is actually very good, I'd say similar to any regular foil: lots of lift and the to keep the ride stable you have to keep it banked.

Ride is like a skateboard with loose truck
Another way to look at it is like riding bumpy snow on ski or snowboard, if you keep it on edge the whole time (whether upwind or constantly turning on the smallest swell) it's stable and fun.

Also found riding feet closer together help with the pitch stability. But it's early days.

Foot switch has to be very precise and very fast.

These are lines on 1ft wind swell about 1-1.5 sec period

I,m 97/98kg and had today my first go on the 1040. I bought one to give me some more low end lift with DW Supfoil on the lakes, probably without the tail, and for my wife to learn to wingfoil on with the tail as the Kujira1440 is holding here back from getting on the foil at here beginner stage.
I have an aloy Cedrus mast and the first thing I notticed the whole combo is stiff as F##k.
It took me aprox half an hour to get used to the pitch sensitivity, but you grow into it.Normally i,m pretty frontfooted, now I needed to take my feet a bit closer together, but that also feels quite natural.Low end: very good. I was on a 4m and flying while others were on 5m.Angles: pretty similar of what i,m used to go up/DW
Max speed: I was underpowered and not pushing at all in waisthigh waves and big chop and still going 28 km p/h
My average speed was 3-4km slower as normal
Stallspeed was almost nothing.
While riding waves and bumps it feels quite normal and pretty maneuverable for its size. Like written before, you keep hoovering even ehen there is very little power in the bumps.

Overall: very happy with it.The only thing I never get is why they dont send it straight away with an cover. I mean it cost a brand maybe 10,- and keeps your stuff nicer (and the odd sizes are more often sold out as available)

Select to expand quote

Rewind said..

Jeroensurf said..
Overall: very happy with it.The only thing I never get is why they dont send it straight away with an cover. I mean it cost a brand maybe 10,- and keeps your stuff nicer (and the odd sizes are more often sold out as available)

I couldn't agree more!

Sabfoil put all their gear in stupid massive boxes that cost the local shop a fortune to freight. The gear is packaged like bone china on the way to the store but they think you'll be okay without a cover once it's unboxed.
I have written directly to Sabfoil about this but, as per usual when contacting them, crickets.

Listen to customer feedback ?

Classic Italian manufacturer :-)

Select to expand quote

Jeroensurf said..
...The only thing I never get is why they dont send it straight away with an cover. ...

Thanks for all great feedback from users so far!

Ordered the 1040 and 840 yesterday. You can now tick a box for the dedicated cover at half price, when adding the devil to the cart..
I agree with others that it seems a little odd to just not include the cover, especially since the packing is not eco-friendly and has quite a bit volume. (you can jump with these frontwings, but the courier might drop the box)

Some oddities yes. I'd say not Italy in particular, it's likewise in the rest of my continent.
But I have a couple of times experienced the Sabfoil customer support as superb, generously making up for everything. This spring they quickly picked up and returned by express, eight Kraken base plates that were slightly off in height against the mast mounting. (to be able to swap foil setups to several boards without re-shimming, six plates were replaced)
I have a huge number of Sabfoil items, they have never let me down.
Ok, they could have made me faster learner at downwinding, so now I have called out for a deal with the sea devils.

I was redirected to this topic, which I could not find at the beginning. I am after my first ride on 1040 with stab. It is perfect blend of low wind, turning, and insanely low stall speed.
The person who redirected me here was negative re SD. I cannot comprehend what not too like about this foil. It is a bit heavy perhaps so caring it to the beach may be a bit frustrating. But carring Lev 1350 isn't a piece of cake either. Btw I bought ex-demo and got the covers in the package, thus I may be biased :o)
Thank you for sharing such insightful points!

Update on mine: I sold it.The idea about getting one was, having a foil for the Missus to learn on that could double as Supfoil/DW foil for me with an smaller span then the Levethian1350 (I,m 97/98kg and DW on lakes with, small low energy windbumps).
It was too dificult for the Missus so we got here an true beginnerfoil.
Personally I liked it for wingfoil. The low end of a really big foil with the speed and turnability of an mid aspect 1200 foil, but couldnt Supfoil with it due the the pretty precise pitch and that was exactly why I got it as I got plenty other foils for winging.
Ordered an Levethian 1350 as replacement for it...... exactly the same as I sold last year thinking I was outgrown the big foils...but wasnt yet ready for the smaller foil league

Anyone had more sessions with their SD? Almost no reviews which aren't SAB affiliated makes me very I certain. Apparently the smaller tail from the 1240 is available separately and might be a significant performance boost for those of us who are lacking the skills for raw mode.

I'm actively considering a 1040 to use when my 909 isn't quite enough. 95kg, low intermediate winger (almost 100% on gybes but 0 foiling tacks).
I frequently have short period low energy swell across all wind speeds, I outrun it on the 909 and it lacks the energy to stay in without some help from the wing.

Considering parawing in the future and a foil which easily generates lift seems like it might match that learning curve.

Select to expand quote

Jeroensurf said..
I,m your weight, owned one, and i,m not Sab Affiliated and for what you wanna do with it it might be the perfect match.I don,t tried Sab 909 because most of my other foils are from AFS but a buddy has one and it seems in range similar to my Silkk 1050 (91span, 1040cm2).

The Seadevil 1040 is waaaaaay quicker to get on the foil and works fine in low energy slower stuff an simply keeps going.
The only thing to get used to is that it is more reactive/nervous in the pitch. I think that with straps it will take some time to find the perfect spot, but I ride strapless and then it is quite easy to adapt and putting your feet closer together helps a lot too.


As written earlier: I liked it a lot for Lightwind wingfoil, but bought it as a learner for the Missus and a DW foil for myself , and it simply wasnt suitable for that (with our level). In that regard the marketing bla bla raised too high expectations.

More nervous with the tail or without? I only use front straps unless I'm jumping, I move my back foot quite a bit.