Hey
I'm in a conundrum about what to get, been looking at different brand for wing foiling gear. I would qualify myself as good intermediate, going on advance.
Located in Victoria
Board: I'm looking around 70-80litre as it's near my weight and i have a 120 litre board that i feel i outgrewThere is a multitude of options at different store, the Oceanic brands(PPC, Smik,JP australia), or the international (Fanatic, Armstrong, cabrinha, etc)
Stores seems to push for Aussie brand but is this because of higher margin or better board is hard to figure out
Foil: Wanting a new carbon setup HA near the 1200cm mark as my old gong setup 1800 is nearing end of life.
Once again the options that seems the most popular are Axis, Armstrong, SAB, Unifoil, Cloud 9 with more options to buy directly from manufacturer.
Feel like Axis has an edge for parts as it look quite popular.
Would love some feedback on a new board and foil to move on to the next level
Lots of good brands out there. Support is important. Demo mates gear or shop gear.
Where do you ride ocean or lake/river? Waves or freestyle? Weight?
I can recommend Smik, Armstrong, Lift, Axis, Kalama and GoFoil for wave setups.
Present set up for 105kg dry is Kalama E3 5 4, GoFoil RS1075/GT1400 and Smik wings. Very happy.
Edit found pic. Not sure why it is sideways??
The best advice I can provide is demo demo demo. That's the advice I received and it was spot on.
Everyone likes different things in a board/foil setup. You can read all the reviews and feedback but in the end it's what you like that matters.
I tried lots of boards before I settled on a Sunova Aviator.
I'd go local for the board for sure. Make sure the bottom shape suits an HA foil and the track position will work for what you choose.
Foil though I'd do some really good looking at specifications. The Axis foils use a pretty thick wing which tends to have a narrow range compared to SAB, Reedin or newer Gong (I'm sure others too but these numbers I know). If your existing one is one of the Gong beginner foils then it's extremely thick and definitely gets overpowered easily, no comparison to even last years intermediate foil (I've had all 3 including their new HA). You might find jumping directly to HA from your LA foil to be a struggle. You might consider looking for a used Gong MA set-up (especially if you have a V2 mast and fuselage) as a transition that won't cost much.
There is currently a shift happening in foils towards being able to easily breach tips which some manufacturers have figured out (GoFoil, Sab Leviathan, Gong Fluid H, Reedin) but Axis and many others haven't made this shift yet although I'm guessing they aren't far behind. This seems to be accompanying a move towards MA foils for most riders.
