MFC Hydros foils

[Breze]

I had the chance of a 10 min side to side test of the Mfc 1250 on the 70cm strut and my Ketos 90cm V2 1200 Kool ( new version). Note,i'm not a very competent foiler, flying to toeside stage. Wind was light, 8sqm foilkite, 90kg.
The two boards had totally different stances, narrow n wide. Both wings are super easy to ride. Both are totally silent. I felt no difference in min speed , for maximum speed the Wind was too light .
Due to the smaller Stab of the Ketos (small FR Stab) the Ketos turned tighter, with my riding level. A good foiler can turn the Mfc very tight, no doubt.
I found it very remarkable that a newcomer can build a foil that flys as gentle as a Ketos with 10 years foiling background. I hope to try the smaller Mfc wings with the new 90cm mast, to compare with my wave xl.

[foursquare]

What's the latest/greatest info on this foil brand? I'm trying to wrap my head around their foil lineup:

HYDROS | FW1600 Pack ($2,250)
HYDROS | FW1400 Pack ($2,275)
HYDROS | FW1250 Pack ($2,075)
HYDROS | FW1075 Pack ($2,025) <- on sale at Real for ~$1,620
HYDROS | FW1000 Kite Pack & XXL Wave ($2,225)
HYDROS | 2xFW Pack ($2,750.00)

Seeing the FW1075 on sale makes me curious if there might be a similar sale on the FW1000 which seems to be the kiting specific foil. But I'm sorta just guessing as I wonder if the number is surface area or representing something else. If that's the case, it seems like Hydros would be cost competitive with the regular Lift price and Moses currently 10% off at MacKite.

Any distributor/dealer info here would be great!

[jumptheshark]

1075 would be my choice for kiting anyway. The sale price is a nice deal for what looks like a great foil.

[foursquare]

JumtheShark - Can you tell me a bit more?

I started on a LF Foil Fish (90cm mast), then rode a Taaroa Sword 2 (100cm mast) for 1-2 seasons but couldn't get used to the speed and unforgiving nature of the sword.

Now I'm riding an Axis Tray board (94cm length) with my original LF foil, so am wondering how much I would miss the extra length if I went with something like the 1075 which has a 70cm mast. I am rarely doing open-ocean riding these days.... mostly inside the bay.

[slowboat]

MFC foils are very popular with foil surfers. They are considered a very high quality and performance product. Kai Lenny uses them (I believe his brother may have started MFC). I have read that their masts are not the stiffest. The numbers refer to surface area.

[jumptheshark]

Yeah, what slowboat said. I have never seen one in person, but was made aware of them when Greg Drexler started riding them for a while. He wrote a fair bit about his thoughts on foils at the time and definitely praised them. Something must have happened behind the scenes as he and his crew pretty abruptly switched to Lift. They switched away from Kanaha Shapes boards at the same time so I suspect it was a business decision more that anything.

Anyway. I was riding an alloy foil at the time and was pretty thoroughly researching carbon foils for a hypothetical future. That one was top of my list. From what I found, they are pretty consistently reported to be really well made and very strong. Very low drag and high performance.... as in, a little twitchy to input as compared to the really stable foils out there that are less sensitive to input. The 1075 was the size I would have gone for had I the funds ($2400 at the time + tax and shipping came to just under 3k). It was the smaller of the ones Greg rode (mostly 1250) and he routinely rides a bigger foil a than what suits me best around here. He has more real waves and rides really really small kites where I ride wind and lake swell and use a small kite by most standards, but consistently bigger than him. MFC are funny and avoid any mention of kite hydrofoiling in their early marketing. They are all about the surf market and it very much seemed they didn't want to project ANY kite kookiness in their marketing. I tried corresponding with them a few times regarding availability of mast lengths and they never got back to me. They were just getting their foil feet into the market at the time so that may just be start up issues. I think they have a beauty of a foil and it was really mostly price that put it on the back burner for me. I eventually snapped my aluminum fuse and lost my big wing. At that point I had researched pretty thoroughly and immediately went with Lift ($1400 at the time with no tax and free shipping). They got back to me immediately, it arrived within two days and I could not be happier with their foil. Hands down fantastic product at exceptional value.

[usa]

Do you know why Greg and Kai changed from MFC to Lift?

[jumptheshark]

No clue

[foursquare]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I was tempted by the slash-pricing on the MFC, but ultimately there were so many different folks recommending Armstrong, that I had to see what all the fuss is about. Ordered a CF800 package - and should be riding it by this weekend, excited!

[jumptheshark]

Stoked for you. I think with respect to foiling with kites we are in a great time. There is some really fantastic equipment out there.