Moses 633 vs Armstrong review

[joekitetime]

Had a chance to test both of these set ups together yesterday unfortunately in flat water but may have helped with fewer variables. Nicely powered on a 9M kite.

Moses 633 wing, 483 stab, 101 Mast, KS 37" Pocket Board
Armstrong 800 wing, standard Stab (0' shim), TC60 fuse, 85 Mast, KS 37" Pocket

First let me say both set ups are very nice and starkly different. The shorter fuselage made for much sharper turning and carving on the Armstrong. More on that in a sec. The 633 goes on plane a bit quicker and more smoothly due to the larger, longer set up. The 633 rides more stable in general. It feels much more stable on foot switch transitions. It feels a little stiffer in the turns and I was more comfortable riding the 633 at the top end of its speed range. But this also could have been because of the longer mast. The stall speed (speed at which the wing drops you off plane) is slightly less (speed) on the 633 but I was very impressed with how slow I could ride the 800 and remain on plane.

The 800 was a joy to ride. For me it was more fun in the sense that it is much more reactive, loose, and playful. It dares you to crank turns and I was amazed at how smoothly it rolls into turns, and how tight you can crank it. I messed up on a few 360s where I got stuck half way into the rotation and was able to pirouette the wing in place to complete my rotation and come out of it. This wing has VERY good lift for its size. But it took me a little time to dial it in. The shorter fuse makes you over compensate on your starts vs the 633 so I found myself "porpoising" it in an effort to see how quickly I could get on plane. Once I dialed that in I could get on plane very quickly for the size of the wing. The build quality on the Armstrong is the best in the industry. It feels bomb proof and is extremely light (lighter than the 633 set up but to be fair, the 633 set up is also bigger). I hear the Armstrong chews up white water turbulence. I look forward to testing that in the surf soon.

In summary, the 633 is just easy, stable, and fun. Inspires confidence. I don't think there is a better set up out there to learn on and progress quickly. It is the "long-board" and the 800 is the "short board" in surfing terms. I am a more advanced rider so I naturally gravitated to the 800 due to its playfulness and versatility. Next time out I will try the Armstrong 1200 wing and share my feedback. This will probably be a closer comparison to the 633 but wanted to get these thoughts out while it was fresh on my mind. I hope you find this helpful.

Thanks for your review. I haven't ridden the armstrong but will say that the difference in the 101 mast compared to the 82 or 72 masts is significant, and even more significant is that 483 on the Moses. I ditched that stab for the 633 long ago and have found other stabs to change the ride like night and day. However, since Moses sells the combo as a package I suppose it is only fair to test back to back "out of the box"...

However, your plug for the armstrong and enthusiasm for it makes me want to try one!

Thanks!