Current Kitefoil surf-type foils

[Oldman_Dave]

As said in the previous message: I went "nutcase mode", got fed up with investigating, and decided for the T 1 Monofoil, which, by an incredible stroke of luck (don't ask! ) I may receive tomorrow.

Super excited at the radical change... and still a bit baffled at having decided in 24h rather than the usual 24 months

Thank you all for you help!

I am currently much less excited about the developments in my usual brand of foil (Axis) than I used to be. Ever since I got my T1. I'm sure you'll have a ball with it.

I would currently choose a larger Axis wing for challenging conditions (rough seas, under 10kts, etc) and the T1 is my go-to for everything else, too much fun to ignore

[azoele]

Hmmm, I thought you wanted a higher aspect wing with more glide?

And now you went the complete opposite direction?

I am confused now

Peter

Well... I kind of see your point!

I was looking for something similar to what I had, with less drag.
The GONG is excellent, but the stabilizer+fuselage adds significant drag, which is apparently greatly reduced with the new PRO fuselage+ -H stabilizers. But that is unavailable to me for other months.

I realized looking for another similar foil was going to be a painful research, and probably a very expensive one without guarantee of "how much" improvement I'd see... so I thought: why not another challenge altogether?

The Triton seems made exactly for my kind of riding, so I took the plunge! (and it helped that it had been in my head for months now).

This is what me and my riding buddy call compulsing, i.e. the act of performing a compulsive (and usually daft) purchase act when in the spires of great kite-induced stress or frustration

Can't believe how excited I am at the idea of the monofoil!

So ... have you received the T1 yet? Had an opportunity to try it?

I am impressed with your dedication to trying multiple foils!

I have been exclusively on my Gong 85cm carbon mono bloc with Curve M wing & Fast stab for almost 2 years now. I'm tempted to get a Fluid front wing just to try it. As I am using Peaks and primarily interested in carving downwind in swell and riding waves, I'm not sure if a higher aspect, faster wing would really be my thing. If I got a Fluid, should it be the regular in M or L-S ... or the "T" in M-T? I'm around 80 - 82 kg and not really interested that much in speed & don't feel like I need more lift than the Curve M provides.

I also have a Triton, but have only been on it 3 times so far as I don't have a mast that fits it. The T1 is obviously a very turny, low aspect foil - it might fit the bit as a replacement for the Curve, leaving open the possibility of a higher aspect, faster Gong set up. However ... I do really appreciate the simplicity of a one foil quiver - I stick it in the back of my (small) car - assembled & ready to go. No second guessing required.

I'd go Fluid with no reservations.
I truly love the Fluid L-s for my weight.
In your shoes, I'd certainly go for the M, and would pair it with a Fluid 40 stab, which I despised for a long time, until all of a sudden fell in love with it so much so that I sold the Fast 40 stab!

Fluid stalls quicker, but is recoverable (and much fun doing so), more agile, and more glidey. Which is great when you're tacking, or better yet, toeside tacking and you just "run around" your kite feeling like on tracks

And they're not "ultra fast" wings, so when coming down a wave, you don't feel excessive acceleration.
In my mind, they're just more modern, more performing, less draggy Curves.

Ah, the Triton... that's a long story...

[azoele]

As said in the previous message: I went "nutcase mode", got fed up with investigating, and decided for the T 1 Monofoil, which, by an incredible stroke of luck (don't ask! ) I may receive tomorrow.

Super excited at the radical change... and still a bit baffled at having decided in 24h rather than the usual 24 months

Thank you all for you help!

I am currently much less excited about the developments in my usual brand of foil (Axis) than I used to be. Ever since I got my T1. I'm sure you'll have a ball with it.

I would currently choose a larger Axis wing for challenging conditions (rough seas, under 10kts, etc) and the T1 is my go-to for everything else, too much fun to ignore

Dave, I shall be PMing you then
The T1 is an amazing piece of kit, but not the easiest foil I've ever been trying... especially at my very significant weight!

[AndersP]

I changed my Curve M to Fluid MT.
It's faster and has much better glide.
You need a bit more speed in the start but you will adapt in a couple of attempts.

When up foiling I can go much slower than I expected and you sort of feel when you are about to stall the wing. A little bit of pumping can save the flight.

It turns much better than I thought. Not as fast as the curve but I can carve as sharp as i want in the waves.
Very nice to do highspeed gybes and carving with it.

I used it with a 4m Firefly and with Lei kites in flat water and up to 2 meter waves. It performed really good in combination with the Firefly when in it's wind range.
I'm 75 kg.

[Flyboy]

I originally had the Curve M with the Curve stab. When I switched to the Fast stab I immediately noticed a surprisingly significant reduction in drag. The Fast stab was a little less "stable", but quickly adjusted to. The Curve M front wing also has a bit of a draggy feel - it's easy to imagine a flatter profile being faster & less draggy. However, the ability to turn faster in waves also valuable & I feel that maybe the "dragginess" contributes to the ability to turn sharper?

My riding falls into a few categories:

Riding in low wind/flatter water. There I have to believe that a faster, less draggy wing is nothing but a bonus.

Riding in swell. There I think a faster, less draggy wing is also an advantage. In particular, riding toeside & carving off the swells. Extra glide helps in getting back up the face of the swell before running down it again.

Riding in steeper waves. Turning back & forth across the wave face (& turning the kite). There the ability to turn aggressively may be more important than speed & glide.

At the minute (miracle!), the Fluids are readily available from Gong, so I'm tempted to get either the M, or the M-T. Also could get a great deal on a 100cm mono bloc - as an alternative to my 85cm. I would keep whatever set up I prefer & sell the other.

[PugetSoundKiter]

Interesting - so you are asking how higher aspect wings work for kitefoiling?

I both kite and wingfoil.
Find wings need to be totally different though.

The 633 types are my favorite, although brand is KETOS, no pitch up at higher speeds, so loving the KOOL1200 or the tad higher aspect Kloud (1000 cm2) for kitefoil - I find that a lot higher aspect wings, unless really small, turns lousy and not the same free lively feel, even when using a super small stab.
Whereas when wingfoiling, we NEED higher AR more efficient foilwings for glide, unfortunately, as they turn like shit...
Unless they are really small, and now it becomes tricky, as you need more speed/wind to be able to start.
Or you need to be so good that once up, you never drop but ride apparent wind all the time
So it is a huge compromise for wingfoiling, using higher AR foilwings, as they turn really bad, but this is the price for glide and low end also.

My point is, even though I love the higher AR foilwings for winging (and they are needed as glide is everything), I don't like them for kitefoil (typically using Peak kites) - and have no problems riding these two sports as totally different in every way.

It doesn't help you though, sorry, as you ask for higher AR foilwings - but would just chime in with my experiences.
And the fact that also Ketos went from their 1200 cm2 to a 1000 cm2 a bit higher AR, as their "main go to" foilwing now, for those wanting something "not as 633" like.

Peter

Thanks this all makes sense. I had been looking to see if there were any reviews, videos, opinions on using the new Quantum85 with a kite for low winds and extra glide. The Infinity65 has the same AR but almost half the area, so a much shorter span. From your comments it makes much more sense to kite with the I65 instead of the Q85?

[Peter_Frank]

Can not answer that PugetSoundKiter.

What do you weigh and what do you want to do?

I65 is small, Q85 is huge, bigger than even wingfoil foilwings nowadays...

I wouldnt go with neither really, but if average weight something around 900 to 1100 cm2 for allround fun and wavefun.

If you have to choose between these two, and you are not heavy, yes I65

Peter

[PugetSoundKiter]

Maybe not average @ 90kg. Would plan to ride the I65 for speedy freeride, not surf. Q85 May be to big/lifty to ride fast and too wide to enjoy surf style, even with the extra glide?

[Peter_Frank]

I dont think it has extra glide, it is thicker and bigger, meaning slower and less glide actually when having same AR...

It starts earlier yes, but glide is, everything equal, worse.
Dont believe everything you read

I wouldnt worry about surf with the bigger one, as it is slower and turns sharper because of that, which is why our "big" surf style wings can turn on a dime, even with higher span.
But you are not aiming for the surf style, so go with the small one with good glide.

Peter

[PugetSoundKiter]

I dont think it has extra glide, it is thicker and bigger, meaning slower and less glide actually when having same AR...

It starts earlier yes, but glide is, everything equal, worse.
Dont believe everything you read

I wouldnt worry about surf with the bigger one, as it is slower and turns sharper because of that, which is why our "big" surf style wings can turn on a dime, even with higher span.
But you are not aiming for the surf style, so go with the small one with good glide.

Peter