I doubt anyone else will be interested--seeing as Lift doesn't make the 170 Fish any longer--but I think your comments are spot on. I have a Lift 150 Classic and got a used 170 Fish to try to slow down in the waves. I've been out on it a couple of times, and it is very different from the 150:geokite wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:30 amJust got out on the 170 Fish for the first time today. Background; Newbie, as I've been riding the 170 'classic' since I started foiling this past September. I can jibe on both sides, regular or goofy. I cannot switch my feet. Flat waveless water, 9m foil in 8-15mph.
The fish is a very different wing than the 170. The wingtips are curved down more, the foil is much thicker (and heavier), and as others have noted the fuselage is flat towards the tail. It comes up very quick out of the water, but once moving is stable (though not as stable as the 170). I felt I needed to have my back foot further back, but that might have been my inexperience with it. It turns on a dime compared to the 170. Carving turns felt a bit more confident than with the 170, and that was in the first session. At moderate speed, 'pumping' did not feel entirely different than the 170. At very slow speeds it feels nose heavy (could be placement on the board); once the wing is stalled, it falls more dramatically than the 170.
Again, one time on the wing, from a relative newbie. I bought it with the option that I might sell it if it was not good for kiting, but I don't think that will happen. It will add some variety and a challenge, which is what I wanted.
Hope that helps, cheers
1. It jumps out of the water at the water start. The front foot pressure required at the water start is tremendous.
2. Once it starts planing, you very quickly have to shift weight to your back foot to avoid diving the nose. Once you've gotten planing, it is pretty stable, as long as you aren't going fast (see below).
3. It is comically slow compared to the 150, which is great when you are riding a wave, but it takes forever to get back to the lineup once you've had your downwind run. On the bright side, it points upwind much higher than the 150, so it takes fewer tacks to get back upwind.
4. It turns faster and with more snap than the 150. It makes for a really nice top and bottom turn. My first day out, we had waist high crumblers, and, it really felt like I was foiling the waves rather than foiling in the waves.
5. It is not at all stable at high speeds. My second day out we had shoulder high hollow waves (a rarity where I live) and I took several beatings trying to ride down the faces. I think the 150 might have been better suited for waves of that size.
6. The stall speed is low, but once you hit it, you are going to drop like a rock. It's hard to recover once you're dropping.
Our waves are usually small, particularly in the summer, so I think I'll keep it.
