I've had this foil for a month now, and had some decent sessions on it. I bought it to use in decent waves, as an alternative to the w799. The 799 is great, but front-footed at high speed, e.g. going down steeper swells.
It is a brilliant foil - it is so good on the waves. It doesn't get front-footed at all, and turns better than the 799. When you're on a wave you can concentrate 100% on making the most of the wave, and not worry that it's going to buck you off at high speed. It's so much fun!
It's pretty fast, as fast as the w1000. It seems to get going in about the same wind as the 799.
The Aspect Ratio is 5, so the glide is a bit less than the 799, and less than the 940/945. I thought I'd go back to the 799 on flat water, but actually I'm not going to bother. It's fun on the flat and I can still do 360s etc with it.
The negative to the foil is that it's not a high-aspect down-winder, it wants to be turned on steeper sections. The waves we get are normally steeper or breaking windswell so it's perfect for here.
Thanks for the review of this wing. Looks interesting. It might pull double duty as a strong wind winging foil and a light wind kiting foil.
I noted that you said it was as fast as a W1000 and when I looked on the Sabfoil site, speed was only average on their list of wing attributes. I hope it is on the faster side.
Select to expand quoteDukeSilver said..
Thanks for the review of this wing. Looks interesting. It might pull double duty as a strong wind winging foil and a light wind kiting foil.
I noted that you said it was as fast as a W1000 and when I looked on the Sabfoil site, speed was only average on their list of wing attributes. I hope it is on the faster side.
Maybe the fact that it has a shorter span will make it feel quicker. Some foils feel faster and more agile in the swell but are slower in straight lines. The Lev 950 is an example, has a fast feeling but it reaches a top end when going on a straight line .. very strange characteristics of foils for sure
High Aspect foils will be faster with lower amounts of power (lighter winds), but when more powered up at higher speeds parasitic drag starts to dominate and induced drag is small. This reduces the effect of AR, and favours short wingspans (and thinner foils).
The Sabfoil site has the speed the same as the Lev1350, which is ridiculous! The small racefoils will no doubt be faster, but it's not slow.
The low end for me with a 5m wing is a 15-16kt gust.
Stabiliser: 370
A small wave day with a w730/s370. The brands description is spot on - that's a foil for staying close to the wave. It's not for pumping on flat water, but the way how it behaves while you are on a wave face is quite special.
