I’m starting this thread because I’ve grown an obsession about foil wingsets and I think that there is a wealth of knowledge out there from all of you guys that should be shared.
On this forum, we discuss a lot about motors, props, batteries and boards. What about foils though? They have a big impact on efficiency, speed, stability and overall feeling of the ride.
Share a picture of your foil/wingset and tell us how it performs, what you like or dislike about it and how it compares to other foils you’ve tried. Also, if you have data about consumption or top speed, feel free to add it. All inputs are welcomed.
For reference, I weight about 82kg (125kg total weight with the board). I initially bought the classic @pacificmeister LF rocket V2 foil. I figured it was tested and proven to work so I couldn’t go wrong and it was cheap.
This wingset rode alright. Lift is very gradual and it takes quite a bit of speed and current to get on the foil. It was also quite unstable. Note that I only rode it a handful of times as I was learning before switching to the LF impulse wing.
The impulse was a big upgrade. It had a lot more lift and was much more stable. Efficiency was also pretty good (25a on foil at 14s) with that wing especially at low speeds. The thick profile made it a little uncomfortable at high speed (lots of lift) and the construction could be tougher (doesn’t take a big crash to puncture the wing). Then, I switch to the Lift 170.
This was also an upgrade from the impulse. The construction of the lift wing is in another category. When you knock on it, it feels like metal. Super tough wing, great thin profile that always want to go faster. Efficiency at low speed is comparable to the impulse but the lift has a better efficiency at higher speeds. It carves very well and the one piece design makes for a dragless ride.
Now onto the wings I haven’t tried yet. I was able to buy a lift 130 wingset. I was curious to try a much smaller wing. We will see how that goes.
This can be a good thread!
All posters:
Please add your total riding weight and motor setup in posts: ”it had good lift…” etc is a totally different thing if you are at total weight 130kg vs total weight 80kg
I think this is a really useful thread for those of use finished with boards and started foiling.
I’m 100kg and my board is 32kg. I use 14s, 75/300 ESC, Flipsky 100kv.
I’m looking at AXIS HA 900 as my next foil, I like the mast and they way they take mech stiffness seriusly, but the lower set is 1300€. Also perhaps the front wing is to slow for E-foil.
I havent seen anyone use the foils here, but if there is any experience then please share.
Otherwise my main setup is the RL board E-foil variant with from 2020. It seems to work OK until about 30km/h. I’ve though about buying the 2019 as it is higher aspect ratio and probably quicker, Rene syas its less efficient though. @V_S, you seem to be using it with great efficiency, do you think it suits a 100kg person?
My take on RL:
+Nice design (clear carbon)
Really good price on E-foil stuff and nice customer service.
Fairly Cheap design (only one layer carbon, FG shines throught, very brittle), also front with was laterally 2* off and 2mm sideways shifted. Mine needed shimming in order not to be constant left turner
Not very good anodizing of fuselage, its completely flaky from corrosion after some saltwater usages.
My second setup was my first one, before finding this site.
Its a 2019 Naish surf XL with 86cm 1600cm2 front wing. This was a good stable learning wing until I bent my 65cm gong mast. Top speed was around 32kmh for me with ducted prop and 39kmh with 64mm waterjet.
Waterjets have largely been abandoned after Wefoil went away, so I’ll share some experience for the newbies:
The Jet consist of Flipsky 65161 motor with 270kv with 100mm 12mm shaft and then some 8mm at the end. They made these for me in mid 2019. The impeller-housing is home-designed and printed with industrial SLS printer. The impeller/stator is bought as spare-parts from Onean at reasonable price.
The problem with waterjet is the low static thrust, however thrust increases somewhat with speed as water is better pushed in. With my design there is cavitation/ventilation at about 75% throttle when stationary (pool measurement gave me about 300N). This goes away with 100% throttle above 15kmh.
With my heavy weight I could not get the board up when batteries was 1/3 from empty (14s).
The gain is that it’s smoother than propeller (gliding wise) and only the wings set the top-speed. I reached 39kmh with this one, which was 7kmh more than ducted FR prop on 100kv Flipsky.
Also you can ride a 100mm lower mast and have same breaching height…
Since I’m too heavy, i will likely sell this setup (Naish foil, motor, waterjet assembled). If somebody in Europe is interested drop me a PM. Looking for about 50% of new cost of parts.
My Metr, was not working properly so I actually do not know.
Normally I need about 3kW to get up with prop, so probably around 4kW or so = 80A.
I could test-ride it again when my Metr comes back from repair.
Thanks for partaking in this topic! I heard that the Axis 900mm works quite well on a efoil! @pacificmeister and his friends tested it and liked it. Not sure what kind of speed range/carvability you can expect though. I just know it was tested.
Many questions about my inflatable “whimsifoil”.
Its been a really great board, without any problems. I highly recomment it. Supereasy to carry double-folded
I welded box in 3mm alu with carbon coated bottom/top plates from divinycell.
Pascal Roust at whimsifoil carries the sizes below. They should all have same hole dimensions.
S : 170cm * 70cm 150L
M : 190cm * 75cm 175L
L : 200cm * 80cm
I have a Chinese clone of the assembled one on the right hand side. Compared to the RL 800x170 It is rather heavy, but very robust. As a beginner, I find it quit instable, compared to the RL.
No, it is the older model 800x170mm with 1200cm2 surface. I could test it at the German meetup and I liked it. I‘ve also seen the new bigger one that has 1600cm2 surface area (didn’t test). Both are fine, the new one is more efficient but also thicker. Good to learn or for a heavy person but probably slightly slower max speed.
The AXIS Foils 900 is part of the High Aspect Carve series. It will lift a bit later than the 910, but it will go faster top speed.
The AXIS Foils 910 is part of the High Aspect Glide series. It’s a different foil section, and outline. It will lift earlier than the 900. And it will get faster to a foiling speed. It will not be as fast as the 900, but it will glide more efficiently.
I put lighter riders on the 910. I use the 1010 most of the times, or the 1150 sometimes.
The 910 turns the quickest and rides waves well. The 1010 is good in almost every situation. The 1150 will get you foiling in very low speeds and it’s the most efficient wing of them all. 1150 is 1150mm wingspan. A beast.
Since these wings are high aspect, their surface is not as important in terms of lift. (high aspect and different foil section are the driving factors)
I combine these wings with the ultrashort, or even the crazy short fuselages from AXIS. The shorter the fuselage the quicker the turns. While the ultra (625mm) and crazy short (585mm) fuselages require skills when surf or sup foiling, when they are used on the efoil, they are still very stable, but improve turning significantly.
The most efficient rear wing from AXIS that I have used is the 460. Lowest drag, as it’s only 60mm chord (high aspect), thin and flat. For the tightest turning radius I use the AXIS 340 rear wing. The 370 is also suitable. Anything bigger is not loose enough for my liking.
I get the best battery life so far from this combination:
Wow thanks Ridehydrofoil.
You seem like a real Axis family Perhaps you are Australian…
For me Axis is really super premium cost wise. 2x cost of Gong with Carbon mast instead or almost 4x cost of RL boards foil.
Main reason for 900 instead of 910 is that it seems very similar and is 250€ cheaper.
I was thinking 900 front, std fuselage (mostly ride ocean with some waves) and 440 stab. Saw the 460 as well, but worried about low stability.
I’m almost 100kg and would like to do carving and explore speedrange 25-35km/h more.
Please recommend me the vest setup from your experience and also be honest if the stuff is worth the cash.
My current RL foil has sweetspot 20-25kmh and I woul like to evolve…
Hah - in northern California, although I wish I was in Australia right about now
I couldn’t compare that other brand to the AXIS product, as I haven’t tried them.
But I know that whatever is released by AXIS has been thoroughly designed and tested. Still to find a setup that doesn’t do exactly what I hoped.
I personally wouldn’t go with the standard fuselage. It won’t offer you anything that the small or ultrashort wouldn’t. It will turn a bit slower, so if you are interested in waves, for sure I’d go shorter fuse. If you are worried about lift and rear wings, then possibly consider the AXIS 390 with the turndown. It’s a flat section in the middle, with turndown tips. So it’s fast, and offers good turning grip. From riding the 390 with the wing (non efoil), it does offer a bit of positive lift, which could help with your concern about earlier foiling.
Maybe for 100kgs I’d go with 1010 / ultrashort / 390.
I am 84kgs.
For vest, any good wake impact vest you can source locally, would work.
Really amazing review! I think you won me over on the 1010 with short fuse and a 440 stab.
I’ve never used high aspect foils, so sizes seem huge to me, but just to be safe I need to undertand which speeds you normally ride in.
With my current setup the sweetspot ends around 26kmh (with topspeed 39) With Axis setup I’m hoping to ride comfortably at around 30kmh with maintained possibility to carve.
I am beginner, since I started foiling this year, but I can normally ride 2-3km between falls in up half meter waves. Also I’m 100kg.
You still think the 1010 is a better choice than the 900?
As many of you already know. I ride the slingshot infinity wings. I’m really impressed with them. I thought I’d contribute my knowledge to this great thread.
Great all around wings. I am a bit jealous of the Axis high aspect wings. But, rumor is Slingshot is working on a HA series to compete with the Axis HA wings. I’m hoping for those soon. Not sure I want to give up the maneuverability for the HA, but I think there is a sweet spot I’d like to find.
This picture is of the 3 infinity wings I use. The 65, 76, and 84.
The 65 is their newest wing. And you can see how much more high aspect it is. I hope they duplicate this in the larger wings in the near future.
I think my favorite wing is the biggest one. It foils at 7mph (11.3kmh), and goes 20mph ( 32.2kmh) easy, and about 23mph (37kmh) if I push it. Great for surfing and pumping. I get 1h30m ride times with this wing and about 20 miles (32.2 km) range.
The 76 is faster. It’s not quite enough lift to stay on foil in small waves. It foils at about 10mph (16.1 kmh) and tops out at about 25mph (40.2kmh)
The infinity 65 is super fast. It takes about 12mph (19.3 kmh) to foil and I got up to 28.8mph (46.4 kmh) on it. I think I could push it faster yet.
