Just some very personal impressions of my three windfoil boards and the Severne Redwing foil for anyone who's thinking about trying windfoiling. I'm by no means an expert on the windfoil but I'm doing it nearly every day there's 7+ knots of wind, and I'm fairly comfortable most of the time.
Firstly, the Redwing: I had my first try at windfoiling about 3 years ago. I tried a couple of different foils on the Freestyle 115 I had bought impulsively on sale...and freaked out. Those foils had quite short fuselages and were super-touchy for a beginner. I decided I was just going to stick with the fin.
Then I went to New Caledonia in October last year, with a couple of mates. We rented gear from ex-PWA sailor Laurent Gauzere of Sp8ce (who did us a great deal and was such a great fun guy he totally made our trip by being so welcoming and friendly). He encouraged our very doubtful group to try windfoiling on a Starboard Foil Freeride 145 and Severne Redwing 1400.
The wind was very light but we all got up on the foil straight away and had stable flights. I was amazed; the extra volume of the board obviously made it much easier to uphaul than my 115 but the extra length made it easier to plane up onto the foil, and added some stability while up. I noticed the biggest difference was the foil though. The Redwing has a 950mm fuselage and a lower aspect wing. It was easier to get up and was much more stable than my own foils when flying.
I got back on my own gear when I got home and still found it difficult. I bought a Redwing from Sam at WSS and everything changed for the better. I could suddenly ride the Freestyle 115 pretty well. Amazing.
My experience with the Redwing has been very positive and I have all 3 sizes. Having said that, I imagine any brand of foil with a long fuselage and relatively large low aspect wing might be just as good.
The Slingshot Freestyle 115 is fantastic. It's light and reactive, has lots of adjustments for foot straps and foil and sail position. The only difficulties for a beginner foiler are it's a little unstable while uphauling in low wind, and its short length and its consequent relatively low nose rocker can make it a little more likely to nose dive while bogging (compared to my other boards). It's not the easiest of the three in marginal conditions but is super fun when flying. I imagine a Severne Predator might be similar, except they have they advantage of higher volume models, a little more length and nose rocker.
I bought the 145 Starboard Foil X Wing because I wanted a bit more volume and stability while uphauling and bogging. It's barely longer than the 115 but it has more nose rocker and more width in nose and tail. It's more resistant to getting the nose caught up while bogging or coming down off the foil. I also wanted to try a bit of winging and it was good for learning that. It's also quite a responsive board, being 193 cm long. The only issue I have is that the 2021 model doesn't have a mast track, only a screw hole, so no adjustment can be made to mast position. I notice current models now have a mast track.
I saw the Bic Techno 130 carbon for sale, new and cheap. I had been wanting a single board that could work on fin and foil and was thinking of getting a Tabou Fifty. This looked similar but had no tail cutouts. It was one third the price though! I had my doubts about its slalom shape and its 230cm length and didn't ride it for a while. When I did, I was amazed! The extra length made the board super relaxing to bog around on (there's a lot of that here), it had more sub-planing speed through the water and, more than anything, it was very stable and fast while up on the foil. It has plenty of tail width for leverage and is very stable while uphauling in low to no wind. I don't think I've ever buried the nose after breaching either.
I'm using the Bic more than anything, mainly because it's easier on my back in the light or full-on/full-off conditions we commonly have on the Northern Beaches. I can also just throw a fin in it when the wind gets strong enough to make foiling not so much fun.
So...all great boards in their own ways, but all very different. If you're thinking about getting into windfoiling but have doubts about getting a foil-only board, in my opinion a board like the Bic 130, Tabou Fifty, AHD Topaz or similar would be great. Also, other windsurf boards that have foil boxes could be fine...just make sure they have good tail width/volume. Even the 102 Severne Psycho looks pretty good as a lower volume foilstyle/foil-cruisey board (good volume in the tail). I don't find a bit of extra length (say 210-230) a hindrance, and in some ways it's a big plus.
For Sydney's Northern Beaches, any type of foiling is great. Winds here are often light, gusty or inconsistent. One of my mates keeps a record: we have had something like fifty good days on the foil since July...and four on fin.
I hope this personal experience and opinion is a bit helpful.
Thanks - very informative description. I agree about the Redwing - very very easy foil to use. I'm intrigued by the Techno and have just not gone after one because I feared the fairly heavy weight might make it sluggish.
Select to expand quoteAwalkspoiled said..
Thanks - very informative description. I agree about the Redwing - very very easy foil to use. I'm intrigued by the Techno and have just not gone after one because I feared the fairly heavy weight might make it sluggish.
I was lucky enough to get the carbon Techno C-Tech. I think it weighs 8kg, which seems reasonably light. I do notice the extra length in terms of responsiveness while flying, but as I said above, it's very stable and has advantages when bogging around. I agree that you would probably notice the extra weight of the moulded 130's but they seem to be quite a popular race class in Europe. I guess it comes down to the old price versus weight and performance issue.
