Best foil for you.

Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
The lift wings that crack are the high aspect wings. The surf wings don’t have that issue that I’ve heard of.
 

steamroller

Michael Peterson status
Dec 23, 2007
2,118
766
113
48U - Green River, WY
oh yeah for the GoFoils early mast issues i should probably note i was riding an old waterlogged 30lb SUP and hit just about every rock in the ocean in the ventura, malibu, and oahu area....HARD...full speed WHACK!...over the handlebars...so it was mostly my fault...and i told then so each time i ordered a new one :drowning:
 
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juandesooka

OTF status
Jan 12, 2009
346
294
63
yes indeed, have hit my share of rocks here too, starting to get to know them by name.

Slingshot bore the brunt of my learning curve. Aluminum masts can be bent back. They were amazingly open to warranty replacements, even when I straight-up told them it was my own damn fault. Was really impressed with the customer service.

Gofoil....haven't had to go there (yet...ugh). But the bottom strikes I've had, honestly been somewhat blown away of the strength of both wings and mast/fuselage. I come up expecting to see shards, then just paddle out for another. But that is on the bomb proof Gen 1 gear. Now on the fancy NL and I broke off a wingtip within a week...which again is my own fault, but doesn't speak as well to this gear being designed for the kind of use I require.

And while I'm at it, I need a bomb proof cell phone case too, but it has to fit in my pocket.
 
Apr 4, 2020
38
27
18
I received the Takuma Kujira 980 yesterday and rode it today with the 13.5" KD tail in CH, glassy surf. The 980 should've been my first hydrofoil instead of the 1300 LOL! It's too bad the 980 wasn't readily available back around Thanksgiving when I got into foiling.

With the 980, the takeoffs felt more controlled. My frontside bottom turns felt closer to a surfboard bottom turn. With the 1300 LOL, I had to really ease my toeside turn, otherwise, the foil would track straight and I would fall on my face. I had one breach wipeout this morning, but I felt the breach coming; I just didn't react fast enough. With the 1300 LOL, the breach was usually a sudden "oh sh!t" moment.

At 140 lb, I think the 1300 LOL was just too big of a wing for me, except for gutless surf.

I don't have any pump game yet, so I can't tell the difference in pumping between the two foils.

The 980 got delivered without the baseplate shim, so I rode without a shim. I called Big Winds about the missing baseplate shim and they immediately mailed one out.

With the videos I've seen of guys riding the 980 in gutless surf. I'm thinking the 1300 LOL will get relegated to back up duty. The 1300 LOL would probably also be worth keeping if I get a chance to try some dock starts.
 
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Feb 6, 2021
2
2
3
Hello all,
First post here after reading the entire thread.
Looking to get into foiling. I have a jetski I'd plan to ride behind until comfortable, then move to the surf.

I'm looking heavily at the Gongfoil stuff, their Matata FSP board in 5'0 (~40L) and the XL foil. I'm 5'10 180lbs.
I'm primarily looking at them due to budget constraints, and having read some good stuff about them early on. Does anybody on here have anymore feedback on the Gong foil board/wing setup? I haven't seen much posted in awhile, and I think only one or two of you on here had mentioned first hand experience with them.

As a side note, I've been watching them for awhile and messaged them with no reply, but their foils and board in my size are out of stock and I have no idea when they'll be back in. If anybody in the San Diego area has anything they're looking to get rid of...please let me know :). Yes, I already scour Craigslist.
 
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juandesooka

OTF status
Jan 12, 2009
346
294
63
Lots of debate online, some people love them, others not so much. Big in Europe. I haven't had experiences with the foils, but did have gen1 wing...which was kinda ok but not great. It had been tweaked to a gen2 before it even shipped and it felt like I had paid 75% to get a prototype. They've had 4 or 5 gens since then (2 years?) and I think have improved. But that kinda highlights the business model.

The debates on the foils center on whether you are better off to get these new at roughly 75% off normal prices, or to buy a top brand gear used. Personally I'd go the latter, as I want proven gear that I've witnessed working at the highest levels ... so that I can be confident any struggles in advancing are due to me and technique, not gear limitations. But I'm sure the gong gear would work just fine too.
 

Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
Hello all,
First post here after reading the entire thread.
Looking to get into foiling. I have a jetski I'd plan to ride behind until comfortable, then move to the surf.

I'm looking heavily at the Gongfoil stuff, their Matata FSP board in 5'0 (~40L) and the XL foil. I'm 5'10 180lbs.
I'm primarily looking at them due to budget constraints, and having read some good stuff about them early on. Does anybody on here have anymore feedback on the Gong foil board/wing setup? I haven't seen much posted in awhile, and I think only one or two of you on here had mentioned first hand experience with them.

As a side note, I've been watching them for awhile and messaged them with no reply, but their foils and board in my size are out of stock and I have no idea when they'll be back in. If anybody in the San Diego area has anything they're looking to get rid of...please let me know :). Yes, I already scour Craigslist.

Why do you want Gong? Shipping is the biggest issue with them and living where we do. We can get you setup with AXIS demo gear if you really want to try a setup. Drive up to San O one day and check them out real easy.
 
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Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
Oh BigmtnBill is already all over that. I put Steamroller on it too since he just landed in Oahu this afternoon.
 

sozzle

Michael Peterson status
Feb 23, 2009
1,959
283
83
Sozzle, let's hear about that f-one phantom...

you sell the armstrong?
yeh i sold the Armstrong, it had a few deal breakers that i couldn't live with like the tip breaching thing, and the lack of extra gears, bummer as the quality was extremely good but i had way more crappy sessions than good on it.

the f-one is pretty nice, well made and handles pretty well for a large span wing, def not as shortboardy like the 1050 but you wouldn't expect it to be, especially at my weight, plus i have the longer fuse on it at the moment, i'd imagine their XS fuse will liven it up even more. the standard short fuse it comes with is about the same length as the gofoil 'short' pedestal, the f-one XS fuse is around 4cm shorter again.

it feels faster than the Armstrong but i have no actual data to support that claim, it def has the acceleration through sections that the Armstrong was lacking.

i was having a small bit of pitch sensitivity in turns every now and then yesterday but i'm still tuning to be fair plus my legs were shredded from pumping...
def has good pump, i've done the longest pump runs i've ever done on it.
you can also breach the wing tips in turns and nothing happens to the ride which is pretty epic! i got the wing tip out on a double dip backside connection turn which was a first for me.

i got the carbon mast, it was ridiculously sharp out of the box on the trailing edge so i've sanded that back quite a bit to dull it down.
there was some play in the fuse/mast connection that needed some tape tuning but it's rock solid now, to be fair i had to run a file over the Armstrong fuselage to get it to fit together properly too so it looks like all the brands leave the quality control to the customer these days, same factory and all that...

i should be getting a trial of the new 940 phantom soon, that thing looks spicy,
 
Last edited:

Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
Hello all,
First post here after reading the entire thread.
Looking to get into foiling. I have a jetski I'd plan to ride behind until comfortable, then move to the surf.

I'm looking heavily at the Gongfoil stuff, their Matata FSP board in 5'0 (~40L) and the XL foil. I'm 5'10 180lbs.
I'm primarily looking at them due to budget constraints, and having read some good stuff about them early on. Does anybody on here have anymore feedback on the Gong foil board/wing setup? I haven't seen much posted in awhile, and I think only one or two of you on here had mentioned first hand experience with them.

As a side note, I've been watching them for awhile and messaged them with no reply, but their foils and board in my size are out of stock and I have no idea when they'll be back in. If anybody in the San Diego area has anything they're looking to get rid of...please let me know :). Yes, I already scour Craigslist.


Get the 200 front wing. Really solid setup. Plus you'll have the mast for when Lift releases their new wings this spring.
 
Feb 6, 2021
2
2
3
Thanks for the input, all.

As far as why I want a Gong- I wouldn't say I want a Gong, but when I can get an entire setup (board/complete mast) for less than $800 to my door including tax...that's the answer. As much as I wouldn't like it to be, it's really the only thing that puts foiling within reach.

Of course, the idea of having a "top brand" used board would be preferential as juandesooka pointed out. Perhaps i'll be patient and keep watching CL.
 
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Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
I know guys that ride Gong. Nothing exactly wrong with them. I'd put them in the same category as Naish. Naish sells their year old gear dirt cheap.

Boards, yeah that's the hard part. Boards are hard to come by for cheap. It's very annoying. I will say that my first board lasted me 2.5 years. I still have it in the garage as there's nothing exactly wrong with it. I just lucked into a new board from 52foilco that I couldn't pass up. The new board does perform better.

Gong takes ages for shipping. Otherwise they're solid. You may have to mess with them a bit to get the connection to be super tight is the main complaint. But that can be said for a lot of brands. The other complaint is more on the wind wing side, where they release new wings before the prior "new" version have even gotten out to the consumer it feels like. So you're partially beta-testing for them. I've never personally ridden them, but know guys who do. They're not a bad option.
 
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juandesooka

OTF status
Jan 12, 2009
346
294
63
Well...if you're relatively handy and patient...a foil board costs roughly $200-250 in materials to make. If a kook like me can do it, most anyone can. Best part is you can repurpose an old board for a free blank. Or glue up some hardware store eps insulation for cheap.

Gong wing...yup, my experience is exactly what you describe hdip. Brand ambassadors online sold it as a positive, that they are always innovating ... but it felt to me that I bought a sub-par product that was obsolete before I even received it. I paid 60% price but effectively bought a prototype (which didn't work all that great). Left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like to pay top brands to support lavish photo shoots and CEO millionaires -- but I don't mind paying a little extra for proper R&D and pre release testing.
 
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Apr 4, 2020
38
27
18
I got the 3mm baseplate shim installed on the Kujira 980. It definitely increased the lift. Takeoffs on CH waves felt sketchier and breaches happened quicker compared to riding without the baseplate shim.

Since my pump game is still weak, I can't tell any difference in pumping with or without the baseplate shim. My longest pump was done without the baseplate shim where I pumped 1/2 way back to the lineup.

I've had 8 sessions so far on the Kujira. 6 sessions without the baseplate shim and 2 sessions with the baseplate shim. I'll ride without the baseplate shim for awhile and try it again once I improve my pump game.
 
Well...if you're relatively handy and patient...a foil board costs roughly $200-250 in materials to make. If a kook like me can do it, most anyone can. Best part is you can repurpose an old board for a free blank. Or glue up some hardware store eps insulation for cheap.

Gong wing...yup, my experience is exactly what you describe hdip. Brand ambassadors online sold it as a positive, that they are always innovating ... but it felt to me that I bought a sub-par product that was obsolete before I even received it. I paid 60% price but effectively bought a prototype (which didn't work all that great). Left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like to pay top brands to support lavish photo shoots and CEO millionaires -- but I don't mind paying a little extra for proper R&D and pre release testing.
Hi juandesooka - have you posted any board making writeups yet? I have a couple of old windsurf boards that I am thinking of stripping and making a foil board. One of my local breaks is a 1/4 mile offshore and at a mouth of a bay and sometimes the current is ripping out of there, making staying in position difficult/impossible on my 4'8" 45L escape pod. The only other guy I have seen prone foiling was riding the Jimmy Lewis 5'11" SUP, and he was cruising on that thing. I would like to build like a 6'0", 60L board or thereabouts. I have a lot of repair experience but have never done a whole board. Any pointers are appreciated. I assume reinforcing the foil track box into the board is the most critical!
 
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Muscles

Michael Peterson status
Jun 1, 2013
2,596
3,597
113
California/Hawaii
So can anyone tell me why all the foil mfg websites suck? I can't find any information about foil size or anything other than marketing boilerplate.

Best I can gather is someone who is pushing 220 needs a big foil. There's a few Lift surf 250s for sale on CL. Would that be good to start with?
 

Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
3,331
788
113
Malibu, CA
Lift surf 250's would work for you. Are you just learning? How much are they going for?

The problem with lift at your weight will be the flex in the mast. It won't stop you from learning, just a bit more unstable than you need. AXIS 19mm aluminum mast will fix that issue. If you want AXIS wing recommendations just ask. They came out with new wings which are making their way into the wild right now and people may be selling stuff to upgrade currently so watch for them. I actually know of one guy in LA who may be selling a full mast, fuse, wings set. He hasn't confirmed if he is or not to me though.

EDIT: and they all suck because surfer's are terrible business men. It's a real annoyance when you have to use instagram and message boards to get any real information from people.
 

bluemarlin04

Michael Peterson status
Aug 13, 2015
2,565
2,383
113
I want to try foil with a wing.

I have a Large Naish XL foil.

Would that work?

I don’t want to upgrade until I feel good enough.