Foil Fridays Special Questions and Answers

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Since this was a special edition this article will be a little different. We will repost the initial question followed by our initial response in Youtube to the user. I will then add any additional information below that to round out the knowledge.

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Stas Firer:

What category does the 2018 Naish Thrust KS1 fall into and do you guys plan on doing a review on it?

MACkite: 

Hey Stas! We think the Naish Thrust KS1 fits nicely into the "Performance Freeride" or "Powered Freeride" category. We'll be breaking this category down shortly and explaining our reasoning behind the selections.

Stas:

Can you guys do reviews on foils that you sell like Naish KS1 and others with pros and cons?

Naish KS1 Pros

MACkite:

• Modular system compatible with Naish's other Windsurf and foil components. Our favorite lightwind wing is the Windsurf Medium and the Surf Thrust. The Surf thrust L is a favorite of ours the in the surf. For windsurfing, the fuselage is longer and may require a different mast plate depending on your board. For Surfing and wake surfing, the Front and rear wings simply need to be changed and shorter masts are typically used.
• Durable Aluminum construction with Carbon wings mean a longlasting product without too much weight.
• Adjustable rear wing pitch. Increasing the angle as it relates to the fuselage will increase lift. Conversely, decreasing that angle will decrease lift and provide better characteristics for higher speed riding or lighter riders. The scribed mark will give you a reference point from which to start.

Expect a full review soon.

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Ben Maz:

Hi! Great video but may have missed something. Do you have a list of foils that fit into each category? Thanks

MACkite:

Hi Ben, We did not but here you go...

Freeride (underpowered)

• Slingshot H2 Hoverglide
• Naish Thrust with Windsurf front wing
• Naish Thrust Surf
• Gofoil Kai and Iwa
• Cloud S24 and P27
• Liquid force Impulse
• Liquid Force Rocket
• Lift 150-170
• Cabrinha Double Agent (lighter riders)

Powered freeride

• Lift 110
• Naish Thrust kite
• Liquid Force Thruster
• Liquid Force Happy
• Slingshot H5 hoverglide
• Slingshot Ghost Whisper 91
• North Speedster
• Delta Freeride

High Performance (Big air and race)

• Ghost Whisper 101, 111
• Delta Race

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Yorkbrick:

Winglets..And do you think they really work?

MACkite:

Great question. Some foils have them, some don't. I'm not a foil designer or anything, but being that they're designed to increase yaw (side to side horizontally, or "twist") stability it depends on a few things. First, mast length and width - the longer/wider the mast, the more yaw stability. Second, the amount of anhedral (downward angle of the front wing) - more anhedral = more yaw stability (also translates to less lift).

Winglets can come in different forms - solid, angled winglets like you see on the North Speedster's rear wing, or subtle curved winglets like you see on the Slingshot H5 wing.

Ultimately, do they work? Sure! If you're trying to increase yaw stability, they're definitely helpful. Do we want them? It depends on the amount of variable discussed above. Some foils could use more or less yaw stability. Personally, I like the loose and playful feel without added yaw stability. If you're looking for a foil that tracks very straight and doesn't have a loose and surfy feel, go for winglets. Hope this helps. Have you tried any foils with them?

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Tony Mcspaddin

I am not sure you can class the Cabrinha foil as high performance.

MACkite:

Hi Tony, this one is hard to classify since it is a low aspect foil but also has fairly low surface area. This foil is a great freeride foil for light riders (under 150 lbs) and heavier riders may find it is a fun foil for basic jumps but lacks the lift for freeriding and speed for powered freeride.

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Dmitry Kandov:

Cool video! Question: I have an 8 foot JP SUP that I use for surfing as well as down the line windsurfing on light days. I'm also getting into strapless kitesurfing. If I stick a foil on it, would it be possible to do all three: foil surfing, foil windsurfing & foil kitesurfing using this one board?

MACkite:

Yes Dmitry, You can certainly use it for all three. However, it will be quite large for kiteboarding so it will be more cumbersome and difficult to transition. On the flip side, it will be easy in light winds since you do not need to board start. You may find the Foilmount stick on foil mount to be of some use in doing this.

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John M:

No interest in anything other than kitefoiling. I'd be very keep on as much info as possible re a kite jumping foil setup for hooked in airstyle type freestyle. Looking at north speedster atm but don't know whether to get the TT type board or racetype board? I ride a spot with ocean swell. No flat water option

MACkite:

Great question! Some things to keep in mind for airstyle, jumping foil gear is that weight is a huge consideration.With twintips, a few ounces is a lot of weight loss.For Foils, the difference between foil setups can mean a difference up of to 7-8 pounds on your feet. Obviously, lighter boards jump higher and are more easily moved when you are in the air.The second consideration for these foils is their wing design.Typically you are going to need a wing set that handles the speeds and kite power that you will need to accomplish those jumps.Most people in this style of riding prefer a high aspect design of roughly 90-120 sq in of front wing surface area.Some popular choices are the Slingshot Ghost Whisper, Lift 110, Delta Freeride, and Delta race foils.Their carbon construction also has the stiffness and durability to handle these forces and impacts.The Speedster foil you have mentioned could be a good starter foil for that kind of riding but has a little more weight, lift, and lacks the stiffness and impact durability that most of these riders require.

Keep those questions coming in folks, We will have some more videos soon and will drop another question and answer edition soon after.

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Tucker Vantol

MACkite's resident surf and "Foilboarding junkie." You can either catch him on the phones or on the water at dawn testing new gear. he is proficient at a myriad of sports, a shaper and passionate about getting his water time. When he disco