Session Impression: Two Guys, Three Sessions, and Loads of Gear

Jeff is back for another session chat, this time with Skip. What did the day bring, what gear did they take out, and how did it go?

How Were the Conditions?

In West Michigan, windy days can be few and far between during the summer. We can get thermals that pop up for a few hours in the afternoon on sunny days, but genuinely windy days are a rare treat, and we finally got one. Jeff got up before dawn to catch an early session and arrived at the beach to be greeted with 27-32 knots from the NW. He had some gear he'd only taken out in light winds, so he was excited to see how it performed powered up.

What Did Jeff Ride?

Jeff weighs 175lbs and had the Starboard Take Off Blue Carbon 85L. It's a little bigger board than he normally takes out in powered up conditions, so he was interested to see how it felt. It does tend to ride smaller than a typical board that size with the way the volume is distributed, so Jeff hoped it'd still be fun.

He paired this board with the Code S Series 720 foil. It's small, gunny, and fast. He'd only been out on it once before and wanted to get some more time on it.

For his wing, Jeff chose the 3m Cabrinha AER, a minimalistic surf wing. It was designed with no frills to cut the weight and price. It feels incredibly light and flags out beautifully. In fact, it made our list of the best surf wings. Jeff has been out on the 5m AER in light wind, but not a smaller one powered up.

How Was Jeff's Session?

For the most part, Jeff felt like he picked the right sizes for the conditions. He probably could have gone a little smaller on the AER, but the 3m handled even the winds over 30 knots just fine. He had no trouble getting up and pumping the 720 foil.

He rode in Muskegon, starting between the breakwater walls, but quickly headed out into the open waves to have some fun. The waves were consistently waist-high, with a few almost chest-high. The AER performed perfectly in the surf, floating behind so that Jeff didn't even have to think about it while he was on a wave.

Because he wanted to stay in the area, Jeff had to tack back upwind and was harnessed in for that, and he did notice that the soft handles weren't ideal for a harness line. It worked fine, but the shape they got pulled into didn't leave much room for his hands. It felt like the AER is intended more for downwinders than tacking around one spot, but that was a fairly small tradeoff for the way it shines in the waves.

Being on a smaller wing did bring its own set of challenges. We get more light wind days than powered up days, so Jeff hadn't been on a small wing since his trip to South Africa in March. It takes a little more effort to find the sweet spot on a small wing.

Jeff was pleasantly surprised by the board. Normally he'd go with a 60 or 70 liter size in such powered-up conditions, but the Take Off was well-balanced and didn't feel like it was getting pushed around by the wind. In fact, he wanted to try some harder carves in big waves with it sometime. In an area where you get lots of lighter days and the occasional powerful day, it'd make a good one-board quiver.

Jeff's been enjoying the Code foils. It was only his second time out on the 720, and wow, was it fast. It liked to accelerate, perhaps a bit too much for the wave size that day. In fact, Jeff did swap it out for the 850 later in the day, and that seemed to stay in the wave better. The smaller foils are a lot of fun, but if you push them, they will respond, so they're not quite as forgiving if you're not ready for that kind of feedback.

The first time Jeff had the 720 out, the waves were shoulder to head-high, and it was perfect so long as you kept moving around the wave. If you went straight, it'd just spit you out the bottom of the wave because it was so fast.

Jeff got a second session in the late afternoon and, along with the 850 Code foil, he switched to the Reedin SuperNatural 5.5m wing. The wind had settled down a bit to around 20 knots, and Jeff played in the "kiddie pool", the flat water between the breakwater walls. He normally enjoys getting in the waves, but there's something to be said for flat water since you can really work on new techniques like behind-the-back and toeside tacks.

What Did Skip Ride?

Skip weighs 160lbs and opted for the 2024 KT Super K 70L board with a step bottom. He likes that feature because it helps get him up to speed more quickly, and he still floats with 70 liters of volume. He also had the North Mode Pro wing in both the 3.5m and 4.8m sizes and a North SF 680 foil. Normally Skip rides an 830 foil, but Jeff challenged him to drop down. Skip accepted the challenge and was glad he did. It absolutely flew, and it turned incredibly well.

How Was Skip's Session?

Skip had to work in the morning, but Jeff made sure he got a turn in the wind that afternoon. Skip's session was between Jeff's two sessions, and the wind was between 20 and 25 knots.

The smaller foil made a noticeable difference for Skip. It was fast and made it easy to catch up to a wave. On his 1200 and 800 series foils, he had to work to catch a wave, but the 680 made it effortless. It was also surprisingly stable. He could get up easily and didn't feel like he was rocking side-to-side. Jeff has said before that the North SF Series is the "easy button" for high performance, almost like a good cruise control, and that was Skip's experience as well.

Skip was also careful to match his stabilizer to the smaller front wing. If you don't, the foil can try to nose up on you all the time and you won't get the speed you should be getting by downsizing your front wing. The 158 was a good size to pair with the 680.

By the time Skip got out, the wind had switched enough to cause a bit of an upwelling, so the cozy 70-degree water chilled a bit once you got out past the channel. But Skip did leave the "kiddie pool" and the waves were still great at about waist-high.

The KT Super K 70L is a mid-length board, and Skip was impressed at how he could point it downwind just a bit and get up to speed. Although he has years of kiting experience, Skip is an intermediate level winger, and the Super K let him skip off the tops of waves when he came down a little too far as he was trying to turn. It's forgiving and saved him from more than one unhorsing.

The wind bobbed up and down while Skip was out, so he switched between the Mode Pro 3.5m and 4.8m. However, he felt he probably could have stayed on the 4.8m the entire time because the Mode Pro really does have a good upper end and isn't easily overpowered. He found that it flagged better with a pistol grip on the front handle rather than the leading edge handle. The extra control kept it from flapping down in front of him.

Key Takeaways

The water was warm and the wind was up, and Jeff and Skip had a great time. Jeff was even fortunate enough to make it out twice. When you get a perfect day, it can be tempting to stay on gear you're comfortable with, but both guys used the opportunity to try sizing down on their foils and seeing how they performed in the waves. Wing foiling is truly a sport that gives back what you put in, so don't be afraid to invest time into leveling up your skills. Enjoy the stoke!

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