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There's an ice shelf along the beach on Lake Michigan, which makes it dangerous and difficult to get to open water to go ride right now, but thankfully Tucker has already had many opportunities to get out on the new Omen SuperMarine. This could be an interesting choice for your quiver, or it might even be a one-board quiver for the right type of rider. What Is the SuperMarine? The SuperMarine is essentially the big brother to the Omen Flux, a shop favorite high-performance mid-length board. T …

The Float is a brand new wing model from Duotone, and as you might guess from the name, it's designed to float unobtrusively behind you as you play in the waves. Tucker's had a chance to get out on it and is back to talk about its design and whether it actually works. Shop Duotone Float. Design Features Luffing/Surf Handle The leading edge handle is a new design that's optimized for wave riding. It may be the most important handle in the surf, so it's stiffer and wider. This lets you control …

The MACkite Foil Crew sat down to talk about which foils they like best for waves and swells. As you can guess, there isn't one right answer to this question. In addition to personal preference, it depends on your skill level, the conditions that day, and what sort of wave riding you plan to do. However, they do hope to help you build the best quiver for yourself with these concepts and insights. Waves... What's in a Name? So you've been foiling for a little while now and are looking to get in …

Tucker just got off the water with the Ensis Roger parawing and... wait. Didn't we just have that Arctic blast? Wow, that's... dedication? Madness? A bit of both? Anyway, the pictures don't lie, and neither does Tucker. Here are his honest thoughts after a bit of a breezy, hectic session in the frigid Lake Michigan water. Ensis Roger Features The molded plastic bar is sturdy and has a nice oval-shaped grip that's very easy and comfortable to hold onto without sliding around. It gives you a go …

Two new wing foilboards have just dropped from Omen. Tucker, Jeff, and the rest of the shop's wing foilers have really enjoyed riding the Omen Flux this past year, so they're excited to get out on the new SuperMarine and Emissary and bring back an in-depth review of them. In the meantime, we've got an overview of the two new boards to give you an idea of what you can expect if you decide to pick one up right away.What was the Flux, again?We'll start with a recap of the Flux so that we can b …

All of a sudden, it seems like wings with booms are everywhere. Maybe you've been to a recent event and noticed that many of the best riders were using them. If they are, should you be? Well, it depends. Like so many gear choices in watersports, it comes down to things like your riding style, weight, experience, and personal preference, among other considerations. So what's the deal with booms, and should your next wing have one?Benefits of a BoomA lot of brands are now giving riders the c …

The newest addition to the foil cornucopia... foil-copia... cornu-foila...? Whatever the metaphorical mashup, parawinging is injecting yet another dose of innovation and excitement to the windsport world. Ensis has smartly launched the Roger wing in anticipation of this hot new trend. Parawings, a hybrid of single-skin kite and wingfoil design, offer easy, wind-driven fun and the ability to quickly pack and stow the wing for extended wave riding and downwind glides. After being stowed, they c …

How far back can we throw for Throwback Thursday? How about November 2012? Check out Tucker as he goes over MACkite's lineup of boards for 2013. If you've been riding a while, do you recognize any of this gear? Maybe one was even in your quiver?Oh, and be sure to watch to the end (or skip ahead) to see the outtakes!2013 Cabrinha SubwooferThe 2013 Cabrinha Subwoofer was a complete kite surfboard, with Aircore Quad fins, front and back pads, and footstraps if you like to use them. The board' …

The long-awaited KT foils are finally here. A mashup of Kane De Wilde's design wizardry and KT's next level construction methods, the KT foils are unlike anything in the market currently. The aggressive camber on the front wing opens up the usable range while providing a neutral stance no matter the speed. Across the lineup, you can expect top notch craftsmanship, early lift, and expanded speed range.The first-of-its-kind, mathematical shim selector helps you choose the correct setup for your ki …

The Duotone Unit has been around for quite a few years now, and with good reason. It's easy to ride, it has a lot of grunt, it's intuitive, and it's easy to get up on foil with it. The larger sizes are effective in light wind. It's just a nice, all-around wing with very good performance, and it's a favorite of many. This year Duotone added a third version of the Unit. The standard Unit has gotten a canopy material upgrade to reduce weight, and the D/LAB still has a full Aluula frame, pl …

A wing guy must have an opinion about leashes, right? For sure- and Tucker's got some thoughts to share about one of his favorites, the Kaohi INVIZ Hybrid leash. It comes in different varieties and can be used as a board or wing leash.INVIZ Leash VarietiesThe difference between the leashes is how you'll attach them. The carabiner option, obviously, uses a carabiner to quickly and securely clip on and off. Since he usually attaches his leash to his harness, Tucker tends to prefer this sty …

MACkite's top wingnuts, Tucker, Ryan, and Jeff, are chatting about boards today. Downwind boards are gaining in popularity, but the really hot boards are hybrid, or mid-length boards. There seems to be a bit of misunderstanding about these two types of boards and their applications, especially with all the recent innovations, so the wing crew has gotten together to talk about their experiences on them and when they like to choose each one. If you're moving past the beginner phase of your wi …

The North Dockstarter is quite a unique product that we haven't seen before, but now it's an indispensable part of our foil pumping toolkit. It's an inflatable foil launching device that you can use with a dock, boat, or whatever else you can strap it to. It holds your board above the water with the foil in the water so that you can run up, jump on your board, take off gliding and start pumping.What Is The Dockstarter? If you've tried dockstarting before, you know that it can be very ch …

For this week's Foil Friday, Tucker has a special mast from Code, the Ultra High Modulus PLUS. Except for the little "plus" symbol on it, it looks just like their High Modulus mast, but it is a bit different and might be the right mast for you, depending on your use case.How Is It Different?The Ultra High Modulus mast is extra stiff. It uses an even higher grade of carbon than the High Modulus mast, which is already super stiff. However, the Ultra is between 40 and 50 percent stiffer. It i …

Tucker's got a couple new front wings for the Slingshot Phantasm foil lineup. The PTM 799 and PTM 999 are an extension of the fantastic PTM 899. That wing has been so popular that Slingshot decided to expand on it with a smaller and larger version. Tucker's been a fan of the 899 himself for winging and surf foiling, so these were exciting additions for him.Slingshot PTM 999 The PTM is 1125 cm2, so just over 1100 cm in total surface area. The aspect ratio is almost 9, at 8.9. It's a nice …