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Jeff and Tucker are excited to share one of their favorite accessories: the Ride Engine Air Box, an electric pump. ...Wait. They're excited about an electric pump? Are they really that old?? Perhaps, but that's not why they're willing to forego the traditional pre-session warm-up. Here's what's great about this magic box and why you might want one, too. Accessories Let's first dive in to what you get with your pump. Tucker's favorite accessory that comes with the pump is the car charger. It p …

Tucker and Jeff have gotten all dressed up for the 2023 MACkite "Best Of" Awards. ...Okay, well, one of them did. The other got dressed. Any product released in 2023 is eligible for nomination. MACkite crew who have ridden the gear vote for their top pick, and then Tucker and Jeff announce the winners in each category. Let's get started! 1. Best Light Wind Wing This award goes to the North Loft Pro. We've talked about this a lot in some of our recent videos and blogs, and it's such a great w …

Tucker and Jeff have ridden a lot of wing foilboards throughout the year, and they're ready to announce their top picks in several categories for 2023. 1. 2023 Best All-Rounder We weren't able to agree 100 percent in this category, so we had two: the F-One Wing-S and the Omen Flux. They have a similar concept with a lot of crossover. This kind of design may be the future of winging. A lot of brands are moving in this direction in their design, so these guys were just a little ahead of the ga …

Pacific Performance Company (PPC) has released a fresh new wing, the M1. Tucker and Ryan have had a chance to ride it, and they're pretty excited about it. Here, they chat about what makes it special and how it handled for them. Tucker: The PPC M1 uses some unique materials, which we're always stoked about. After riding it a few times, we're ready to tell you what we like about it and what we don't like about it. A lot of people have been coming to us with questions about this wing since it' …

Ryan and Cole have been fielding a lot of questions about how the Axis ART and Spitfire front foil wings compare. Here, they take time out to discuss where each excels and what sets them apart.Pumping Ryan: How does the ART pump compared to the Spitfire? What are the differences that you've noticed there, Cole? Cole: For pumping, the clear winner is going to be the ART. The ART is a sick wing for pumping because of that high-aspect design. This thing just glides through the water, with …

The Duotone Unit is now available in the Aluula construction, known as D/LAB. How is it different from the standard Dacron construction, and is it worth it?Benefits of Aluula If you compare a 5m standard Unit with a 6.5m D/LAB Unit, one of the first things you'll notice is that the leading edges are very similar in diameter. This isn't because they stay the same across the range; the D/LAB material is so strong and stiff that it becomes possible to reduce the diameter of the leading edge …

The 2024 Take Off is a fresh design that applies what Starboard has learned from past versions. What's new, and how does that translate to the real world? Tucker has ridden it and has some insights to share.IntroductionThis board has kind of an alien shape. Starboard wanted to make the experience better without going with a standard shape. They're pushing the limits of design and construction to give you a unique model, and there are some cool advantages to this unique shape and some of th …

It's Tucker's turn in the "Pick 5 Challenge" hotseat! Tucker rides any and all wings and foils that come through the doors at MACkite... can he really pick just five??Jeff: Tucker, if you had to just pick five pieces for winging and ride it for a year here in Michigan with the conditions that we have, what would you pick?Tucker: I'm an oddball sometimes, and I like versatility in my gear, especially if I can only pick five things. I'm not even going to limit myself to one sport like wing …

Axis has released their new Spitfire front wings, and Ryan and Cole have had a chance to ride them. Where do these wings excel, and what sort of rider will enjoy them?Cole: I got on the Axis Spitfire for the first time when I was prone foiling, and I was absolutely blown away by the turning performance of this wing. It pumped really well, yet it still had great edge-to-edge performance, and this is something that I haven't really seen in wings that pump well. I was able to connect three or …

Getting Up and Riding | Ease of Use The primary purpose of a light wind wing is to get you up and riding with ease. Jeff and Ryan both agree that when it comes to “get up and go,” the North Loft Pro takes the win. It's easier to handle and builds speed effortlessly. The Loft Pro offers excellent stability and doesn't require aggressive pumping to get moving, even in sub 10 knots conditions. The Duotone Ventis, on the other hand, isn't far behind. It may require a bit more technical handli …

Pat is at King of the Great Lakes Test Fest with Ty from Slingshot. They're checking out the new V4 Slingwing for 2024. Pat: Ty, what's new this year? Has there been a bit of redesign? Ty: I love the Slingwing V3 and think it's an amazing wing, but for V4 we narrowed the profile down a little bit, which tightened up the canopy. The marketing term we use is "high tension high performance", and you feel it when you pump because there's so much more efficiency in this tight canopy. However, …

Tucker meets up with Billy from Manera and F-One at KoGL to chat about the new 9m Strike CWC. Wait... a 9m wing? Why not! Tucker: This is the behemoth, the big lady, of the range. Billy: Yes, we have here the 9m CWC. Tucker: 9 meters of goodness... that is a lot of wing! Billy: We've brought it to the right place to test the low end, and we've actually been quite successful here. Tucker: It's pretty sick. It doesn't look like a 9m. Billy: It definitely has the low end power, bu …

Longer Front Handle Design The 2024 Duotone Unit Wing has a new, unique design feature. It still has the rigid handles, but now the front handle is a lot longer than the back handle. Although you don't necessarily need all the real estate in the middle, it allows you to fly one-handed, almost like it's a boom. In fact, there is only a very small gap between the front and back handles. Duotone has positioned the front handle in just the right spot to really choke up on it and get a bit of …

Cabrinha Fusion X-Series | The All-RounderThe X-Series MkII hydrofoil offers enhanced maneuverability with refined profiles, a moderate aspect ratio, and a redesigned wingtip shape, making it suitable for various board sports. While maintaining its forgiving low-end performance, the all-around lean profile now provides an extended speed range. The new tip design allows for freeing the tips during turns without worrying about cavitation, a result of research conducted at the SINTEF facility. A …

Welcome back to MACkiteboarding Foil Fridays with Tucker. Today I'm going to talk about two exciting new stabilizers for the Slingshot Phantasm carbon foil system. The Jet and the V are smaller stabilizers for the lineup.They've had the 400 as a standard stabilizer for quite a long time. It's a bit larger and more stable to provide ease-of-use. At the other end of the spectrum is the 325, which is small and has winglets to help with tracking ability at high speeds. In the middle has been a …