Today was a big day. Hickam had really good wind and I had decided to run some trials on the Go Foils (to see if the performance is better than the Armstrongs) - perfect conditions for starting this test. I committed to multiple runs while altering only one variable and making notes on what was going on.
While packing, I was bolting on the 32.5" Go Foil mast and noticed the front of the boxes on the NWFB had busted. No doubt from the prior incident here at Hickam (that run just keeps dishing out bad news... hopefully that was the last - and I'm going to have to dig the current boxes out to properly fix the board - ughhhhhhhh). Good thing I still have the Wide Wing Foiling Board (WWFB).
The wind had a lot of east in it. The tide was deep enough to not have to worry about grounding anywhere. I started out with the Ensis 5.2 and the GL180.
Surprisingly I nailed the mast positioning on the first try. And the GL180 performed well - transitions were decent - had tripped a couple of times, but early on - later in the session I was nailing everything. Nice tracks (I love easterly winds!!!).
You can see the trips (botched transitions) below. It felt like I was up on foil significantly more than when I was on the Armstrong. This is actually consistent with what I've observed with Eli and Derek - they hardly touch down the entire session.
Next run saw the GL180 replaced with the NL160. This is where things got really exciting! The NL160 does almost everything better than the GL180 (except gliding - but turns were visceral and I literally would hang in the pocket next to the breaking section of the wave - I had my best three waves at Firsts today!!!). This front foil can wing surf better than any other foil I've used to date - I could turn really well with the HS1550 - but I could not run down waves like I could with the NL160, and the NL turns better. I broke the 20mph barrier on the foil to boot.
I went in again to mix it up again. With the wind as strong as it was, I wanted to see if the 4.5 could produce good rides with the NL160. I was not disappointed - 3 mph slower, and the wing would do flips occasionally while luffed - but not having to handle a larger wing was nice. I got fewer epic wave rides this run - but I think that was more due the changing conditions as opposed to the smaller wing.
My verdict - if I had to choose one today, I'd keep the Go Foil over the Armstrong - it just works better with the conditions I find a majority of the time. I will need to test the GL210 and the PNL185 in lighter winds before I can start selling off the Armstrong foils.
The rear stabilizer was singing the whole session. I normal don't go as fast as I did today while prone foiling. Also I don't stay up on foil as long so I hadn't noticed this before.
I did not move the mast from this setting - I'll mark it and use normal M8 25mm bolts now.
If you are guilty of knocking Go Foil, you really should try the NL series (or even the GL) - these are game changers!!!
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