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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Migrating from Armstrong to Axis ART999
« on: March 17, 2022, 04:19:56 PM »
Since it has been a couple months since I swapped and in a nutshell I have no regrets moving to Axis and I am loving the ART series foils. but in the interest of not being a fan-boy of either camp thought I would update with my honest opinion/review/comparison pros and cons of each.
I ended up going with:
-ALU 19mm 90cm
-Carbon 86cm (because I got offered a used one so thought worth a try)
-Ultrashort black fuse
-400 progressive tail
-ART999
-ART1099
-(hoping to soon get ART899)
Axis Pros
-It just rides far better, and I tested it against the Armstrong 925 as well, the ART999 was both faster and more user friendly that the Army HA foils, the ART wings are incredible.
999 pretty much replaces both my old 1050 and 1550 Armstrong for wind range, it out-glides them both, turns almost as well, will foil in lighter winds than the 1550 (once flying), and have been out in 35+kts and not found it max wind yet.
1099 is an entirely different beast, I find it a bit dull on flat water, but it is great for gliding through wind holes, once on foil you can pretty much stay up forever, but its happy place is small waves where the glide is endless but it still turns far better than should be possible for this span.
799 (just a few trial runs) was surprisingly easy to ride, although a step up in performance was not hard or scary at all, but think at 105kg I am just a bit heavy for it to be useful to me.
-The price - so much cheaper than Armstrong
-The range of products is huge, and the amount of cheaper used gear on the market is huge - Axis riders do love to change gear alot!
What I love about Armstrong vs Axis
-The build quality and finish just feels better in every way, I broke a tip of my Axis 400, just clipping a fence post carrying my board, and have put a number of small scratches in the foils already, and I don't even know how. I ran my Armstrong setup onto a rock reef a couple times and barely left a mark.
-Set and forget no messing about with tefgel, no rinsing salt off, no drying things before packing away, no worrying about anything rotting/corroding/seizing.
-The pack includes all covers, all bags, titanium screws - no hidden costs.
-I could do everything on my 1550 without having to swap foils, I never even changed a tail wing and it did everything I wanted it to do as-is. I can feel myself being pulled into the Axis arms race of having to buy different foils for different situations and have a quiver of tail wings etc.
AXIS Carbon vs Alu mast
To my surprise I prefer the Alu mast. The carbon noticeably both faster, more lively and lighter, but... seems to get speed wobbles when gunning it, and it feels generally less stable. The Carbon is now for sale.
Armstrong vs Axis mast feel
The scientific wobble test on the beach tells you nothing and it's not all just about stiffness, there is something about the flex patterns in that Armstrong mast that just works. The Armstrong mast feels less stiff on the beach, however in the water somehow feels better than the Axis carbon imho.
The Axis Alu however feels super direct, super stable and controlled, even gunning feels super safe, not a wobble, although I can feel the extra drag and weight. Hopefully Axis next mast is a light fast carbon mast that feels like their alloy.
As an interesting side note it seems that Armstrong 85cm was 4cm longer than the Axis 86cm when all set up.
All just my opinion and my 2cents, but I love the Axis stuff to ride if they could match Armstrongs business and build we would have the perfect NZ foil company!
I ended up going with:
-ALU 19mm 90cm
-Carbon 86cm (because I got offered a used one so thought worth a try)
-Ultrashort black fuse
-400 progressive tail
-ART999
-ART1099
-(hoping to soon get ART899)
Axis Pros
-It just rides far better, and I tested it against the Armstrong 925 as well, the ART999 was both faster and more user friendly that the Army HA foils, the ART wings are incredible.
999 pretty much replaces both my old 1050 and 1550 Armstrong for wind range, it out-glides them both, turns almost as well, will foil in lighter winds than the 1550 (once flying), and have been out in 35+kts and not found it max wind yet.
1099 is an entirely different beast, I find it a bit dull on flat water, but it is great for gliding through wind holes, once on foil you can pretty much stay up forever, but its happy place is small waves where the glide is endless but it still turns far better than should be possible for this span.
799 (just a few trial runs) was surprisingly easy to ride, although a step up in performance was not hard or scary at all, but think at 105kg I am just a bit heavy for it to be useful to me.
-The price - so much cheaper than Armstrong
-The range of products is huge, and the amount of cheaper used gear on the market is huge - Axis riders do love to change gear alot!
What I love about Armstrong vs Axis
-The build quality and finish just feels better in every way, I broke a tip of my Axis 400, just clipping a fence post carrying my board, and have put a number of small scratches in the foils already, and I don't even know how. I ran my Armstrong setup onto a rock reef a couple times and barely left a mark.
-Set and forget no messing about with tefgel, no rinsing salt off, no drying things before packing away, no worrying about anything rotting/corroding/seizing.
-The pack includes all covers, all bags, titanium screws - no hidden costs.
-I could do everything on my 1550 without having to swap foils, I never even changed a tail wing and it did everything I wanted it to do as-is. I can feel myself being pulled into the Axis arms race of having to buy different foils for different situations and have a quiver of tail wings etc.
AXIS Carbon vs Alu mast
To my surprise I prefer the Alu mast. The carbon noticeably both faster, more lively and lighter, but... seems to get speed wobbles when gunning it, and it feels generally less stable. The Carbon is now for sale.
Armstrong vs Axis mast feel
The scientific wobble test on the beach tells you nothing and it's not all just about stiffness, there is something about the flex patterns in that Armstrong mast that just works. The Armstrong mast feels less stiff on the beach, however in the water somehow feels better than the Axis carbon imho.
The Axis Alu however feels super direct, super stable and controlled, even gunning feels super safe, not a wobble, although I can feel the extra drag and weight. Hopefully Axis next mast is a light fast carbon mast that feels like their alloy.
As an interesting side note it seems that Armstrong 85cm was 4cm longer than the Axis 86cm when all set up.
All just my opinion and my 2cents, but I love the Axis stuff to ride if they could match Armstrongs business and build we would have the perfect NZ foil company!