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Ke Nalu 970 first looks

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exiled:
So I got one of the first 970s in this weekend and only now had enough time to set it up. No ride review just yet, the south shore is firing right now and I'm still sup surfing on days when its this good. But I did want to drop some observations since information on these is thin and its hard to differentiate between all the foils on the market now. For whatever reason, it feels like manufacturers have all been really tight lipped about the subtle design choices and the thinking behind them.

The basic specs are on the website
https://kenalu.com/products/ke-nalu-970-coming-soon

As you might have noticed, the fuselage has been redesigned to accommodate the larger wing. This means just upgrading the wing is out of the question unfortunately. Note that it also runs a larger tail wing standard as well. The new fuselage feels lighter than the old one, but I don't have my old fuselage around to compare. All together, the whole set up feels really light, if there aren't the lightest on the market, its got to be close. The leading edge of the mast isn't nearly as sharp as the aluminum masts Naish and Gong use. I rest the mast on my shoulder when I carry my board, so that detail matters a lot to me personally.

Its really close in terms of footprint to the Maliko 200, and from the top they look really similar. Its whats going on on the underside that is pretty different. I wish I had a Maliko 200 with me for reference photos because I think that is what everyone is most familiar with.

I did take some shots with it next to my beloved Gong XXL and XL, some of the most basic and functional low aspect foils out there. Unfortunately, photographing a bunch of black objects next to each other on a camera phone is less than ideal, but at least it gives you something.

 The new GLs coming out from Go Foil are much more radical high aspect. The Ke Nalu 970 is probably more what Piros called 'mid-aspect' on the last progression project podcast. Roughly, these are foils with aspect ratios in high fours (Like the Malikos) but with much thinner leading edges. You can see some of that in the photos. These 'mid-aspect' foils interest me because I'm not sure I'll ever be good enough to ride the high aspect foils. I want to foil at fun speeds on crap waves, I'm not going out there trying to hit 45 kph down the line.

Most notably, the bottom contours of the Ke Nalu are pretty complex. The center of the foil is almost as thick as those 1st gen downwinder foils, but the foil is more neutral. If my gongs where surf fins, they would be flat inside foils. The Ke Nalu is more like an 80/20. From the center, the foil thins out and the concave increases until it gets to the down turned tips. More than any other foil I have seem, its seems like the Ke Nalu is running a double concave, between that and the sharp down turned tips, it almost looks like an attempt to apply bonzer theory to foils.

All in all pretty interesting and a good reminder that foils that look similar across some important basic specs can still have a lot different going on. I'm excited to see how it rides.

exiled:
Couple more pictures of the tail and beefier fuselage. It looks like Go Foil will be selling a 1.5 tail upgrade that looks very close in design to what Ke Nalu has been using from day one.

805StandUp:
Looks nice!  My buddy just got his too so looking forward to seeing it out in person.  At 38" wide that is a big wing... between the M200 and M280 I think.

exiled:
It has nearly the same area as the M200, just a little thinner and longer. Most of the extra length is in the relatively small wing tips. I don't have volume numbers for either, but the Ke Nalu has to be significantly smaller than the M200 in terms of volume being so much thinner.

exiled:
Ride Report:

So, two months in and I'm hooked. As a novice foiler, it took me a few weeks to get dialed in on this new wing. I wasn't really at the point where I was confidently making turns on my XL and XXL Gong wings when I switched over, which as probably too soon for me. The stable point of the Ke Nalu felt much smaller at the time. After going back and forth between and practicing for two months in and it feels natural now.

The 970 rolls over really easily and but is surprisingly neutral at speed for such a large wing. It doesn't go up until you tell it to. Once I got my confidence up I have been amazed at the drops that are possible because I can crouch low and back weighted without worrying about breaching. Its easier to turn than the 90cm Gong XL with more lift, just less stability.

The full carbon is stiff and super light. At the price point I don't think there is better construction available.

Being able to move the rear stabilizer has been great feature. I find it pumps much better in the forward position. I'd like to get the smaller stabilizer in it at some point and see how it goes.

I can't say enough about how good the customer service has been to me. Some of the best I have worked with in any industry.

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