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Good question. Both great boards, ride characteristics on foil are similar, take off and touch downs quite different. The slice v3 has amazing acceleration and release, it takes off crazy fast and easy. It touches down when level really well, on a rail it can bite a little. The skipper is a little less eager to break free at slow speed and likes wing power, but then bounces off the water at any angle and speed so well you often don’t notice the touch down. I’d say - slice if you are into blasting speed runs and turns on flat water, skipper if you are into slashing waves. Did you see our foiling mag review vid on the appleslice v3 too? We talk about the comparison a little in that

@@poseidonwatersportsuk hmm yes very tough call. I'm certainly more of a wave guy, however it seems that the most recent designs from KT (and boards such as the omen flux) are closer to the slice v3 for wave riding... Don't think the skipper might be a little outdated (it's a little wider...)? Also would love it to double as a prone board(I'm a beginner in this area... I can surf normally but never prone foilled). Thanks, love the content. Eric from Canada

The sport is developing fast and kit changing with it. In the end neither the Skipper or the Slice would disappoint, they are both at the front of the pack. In my opinion I'd point to the slice if you ride more straight and fast as it is so easy to release onto foil and so has a big range of condition usage. For carving and waves I'd still choose the Skipper, it might not take off quite as easy, but handles touch down and foam hits so well

Also I ride 85L and I am 190lb

Dreamy for those mellow conditions. We had an AK foil mounted centre of the tracks on these clips. Obviously it depends on the foil to find the best balance, but I agree it feels nicer to be mounted further back than usual on this board, I feel that’s because of 2 very different sections to the bottom shape and nice to be able to utilise the flat rear half

It’s designed for flat water and light winds, that’s where it excels. Our filming day turned out to be firing, but this board is all about early take off and ease in mellow conditions. The rocker helps with touch down, whilst the rear section is totally flat and narrow to help it accelerate and release

Great question. Exactly what I keep thinking with the rocker. That much rocker makes me nervous about truly light winds. I do have to say I have a Macro 58l and love the nose rocker, it pops off the water on touch downs so nicely. To get going, the back of the board is flat, so I lean towards the back for takeoff. And I usually don't like rocker on boards but the macro I've come to love. Anyway I'm assuming cabrinha is following similar consideration in this design. Thanks for the video!

dude.. chill.. it's ski season still.

I have one on order - how do you like it?

@@carstensen100 it’s awesome - fast to get on foil, light, responsive - love the sunken concave deck

🤩

Thanks, hope it's helpful. The board in video is the 80L - 5'4 x 22.5" x 4.60"

Hey, neither of us have tried the Omen Flux yet to be able to give an honest comparison. You are right they both have similar spec and brief. The Bottom shape is quite different though, I would imagine the Slice v3 takes off and recovers easier, whilst the Flux touches down less on the carve, but unfair to say until trying. Will make a note to let you know when we do

@@poseidonwatersportsuk Thanks a lot! Looking forward to it. MacKiteboarding seems to be stoked on the Omen.

Hey, they looks sick hey! They are indeed a custom from Brainchild. They complement our reviews and fly great, currently not plans for them to hit stores

Fresh garms

Both options would be a really fun upgrade and sensible step from the Phantom 1280. They both have a playful ‘surfy’ roll and are great in the waves. Comparing them, The sk8 is much faster, handles speed great and excels in its mid-top end, at the compromise of bottom end grunt to get going, so you’d probably find the jump to 950 might take some adaption and probably wise to hang onto your 1280 for light days. In slow fat Hayling swell it’ll want you to keep the turns flowing and feel great doing it. The tracer excels in bottom end and lifts super easy in sloppy waves or when underpowered. It pumps great and doesn’t stall out making it very forgiving to learn turns and positioning, but it’s not as fast and as you near its top it becomes a handful. You’d feel at home on the 1030, but probably find yourself wanting the 800 as the autumn energy starts pushing again. In slow summer Hayling swell you could sit pretty straight. You probably want to look at the brand systems as a whole and consider your possible next stage and whether it’s worthy of a full migration. The AK is a very well priced system which makes low powered riding easy and has great options for surf and DW which make you feel a better rider. F-one has a huge range of foils and especially their small ones excel in high performance riding, having such a large range means each design is dedicated to specific riding styles with less cross over. Their foils are priced higher so quiver building is a more costly pleasure. Hope that helps. Welcome to give one us a shout for more advice 🤙 Chris - @poseidon Rich - @kite barn

Awesome thanks @@poseidonwatersportsuk for the detailed reply - that's a great help.

Great choice. The new range of AK foils is really nice. The tracer has a very loose and surfy feel, the plasma is more locked in and focused on efficiency and glide. You’ll find the best low end performance with the plasma, the 1600 would get you gliding in nothing, if that’s what you want. But then the tracer would make more a more versatile option which sacrifices some glide to gain all round fun and smiles, if you want to push turns and catch waves. The 1030 would be a good staple, or 800 lovely at your weight if you are happy holding speed. Hope that helps? Let us know what level you’re at and what you’re looking to do with the foil and we could try to narrow down more 🤙

It’s honestly wild how small you can go with these new wings. My go-to was a HS1250/1050 or a HA1125/925. The 880 feels too big and I wish I grabbed a 680

Thanks for that Andrew.

He's so good at the saucy quips too.

Replied below 🤙

Nice question. What’s your average conditions / wave weight. And do you like to focus on long glides and multiple wave connections, or hitting hard turns and getting critical on 1/2/3 or waves?

Average conditions are usually waist to shoulder height with slight chop on surface. Coming from surf sup background I'm all about the waves...I can pump but not great at linking waves and I'm happy to ride the swell/ waves come out the end and semi efoil back out to the line up and repeat. Battery Run time is important and starts too.I'm e foiling into waves/swell vs prone foiling into them with the FD- so getting up early to my feet is a priority .

Sweet. Consider the 1180/1080/980. 1180 will give you easiest take off, glide and battery conservation, it’s still really playful for its size too. 980 more lively and faster, better suited to the big days, but will zap more juice and be harder to pump. -1080 is obviously somewhere between. Personally I’d recommend going 1180, it’ll be instant fun and easy, has multiple applications for other disciplines and sets you up nicely to add a 880 to the quiver later down the line. Tail wise - I’d recommend the 180 for a faster ride or the 235 for a more locked in grippy feel

Great advice. Im able to demo the 980 and 1080 this week ..but will consider the 1180 too...thanks awesome advice

The 1180 would bridge those 2 foils you have pretty well and its low end would really help dial in different turns. It might not get going quite as early at the 1475, or be quite as quick as the 1225, but makes a good single wing replacement which is loose and rolly. The 1180 is good for DW too, if that’s on the radar. Also swapping out to 1180 would set you up nicely for adding a HA 880/980 or ma 1000 later down the line too, So yes, the swap to HA could be a wise move for south coast riding at your weight and level, just be aware of the small compromise to bottom end of the 1475 an slower speed than 1225 🤙

Thanks for the advice . I think I will go for a 1180, do you guys px, I have a like new 1225 that I would like to PX @@poseidonwatersportsuk

I feel it would be unfair to use something unobtainable by most people as a bench mark. But It does rate very highly when compared with other options and I’d imagine brands will aspire to its tech stats. It’s fast, loose, efficient, direct and super stiff. So stiff that it’s worth noting not everyone will enjoy this mast as it increases all feedback and control to be hyper sensitive. Some people like a little dampening

No way, the whole axis power carbon range are great. The HM model is an industry bench mark, cannot fault it one bit and anyone would be happy to own one. This Ultra HM models takes performance to a new high which was otherwise not available. The price tags alone makes it not for everyone, but true to brand - Axis does make something for everyone. This is for either elite level performance or extra kudos on the beach

It’s strong, definitely not for most. Lucky they do a great standard carbon and high modulus carbon option with is more ‘affordable’

Coming soon.

Pretty mad. I hoped the gains were not as noticeable, but you for sure feel it. Not for most with that price tag, but special for the fortunate ones who can. Luckily Their HM model mast is great too

That AFS mast is pretty special and the silk is a lovely ride, super smooth. Very different feel though, hard to agree that it’s just - better. They each have wins on different categories and will suit different riding styles. Different horses for different courses.

Thanks for watching!

At mid-speed the roll characteristics, lift through the turn and pitch sensitivity is similar, but the Sk8 is much faster and comfortable in its top end, which comes at the compromise of a challenging bottom end for low speed pumping or underpowered riding. The HA has compromised top end speed for bottom end lift, ease and forgiveness.

Standard 60 works great as a go-to and is a staple. You could run the 70 if you wanted to increase pitch stability - good for speed, big waves, pumping or pushing hard through turns, but at the cost of a wider turn radius. The 50 would make it more lively, probably too lively for most tastes, unless you’re smashing lots of turns on tiny waves.

@@poseidonwatersportsukI run a 50 and I have folded myself so many times because the pitch stability is gone. Butttt man. It absolutely rips carves in the weakest smallest gutless waves. Pump is good. But the 60 and 70 fuse are magic. Great carves. Great pump. You can recover from a small mistake in a hard turn. The 50 is just too damn sketchy.

For sure the 680 is much easier to get up on foil than the 725 and 800, the low end is amazing on the new HA, but this comes with a compromise to top end speed - the 725 is faster, if that’s what you’re looking for. - Obviously the HA 680 will still need quite a bit of speed before it takes off, but if you are used to a small MA or old HA you’d be fine. No shim needed for 140/180 HA pairing, they feel great without. For winging you might consider increasing top end speed and loosening the back end by sliding one in, but personally I’ve found the tail grip on those tails without a shim felt real nice and predictable on the HA’s turn.

Both are great foils but ride very different. The silk is a classic which slices through turbulent water, is very front footed, planted when engaging a roll and loose on the tail. Whereas the HA runs slower with an incredible bottom end and roll, feeling more balanced / back footed which grips through the turn. Neither would disappoint and if you are invested into the AFS system you wouldn’t go wrong with the silk. If you are starting from fresh I’d recommend the HA for a more shortboard feel, or the silk if you want more snowboard vibes. We’ve got a Silk deep dive review in the pipeline which isn’t too far away 🤙

It’s also worth noting that the HA sits about 3 inches further forwards in the mast track than the silk, so depending on your board this might be a consideration 🤙

@@poseidonwatersportsuk Great info thanks. I hadn't even considered that foils would ride more front foot or back foot 👍🤙