Today we wake up with a new release of Armstrong, the new High Aspect 925 front wing. I was fortunate enough to get to ride it already for a few days. Unfortunately we did not have any waves, so I used it in flat water wing foiling (do take not of the lovely Dutch summer weather. It was 16 degrees...)
The wind wasn't very strong! I was really unsure if I would be able to get going with such a small front wing. By comparison, with my 81kg I need A LOT of wind to get going with the HS850, which on paper in roughly in the same size category. Of course the wing design is totally different. The wind was between 11-16 knots, very gusty with patches and holes. I was on the new 4'11 60 liter board and was using the v2 4.5 A-Wing.
I have been on the HA1125 ever since it came out. I absolutely love it! Fast, glide, pump and amazing for downwinging. Needless to say I was quite eager to try the new smaller brother, the HA925.
To my amazement I was able to get it on the foil. Much easier than I expected. It needs a little bit more speed to get going compared to the 1125, but a few more pumps with the wing does the trick. Once foiling the feeling is.... Man this wing is FAST and RESPONSIVE. I still remember going from the HS1250 to the HA1125. That felt immediately very fast. This is again a similar step up. My GPS shows me that it is 4-5 kmh faster compared to the HA1125. I actually tested back and forth, and by comparison the HA1125 feel slow, haha. Who would have thought that?
The HA925 still has a lot of glide. I am still able to gybe, tack, do 360's without issues. The only thing I had to get used to is the speed going into the turns. It needs me to react quicker. The feeling of the g-forces is intoxicating.
I was able to also test the pumping a little. I had to adjust my rhythm. The frequency for me now lies much closer to the HS1250. It pumps really well. I'll to a back to back compare between the 1125 soon. I also had a few jumps with it. I was hoping it would work for that too! The HA1125 jumps well, but due to its wingspan the impacts can be harsh. Since the HA925 is quite a lot smaller the impacts feel a lot less severe.
Still there is much to test and try. Cant wait to go out and try it in (bigger) waves. Would like to do some compare racing against some other foilers, and really want to see how it pumps with the winch.
If you have any questions or comments, please just reach out!