Higher Aspect Foils - Are they really better?

Overview

The video is a first-person comparison of Higher Aspect (HA) foils, focusing on the rider’s newer Excalibur foils, versus the HA foils they’ve used for the last couple of years.

Rider’s Prior “Go Ride” HA Setup

• Their main HA setup was the HA 840, used for “everything,” including:
  • strong wind
  • light wind
  • waves
  • free riding
  • jumping
• They favored it because it’s fast and balanced and doesn’t require frequent changes.
• The rider prefers a “go ride” setup rather than swapping gear often.
• For very light wind, they previously used:
  • a 1040 foil
  • a 72 L board
  • example wind range: ~6.5–7 m on flat water

New Excalibur Foil Experience (Mostly Excalibur 744)

The rider now primarily uses an Excalibur 744.

Design / performance observations

• The Excalibur has a straighter leading edge and a different foil section than the HA.
• Expected tradeoff with higher aspect (as the rider frames it):
  • typically more lift
  • but also more twitchiness and drag
• The rider says the Excalibur breaks that expectation:
  • it provides a lot of lift for its size
  • while still being incredibly fast
  • with much less drag
• They describe it as feeling “like an eFoil”, even when:
  • driving harder
  • and without ideal conditions (no swell/chop/waves)
• They report a low dropout threshold:
  • they can go super slow before the foil drops out
  • they say they hadn’t experienced that on the HA

Handling and Turning Differences

Turning feel

• With the Excalibur, turning feels different because they don’t push as hard.
• Compared to the HA:
  • the S-tail feels flatter
  • the foil/section is designed to wiggle rather than be driven aggressively
• They say this improves rail-to-rail transitions (heel-side to toe-side) by making the ride:
  • quicker
  • looser
• They also report it’s easier to control in turbulent water / whitewater.
• The rider contrasts this with the HA, saying the HA had an “inherent instability” when conditions got rough.

Foil Sizing Strategy (644 vs 744)

• They mostly use the 744 in typical conditions.
• When it gets stronger or waves get bigger, they step down to the 644:
  • they say they “never really” would have ridden it before
• They compare the transition from 644 to 744 to changing down a sail size:
  • balance and mass position feel similar
  • making adaptation easier

Overall Conclusion: New vs Old

• The rider says the new Excalibur (their 744) arrives around the same time/effort as the previous equivalent 848A.
• But they believe it’s:
  • faster
  • livelier
  • freer
  • less tracky
• They credit the improved foil section for significantly improving their riding.
• They also note this matters because they aren’t someone who constantly relearns new gear—they usually stick with what works.

Board Notes

Jumping / wave riding

• They commonly use a 52 L board for jumping/wave riding.
• Rider weight: ~180–182 lb
• They describe the 52 L as a “sinker” that can struggle in very light gusty offshore wind.
• Once planing, the reduced swing weight helps:
  • side-to-side transitions
  • jumping

Board range and preferences

• They mention using 72 L, 62 L, and 52 L, depending on conditions and location (notably “on Maui”).
• They prefer older/surfier style boards over the longer, narrower, thicker downwind style—but they acknowledge that “everything works.”

Final Pitch / Recommendation

For riders who want to take gear and ride across varying conditions without constant setup changes, the rider recommends the Excalibur for being:

• fast
• very controllable
• suitable for both “wigglers” and fast turning
• with an emphasis on speed

Presenters / Sources

No specific person or brand spokesperson is named in the subtitles beyond references to:

• Quintilian (as a writing/description example)
• foil/model names including:
  • Excalibur
  • HA (including HA 840 and HA 1040)
  • Excalibur 744
  • Excalibur 644
  • Excalibur 848A