Hello all, I wanted to write a review of the AXIS foil equipment I have been using over the last 8 months. With the intention of providing a complete beginner or some one looking to start foiling with the information they maybe looking for when starting out as a prone foiler.

Location: Bali, Indonesia
Rider dims: 80kg / 5'11 / 29 yrs old
Board used: 4'0 / 30 Litres - 4'3 / 33 Litres
Foils used: Axis front wings 750/900/660, 75cm mast, short fuselage, ultrashort fuselage, 440 rear stabiliser / custom up turned rear stabiliser

Background info:
I started out foiling in Bali the summer of 2019, prior to this I rode shortboards and kite surfed. I have been in Bali ever since and luckily have been able to foil almost everyday since I started minus a few months where I was at work. Up until I started I had only seen the odd video on the internet of guys foiling and pumping around connecting waves, I knew nothing about foils or what setup was best for a beginner or the technicalities of how the different parts of the foil worked together. There was only one guy in Bali (Jankie in Sanur) stocking foils which turned out to be AXIS, after seeing a handful of guys using these foils out in Bali and spending way too long thinking about how much they cost I decided to buy my initial setup.

Starting out:
My first setup was the 75cm mast, 750 front wing, short fuselage, 440 rear stabiliser and I bought an old 4'0 30L board off Sky Rama. My first few sessions I could barely paddle the board, let alone catch a wave. It just felt weird and the board tracked through the water differently with the foil then I was used to with a normal surfboard. My first few sessions were also in chest high white water roll ins, powerful and rippy conditions definitely hindered me to begin with.

In hindsight I think getting a few sessions on a slightly bigger board would have benefitted me to begin with, but if you're used to riding small shortboards then I would suggest sticking to your normal litres when selecting your foil board as you will quickly progress away from a big board. After a handful of sessions I honestly thought I was never going to get it. The whole thing started to click when I went out at a different spot with 1ft white water roll ins, every thing was slower, more controlled and I started to get my first few straight liners on the foil. The setup I started out with I would recommend as a 'go to' beginner setup.

The 75cm mast gives you a bit more error room when you start to make your first glides, I saw guys starting on 55/60cm mast and struggling with breaching a lot when coming up on to the foil. The 750 front wing was very stable to learn on, yet as I progressed it allowed me to pump, connect waves and start experimenting with turns. The rear stabiliser and short fuselage made the whole setup very stable and smooth as a complete beginner. Once I was up and riding, taking off on unbroken faces, figuring out how to pump and doing turns, I started experimenting with the 900 front wing.

Progression:
900 Wing
I wanted to start properly connecting waves so I bought the 900 and bolted it on for a session, straight away I noticed a lot more lift and had to move the whole rig back in the boxes almost to the back of the tracks, where as the 750 was positioned approx 1/3 of the way forward previously. The 900 initially felt stiff to turn and 'tippy' but it felt like a very springy pump with a lot of lift and glide. I rode the 900 for several weeks straight to dial it in and I found it likes to exit the wave with speed when looking to connect up and pump longer distances. I found it would bog out and feel like it would just drop at slower speeds, this may also be down to my technique. However after listening to a few other riders I believe the 900 was originally a windsurf wing and so it likes to go fast, this has pretty much been my experience since spending months riding it.

The 900 for me rides better at speed, with a shallow pump, high on the mast and my eyes up always focused on where i'm going. I also found at first I was pumping the 900 too hard and too often, I realised if i gave it more time to glide between pumps I would get a lot further. I can now connect 3 or 4 waves in a row with this wing or until my legs fail me. Also I have gone out on chest to head high days and rolled into these bigger waves no problem, once dialled you can really crank the 900 through the turns despite the initial 'stiff' feeling you might get when moving up from the smaller wing.

660/Ultrashort fuselage
I started towing in with the 750 but I found on the bigger days it had too much lift and high speed turns in head high+ waves on steeper, hollower waves were a challenge and uncomfortable. I bought the 660 and ultrashort fuselage after testing the prototype. The 660 combined with the ultrashort has honestly been a game changer for me, it transformed my foiling into a more surfy style and feels a lot like riding a normal surfboard with the way it turns and reacts.

I'm now able to push harder through turns with confidence, take off on bigger clean waves, draw out some open face round houses and whippy'er turns. This has been the wing I have ridden every day for the last 6 weeks or so since it arrived for towing in and prone foiling in 1ft - over head days. It takes some skill but it is possible to pump and connect with this wing too. When you revert back to the 900 from the 660 for a session its unreal how well the 900 pumps after your legs have been conditioned to the 660 for so long!

The gul shape really helps you drive through the turn, the foil doesn't feel like it wants to pop up and breach like the other wings when pushing them hard through the turns. I found the 660 handles the white water turbulence better than the other wings and I have been making some floater style re-entries with this wing. I found the ultrashort fuselage did loosen things up, but not an uncontrollable amount that a beginner would probably notice when starting out, when I rode the ultrashort with the 900 I found it improved the overall pump and when in the sweet spot it felt like it preferred a bit of a shallower pump.

Rear Stabiliser 440/upturned custom
I honestly haven't experimented much with the rear stabiliser as much as some people seem to be doing, I would like too but as parts are harder to get hold of out here I don't want to play around too much and end up with it being worse than when I started chopping bits off. The custom upturned rear I got out here is very similar to the new Axis upturned stabiliser and performance wise it definitely gives the setup a looser feel. I haven't ridden the 440 since I switched over to the upturned rear.


Lessons learnt:
- If I was to start again knowing what I know now, I would still go with the exact same setup and if it was a different brand I would also look for something with similar characteristics i.e. slightly taller mast, mid sized all rounder front wing and nothing too specific to a niche part of foiling.

- I would have preferred to try a few sessions on a bigger board first but i'm kind of glad I didn't as I do really like riding the smallest board possible. My current board is a 4'3 33L similar to the Freedom foils shape (Bali copy.) My first board is 4' and 30L and some days in clean conditions I felt like I could go smaller, but other days when it was a bit bigger and a bit of a rip i'm glad to be on my 4'3.

- Getting behind a boat early on for a few hours will definitely benefit you when it comes to riding the foil and understanding how it reacts. I did one hour on an old Cabrinha kite surf foil and then straight onto the Axis, I didn't tow again until I had mastered paddling in prone. In hindsight I would have gone out towing for a few hours on the Axis.

- Touch wood I have had no real injuries except for a bruise from the board hitting me on a bigger day. When I fall I don't try to jump/bounce off the board, I just fall in the opposite direction of the board and sometimes cover my head if I think i'm going to go through the whitewater with the board.


I'm happy to answer any questions here regarding the AXIS foil setup i'm riding and I hope this helps someone out.

Find my foil content on Instagram @onlythesea.