kobo said..
You could have got a takuma there cheaper , interested in why you bought the Armstrong

For me it was a toss up between the 1300 lol & hs1550, messaged Piros & KDMaui on Insta about it (KD also rates the lol).

In the end I went with my gut, new wings are being developed all the time & I wanted the best quality platform to build on.

Armstrong customer service seems to be highly rated also.

Pulled the trigger on the 1600. Hopefully I'll have something to look forward to after the lockdown lifts!

Hey Dave well done on the Takuma , re the balance point i would set the Takuma a bit further back to your std position . Kane is right in what he is saying but for this set up surf with a hex key in your pocket and start a bit further back , very easy to adjust the position out on the water I do it all the time . Just roll the board over and only slightly loosen the bolts and bump the mast forward 1/2" at a time until you find the sweet spot.

Re the tails yes drop the surf rear on the 1600 when it gets a bit more punchy , plus really helps it turn even tighter .

Don't put tape on the foil you will kill it , just a slight rub of wet n dry will dull it. I haven't plugged my Ali mast but haven't used it for awhile as I have the carbon .

Got to try the stock 1600 Takuma in small but really fun surf yesterday with some super long runners.
Thoughts-
Takuma surf/turns better than any axis set up I have-period!

It's narrower and stable ( maybe a little less stable that 1000/1010 because of the width but easy adjustment) but still glides like a champ, it's really fun to surf and catches waves and pumps up really quick. Without being too lifty. I'm sure on prone will take some more tweaking and moving of the mast.

It can bottom turn and not want to roll over. It's very confidence inspiring. Much tighter turns.

Ive only ridden it on Sup and started w mast further back in box, been moving it forward while in water. Pretty much have it back to where the axis was. I'll keep working on the sweet spot, I'd like to try it further back again, maybe when waves have more power. But for the most part I feel comfortable and confident where it's at.

The pump is totally different than axis. I did get one double dip. I can feel pump potential but it's new. I remembered Piros advise to choke the pump, will keep working on that. I used the larger rear- that might part of the reason. Might try the small stab next go. I'm kinda used to the small rear pump feel.

Either way I'm very impressed, I especially like the speed and when the waves are slow you can go slower and stay on foil "in the pocket" vs having to run all out 24;7. Very versatile. Look forward to much more time on it. Gonna be super fun,

Big thanks Piros and to al others for the excellent reviews and advice. what a great sport and so much more fun kit to come, I feel I made a great purchase. And I'm sure the next round of wings will be crazy.!
Dave in Jax.
be safe

I rode the 1600 for a couple of weeks and clocked a lot of time on the water on it, 4-6 hours per day easily. Tons of lift and then some. As Rob suggested, place this further back in the box than your normal setup for a wing this size. So much glide, tons of lift and easy to pump. Rob also taught me about choking the pump and you dont realise you are doing it until someone see you and gives you the nod. I had the mast too far forward and i was always fighting the lift, at that stage i was fairly new to foiling so i didnt know that it didnt have to be that hard. I just assumed that it was front foot, everyone said you have to have lots of front foot, so i thought it was normal.

I know better now and you shouldnt have to be constantly fighting to keep the wing in the water, move it back and relax more. there is so much lift with this wing that you can go back further than you think. After a few weeks i tried the 1300 and i liked it immediately. Still plenty of lift but turned more easily than the 1600. My preference would be the 1300 for the majority of use ( i am 77 kg) but i think it would be good to have the 1600 for smaller days and pumping out the back more easily. They are well priced and very good foils.

Hi Piros. Great thread, thanks. I love hearing about how different foils perform. Would really love to hear how you think the 1900, 1600 and 1300 compare to the GL 240, 210, 180 & 140. Also, what's this about choking the pump? Is this for Tukuma foils only or does it relate to pumping all types of foils?

Any advice on the shims that come with the LOL? I got the 1.0 and 1.5 with my 1600, but I haven't tried either. I'd actually like to decrease the lift a little.

When we say "lift" we think of an upward force so when we are talking about a rear stabilizer which is designed to create a downward force using the term "lift" can be confusing.
Piros are you saying the shims add more downward force to the tail? I thought they reduced the angle of incidence of the tail wing thus reducing the downward force. I haven't found that the shims change the feel much but I've been running the small surf wing paired with the 1600 front wing. I like this combo for popping up and light wind small wave downwinding but in bigger faster conditions I find the pitch control to be more challenging. I'm having a tendency to touchdown and skip off the water or overfoil. I can't modulate the pitch smoothly. I suppose I should be using the larger tail wing in these conditions but I sold it, oops. maybe a washer under the forward screw to increase downward (stabilizing) force?

Piros said..your tail wings are on top , the Takuma is underneath so everything is in reverse re shims.

Wasn't he talking about a Takuma? I am so confused

nesterg said..
For what it's worth I have the Takuma 1600 with 75cm carbon mast

Piros said..
Both shims give more lift , to reduce lift put a single washer under rear screw . The 1600 rear wing gives alot of Lift , fitting the 1300 surf rear wing helps a lot to loosen it up and reduce lift . All the Uni Foil & Signature rear wings just screw straight on as well giving heaps more options . They work really well . I use a cut Uni flat rear on my 1300. Works so well will incredible pump.

Handy information about the signature tail fitting. I'll have to look into that.

Armstrong recon the bottom mount is out of the turbulence from the front wing and they also pump better because the surface area isn't interrupted by the fuselage......guess I'll have to take their word on that , no way of really testing

Anyone know an online shop that sells the LoL? I'm in the US, but this review has me considering them. I'm on a Lift 200 classic right now and considering switching brands. Axis and LoL Takuma are the front runners.

What's the wingspan on the 1600? The new lift HA wing is 37 inches which kinda freaks me out going so much wider than what I'm riding. I know the Axis 900 which I am considering is basically the same width though.

I'm 6'1" 185# riding a 4'8" prone in the surf.

wetfeetsports.com in Hawaii has them listed, but I would call them to make sure. They only have the carbon listed for like $50 more than the aluminum, so I don't know what's up there. They are a legit shop though.

I'm about 220 lbs riding the 1600 on a 4'8 prone board and it has borderline too much lift for me. Consider the 1300 instead.

Been having such a time on the 1600 and small rear. No shims for me. Mostly small FL stuff Sup and prone. If it gets bigger or more push I use the 1300. Shims felt like I was dragging anchor. Takuma is legit! I'll have the carbon mast fuse and the 1900 for SUP pump on the micro days and for light wind wing ding.