THE 5 ADVANTAGES OF SAILING WITH A CARBON FOIL
Carbon foil or aluminum foil? We give you the advantages of riding with a carbon foil!
01
RIGIDITY
One of the first advantages of a carbon foil is its rigidity. The rigidity brings a certain feeling, certain sensations that we will not be able to feel necessarily with other materials.
For comparison, if we take for example, a carbon foil with the same stiffness as an aluminum foil, an aluminum foil will have to be thicker to have the same stiffness as a carbon foil. This will allow to reduce the profile of the foil to a maximum and thus to have a better glide and to have a better feeling when you practice.
02
THE LIGHTNESS
The second big advantage of a carbon foil construction will be the lightness. Indeed there are two big advantages to this. The first one, of course, when you get out of the water you are happy after a good session to have light material to go back up. The second big plus of this lightness is also to take off when your foil is underwater. Having something lighter underwater, will allow you to take off faster, to take flight faster and even afterwards on a more freestyle practice to be able to jump higher. As a comparison, it should be noted that carbon foil is overall twice as light as aluminum. So overall, a carbon foil will weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 kg. An aluminum foil will be heavier and will be more between 5 kg and 6.7 kg.
03
THE DURABILITY OF A CARBON FOIL
The third big advantage of a carbon foil will be its durability. It is true that today, and it can happen, rub a stone or anything with your foil and have scratches appear especially on the front wing. The advantage of carbon is that you can sand it very lightly to remove these scratches. In the same way, if you are really looking for performance, the fact of being able to sand before competitions or even if you really want to get together with friends and see who can go faster: a little sanding will really help you accelerate and go even faster when you practice.
04
0 MAINTENANCE
The fourth big advantage with a carbon foil will be the maintenance. Indeed, unlike what you would find with an aluminum foil, there is no need for specific products to be passed over it. No tef gel or any other product, we’re really on to something where you can just go in the water. No need to clean up after the session and no corrosion!
05
INVEST FOR THE LONG TERM WITH A CARBON FOIL
The 5th big advantage will be the financial aspect and in particular the investment on the long term. If you compare a carbon foil to an aluminum foil, the carbon foil will be more expensive. However with the first two advantages, durability and maintenance, the carbon foil can be refurbished.
This is a service that we also offer to our customers. Those who want to upgrade their foils, can send it back to us and we will refurbish it. They can resell it second hand and start again on a new foil.
The second aspect on the long term investment, you have to know that between the materials, there are different types of deformation that exist. The disadvantage for aluminum is that a so-called plastic deformation can occur. It is a deformation where, when the material deforms, it will not return to its original position. So once the aluminum is deformed, it can happen when you practice, there is high stress, the mast is deformed. The mast is then no longer usable, which is not at all the case with a carbon foil.
