Just a few lines to describe my experience having had the Demo Duotone Spirit GT foil and Pace (4'6") board from WA Action Sports for a couple of weeks.
Me: Experienced (heavyweight) foiler that cant yet transition! Buy my own gear (when she lets me)
Conditions: mixed winter river conditions. 8-12knot up to 16-20 knots
Kites (18m SOUL and 8m SOUL)
Impressions: This package is well built with plenty of thought on the small things including a great board to mast attachment that is easy and quick and not too fiddly. Really solid built board with quality straps and foot pads and plenty of range for bootstrap positions. Also a sliding track for mast helps with tuning. The (90cm) Aluminium mast feels solid as do the connections to the carbon wings that come with it. The mast and wing covers are also good quality and easy to use.
On the water; Like a pair of your favourite shoes this combination felt comfortable from the get go. I was out in light winds with the 18m SOUL and so the chunky volume of the Pace really helped get going - couple of pumps and up and foiling . Four standout attributes: Smooth, Slippery, Stable and Fast. I had it at 42kmh off the wind in about 18kmh of wind and then 47kmh in 35kmh wind (with the 8m SOUL). Although the board doesn't appear to have much rocker , the touch downs were gentle and the deckgrip is by far the best Ive experienced. The foil appears to be able to be highly loaded without showing any signs of "wobbles" or cavitations. It comes with a set of 4 rear wing angles spacers : +0.5, +0.25, -0.25 and -0.5 degrees. I didn't try them but Jerome (the designer) says he has had the foil up above 30knots with the -0.5 spacer (keeps nose down I believe).
A balance between being able to lock in on a track and manoeuvrability has been struck with this set up. With the mast and the fuselage being aluminium the price is happily very reasonable and a number of different front wing types can fit as standard. Definitely on my list for when I replace my Zeeko carbon set up.
I saw Jerome riding the GT in Mauritius just two days ago in 25 knots of wind. He was absolutely flying and was going well over 30 knots :-O
From what I've seen, it looks amazing for the $$.
DM
I had a go of this foil yesterday and I found it to be amazingly fast and stable. I was instantly able to go far higher upwind than usual at good speeds (about 19 knots) and downwind felt amazingly confident and fast - about 25 knots. I could see on strava my angles and speeds were way better than before and it felt like I was able to push hard upwind and downwind. I totally love it, one of those test rides where you know right away you are buying it, I can't believe how much foil you get for the price. RE comparison to my other foils I found it easy to ride as well, similar to the hoverglide (H5) and the old speedster maybe a 1kn higher stall speed, way easier than the KFA Mako v2 and banga I've started learning racing on, and similar and maybe slightly easier than the moses 590/91. I am going to buy one and start playing with the shims and see how high I can push the downwind speed with race kites and will be riding this foil in lighthouse to leighton and can't wait!
