F-one Phantom foils - S.F. Joe

My Moses 633 had been my favorite foil of all time until I started riding the FONE Phantom 1080 (no, they didn't pay me to say that but they did give me a free t-shirt and hat)...

I kite foiled the Moses 633 for 2 solid seasons and compared every other Moses foil against it. The 633 was always my baby, always my go to foil in sketchy or sub-optimum conditions. I worked thru the gammet of stabilizers for it - starting at the 483 and moving down the 450, 425, 421, 420, 330, 325 and finally ending at the completely loving the 380 which is how I rode this setup on the stringy Moses superfuse. I considered it to be for me the best setup of all time.

I was hestitant to even try the Phantom 1080, but now that I've been riding it I must say that it excels over the Moses 633. Here is a list of the reasons why:

THE UPSIDES

+when carving hard rail to rail, there is less of a tendency for cavitation. Already the Moses 633 has an extremely low tendency to cavitate, but the Phantom 1080 even less so.

+The Phanton 1080 has a better low end. The Moses 633 has an awesome low end, but the Phantom 1080 is just a tad less so. And, not only does it have a little bit better low end, it rides more stable at slower speeds as well because its wingspan is wider...

+The Phanton 1080 is quieter, softer to ride. It is a very soft foil. It would be better for a beginner in my opinion.

+The Phanton 1080 carves better. It is not quite as loose as the 633, it is wider so it takes more rider input to carve, but it somehow really locks into the carve and does not let go when you really load it up.

THE DOWNSIDES

-The Moses 633 pair with a race stab is faster. I do give up some top end...

-With the Moses system you have more options for different combonations. With FONE (and I may be ignorant of my options) I find less options to tweak the ride***

***this may be a blessing in disguise because I end up buying every option...

-With FONE it doesn't pack up as neat and tidy as the Moses system because of the Foil/Fuse being one piece (more or less)...

I never thought I'd say but I do prefer the Phanton 1080 to the Moses 633 for kite foiling.

Regarding wing foiling, I tried the 633 and it was pretty much awful. 

The Phantom 1080 Foil may be the first crossover foil between kiting and winging!

Yesterday I did a review of the Phantom 1080 compared to the Moses 633. In that review I mentioned that the Phantom 1080 had become my new favorite kite foil. And it was! It is! I love that foil! Subsequently, FONE mentioned to me that is was their favorite winging foil. Wait! I thought the 1080 was a kite foil???

Last night I did double sessions on the Phanton 1080 foil, winging. Guess what? It is an epic foil for winging! Just epic!

The takeaways:
I like to wing slowly, and ride swell, and pump in swell. I like to ride fast from time to time but predominantly I prefer to ride slowly, to carve and to surf. The 1080 worked impeccably for that. It felt carvy at speed and very easy to control but also had incredible low end. I didn't notice any loss on the low end compared to any of the giant foils I've ridden.

Previously the only foil I had that could perform double duty was the Moses 790, but it really lacked pizzazz for kite foiling. However, the 1080 does not lack for wing foiling, in fact it excels, and it excels in kite foiling.

The only downside perhaps is that it does not glide as well as the 1480. No kidding right? However, I was able to get some long runs carving on swell with the wing parked and the glide was impressive. I have zero complaints about its ability to glide - it glides well. But the larger Phantom foils glide exceptionally well.

If I would have known this I could have gotten by for kite foiling and wing foiling on one foil - the Phanton 1080 rather than buying the whole quiver!

Regardless, this is a great foil and the only truly double duty foil I've discovered.