SABFoil Moses W950 Preview

After receiving a sample of the SABFoil Moses W950, the long-awaited smaller sibling of the very popular W1100, we had the chance to try it on last Friday.

The conditions

The conditions were quite sketchy. The North/Northwesterly wind was pretty light in the inside, around 6 to 10 Knots, but moderate to strong on the outside, easily topping the 27 Knots. As for the waves, they were in the chest to solid overhead range. 

W950 technical info 

The W950 is a medium to high aspect ratio foil, featuring a wingspan of 950 mm and a chord of 185 mm. As a result, the aspect ratio is 6.65. The W950 area is 1600 cm2 and the weight around 973 gr. (+/- 5%). Construction quality is top notch, as can be expected from the Italian brand.

The kit

We rode the foil combo (W950-M82 mast-FS710 Fuselage-S450 stab) with the Loose Fighter 4’8’’X22’’@58 L and the Duotone Echo 3.3.

The session

Unfortunately, the carbon stick of the harness mount of the action-cam we were using (the Insta360 X2) got broken right after the launch so we just have a few pictures (video clip frames, actually) to show. We do have the clip of the launch though and, as you can see, it was tricky. Overall, the session turned out to be intense yet fun.

First impressions

Thought you might be interested in a comparison between the W950 and the W790 so there we go.

Lift: excellent. the W950 is at least on par with the W790. As you can see from the clip, we almost managed to get going in the inside in pretty light wind.

Speed: excellent. Again, we have a close call between the W790 and the W950 in terms of speed, with a slight edge for the latter. Next time we’ll be wearing GPS devices and put both the foils head to head in order to better compare their speed.

Stability/Control: another close call with the W790 when it comes to control. One thing is for sure: the W950 is more stable than the W790.

Agility: the W950 is a bit less maneuverable than the W790.

Upwind: the W950 is a great upwind performer. We dare say not far from the W1000 and better than the W790.

Pumping/Gliding: not that the W790 is not good for pumping, but the W950 is apparently better. As for its gliding capabilities, obviously better because of its higher aspect ratio.

Pop: pop is great and, like the W790, makes the W950 an excellent foil for Wing Foiling freestyle.

Breaching (overfoil): like the W790, the W950 is not particularly prone to breaching.

Final words

First impressions are very, very good, even though we’ve spent just a few hours with the W950. Like we said, we used the W950 with the S450 stab and its performance could be even better with the S483.

However, it’s quite apparent already that the W950 is a super performing foil and an overall better choice for waveriding/downind/fast freeride compared to the W790. Finally, the fact the W950 is a scaled-down version of the W1100 makes it the ideal companion of the latter.

Pics, video © SABFoil Moses, wingsurfmag.it