From your homemade board to this. So sickkk! I’ve kinda always looked at the wing boards and wasn’t a fan. I’ve been itching for a downwind board. I’ve kinda wanted a bigger prone board. Maybe not a good board to learn wing or downwind, but probably a good board to do it all for an experienced rider.
That's it, it just covers more disiplines so you don't need so many boards. It becomes so expensive if you need a Prone board, wing board, tow board, DW board.... If you can cross off multiple disiplines with just one board I am all for it! There is always a negative compared to something specifically designed for one purpose, but it saves you so much!
After seeing this and seeing what Jack Ho can do at the Gorge on a midlength, I’m pretty dead set on one. Have you winged it? 45-55 seems ideal to prone. 65-75 seems ideal to wing. Maybe 55-65 for winging?
Jack rips on absolutley anything!!! If I had one board for both Prone and Wing this is the one. I ride the 45L as my go to board for winging (currently 71kg), and then the 24L surf for prone. If its tiny or small waves, then I ride the 45L anyway.
Great review as always, inspiring and fun to watch! I see you wrote "chopped Dart 140". Does this mean Armstrong will be launching a smaller stab anytime soon? I'm considering buying the Dart 140 to loosen up the HA1525, but maybe I'll wait if something new is coming off the line soon... How to best loosen up the HA1525? Thanks a lot..
Hi Oskar, did you spend some time on the 38 litre mid-length? How would you compare the two and what would you choose at your weight? Does the thinner 38 litre feel more connected? Does the smaller size suffer in paddle speed and ease of catching waves? Thanks a lot:)
Hi mate, unfortunatley I only have the 45L ML and have not tried the 38, but at my weight I would defentifly go for the 38L. I think it would loose some of the ease getting on foil when winging, but for prone foiling I don't think you would loose much at all. I have always found surface area is more important when paddling into a wave and rocker. The thinner board will feel much more conncected to the foil when riding!
thanks for the good vids oskar!! i got last year the MA1000 after watching one of your reviews...and now i am thinking about upgrading to the HA880 because i cant cope with the speed while on decent waves on the MA...i still cant connect 2 waves even though my pumping is getting better...my question is if the HA880 will be easier to handle...the speed...the pump while surfing good waves in the Pavones area...
Hi mate, stoked to hear! I actually prefer the MA foils in bigger waves, they can roll rail to rail much easier at high speeds. But for pumping and linking waves, especially for prone foiling, then I always ride the HA foils. When you say you are struggling to cope with the speeds in decent waves, are you getting too much lift, or are they just too fast that you don't feel comfortable to turn them?
gracias por la respuesta!! i can control the lift but i find the speed unbearable to cut back...so i can of freeze and ride all the way to the end of the wave and then cut back. i don't feel playfulness...so i wonder if the hA**0 being smaller will be easier to handle...or my be its just the indian and not the bow...
@@braisnieto3793the HA780 is more equivalent to the MA1000 in terms of lift. I don’t think the 780 turns any better than the MA1000. Buuut, I’m a wake foiler so take that for what it’s worth (consistent conditions for comparison but different situation).
No, I recorded it on a GoPro and then used a voice isolator plugin in Davinci Resolve to clean it up in post. Comes out really good! Such a nice looking board hey!
@@OskarJohansson1 Wow that is impressive. I spent most of the video trying to spot the mic! Whats the rest of your setup with mouth mount and selfy stick? Does it float? p.s. The board looks sick!
You mentioned the thicker board makes it feel less responsive, but why not just drop down 5 cm in mast size to get Your feet back to equal distance from the foil as your thinner board? Even though there is less clearance between the bottom of the board and foil the board is so narrow, you would have equal or greater clearance on hard carves and the bottom shape is so crazy that the few additional touchdowns would likely not be much of a penalty?
Thats a really fair point and I have been keen to go down to the 795 mast to feel more connected. My prone board is similarly 17" wide, but it doesn't touch down on the rails as well as this board so I am having to ride a little higher anyway. Good point!
Thanks Oskar. I got to demo wing a 55Lin very light winds and while it was a partial sinker knee starting for me at 70kgs I got it going very easy and it felt pretty light and responsive. Hopefully will try a prone tomorrow on it. But for you winging how sinky is it as in did you find it easy enough in light wind? As soon as the board got to the surface I found it was pretty easy to get flying
I found it really nice in light wind. I do find it a little less stable side to side when it is sunk, but as soon as I have some power in the wind wing it cuts through the water really easily and gets on to foil so quickly. Being narrow I found it wanted to sink back down in between gusts quicker than a similar wider board, but it felt like a good tradeoff for how lively it felt to turn when I was on foil.
You definitly could, but I would want it to be narrower for prone DW. I have used the old 6'3" 85L for this and it is 18 3/4" wide which worked. Although these are a touch wider they have a better tail and rail design so might end up being similar to prone in. I would still want to be on something narrower.
Great video Oskar. How much of a difference do you think there would be feel and pumping wise 55L vs 45L. Your vid has me thinkjng 45L as I’m a similar weight. Also it’s narrow but presume at paddle speed it’s not too wobbly on the pop up?
The 55L will definitly paddle easier and be more stable, but the 45L feels so nimble. I was also riding with the mast at 5 in the tracks so if you moved it all the way forward to 12 on the 55L it might even have less swing weight. If you're a compitent surfer or prone foiler I wouldn't be too detered by the width, but you are correct the 55L would feel more stable. I havent had an issues witht eh 17" width though.
How much pump do you lose? You were on foil about 3 min in this video. Let's suppose you swapped to your 28L prone board, how much longer would you have been on foil? 6 min instead of 3?
To be honest if I move the mast far enough foward to get the swing weight similar I don't really think I would loose any pump. The extra length out the back actually counter acts the swing weight of the nose too so it almost becomes a little easier and more balanced. The overall weight is a little higher than my prone though so that is a negative on that front. Overall its not massive if much of a loss.
I don’t own a Foil Drive Gen 2, but I know Jeremy Wilmotte (@oceanpixels) has tried it on a prototype version of this and he struggled with the signal. Might be worth reaching out to him to confirm. I’ve heard of solutions to get around it but they have been solutions that involve drilling into the board which I am not keen on.
I haven't tried it on the foildrive Gen 2, but I heard Jeremy Wilmotte tried it on a prototype 55L and he was struggling with the connection. I know foildrive have some solutions to this, but I would confirm what they are with them first as I have heard of guys drilling holes in boards to get it work.
@@OskarJohansson1 thanks Oskar, just got the foil drive and have been using it on my 39l Armie board but connection issues. FD tell me they’ve got a solution coming. In the meantime I’m using one of Marcus Tardrew’s old prototypes. Keen to stay 100% pure Armstrong though. Want to use the FD to become a better pump master than Oskar:)) (dreaming)
I use the 75L for DW SUP but I also weight 71kg. It works fine for DW SUP if you’re a strong paddler but it definitely doesn’t paddle up as easy as the dedicated DW boards. There’s always a con I suppose, but it definitely works as a 1 board to cover both!
Army...Noooooooooooooooooo! another one?? Better and better!! I just purchased 2 in the last 6 months!! Needless to say this one looks more appealing..again....
These on-foil videos are insane. Please keep doing them. :)
Thanks mate, apprecite it! Will do :)
Nice one Oskar! Really rated this review. Looks great and apprecited the honest feedback
Gotta keep it real! This foiling sport is a game of pros and cons... there is always a con!
I've never owned an Armstrong board. But they are looking more appealing these days. Great job on the live review. 😎🤙
I've had 3 or 4 Armstrong boards and they tick every box for the application intended for .... in my opinion ...
great info and video as usual mate! audio is crisp and clear! can't wait to get on a 45l cheeehuuuu
Yewwww! Let us know how you find it! Keen for your thoughts
Nice one Oskar, the winging on 45l in lite wind has proven to be a weapon and so easy to get on a plane.
I preordered the same board. So stoked!
Yeww! I bloody love this board. Love to know your thoughts once you’ve ridden it 🙏
Incredible. You make it look easy
From your homemade board to this. So sickkk! I’ve kinda always looked at the wing boards and wasn’t a fan. I’ve been itching for a downwind board. I’ve kinda wanted a bigger prone board.
Maybe not a good board to learn wing or downwind, but probably a good board to do it all for an experienced rider.
That's it, it just covers more disiplines so you don't need so many boards. It becomes so expensive if you need a Prone board, wing board, tow board, DW board.... If you can cross off multiple disiplines with just one board I am all for it! There is always a negative compared to something specifically designed for one purpose, but it saves you so much!
After seeing this and seeing what Jack Ho can do at the Gorge on a midlength, I’m pretty dead set on one.
Have you winged it? 45-55 seems ideal to prone. 65-75 seems ideal to wing. Maybe 55-65 for winging?
Jack rips on absolutley anything!!! If I had one board for both Prone and Wing this is the one. I ride the 45L as my go to board for winging (currently 71kg), and then the 24L surf for prone. If its tiny or small waves, then I ride the 45L anyway.
Great review as always, inspiring and fun to watch! I see you wrote "chopped Dart 140". Does this mean Armstrong will be launching a smaller stab anytime soon? I'm considering buying the Dart 140 to loosen up the HA1525, but maybe I'll wait if something new is coming off the line soon... How to best loosen up the HA1525? Thanks a lot..
Hi Oskar, did you spend some time on the 38 litre mid-length? How would you compare the two and what would you choose at your weight? Does the thinner 38 litre feel more connected? Does the smaller size suffer in paddle speed and ease of catching waves? Thanks a lot:)
Hi mate, unfortunatley I only have the 45L ML and have not tried the 38, but at my weight I would defentifly go for the 38L. I think it would loose some of the ease getting on foil when winging, but for prone foiling I don't think you would loose much at all. I have always found surface area is more important when paddling into a wave and rocker. The thinner board will feel much more conncected to the foil when riding!
As a "prone only guy" I appreciate the honest review thanks. Does look sexy though :)
100% there is always a con hey. If its cooking conditions for Prone, I will always ride my prone specific board!
thanks for the good vids oskar!!
i got last year the MA1000 after watching one of your reviews...and now i am thinking about upgrading to the HA880 because i cant cope with the speed while on decent waves on the MA...i still cant connect 2 waves even though my pumping is getting better...my question is if the HA880 will be easier to handle...the speed...the pump while surfing good waves in the Pavones area...
Hi mate, stoked to hear! I actually prefer the MA foils in bigger waves, they can roll rail to rail much easier at high speeds. But for pumping and linking waves, especially for prone foiling, then I always ride the HA foils. When you say you are struggling to cope with the speeds in decent waves, are you getting too much lift, or are they just too fast that you don't feel comfortable to turn them?
gracias por la respuesta!! i can control the lift but i find the speed unbearable to cut back...so i can of freeze and ride all the way to the end of the wave and then cut back. i don't feel playfulness...so i wonder if the hA**0 being smaller will be easier to handle...or my be its just the indian and not the bow...
@@braisnieto3793the HA780 is more equivalent to the MA1000 in terms of lift. I don’t think the 780 turns any better than the MA1000. Buuut, I’m a wake foiler so take that for what it’s worth (consistent conditions for comparison but different situation).
The audio quality is great! Did you re-dub this? Or an external mic or something? Agreed, the board looks great!
No, I recorded it on a GoPro and then used a voice isolator plugin in Davinci Resolve to clean it up in post. Comes out really good!
Such a nice looking board hey!
@@OskarJohansson1 Wow that is impressive. I spent most of the video trying to spot the mic! Whats the rest of your setup with mouth mount and selfy stick? Does it float? p.s. The board looks sick!
@@OskarJohansson1 Remember to convert the track to mono next time. The right audio track is silent. (First 3 minutes)
@@jmunkki I noticed that as well... thanks! Didn't think about going mono but great idea.
This is the 3PV Aqua pole. It floats and is telescopic but also light weight.@@brendan-shanahan
You mentioned the thicker board makes it feel less responsive, but why not just drop down 5 cm in mast size to get Your feet back to equal distance from the foil as your thinner board? Even though there is less clearance between the bottom of the board and foil the board is so narrow, you would have equal or greater clearance on hard carves and the bottom shape is so crazy that the few additional touchdowns would likely not be much of a penalty?
Thats a really fair point and I have been keen to go down to the 795 mast to feel more connected. My prone board is similarly 17" wide, but it doesn't touch down on the rails as well as this board so I am having to ride a little higher anyway. Good point!
Thanks Oskar. I got to demo wing a 55Lin very light winds and while it was a partial sinker knee starting for me at 70kgs I got it going very easy and it felt pretty light and responsive. Hopefully will try a prone tomorrow on it. But for you winging how sinky is it as in did you find it easy enough in light wind? As soon as the board got to the surface I found it was pretty easy to get flying
I found it really nice in light wind. I do find it a little less stable side to side when it is sunk, but as soon as I have some power in the wind wing it cuts through the water really easily and gets on to foil so quickly. Being narrow I found it wanted to sink back down in between gusts quicker than a similar wider board, but it felt like a good tradeoff for how lively it felt to turn when I was on foil.
Hi Oskar,, do you think an 75 or 85 litre could be used to paddle into bumps , prone for downwind ?
You definitly could, but I would want it to be narrower for prone DW. I have used the old 6'3" 85L for this and it is 18 3/4" wide which worked. Although these are a touch wider they have a better tail and rail design so might end up being similar to prone in. I would still want to be on something narrower.
Great video Oskar. How much of a difference do you think there would be feel and pumping wise 55L vs 45L. Your vid has me thinkjng 45L as I’m a similar weight. Also it’s narrow but presume at paddle speed it’s not too wobbly on the pop up?
The 55L will definitly paddle easier and be more stable, but the 45L feels so nimble. I was also riding with the mast at 5 in the tracks so if you moved it all the way forward to 12 on the 55L it might even have less swing weight. If you're a compitent surfer or prone foiler I wouldn't be too detered by the width, but you are correct the 55L would feel more stable. I havent had an issues witht eh 17" width though.
@@OskarJohansson1awesome thanks. Very much appreciated.
How much pump do you lose? You were on foil about 3 min in this video. Let's suppose you swapped to your 28L prone board, how much longer would you have been on foil? 6 min instead of 3?
To be honest if I move the mast far enough foward to get the swing weight similar I don't really think I would loose any pump. The extra length out the back actually counter acts the swing weight of the nose too so it almost becomes a little easier and more balanced. The overall weight is a little higher than my prone though so that is a negative on that front. Overall its not massive if much of a loss.
you are so skilled. thank you for the review
Haha thanks mate! Maybe it is all in the board ;) haha
Does it work with the Foil Drive Gen2? Or block the signal?
I don’t own a Foil Drive Gen 2, but I know Jeremy Wilmotte (@oceanpixels) has tried it on a prototype version of this and he struggled with the signal. Might be worth reaching out to him to confirm. I’ve heard of solutions to get around it but they have been solutions that involve drilling into the board which I am not keen on.
Oskar, as per usual making it look so easy. Thinking of the 55l. Would it go ok for foil drive??
I haven't tried it on the foildrive Gen 2, but I heard Jeremy Wilmotte tried it on a prototype 55L and he was struggling with the connection. I know foildrive have some solutions to this, but I would confirm what they are with them first as I have heard of guys drilling holes in boards to get it work.
@@OskarJohansson1 thanks Oskar, just got the foil drive and have been using it on my 39l Armie board but connection issues. FD tell me they’ve got a solution coming. In the meantime I’m using one of Marcus Tardrew’s old prototypes. Keen to stay 100% pure Armstrong though. Want to use the FD to become a better pump master than Oskar:)) (dreaming)
How is this board for downwind sup? Looking for a single board for everything but downwind most often.
I use the 75L for DW SUP but I also weight 71kg. It works fine for DW SUP if you’re a strong paddler but it definitely doesn’t paddle up as easy as the dedicated DW boards. There’s always a con I suppose, but it definitely works as a 1 board to cover both!
I wish they'd make 6ft prone foil boards. Would be much easier to paddle
Also most of us arent pros and like more paddle power lol
Make them Foil Drive compatible at production, you won’t be able to keep up with demand
It’s almost like it’s a Swiss ARMY Board
🤣😂🤣😂 That is soooo good! Would have been the best board model logo ever!!!!
Army...Noooooooooooooooooo! another one?? Better and better!! I just purchased 2 in the last 6 months!! Needless to say this one looks more appealing..again....
I feel you on that front... this one is pretty though ;)