After 1,5 years of anticipation, the new 935 mast gets released today. For months now, the internet has been buzzing with the release of the new masts. With many brands adding a performance alternative to their lineup, so is Armstrong. Naturally it is stiffer. But that is not the only thing. It's a new design completely from the ground up. To my personal enjoyment, we are also getting a shorter and a longer version of this new carbon goodness. Those of you that know me, know that I really enjoy riding the 72cm mast, so I was mostly looking forward to the new 795 performance mast.

Armstrong just released the new Wake, Kite and Tow boards. Since the rumor mill has been running for months, were they worth the wait?

The stabiliser affects pitch, roll and yaw in flight. Larger stabilisers make learning easier, while smaller sizes offer experienced riders a faster and more reactive foiling experience.

Sometimes you come across an odd looking foil. This is one of them! It is the Mike Murphy Carbon Pro 900 foil. Those of you that do not know Mike Murphy. He is the inventor of the modern T-foil with several patents behind his name. Mike has been foiling for over 50 years! I wish I can say that in 47 years, haha... Recently he started to do some work with the Armstrong team. 

That feeling.... You arrive on the beach. Conditions are amazing! You cant wait to get in the water. Winging, proning, it does not really matter. Wetsuit on, board out of the bag, foil assembly. 

Looking back at the first Armstrong test event in the Netherlands of the 2022 season. Although it was a late call to organize, the conditions did not disappoint. As you could see in the pictures it was super sunny and temperatures were nice. It looks like we have finally left the dreadful winter behind us. The wind started out light, with about 15 knots, but got much stronger during the day. At the end of the day is was 25-30 knots.

I have been using the Rewinch for foiling for about 2 years now. Getting into foiling I wanted to have a tool that allowed me to practice as much as I can, even if conditions did not allow for it. In my case that meant, in case there is no wind and/or no waves. You read everywhere that building muscle memory is the key to learn and progress foiling quickly, so that is what I tried to focus on. Building muscle memory and foil as much as I could. Since I did not have access to a boat or jet ski, the winch was my solution. Getting pulled out of the water on foil looked like the solution. Looking back, I even think it is a better solution than a boat as you do not need to deal with turbulent water and you can use it in much more different places.

Nothing will boost your performance, especially in low wind conditions, then when you are able to pump effectively and efficiently. By no means I consider myself an expert, but I am normally able to get going in quite light conditions, with quite small gear. In the video below I am using a 60 liter board, an HA925 foil with 50cm fuselage and v200 +1 tail and a 4.5 A-wing. Wind was light. I am 81kg's.

Today we wake up with a new release of Armstrong, the new High Aspect 925 front wing. I was fortunate enough to get to ride it already for a few days. Unfortunately we did not have any waves, so I used it in flat water wing foiling (do take not of the lovely Dutch summer weather. It was 16 degrees...)

With the introduction of an updated A-Wing, I'm sure many of you are eager to understand what the difference between the new and older A-Wing are. I was in the fortunate position to have had some water time with the new A-Wing ahead of the release. I have been out with the new 4.5, one session with 12-14 knots on the 5'5 80 liter board and one session with the 4'5 33 liter board in 15-20 knots. 

Are foiling transitions no longer special enough for you? This might be the time to try some jumping transitions. The switch air gybe is the easiest one to learn.