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Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

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Rolavi2
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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby Rolavi2 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:27 am

I have the blaster as a back up to my mainfoil which is the Zeeko carbon with carver wing. I used the blaster for a few weeks and found it to be solid. Fairly fast, which surprised me. turns well and the wing grooves do work for stall prevention. I have a friend who learnt quickly on his blaster. So I would recommend to buy this as a first foil over other proven alloy foils from Zeeko.

I was hoping the foil had more lift, glide and turn then my carver set up but it doesn’t.

I did buy a cloud9 S24 to get my glide and have not found it fun to kite on. I need to go back to the shorter mast on it, move the tail wing up and put it on my mini pocket to see if I can get it to be more agile and fun.

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby Zeeko » Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:41 am

Hi,
The French kitesurf magazine just tested the Blaster hydrofoil,
here is the translation of the test:

'ZEEKO Cocorico.
The French brand is still pushing the development of foil in the broad sense of the word with a range of Windfoil, surfoil, SUP foil and of course kitefoil.
Zeeko goes even further by exploring the front wing of more than 1500cm² in order to push the pumping tendency of using the push of the legs to lift the foil.
But back to kitefoil with this new model in the line of the previsous white and green hydrofoil, here is the Blaster! Of course you can choose your mast length and, there is a tendency to big wings and the Blaster is equipped with a 750cm² front wing for a 300cm² stabilizer in the back. This new front wing is clearly very powerfull but mostly freeride and carving oriented. Carving ability is reinforced by the very short fuselage of 43cm length. It is not finished since the wing is located on the fuselage and not under as the previous models, the screwing of the front wing is now on the top to gain performance. We also discover the AVS, Anti ventilation skin and it is on the water that we become aware of the effectiveness of this "shark skin" present on the front wind and the stabilizer.
I receive a note with the Blaster: "Do not hesitate to get the wings out and carve, you'll be impressed!"
Stung in my curiosity and knowing very well the boss of Zeeko I doubt that he does not want me to crash but rather that I enjoy myself. Shy on the first ride I just ride out the front wing, I expected to spin out and crash but instead of falling I still ride and I dive my eyes under the water to check that both wings are out of water:) Nico was right and the AVS is not marketing but a new skin that allows to explore the carving as ever but also to have an ever more predictive behavior to progress without sacrificing performance.'

I personnaly ride all foils, and I am still surprised by the feeling of the blaster. This foil is super stable and carve impressively.
What is very interesting about this foil is the max between the short fuselage and the "big" back wing. It makes the best of both world: stability (Big back wing) and carving ability (Short fuselage).

Let have a test of it, you'll see what I mean :D
Attachments
KitesurfMagTestBlaster.jpg

hongchew
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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby hongchew » Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:58 am

kostantin wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 9:55 am
hongchew wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 6:51 am
3InletsWindsports wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:36 pm
For starters the Blaster is an entry level foil aimed at those who want to get into foiling on a budget so maybe not the same people that post here.
The XXLW Spitfire is a true contender in the big wing high lift arena and with a comparable lift to a 1500cm2 conventional foil but with maybe only 530mm of wing width a smoother lift, forgiving ventilation experience plus no kicking back wing with shin.
Also it can be turned with some front foot pressure in the conventional style but also carved with back foot pressure style both more nimble than geriatric foils.
Given how popular onda633 and other "easy" foils are with the forumers here, your premise is wrong
Greetings,

I see some advantages in a canard comparing a "classic" foil. I has to do with the lever, on a canard you can take almost the full in consideration, Middle mast, to middle front wing, everything is lever, clean and straight.

First of all turning the puppy is on a canard easier then on a classic style. The bigger the wings, the more area you have to press in the new direction.
Staling of the wing (s) is much more difficult on a canard then on a classic. On a canard the front wing stalls first and then the back wing, if at all.

From the profile layout the front wing has a high lift airfoil, the back is a semi symetrical.

And customer popularity, come on, this is no argument, or should not be. And forum popularity is even worse. We should be more open to arguments and technical ideas or any development would stop right away.

tks

Kosta

I'll take my chances with a popular product many riders rave about than a product that's not selling. Anytime.

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby 3InletsWindsports » Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:58 am

Hongchew ; I am wondering now why the original post?

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby hongchew » Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:51 pm

3InletsWindsports wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:58 am
Hongchew ; I am wondering now why the original post?
I have a green n white, and would like to stay with zeeko for a slow speed wing, so I asked around as there's little info out there. Not looking good I can stay with zeeko it seems.

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby nothing2seehere » Wed Dec 19, 2018 2:46 pm

I thought the carver wing would fit the green and white? A friend of mine has recently upgraded (blue and white though) and he is very happy with it. I'd be tempted to look that way rather than the blaster wing

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby jumptheshark » Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:56 pm

The carver wing is a great wing. I've progressed a ton on it this past season. Really nice difference from the stock free ride wing.
Allows much slower riding and good stability for transitions and foot switches with no real noticeable drop in top end. I also now want to go even bigger. Have inquired and was told in the reply that they are coming out with a bigger wing. There were no other details, but it makes sense as a logical thing for them to do.

If you have the patience, you can wait for a zeeko product that will fit your foil. The price of the Carver wing is pretty reasonable and its solid G10 and just under 2 lbs.

There is other option if you just can't wait. Jim Stingfellow out of the Gorge, whose wings have quite a few fans, can make an after market wing that fits the Zeeko fuse perfectly. His wings are G10. The newest has a 61cm span and somewhere around 1300 Square cm. Very low drag/thin profile, weighs 2.2 lbs. Decent price, quick turnaround.
28ECE107-E0EC-4C70-9733-B85CF8FBDBB2.jpeg

Rolavi2
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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby Rolavi2 » Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:49 am

Thanks for sharing the stringfellow aftermarket option. I don’t think I would put that on the Zeeko carbon fuse. Too much area for carbon 2 part fuselage if you ride a lot over time.

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby robclaisse » Thu Dec 20, 2018 8:18 am

I’ve been trying to test as many foils as possible over the last year (23 and counting), both to better understand the pro’s and cons of different hydrofoil designs but particularly focusing on beginner foils so I can give better advice to our foiling clients (I make a series of foiling instructional videos and run foiling coaching camps). So I got a demo Blaster from Zeeko at the end of summer and managed to spend quite a few days riding it in flat water and also a day with larger waves and lots of whitewater. I tested in winds from 12-25 knots. I will be making a video review early next year but for now I thought I’d give a few of my thoughts as there seems to be some interest in opinions on the Blaster.

Fit and Finish
Getting it out of the bag to start with it’s a solid bit of kit, well made, fits together really nicely. The fuselage is shorter than any foil I’ve used before so I was interested to see how that worked. And the front and rear wings are made out of a solid piece of G10 - this along with the full aluminium setup means the foils is a little heavier than most but that is reflective in the price and ultimately had little effect on the performance when up and riding. The fact they make the wing out of solid G10 means they can add the texture to the surface which they say helps with cavitation (more on this and the weight later).

I didn’t get a Zeeko board so I rode it on my Shinn Jackson 130 (ABS style board).

Riding Style
Overall I really enjoyed riding the Blaster. It was incredibly easy to get onto and quickly find the balance (there are definitely some foils that need some practice to tame, the Blaster is not one off them). It generates a decent amount of lift but understandably for a 750 sq cm front wing it needs a bit of kite power and speed to keep it foiling. This means it doesn’t offer too many surprises when it comes to lift, which is good for the beginner/intermediate crowd, as you won’t get caught off guard if you get your weight slightly out of place.
The short fuselage combined with the flat profile of the front wing means its very carvey and you can feel confident pushing pretty hard around a turn. So a great foil to learn carves and tacks. It’s also got good directly stability at low to medium speeds, so learning/practising foot changes is pretty stable but when you start to load it up at faster speeds that shorter fuselage may give you the odd speed wobble - kicking you off on a foot change or when canted over and charging upwind. It is probably something you would get more under control as you ride it more and ultimately there has to be some compromise between directional stability and carve-ability. I think they have the balance setup pretty nicely and the advantages of the shorter fuselage do give this foil some unique and fun characteristics that are part of who it is targeted at.

One small thing that is worth noting is that the weight of the foil means it's not ideally suited to the low volume style of boards (like the Shinn Jackson I was riding) as it weights down the tail slightly which can make water starting a little more tricky in lighter winds. Riding it on a volume style board would be the better option and you’d not notice any of these issues.

I did get a chance to ride it in some surf - reasonable powerful waves, shoulder high and quite a lot of whitewater. I’d been out on a large surf wing which handles those conditions quite easily so was not expecting the Zeeko, with its smaller surface area and thinner profile, to do so well but I was pleasantly surprised. It tackled disturbed, aerated water reasonably comfortably and I felt in control and confident to carve onto waves both with kite power or without. It’s definitely a great all-around foil which gives you lots of confidence to try new things.

The textured surface of the wings, which is supposed to let you pop a wing tip out of the water and not get any cavitation and ultimately loss of lift does work on the whole. I also found when I fully breached the front wing, it would obviously drop but you could catch it again before you touched down, so water does seem to reattach to the wings pretty quickly.

Who’s it best for?
It’s definitely a good beginner foil - the lift comes on gradually so it shouldn’t surprise a beginner allowing for easy water starts, off the foil riding and getting those all important first runs on the foil. It also has a good compromise between straight line stability and some loseness (yaw/roll) which can be helpful for new foilers who are used to twintips or surfboard which compared to foils will slide around all over the place ;-) I do think that less experienced kiteboarders, whose kite and board skills are not so great could benefit from a slightly larger front wing so they can ride slower, stay on the foil and have more time to get those kite foiling skills refined. This is something I think is missing from most foiling brands (and a large surf style wing is normally not gonna be helpful for these type of beginner foiler). But the compromise of a slightly smaller wing does work for the better kiteboarder who can persevere through a slightly harder initial learning curve and then have a foil that will last them into their intermediate stage of foiling.

So yes, its a good intermediate foil for those people who are looking for a loose freeride foil, which will allow you to learn all the different gybe and tack tricks. You'll be able to get in tune with it quickly, start improving and general riding doesn't require a lot of thought so you can focus on the areas you want to improve. If you are looking to go fast then its probably not for you (don't get me wrong it's fast enough for most) but maybe a good stepping stone so you can get your transitions sorted first. Also not ideal if you regularly want to foil in very light winds, both the weight and medium-lift mean there are probably better options.

What I’m finding is the choice of foil is a very personal decision, it's amazing how different people can love/hate the same foil - your background and experience in kiteboarding along with the conditions you ride in have a huge impact on what will work best for you.

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Re: Is zeeko blaster foil a flop?

Postby 3InletsWindsports » Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:15 pm

Great review. Very helpful.


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