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Liftfoils materials and durability

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blu
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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby blu » Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:34 pm

I can hear the water moving in my 2017 Lift mast, anyone with the same problem?

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby Pierrot » Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:45 pm

I repaired a Lift front wing a few years back . Probably 2014 model... it was carbon over G10. The impacts and scratches did not go through the carbon layers, so seems pretty thick but you couls see the G10 in the holes for the attachment to the fuselage.

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby MMac22 » Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:44 am

The Lift foils seem like a really nice design that ride great. However, I know firsthand of someone who had 2 of their wings delaminate and come apart this summer. Appears they are foam inside and not solid carbon fiber. I prefer solid carbon fiber foils for durability, even if they are a bit heavier.

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby pikovsg » Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:44 am

Lift guys are amazing at support and will fix most of the problems. Mine have been great. I looove the foils and the 2018 is even more solid.

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby blu » Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:19 am

hrdude wrote:
Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:44 am
The Lift foils seem like a really nice design that ride great. However, I know firsthand of someone who had 2 of their wings delaminate and come apart this summer. Appears they are foam inside and not solid carbon fiber. I prefer solid carbon fiber foils for durability, even if they are a bit heavier.
my front wing delaminated too

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby bgpeters » Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:12 pm

Here's what I read on the Lift site about what they use to make them:

mast: "ours is composed of carbon fiber and Kevlar"
https://www.liftfoils.com/pages/foil-ma ... ion-design

Wing+fuselage: "Our wings are built with lots of carbon and Kevlar (known for its use in bulletproof vests) for maximum strength and toughness"
https://www.liftfoils.com/collections/p ... -one-piece

No word there about the core material. I'd love to know.

I ride a Horue foil which is wonderfully rigid and a very light weight foam core design (just under 3 pounds for the whole thing). I am careful to avoid smashing it into rocks. I'm sure it will not survive impacts like the war axe designs that others ride, but I love it's positive buoyancy. Attached to my converted skimboard the board+foil will rest on it's side. No need to grab a rail to get on strapless, great for dragging out and upwind to deep clear riding water, and the lack of weight can be felt in its agility.

I'm not writing all this to be a promo for Horue, but to give another perspective on core materials. I'm looking at picking up a 2nd foil. The Lift looks nice. The one piece fuselage/wing concept looks like a good design unless you want to be able to play around with stabilizer trim.

I think lighter is better & I accept the risk if I ram it into something bad. Kind of like deciding on the pros & cons of a truck or a sports car.

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby blu » Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:00 pm

The front wing has a foam core. They are great foils to learn on or ride in the waves , but not so good for travel.

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby bgpeters » Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:45 pm

Are you saying the drop in air pressure while in flight produces enough pressure to de-laminate the carbon wrap?
If that's the case, the Lift should be a lot lighter or they just did a bad job when constructing it. My foil shipped from France (air)... no delam even though its lighter than Lift. So it is possible you got a poor build. Do they advise against travel?

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby phlow » Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:36 pm

Older Wings (Osprey) are Divinylcell core with carbon wrap. Not sure about the unitary new foils from the China factory, but they ride great!!

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Re: Liftfoils materials and durability

Postby Starsky » Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:42 pm

bgpeters wrote:
Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:45 pm
Are you saying the drop in air pressure while in flight produces enough pressure to de-laminate the carbon wrap?
Not sure thats what he means. I took it to mean the one piece fuse/wings is harder to pack than a foil that breaks down further.


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