F4 Foils is a brand that is making a lot of progress. Especially the racing foils of F4 Foils are very much appreciated by the competition foilers. The DNA of F4 Foils is performance and quality. Just a step below the fastest F4 Foils is the Freerace windfoil. This should be an all-round Freerace foil for the speed-oriented wind foiler. Time to take to the water with the F4 Foils Freerace windfoil and test it.
The F4 Foils Freerace is available in 2 versions; 1 version with the HM Carbon mast of 97 cm and a version with an 85 cm long alu mast. Both variants come in a neat F4 Foils foilbag
- F4 Foils Freerace: aluminium mast 85 cm | Front wing 850 cm2 | Back wing 210 cm2 | Fuselage 100 cm | Price: € 1.629,-
- F4 Foils Freerace: carbon mast 97 cm | Front wing 850 cm2 | Back wing 210 cm2 | Fuselage 100 cm | Price: € 2.869,-
We expect that people who are ‘in the market’ for a freerace wind foil will use it under a medium slalom foilboard or large freeride wind foilboard. That is why we test the foil under the Starboard Slalom 81 with the Severne Hyperglide 5 7.0m2. During the European Championship IQfoil youth in Brest we have perfect conditions to make the necessary flying hours. The wind varies between 8 and 16 knots of wind. Great conditions to test both the low end and high end performance of the F4 Foils Freerace foil. We test the foil with both the carbon mast and the aluminum mast
F4 Foils Freerace foil, well-known and qualitative set up
If you are going to delve into the range of F4 Foils, it is quite simple. For example, for wind foiling there is only 1 carbon mast and 1 aluminum mast. This foil also uses the carbon mast that is also used for the high end F4 Foils slalom race foil and F4 Foils race foil, The front wing of the freerace is also used for the F4 Foils racefoil as well as the back wing (this is also used for the slalom race foil). Only the fuselage of 100 cm is slightly different from the fuselage of the F4 Foils Slalom race foil. In the Freerace, the wings are 2.5 cm further back compared to the fuselage that comes with the Slalom race foil. So in theory, the freerace delivers a little less lift. Because many of the parts are also used in the high end set ups, we also have a very high expectation of the F4 Foils Freerace.
F4 Foils Freerace foil, very fast and widely applicable
A few strokes of pumping and we’ll soon get to the foil. And immediately the foil feels very stable and fast. Despite the fact that the front wing with an area of 850 cm2 is quite on the hefty side, the lift builds up very gradually. With a thick flag, the foil accelerates extremely well, without the lift increasing much. This means you don’t have to hang further forward to keep things under control, just a little down wind and full throttle. Unimaginable how fast this foil is. Our peak at sea with waves was no less than 48.5 km / h. And we think there is even more potential in this set up!
Even if the wind is a bit less (around 10 knots), the F4 Foils Freerace continues to give good lift. Of course, it will be slower, but we will continue to have enough lift to continue flying. The properties mentioned above will appeal to a lot of wind foilers. Half wind popping back and forth that’s clearly what this wind foil is for. Upwind also goes, especially with a good flurry, but this is clearly less good than wind foils with longer fuselages (coarce race foils).
So making a nice trip, a round around an island that does this foil really well, but with your buddies upwind as fast as possible around an upper buoy you are not going to win with the F4 Foils Freerace. For that you simply need a set up with a longer fuselage (e.g. the F4 Foils fuselage 110 cm or 115 cm).
Big smile by F4 Foils Freerace foil
Based on the specs, we already had a very high expectation of this foil in advance. But the F4 Foils Freerace has exceeded our expectations. The ease with which you can wind foil and also really hard wind foil is impressive. In addition, this foil in the lower wind range is more than good for good half wind foiling. If you attach great importance to wind foiling high on the wind, it is better to purchase the F4 Foils Race 900 or to purchase the longer 110 cm fuselage of F4 Foils . However, with an even longer fuselage, half wind foiling is less relaxed again.
F4 Foils Freerace foil with aluminum mast
The F4 Foils Freerace with the super stiff carbon mast is of course the pinnacle. We expect that the F4 Foils Freerace Alu with the competitive pricing will be on the wish list of a larger group than the expensive variant with the carbon mast. That is why we are also testing the F4 Foils Freerace with the aluminum mast.
Obviously, the mast doesn’t feel that stiff compared to the F4 Foils carbon mast, but is actually amazingly good! In addition, the hydrodynamics of the mast are also particularly good. We don’t feel any crazy vibrations and the ‘glide’ of this mast is very good for an aluminum mast. This aluminum mast is one of the best aluminum masts in terms of stiffness and hydrodynamics that we have ever foiled.
Without too much effort, we reach almost the same speed as with the carbon mast. The difference during the sessions is about 1.5 to 2 km/h lower than with the carbon mast. The length of 85 cm is also sufficient on inland waterways with waves up to approximately 1/2 meter. At sea with higher waves you will be short of length.
F4 Foils aluminum mast slightly different trim
The angle of the fuselage to the bottom of the board is with the carbon mast standard + 3 degrees in our board. This not only provides more lift, but also that the nose of the board bounces off the water during nose drops. The angle of the fuselage to the bottom of the board with the aluminum mast is 0 degrees. We notice this immediately during foiling. At first we get on the foil super fast, but while foiling we have to tilt the sail quite far back to make sure we stay in the air. In addition, the board slows down considerably as soon as we have a touch down.
Only trimming the back wing with the special F4 Foils back wing spacers works slightly, but not enough. We are going to adjust the angle of the mast in the board in steps with special spacers . After some trial and error we arrive at an ideal angle of between 2 and 3 degrees. With this angle we have more lift and the nose of the board stays nicely in the air. We also feel more power in the complete set (more or less similar to the set up with the carbon mast). This better balance means that we can stand better and start pushing :). As an additional advantage, the nose of the board rises nicely again when we have a touch down.
Spacers for deep tuttle mast met plate
We have developed spacers/shims especially for deep tuttle masts that are equipped with a so-called ‘plate’. The plate mast rake shims are available in our webshop in 3 different degrees; 1, 2 and 3 degrees. These mast rake spacers are ‘rock solid’ and can withstand the pressure of the foil.
F4 Foils Freerace foil for whom?
Once we have found the right trim, we are really pleasantly surprised how easy and fast this F4 Foils Freerace is with the aluminum mast. We think the F4 Foils Freerace is one of the fastest, if not the fastest Freerace foil out there. The F4 Foils Freerace with the aluminum mast is only a fraction slower than the much more expensive variant with the carbon mast. The version with the carbon mast is really the pinnacle, where you also have an extra 12 cm margin between your board and the water. And of course the foil with the carbon mast feels a lot stiffer. We think the F4 Foils Freerace is the best fit;
- The speed-oriented wind foiler, which is looking for a versatile set up
- Suitable under medium slalom foilboards and larger freeride wind foilboards
- Sail size from approx. 6 m2 to 8 m2
- For both the beginner and advanced wind foiler
- Provides excellent basis for further ‘building’ with smaller wings for dedicated slalom race set up
- The variant with the aluminum mast has a very good price/value ratio
- The aluminum mast can easily be converted into a topplate adapter, so you can also use it for wingfoiling
- The variant with the carbon mast adds more control with higher terminal speed
We find the price/value ratio of the F4 Foils Freerace with the aluminum mast extremely good. The real demanding freeracer will want to save up for the more expensive variant with carbon mast, but we would not mourn if we had to make do with the variant with aluminum mast.
Want to try F4 Foils Freerace windfoil?
Do you want to try the F4 Foils Freerace windfoil or another F4 Foils foil yourself or do you want advice? Send us a message and we will be happy to help you.