AFS Foils Silk 850 2023
Reviews / Hydrofoils
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At A Glance
AFS has released the Silk 850, built to offer exceptional wave riding performance. AFS has included tubercles and winglets designed to optimise low-range stability and control in turbulent waters, ensuring confidence in dynamic carving while maintaining full control. The Silk mast, explicitly designed for wave riding, boasts a 14 mm thickness (super thin, and therefore fast, compared to most foils), 115 mm chord, and 80 cm length. The mast is constructed with Ultra High Modulus carbon and provides extra stiffness and direct feeling.
The foil has been directly moulded with the fuselage in a one-piece design; this is unique in the foiling world; it essentially enhances hydrodynamic flow for maximum glide. As foiling continues to reach the boundaries of what’s possible, finer details like this will make the difference.
AFS has put a serious amount of R&D into this foil; they state that specific adjustments to aspect ratio, sweep, dihedral, and fuselage length for each front foil size cater to longitudinal stability and high-speed control. Tailored stabilisers complement front foils for a balanced setup. The conical assembly in the mast/fuselage connection maintains inertia, resulting in an ultra-rigid structure optimised for fluid flow; I can attest to that, which I’ll get to in a minute. Ultra High Modulus carbon optimises the foil section, simultaneously providing strength, stiffness, and lightness.
On The Water
I used the Silk 850 prone foiling with the Chipri Pro 4’4. The first thing to note was just how light the setup felt as I carried it down the beach, and weight makes all the difference in foiling; it equals better pumping and ultimately leads to more waves.
I had the foil mounted in the middle of the box, and when I caught my first wave, I almost stood on the nose of the board just to myself, breaching! A quick adjustment of the foil right to the back of the box (pretty rare these days for a high-aspect foil) meant it was in the perfect place.
The next take-off was immediately obvious that this was a special foil; it felt twitchy but simultaneously controllable. I was immediately doing harder turns than ever on a foil of that size; it was a super fun, well-balanced machine. It also felt very fast; whereas usually, I’d be straight linking the waves I was on, with the Silk 850, I could carve the whole way.
Onto the pumping, the 850 is an advanced foil for prone foiling. As long as I peeled off the wave at speed and kept the foil high, I could link waves a long way out, but it was a lot of effort. One thing to note is how fast you travel when pumping this foil; it’s a lot of fun! Pumping over oncoming waves at speed felt insane and very addictive. The technique needed was a quick tap, keeping the foil flat and as high as possible to reduce drag.
Feel wise, the Silk was well balanced. That high modulus mast mentioned above gave great control when on the wave. I could commit and lean harder into turns than ever and do it confidently. If I turned too hard, I didn’t need to worry too much as it handled wing tip breaches nicely; that’s got to be to do with the ‘tubercles and winglets’, preventing cavitation too far along the wing, although I won’t pretend to be an expert in the finer details of foil design.
Overall
Foiling has made leaps and bounds of progress quickly, and AFS is undoubtedly one of the leading brands. I had a blast riding the Silk 850; the aggressive turns and speed are next level. It'll be my go-to for big days and fast swells as long as I get to keep a hold of it. I also have no doubt that would be an epic tow foil.
The effort needed to pump means I wouldn’t use it on smaller days; however, I would be interested to try the larger sizes; I'm sure they have potential!
This review was in Issue 18 of Tonic Mag.
For more information visit AFS FoilsRelated
By Jack Galloway
