Armstrong Step 1 (S1) Front Wing

- The S1 has been the ultimate tool in my beginner foiling journey. These wings are awesome and they make foiling make sense haha. I have continued riding the S1 as I am progressing as well, it doesn’t feel like I have come anywhere close to the performance limits of these wings yet. I’ve found the S1 to be super stable while still feeling maneuverable enough to have some fun with it too. The super low stall speed is nice as well. All around great product from Armstrong.

I first started learning to kite foil on the old Armstrong CF 1200 Wing. I struggled to get up and riding and when i did get on foil the wing just wheelied out of the water on me. The the S1 1250 came out I decided to give kite foiling another go and WOW. I got up immediately and started getting long rides right away. The two things that I think make a great beginner wing are low take speed and low stall speed, the S1 has both. Kinda two sides of the same coin but the low take off speed helps you get over the frustration of trying to get up on the foil, and the stall speed is so low that you can almost come to a complete stop without falling off of foil. Although this is marketed as a beginner wing I have fond it to be more of a beginner and intermediate wing. It pumps and glides pretty well for what it is and it is very forgiving through turns and transitions. Will you eventually outgrow this wing and need to upgrade? Yes, but it will take a while to reach that point and it will be a very fin wing to ride as you progress. Also this wing sheds grass better than the higher aspect wings do, which is a big plus down here in Hatteras.

New winger and kite foiler here and I can say that the S1 has made my journey a breeze. After my first few sessions of complete success I thought I was a prodigy and could move past the "beginner" setup to a medium aspect smaller wing and could barely get up on foil and struggled the whole session feeling very unstable and twitchy. I switched back to the S1 and it was like gaining super powers making me feel like I could do anything and foil on demand. Super stable, super slow stall speed, tons of lift early to get you on foil quickly. I can't stress enough how awesome this wing is for learning and progression. Either your first time up on foil or even if you are already up and riding in both directions but are working on your tacks/jibes or toeside or just want to focus on fun and not challenge.