Behind the Design

What makes a good foil?

In general: a good feel, predictable reactions, low drag, exciting speed and good maneuverability. A good foil is intuitive to ride and you still feel a certain excitement when you’re out on it. But of course the answer to this question also depends on who you ask. Beginners prefer a foil that is as stable as possible, almost with a kind of autopilot function that conveys a great sense of security. For them, a foil does not have to be fast or turn tightly. Many experienced wing foilers appreciate a foil that is fast and reactive for nice turns in the wave, with a good take-off and easy landing. Of course, there are foils that are very specialized, a race foil has to be fast first and foremost, which can be at the expense of lift and easy controllability. A downwind foil needs a pronounced lifttodrag ratio with very low drag. We calculate each of our foils optimally for a specific speed range in which it is ideally used. But for us, a good foil is first and foremost one that inspires as many people as possible, that is as easy to use as possible and that simply unfolds its performance. We prefer it to cover many conditions and not be super special. Because we want to make the sport accessible to as many people as possible with our foils.

What makes the Duotone foils so special?

Our foils have that certain feel-good character, that special Duotone riding experience. Even on first contact with our foils, it feels as if you’ve always ridden them. A Duotone foil is easy to ride, but still feels lively, you don’t have to think much about settings. Achieving this is a very fine line in development. Even our specialized foils for certain skill levels and areas of use are easily accessible. You can enjoy any of our foils without feeling overwhelmed. Nevertheless, the smaller sizes are suitable for radical riding. However, the riding characteristics do not change and remain homogeneous within a range, e.g. from the 1305 down to the 725. A small foil should not feel any different from a large one, even though it provides more speed and maneuverability, the basic character remains the same. And a large wing can also feel as radical as a small one. We achieve this balance through very precise calculations and the coordination of flex, profile, roll stability and pitching moment. Of course, our foils have different areas of use. But when switching from Free to Carve 2.0, for example, you don’t feel like you’re in a different world, you know certain characteristics. You don’t have to get used to it for a long time and you can immediately develop further. You never feel unfamiliar with Duotone foils, even if you switch to a different foil line.

Where and by whom are the Duotone foils developed?

Our foil designer Jerome Bonieux (picture on the right) lives in Mauritius. Finn and Jeffrey Spencer are testing on Maui. Klaas Voget, Division Manager Product & Marketing Wing Foiling, tests on the Baltic Sea, in Denmark, Tenerife and wherever else he happens to be. Craig Gertenbach, Division Manager Sales Wing Foiling, provides his input from Lake Garda, the Bavarian lakes or Cape Town. Leopold Fricke, Foil Developer at Duotone partner iXent, prefers to ride on Lake Chiemsee and Lake Garda. Alexander Held, Product Manager Foil, is where all the threads come together at the Duotone headquarters. It is precisely this diversity that makes us so strong, that we test in so many different places with very different rider profiles and don’t just develop our foils in one place, with a certain salt content in the water and always the same water temperature. A foil with a lot of lift in the water of Maui feels completely different in the fresh water of a Bavarian lake where it perhaps requires more angle in the foil or a larger stabilizer. The warm lagoon of Mauritius differs from the cold Kieler Förde with its lower salt content. The steep small wave of Lake Garda differs from the flat water of Langebaan near Cape Town. What influences the foil system in which conditions? Sensing these subtleties is the strength of our diverse team. After all, our customers are similarlyscattered all over the world at different spots.

What is the ideal trim for a Duotone foil?

The mast of a Duotone foil should alwaysbe positioned in the middle of a track of a Duotone board. Then the basic trim fits. A different foil for a different area of use, or smaller or larger foils all work with the identical, centered mast position. From this position, you can then adjust it forwards (earlier lift, more pop for jumps) or backwards (takes pressure off the front foot in gusts) depending on your personal preferences.

Can I practise all sports with one foil?

Of course, there are special foils for special areas of use. But the complete Duotone foil range is compatible and universally applicable. And you can use a foil for Kite Foiling, Wing Foiling and Windsurf Foiling. The Aero Free Foil, for example, is a foil that many people love. Kiters in the smaller sizes, wingers like it in all sizes and windsurfers use the 1250 size in the windsurf configuration with a stable 90 cm mast (as Windsurfing involves higher forces) and 90 cm fuselage (because a windsurf foil needs a little more stability). Incidentally, the 1250 Free iscurrently also very popular with prone foilers.

How do I find the perfect foil for me?

With our Duotone Foil Configurator: https://www.duotonesports.com/en/wing-foiling/foils

After entering your riding ability, body weight, water conditions and desired characteristics of the foil, the Duotone Foil Configurator filters out the best recommendation from our entire foil range. Beginners will find a slower, stable partner in the Lift. The next step leads to the Free, which comes in different sizes and allows you to explore all areas of use. If you enjoy jumping and tight carves, choose the Carve 2.0. If you prefer to flag the wing and glide along in the wave for as long as possible, go for the Glide.

What about Prone, Pump and Downwing Foils?

Duotone recently expanded its range with Surf, Pump and Downwind Foil models. The Whizz for surf foilers. It combines two worlds. It is strongly optimized for Prone and Wake Foiling with a very good pump and glide. But it also offers a very free riding experience, as we know it from the Carve 2.0, and can be easily rolled from one side to the other for playful turns on the wave. So the Whizz is really fun with the wing too. And the second is the dockstart pump foil Amp in size 1750, which has the same span as the Glide 2145 but a higher aspect ratio, a thinner profile for more speed. Combined with the newly developed high aspect stabilizer it has a very good pump, is very stall friendly and is also very easy to turn. The new Hyperglide D/LAB is a top-tier addition to our 2025 foil line-up. Engineered for unmatched efficiency and speed in Downwinders, it excels in faster bumps and ocean swells, offering exceptional acceleration, speed maintenance, and agile control in turns.

We also just launched the brand new our 2025 Glide 2.0 D/LAB and SLS models, along with the D/LAB Slim 2.0 masts - head over to our foil section for more info: https://www.duotonesports.com/en/wing-foiling/foils

Where is Foiling heading in the future?

Foiling is still a long way from being fully developed. Before the turn of the millennium, we were still foiling with aluminum foils. Today we use carbon, the constructions are getting lighter and the profiles are becoming more and more sensitive. Wing Foiling is currently the biggest driver of innovation, simply because it is still a very young sport that is growing all over the world. People are constantly discovering new conditions with the handheld wing and this in turn is driving development. A development that is being driven forward in a technologically very demanding, innovative environment with a lot of simulation. The development of the foils goes hand in hand with the development of the wings. New, innovative wings achieve higher speeds and have better pressure point stability, which suddenly allows you to control much more agile foils. And wing foilers always want to experience a different riding experience with their foil. It’s a super exciting time because you can still feel big differences from year to year.