Liquid Force Stratus 950 FuseLock

Liquid Force has arrived back on the foil scene with their sleek new line up of medium aspect carbon Stratus wings, targeted at boat rippers and tow enthusiasts as well as wingers and the prone crew. These foils also feature their new FuseLock connection, built to reduce pivot and weak points in the system.

The brand has been playing in the foil sandbox for some time now, and their experience in foil manufacturing is the first thing to notice when unboxing the new line of foils. The foils are clearly very well manufactured, and it’s obvious at first glance that they have taken a lot of time and energy to put something high-end into the foiling market. The gear came in a nice bag, that housed two Stratus front wings (950cm & 725cm), a 150 Glide tail, a 74cm mast, and a snug little box to keep all the screws and tools in one place.

Boat and tow riding present a very specific advantage as you are not dependent on self-propulsion to get up out of the water, so you can ride very small boards, and hyper responsive foil setups. I tested this system behind the boat, which seems to be what Liquid Force is targeting with these foils, given their history in towed water sports and team riders. I rode the Stratus 950 front wing, with the 150 Glide Tail, and the 74cm mast, on a 3’8 Nebula. The Stratus 725 seems like it’s more targeted at ocean tow, versus the boat. But maybe some lighter-weight riders could get around on the Stratus 725 just fine. These foils would be best described as mid-aspect foils, leaning more toward the surf side of mid-aspect, over the high-aspect side. It is an all-carbon system, and their new FuseLock system is a 4-screw connection. The screws are very heavy duty, a little on the heavy side, but it’s an ok trade off, as the connection feels super sturdy. As far as the board goes, they have taken their original Nebula design and upgraded a lot the materials, with a better track pad and some carbon reinforcement.

On the water and up for the first time, I instantly noticed the turnability of the Stratus 950. I’m about 185lb, so that size foil was plenty. I spent some time getting my feet adjusted and then went out and did some pumping. If you are coming from an HA foil you appreciate the extra glide and are willing to sacrifice some turning ability for added efficiency. So for me, being an HA rider, the first thing I noticed is a little bit of drag in the flats, but that is to be expected with any mid-aspect foil. I was able to get back to the third and fourth waves fairly easily and play around back there. The 150 Glide tail, while larger than I usually ride, wasn't really presenting any turning loss, which was kind of cool. I did have some issues with the foil stalling in some of the dead zone behind the boat, but again, it seems like the normal behavior for a mid-aspect foil. After riding it for a while, I would say I had the most fun riding this foil on the first wave, and it feels like that’s really what Liquid force designed these foils for. Great carving when the foil is in the power zone. It also feels like they really designed these foils for getting the fins out and doing airs, as that’s what you see a lot of their team riders doing with them.

Overall, it’s easy to see that Liquid force has listened to their customers and given them a foil system that delivers a truly fun and surfy experience, while also maintaining some high-performance qualities with their all-carbon manufacturing. A mid-aspect foil system makes a lot of sense for a first offering with the new FuseLock system, as it gives people the best of both worlds. Liquid Force has built a nice platform for building a foil quiver into. It would be nice to see them push more into the bleeding edge of tow foiling, as they have such an advantage with their long history of manufacturing for towed water sports. I could see them coming out with some very unique and fun boat foils. 100 waves back behind the boat anyone?!