INBOUND: AXIS ART V2

The DNA that sits in the new AXIS ART v2 range is about as powerful as it comes, with lineage that includes their ART Pro and Spitfire foils, both of which got plenty of positive critical plaudits. So of course we had to hit up team AXIS to hear about these…

So the new ART range is here. First things first, please tell us what established ART fans are going to enjoy in this new version…

When we released the first version of the ART wings, we wanted to bring to the market what our internal research team wanted to ride, instead of just what the market was asking at the time. It was a collection of wings that we were excited to ride every day, on our local spots, and our favorite disciplines. That was the notion of the AXIS Research Team (ART) program. Not surprisingly, this is what many customers also wanted, which made the ART wings the most innovative, fun, and sought after foil collection to date.

The ART v2 is continuing on the same principle. Accessible foils that work very well across multiple disciplines and rider levels. Ideal for winging, prone, downwind, wake, kite and foil drive.

It looks like it’s inherited some design cues from the Spitfire range, how has this blending process taken shape, and how do the characteristics present themselves?

We wanted a foil that would sit between the Spitfire and the ART Pro, with an aspect ratio of 10. A foil with a perfect balance of early lift, glide, turning and speed. By borrowing the turning skills from the Spitfire, and adding the glide and speed of the ART Pro, we created a foil that gives a predictable and smooth behavior, providing great confidence to the rider to push further and unlock new skills.

Talk to us about the breach characteristics and how you engineer more control into this situation?

Team rider input and our own testing suggests that the wings perform really well when they breach. The downwind crew has been thrilled with how easily the ART v2 recovers from ventilation at a wide range of speed. The ART v2 is a very well behaved wing…

You’ve gone with the three sizes – 879, 939 and the 999 – tell us about your reasoning behind these size choices, and do you plan to extend the range at all?

Traditionally we have built foil sizes to address every possible scenario. With the ART v2 we felt that we didn’t need more than three sizes for 90+% of the user community. Since the focus for the ART v2 is mainly winging, prone and downwind, our test results positioned the 999 for small to medium wind or wave conditions for an average 75-85 kg rider. The 939 is more of the in between for rider size and conditions, while the 879 is the bigger faster conditions foil with great speed performance, control, and turning abilities.

We don’t doubt there’s more happening behind the scenes at HQ. Any other news you’d like to drop?

Oh yes. By the time you read this, some of our most anticipated projects have probably already been released…

The replacement of the legendary PNG 1300 drops early September – the PNG 1300 v2. Then a whole new family of dedicated ultra high performance aspect ratio 13 front wings named Fireball will be released too, addressing the elite rider in downwinding, winging and fast prone, with multiple sizes available.

A new collection of performance winging boards called Blast are also about to be released, with narrow width lines and great pop and performance. The Hybrid boards also get a revised shape as well as the new Downwind boards, which have new shapes and sizes. Dock start enthusiasts will enjoy our new dock start and pumping boards, named Dock (what else!). These come in two different constructions and colorways. Then our new Prone boards are also being released after a full year of testing and approval from our top prone riders.

Beyond that, our downwind specific paddles are also being released in two blade sizes and feature tons of construction and design innovation. Our race / high speed winging platform is being finalized and has already won the Triple Crown in the Hawaiian crossing events, and we also have new accessories with redesigned / revamped covers, bags, accessory sets and much, much more…

As you know, we are a product focused brand. Product development comes first and we just don’t stop research and development throughout the year.