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LIQUID FORCE Thruster Foil
Sizes Available: Mast Length: 94.8cm alloy 2250g
Fuselage Length with HD fuselage: 81.7cm 1220g Thruster Glass
Sizes Tested: Mast Length: 94.8cm alloy 2250g
Fuselage Length with HD fuselage: 81.7cm 1220g Thruster Glass

Liquid Force Says:

New to the LF hydrofoil lineup is the Thruster Foil. This complete foil kit utilizes the same proven alloy mast configuration that runs though LF’s complete hydrofoil line. New in the configuration is the use of the HD alloy fuselage that creates a highly hydrodynamic connection with the wings. The Thruster wing set has been developed in collaboration with Matt Wheeler, master hydrofoil expert and engineer in Hood River, Oregon USA. This collaboration has brought to life a unique wing design that provides extended range and stability offering rapid lift and stability at speed. If you are in search of the pinnacle of freeriding performance look no further.

For more info visit: www.liquidforcekites.com/product/foils/thruster-foil

For more info visit: www.liquidforcekites.com/product/foils/rocket-foil-board-short

Tkb Says:

The LF Thruster features a fairly high aspect front wing that will stoke out speed junkies that seek a foil that teases with racing speeds but maintains an overall fun giant slalom carvy feel that keeps a smile on your face. When it comes to unboxing the Thruster Foil, it’s clear the boys at LF have put a ton of energy into a well-organized package where everything you will need comes in re-sealable pouches along with a really handy allen tool. Believe it or not, this is the only tool you will need to put your Thruster togteher as all the bolts are the same size! The Thruster’s wing/fuselage/mast setup is super easy to connect and the package comes with a little tube of anti-seize to apply to your bolts to prevent the corrosion that otherwise lock up your bolts down the road (ever leave your foil together for a couple months then try to pack it for an airplane trip? Good luck!). In our last test we rode the LF Impulse foil, but in comparison, the Thruster is a Formula One race car that handles speed but with a tremendous amount of stability. The wings are built of a composite material that seems to strike a fair balance between durability, weight and price. The new fuselage design is all aluminum along with the mast and base plate while the  new wing material seems like a good compromise between durability and stiffness that still gives you a performance feel and look. The wings attach to the fuselage with little shims that we assume makes the fuselage universal amongst the other wings in the LF stable.

This wing set foils up at a medium to fast speed which requires the rider to be a little bit more aggressive with kite power to get the Thruster up to lift-off speed. Since a lot of the foils in our light wind test were lighter wind/beginner/lower aspect shapes, we had to shift gears a little to put the Thruster into its lift range. When you get the Thruster flying you’ll notice first that it loves speed and has the feeling that it wants to accelerate into a fairly solid clip that is slower than a race foil but fairly brisk for a freeride foilboarder. Now that we have lower aspect and slower foil-up designs like the Impulse it’s hard to say that this wingset is really a great first step for a beginner, but it’s certainly an excellent option for those that have the basics and want to go fast. Once you get this foil up onto plane and you’re flying upwind it’s just a tremendously comfortable wing at speed. All the inputs are pretty well balanced but you feel like once you get on edge it really locks in. Despite it being a high aspect wing it still feels very carvy for its propensity to go fast, but in a large GS carve kind of way rather than something that turns fairly tight. The inputs and reactivity feel like the side to side roll axis is a little more active than the yaw and pitch axis, yet overall the inputs are balanced and intuitive. We had a ton of fun charging upwind and locking the wing into really high upwind angles and then when we turned off the wind, we carved big broad turns or just winged it at supersonic speed in a straight line. This foil does come off plane pretty quickly when you drop beneath a certain speed, so it’s ideal for those that like to move fast. The Thruster’s mast is fairly long at 90cm and an excellent length for keeping the wing buried under the water when railing upwind.

We tested the Thruster Foil with the Rocket Foil board which features super durable construction, a track mounting system, a nice backfoot kickpad and for straps, you get inserts for center and ducked stances, with four holes in the back and three holes for forward and back on your centered stance. The pad is fairly thin and comfy but not so cushy that you lose input. The board was originally conceived as a fishy surfboard shape so you can always ride it sans foil when the wind is wicked or too shallow for foiling. We liked the extra rocker when it came to accidental touchdowns but given the foil’s higher foil-up speed and the board’s rocker we needed to be a bit more aggressive with kite power to get things going. When it comes to weight the Rocket errs on the side of durability and while the board has a good amount of surface area it does lack the volume you get when you upgrade to the LF Galaxy foil board.

Overall, the Thruster mated to the Rocket Foil board is a fun higher performance setup that you will find both reliable and forgiving yet chomping at the bit to unleash speed and all at a very reasonable price.