Tkb Review: 2022 CORE SLC 1250

Sizes Available: 1000, 1250cm2
Sizes Tested: 1250cm2

Core Says:

Meet the SLC Foil a carbon and aluminum hybrid with options to suit every foiler. With every detail and material choice thoroughly tested, it brings newfound confidence to surf spots and freestyle slicks. Our wings feature a stress-optimized carbon layup over a PU core that minimizes bending at the wing root while allowing the tips to twist. Our wing features a seaweed shedding and self-stabilizing sweptback shape. The reduced area tips and concave trailing edge outline add a little speed. An anhedral wing root (downward curvature) improves stability. This curvature is flattened towards the tips to improve breaching performance and minimize ventilation when a tip comes out of the water. Maintaining your track is easier than ever.

Our extruded aluminum mast is almost as light as some carbon ones with the added durability of 6063 aircraft aluminum. And its silent trailing edge design is a welcome relief. New foilers and wave riders should consider the 71cm mast whereas the 92cm mast is our allrounder. Our extruded aluminum mast features a progressive five-stringer, thin wall design that reinforces the highest stress areas. Precise fit tolerances ensure the mast fits tightly into the fuselage.

Visit for more info: www.corekites.com/us/kite/foil/slc

TKB Says:

The SLC 1250 is highly versatile freeride foil that will seduce you with its remarkably silent path through the water and moderate speed range that boasts a user-friendly take-off and balanced maneuverability that makes for some fun carving.

The new Core foil set comes with a carbon front wing, aluminum fuselage, carbon stabilizer and extruded aluminum mast. The overall design of the various parts has Core’s typical focus on engineering, with each part carefully keyed together to increase strength and reduce drag. The front wing features an overall delta shape that uses a fairly thin profile that has some fascinating curves in its underside. The stabilizer also features a delta shape with both the top and bottom fairly rounded. All the bolts use the same Torx head bolts and the front wing bolts to the fuselage with bolts of all the same length so you don’t have to think too much about assembly.

We rode the SLC 1250 with the 71cm mast and noted right off the bat that the bigger wing offers up a slower foil-up speed than the SLC 1000 that we also tested. The entry onto foil feels really smooth with good lift that gets you up and flying without any surprises. The SLC 1250 is still considered a kite foil, with not as much low-end speed as a surf foil or wingfoil, but it does offer a super smooth entry into flight at a speed that will be more comfortable for beginners and first-time foilers. The SLC 1250 requires a bit more front foot pressure that helps you control your speed, and in order to accelerate, you have to put more weight into your front foot, and that tends to make the foil feel more secure to progression-oriented riders. Since the SLC has a moderate foil-down speed, you can slow down a bit and carve tighter turns which makes carving up chop and small waves super fun.

The SLC 1250 really shines as a balanced platform that feels dependable and easy to control. The pitch feels like the most stable of the three axis with the roll and the yaw feeling a bit more active for easy turn initiation. It didn’t take a ton of input to roll into or out of turns, but with the 1250’s stable pitch, it seemed easier to manage the foil’s height and likely much easier for first-timers to keep the wing planted in the water. The 1250 was incredibly resilient when the wingtips breached the surface of the water. You could play with the wingtip by surfacing it on turns and it would continue to deliver lift without the usual cavitation. This is a great feature for progressing foilers and extra fun for more advanced riders that are carving exceptionally hard. When it came to glide, the 1250 has good pumping drive that could be used to maintain your board speed when the kite didn’t have much pull. Tacks were really easy to master; the slower speed and stability of the 1250 allows you to move through the eye of the wind a bit slower while still staying on foil.

Every session on the SLC foils impressed us with high glide efficiency and the complete absence of hums or vibrations, even during hard and fast riding. The 1250 will be a great match for entry-level kitefoilers that need a more forgiving and stable platform for basic progression, but it will also appeal to the carve-minded kitefoiler who wants to carve tighter turns and slow down just enough to tear apart some rolling swells while still having some faster, high-end runs on the other side of the speed spectrum. With impeccable attention to every detail, the 1250 is a great freeride foil that accentuates progression and carving.