Tail Foil History: Living Document

This document will forever be changing and incomplete.

Notes on any front foil + tail combo I have ridden.

A closer look and notes with each foil I ride and the tails I've matched:

Examples with medium aspect surf foils:

First off, here's the list of tails I've spent the most time on and some notes on them:

Green highlights unique or standout traits for a tail.

Mako Carve Pro S

• Surface area 125cm²

• AR ? (Not published, medium aspect)

• Span 315mm

• Chord at fuse 72.5mm

• Chord next to fuse 57mm

• Chord 25mm from tip 20mm

• Thickness max at bolt holes 6.3mm

• Thickness max 25mm off of fuse: 5.1mm (thinnest "surf" tail)

• Thickness 25mm from tip 1.8mm (thinnest)

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex 8/10

• Build: UHM Carbon

• Mileage: 0

- New as of February 2026!

Cloud IX FS157

• Surface area 157cm²

• AR ? (Not published, medium aspect)

• Span 322mm

• Chord at fuse 85mm

• Chord next to fuse 62mm

• Chord 1" from tip 31mm

• Thickness max 5.9mm

• Thickness 25mm from tip 3mm

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex 9/10

• Build: Unknown Carbon

• Mileage: 1000+

Pro: This is one of my smoothest feeling tails.

Critique: The pump is very vertical and that can kill glide without forward projection.

Best with: Only the Silk 650, to slow down and stay in the energy pocket when downwinding.

AFS Silk 132:

• Surface area 132cm²

• AR 6.8

• Span 300mm

• Chord at fuse 69.3mm

• Chord next to fuse 58.8mm

• Chord 1" from tip 31mm

• Thickness max 7.1mm

• Thickness 25mm from tip 3.6mm

• Sweep: Rear

• Stiffness/flex: 10/10 (stiffest)

• Build: HR Carbon

• Mileage: 1009

Pro: Best tail for hard high performance turns.

Critique: This tail feels a bit slow and can be unforgiving when pumping through dead spots.

Best with: Silk 650.

KParts Mako Carve v2 130

• Surface area 130cm²

• AR ? (Not published, medium aspect)

• Span 295mm (shortest)

• Chord at fuse 67mm

• Chord next to fuse 58mm

• Chord 1" from tip 24mm

• Thickness max 6.75mm

• Thickness 1" from tip 3mm

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex: 8/10

• Build: Unknown Carbon

• Mileage: 260

Pro: Best high performance DW surf tail I've ever used. The forward swept design is a joy to ride on my monoblock Silk setups.

Critique: There are some things about the universal design I dislike.

Best with: Silk 850. The forward sweep is great for unlocking maneuverability on that foil.

KParts Mako Glide v2 120

• Surface area 120cm²

• AR ? (Not published, high aspect)

• Span 350mm

• Chord at fuse 64mm

• Chord next to fuse 56mm

• Chord 1" from tip 20mm

• Thickness max 6.25mm

• Thickness 1" from tip 2.8mm

  • About 3.5% thinner at max and near the tips vs the HA 38.

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex: 7/10

• Build: Unknown Carbon

• Mileage: 288

Pro: This is the best pumping tail I have ever used. The forward projection is shocking.

Critique: The turbulence that can occur with the universal design is not my favorite.

Best with: Enduro 700. The excellent pump plus reasonable span ratio makes this setup a gem.

AFS HA 38

• Surface area 135cm²

• AR 11.9

• Span 380mm

• Chord at fuse 70mm

• Chord next to fuse 43mm

• Chord 1" from tip 22mm

• Thickness max 6.5mm

• Thickness 1" from tip 2.9mm

• Sweep: Rear

• Stiffness/flex: 9/10

• Build: HM Carbon

• Mileage: ???

Pro: If you are looking for glide and stability this is an excellent choice..

Critique: This tail locks up the roll too much for my taste.

Best with: Short front fuse foils on skinny masts. AFS Ultra 750 is the only foil I used this on to help stabilize the experience with the 75cm skinny.

AFS Ultra Glide 41

• Surface area 123cm²

• AR 13.7

• Span 410mm (widest)

• Chord at fuse 69mm

• Chord 1" from center 41mm

• Chord 1" from tip 17mm

• Thickness 1" from center: 4.8mm

• Thickness 1" from tip 3mm

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex: 8/10

• Build: HM Carbon with HM Carbon Core

• Mileage: 897

Pro: The first UHA tail I've used. It dramatically altered my feelings around high span tails. Amazing glide and speed range.

Critique: While the UHA design turns far better than expected, this tail is too stable for my Silk 850 and smaller.

Best with: Foils spanning 875mm or higher.

AFS Ultra Glide 39 (note how this tail is highlighted in so many ways)

Favorite parawing tail.

• Surface area 113cm² (smallest)

• AR 13.9 (highest)

• Span 390mm

• Chord at center: 69mm

• Chord 1" from center: 39mm (shortest)

• Chord 1" from tip 14.4mm (shortest)

• Thickness 25mm from center: 4.3mm (thinnest)

• Thickness 25mm from tip 2.7mm (thinnest)

• Sweep: Forward

• Stiffness/flex: 8/10

• Build: HM Carbon with HM Carbon Core

• Mileage: under 100

Testing ongoing.

Pro: I still feel stable, but I feel like there is nothing holding me back, a pure zero drag experience.

Critique: With the Enduro 800, upwinding is a little pitch sensitive.

Best with: As of February 2026 I have only used it on the Silk 1050 and Enduro 800. Excellent on both.

Next, here's those individual tails matched up with foil specific notes:

Purple highlight for favorite parawing choice.

Green highlight for favorite wing choice.

AFS Silk 1050

AR: 8

Span 916mm

Ratio with Silk 132 tail (132cm² area and 300mm span): 3.05

Result: High level pivot/snap turns but more sensitive to swell positioning. Probably my favorite light wind winging setup. Struggles to keep up on swell when parawinging.

Ratio with Ultra Glide 39 tail (410mm span): 2.35

Result: Zero drag setup that is both loose, playful, and a glide machine on DW runs. Phenomenal combo. First impression is tail is a bit small to absolutely hammer hard turns on.

Ratio with Ultra Glide 41 tail (410mm span): 2.23

Result: Longboard vibes and excellent speed range. This is the easy button invincibility setup for me when parawinging.

AFS Silk 850

AR: 8

Span 824mm

Ratio with Mako Carve 130 tail (130cm² area and 295mm span): 2.79

Result:

Enjoyable?

Ratio with Mako Glide 120 tail (350mm span): 2.35

Result:

Enjoyable?

Ratio with Silk 132 tail

Result:

Enjoyable?

AFS Silk 650

AR: 8

Span 720mm

Ratio with Silk 132 tail (132cm² area and 300mm span): 2.4

Result:

Enjoyable?

Ratio with Mako Glide 120 tail (350mm span): 2.06

Result:

Enjoyable?

Examples with high aspect foils:

AFS Enduro 800

AR: 11

Span 940mm

Ratio with Ultra Glide 41 tail (410mm span): 2.23

Result: Longboard vibes and dramatically better speed range.

Enjoyable? Yes. Invincibility setup when parawinging.

Ratio with Ultra Glide 39 tail (390mm span): 2.41

Result: Super fun zero drag setup.

Enjoyable? Absolutely. A little more technical than the UG41 but worth it for the unlocked freedom that comes from using this tail.

AFS Ultra 750 Monoblock

AR: 14

Span 1024mm

Ratio with Ultra Glide 41 tail (410mm span):

***Shortened front fuse***

Result:

Evaluation:

AFS Enduro 700

AR: 11

Span 877mm

Ratio with Silk 132 tail (132cm² area and 300mm span): 2.92

Result: Speed, loose turns, susceptible to low end issues.

Enjoyable? Yes, preferred with wing over parawing.

Ratio with Ultra Glide 41 tail (410mm span): 2.14

Result: Speed, glide, longboard vibes.

Evaluation: Magic for linking on the parawing. Borderline for my style. With the ratio being this low and the front span being over 850mm I question the need for the 700's top end vs the style and looseness that would be gained from more span on the front.

Primary impacts on ride experience: Roll.

Important considerations: Your foil AR, mast chord, and fuselage design (short vs standard front fuse and short, medium, long tail fuse) will impact this dramatically.

Reminder: I ride a short chorded 75cm mast and a medium tail fuse most days.