Moses Hydrofoil Onda W 633 2019
Reviews / Hydrofoils
6,964
At A Glance
The Moses Onda W 633 set up has been designed for foilers who want to play in the waves, have fun and freeride with their foil. It’s made in full carbon, Moses have yet to start working with aluminium, but they are in the process of making this happen. The set up features the wing, fuselage, rear wing and a one-piece mast which has a moulded top plate.
It’s straightforward to put together with three Torx on the front wing, two on the rear and then rather strangely two Allen bolts to connect the mast. The top of the mast bolts to the board using the now near-standard twin track system and some Allen bolts. I mention the names of the bolts themselves as it would be good to see either all Torx or all Allen being used across the board. Torx seems to be the new standard with foils as they are harder to round off and offer more purchase.
Moses make incredibly light foils, and that is very evident here, compared to an aluminium set up the difference is stark, so while you may pay a little more, you will feel the difference the instant you pick it up. The wing itself is a deep delta design that is quite thin compared to other wings of this type. It has a reasonable pitch with slight kicks in the tips of the wing.
The logos are laminated into the construction, so there is no danger of losing those, and the whole set up goes together like a charm. A testament to the build quality from the Italian brand, something they have long been known for with a long history of working in carbon composite. All the parts fit flush, and you can’t see any gaps or points that could cause turbulence or create noise.
Using the standard twin track system means you should be able to bolt this foil to any compatible board, leaving you with a wide range of choice when it comes to finding a suitable partner for your style.
On The Water
Wow was a word that sprang to mind when we first rode the Onda, fun is on tap here in spades. It’s a really easy wing to get going and is very quick to generate lift. With a bit of power from the kite, you’ll soon be up and riding. It foils at very low speeds, but more importantly, it has a very low stall point.
Upwind is impressive for such a low aspect wing, but even more impressive is the speed that you can get from it. While it is happy to cruise slowly, it is equally happy to blast around and has a real turn of pace. OK, we aren’t talking racing speeds but for something with such a wave/freeride focus it certainly doesn’t hang about when you want it to get a lick on.
The foil feels a little twitchy and skatey underfoot, it’s eager to turn, which brings it to its wave riding characteristics. Where some foils are stable and locked the Onda is loose and keen to turn, this makes wave riding easier as you can quickly change the direction the foil is headed and the foil wants to turn too, it feels like the board is working with you rather than you trying to force it to do things it doesn’t want to.
Tacks and gybes are made easier on the Onda thanks to its low-speed lift and incredibly low stall point, it’s very forgiving if you make a few mistakes, but it can also crank round a turn at full speed too. Some riders used to a more stable platform may find the Onda a little bit too manoeuvrable, but we really enjoyed the experience, once you are used to how it rides you’ll enjoy the flickability of this powerful wing.
One last point to mention is that the Onda wing floats, yes you read that right, this means when you couple it with a low volume board it will sit at a 45-degree angle in the water, which makes it perfect for strapless water starts which can be tricky with a high volume board.
Overall
If you want an easy to use wing with plenty of low end lift the Onda delivers that in spades, if you want something that you can carve with ease and change direction at the flick of a foot, then the Onda will enable you to do that. It’s easy to water start thanks to it’s floating characteristics, and its low stall point makes it very forgiving. The fun factor is turned right up to eleven with this wing!
This review was in Issue 76 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit Moses HydrofoilRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
