Moses Hydrofoil Fluente 91 2017
Reviews / Hydrofoil Boards
6,964
At A Glance
The Italian brand Moses has gone from strength to strength. It’s great to see a company that is so actively involved with our sport and really helping to push foiling, especially in the UK. You’ll find Moses at most of the UK’s events allowing you to see the boards and demo them, which we highly recommend!
The Fluente is their wave/freeride foil; it’s designed to get going at low speeds and allow control in turns while still delivering a decent top speed of over 20 knots! We used the T-40 board during our test. It is worth noting though, the foil is compatible with the entire Moses range of boards and uses the prominent four bolt connection system and can be used with any twin track or four bolt board.
It's always incredibly satisfying unboxing shiny test gear to use, and the Fluente is no different. Something we enjoy less is putting it all together, Moses have exceeded themselves here by providing detailed instruction on how to assemble the foil. There are also tips showing where to mount the footstraps and the fuselage to the board. We find this information to be crucial with foil boards and saves you a huge amount of time fiddling with it at the beach, great news for us and you!
The Fluente features a 91cm mast, slightly shorter than some of the racing masts we see on the water, but still long enough to be very effective. The set up features a new front wing, the W550, which has been specially designed to work at low speeds and be very forgiving. The fuselage is the same as the Voracious race foil and you can attach any of the Moses front wings to it. This means if you get a need for speed and decide to step up into the racing world you could change the front wing and be very competitive.
On The Water
As we’ve mentioned in the past, it makes life so much easier when you have a light foil board. Trying to keep your kite in the sky while you carry an awkwardly shaped heavy board to the water is very difficult. The Fluente is light and strong, so carrying the foil on the beach and manoeuvring it in the water is a breeze. This always gets a thumbs up from us.
Once riding, something that struck me immediately is just how smooth and easy it felt compared to other foils I’ve ridden. At once I was relaxed and ready to just have fun on the water, go exploring and improve my turns. I soon found some small waves and started carving the foil up and down the wave. This new way of riding waves is actually really satisfying, just don’t go too shallow! It won’t be long until there are hundreds of us foiling on waves just like Kai Lenny (or possibly not). The foil felt responsive & playful on the face, and I found myself progressing quickly. It’s really addictive!
"Perfect for riding strapless, cruising the coastline or shredding waves!"
The foot straps have lots of adjustment to suit you and felt like they were in just the right place to control the foil. As is the case with all Moses foils it tracks upwind incredibly well, perfect for covering some serious distance. For a free ride foil we found it very easy to tack, the combination of low foiling speed and manoeuvrability makes progression whilst tacking/gybing very quick. So whether you are just learning or already a pro, you’ll find it rewarding to ride.
As well as looking the part, the T-40 board is pretty forgiving on the water. If you have a small nose dive, it is likely to bump you back up. The stylish red colour scheme is guaranteed to stand out on the beach.
For
Incredible finish and attention to detail, easy to ride, lightweight and super fast. Everything a foil should be.
Against
Some might find the carbon fibre aspect a little too delicate for their liking; you definitely wouldn't want to hit a reef while foiling on a wave! Don’t get us wrong they are tough but can easily be scratched.
Overall
I believe the Fluente and foils like it are the future of foiling. Whether you are riding strapless, cruising the coastline or shredding waves, it can do it all. Lightweight, fast and stable. I highly recommend you try one; you won’t regret it! Unless you really want to race, having a freeride, all round performer is an absolute no brainer.
This review was in Issue 63 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit Moses HydrofoilRelated
By Jack Galloway
Jack is a fanatically keen kiter from the South West of England, he loves riding just about anything with a kite from foil boards to surfboards and everything in between. He's competed in the Red Bull Ragnarok snowkite race on numerous occasions as well as some world class kite racing events. He's our Web Editor for the magazine, as well as one of our testers where his vast knowledge of the sport and different kites and boards comes in handy!
