KT NOMAD & ATLAS REVIEW
There are brands that hype wings to the nth degree. Then there are wings that generate their own hype. Kane De Wilde is a humble kid that has managed to produce a set of foil wings that are amazing. I was lucky enough to test a prototype and knew that I needed to order them. I tried the Atlas, which is more of a high aspect downwind type wing. I had not even tried the Nomad, but figured I would order it and try it.
BUILD QUALITY
In a word, excellent. I am not a fan of aluminum fuselages. I feel they are heavier than their carbon counterparts. Corrosion always seems to be an issue. KT does not break the mold with this fuselage. It is heavy and if you leave the bolts in for a session then that whitish corrosion forms. Is it the worst thing, no. The fit of the front and rear wings are solid and do not seem to flex, at least none that I have noticed. The attachment to the mast is solid as well. It uses M8 bolts. I like the black finish to the bolts, but I am ambivalent about Star vs Allen heads. I have not used the mast, but I have been told that it is stiff and excellent. The wings are works of art. The curves are what make the wings so great.
NOMAD 830
I honestly had no interest in this wing. My main focus was to acquire a downwind wing, the Atlas. It was not until my third session that the surf increased in size, and I decided to try it. I am glad I bought it. All my surf wings are around 800cm in size. This seems to be the best size for the small gutless waves I ride here in California. The good thing about this is that when I get a new wing around the same size, I can tell the difference between brands. I can give you some generic platitudes about the wing, such as the uber slow stall speed of the wing or the amazing turning radius. I think that KT already has stated those attributes. I will give you a sense of the different feeling I have from my other brands I am riding right now. Let us start with the F-one Sk8 850. This is my go-to wing if I want to turn. When you want to make on rail g-force type turns this wing will do it. It allows you to lean into a turn and feel the push-back of the wing through the turn. Accelerating through the turn. It definitely requires some more front foot pressure during a turn, but in a controlled manner. I am riding a Mike’s Lab 830 as well right now and this takes it to another level. The KT is more of a back footed type turn. It turns amazingly sharp, but it is like it is rotating around the wingtip and not the entire wing is pushing you through the turn. I found that when I went from Mike’s lab to the KT in the same session I was falling over in the turn with the KT. I would nosedive. If I shifted my weight back slightly the KT will just whip around in a sharp turn. It is amazing but different. This may be due to the chamber in the wing, which is extreme compared to the others. Pumping is excellent in the KT. Compared to the F-one Sk8 850 it is next level. I would say it is better than the Unifoil PP140. I would say it is faster than the Unifoil in pump speed and has more forgiveness at the low end of speed. Let’s talk speed. This is very subjective, but I have not experienced maxing out the Nomad on waves yet. I feel it is fast. Is it Mike’s Lab fast, no. Do I need to or even want to do 30 MPH on my foil. No. Stability wise it is more on the twitchy sensitive side. That can be good or bad depending on what you prefer. I like a little more stable feeling in my wings. Pitch stability is what I like. The F-one and Mike’s lab are more pitch stable than the KT. This is most apparent at high speed. It gives the foil a stable feel and sometimes makes you think you are not going so fast, but you are! I can control the KT at speed but definitely feel the balance point is reduced.
ATLAS 960
I purchased this wing for downwind runs here in California. I did not expect it to be a surf oriented wing. It is not. Yet when I took it out in small waves it was fun. Yes you need to calculate your turns differently, but it still turns well. I have the 960, which I would describe as a big little wing. I would say the closest wing I have to it is the Unifoil PP170. It has better low end than the Unifoil and has better high end speed. It pumps amazingly well with the ability to slow your cadence down and even glide a bit in-between. Will it let you pump further than you have before…yes. I used it once on a downwind run. It was amazing. It allowed me to relax a little more. I still am not good at that discipline but I know enough to say this wing is excellent for mellow downwind conditions. It will be my go-to wing for Hood River trips from now on.
SHORT VS LONG FUSELAGE
I have the long fuselage. It is 63cm. The short is a full 10cm shorter. Over the years I have gravitated toward 60cm length fuselage. That length seems to work best for pumping and turning, plus is stable in pitch. My F-one Sk8 850 had the xxxs tail. I could not pump it but it did turn amazing. I put an extension on it to bring it to 60cm and I was able to pump it better but still turn like I wanted. I have talked with several people that have the short version and they are not happy with it. They are looking to get the long version. If you have the short fuselage and are unhappy don’t abandon the KT. Get the long version and you will be converted.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The KT wings are amazing wings. They have managed to enhance the low end characteristics of the wing without compromising the high end feel. I am impressed on several levels. I think that they have managed to make a high-end foil at a reasonable price point. The design is innovative and makes the KT worth getting. Do I think it could be your only foil wing that would do it all. Yes! The Nomad is an amazing surf wing. It is playful and pumps well. It is a great compromise. I am a big fan of the Cloud-IX wings because they were an excellent compromise for the time period. They combined Mid & High aspect into a wing. KT has done this via the chamber in the wing design. The Nomad has some high aspect attributes along with some mid aspect attributes. I would say it is an excellent wing from knee high to above. The Atlas does the same thing but for the small wave or downwind disciplines of the sport. I have a lot of brands of wings. When I travel I bring the wings that I feel will give me the widest range of conditions I can use to ride in. The KT wings are by far the leader in that now. I feel like I can take the two front wings I have and use them in downwind, small surf and big wave situations. Almost any condition I will want to ride in I can use one of those wings. Plus, they breakdown for travel better than the foils with the fuselage partly attached to the front wing. They are amazing wings, and I have no problem recommending them.