Tested: AXIS Ultrashort Advance Fuselage

This review first appeared in Foiling Magazine issue 14 (December 2022) in the magazine's Tested section, as "AXIS Ultrashort Advance Fuselage". The words are the magazine's test team's, not ours. Republished with the magazine's kind permission.

AXIS responded to prone consumer demand to enable extra turning mobility in their system by a small change to their existing B-Series fuse, which essentially brings the front wing 40mm closer to the mast. The B-Series fuse is compatible with their HPS and ART ranges, as well as some of the smaller BSC and PNG front wings.

In the water, the pitch control feels a little different at first, and you may wish to shift your foil box position a little further forward to help balance your board out.

Turning-wise, it feels almost as if you’ve dropped a front wing size but not sacrificed any stability. The foil has a new eagerness to turn, particularly in the yaw axis, and it provides a more connected and ‘surfy’ feeling which opens up tighter radiuses and more aggressive turning, where it provided a more constant front foot pressure and feedback throughout a committed turn. To get the most out of it, we think it pairs best with the smaller P-Series progressive tails.

Pumping-wise, we found that the Ultrashort Advance fuse let you get ‘out of the hole’ a little easier if you do lose speed and feel like you’re going to bog; getting back up to pace didn’t seem too stressful. There’s also perhaps a slightly slower cadence required to maintain speed.

Carrying the new fuse over into the ever-popular method of wing propulsion, the extra mobility on the wave is definitely apparent, and it felt a little more sure-footed at speed. You maybe sacrifice a tiny fragment of upwind ability, but on the smaller, faster foils the B-Series generally accommodates, it’s pretty negligible.

It’s truly amazing what significance a 40mm geometry change can do to a system, and kudos to AXIS for listening to consumer demand and opening the door to a bucket more performance in their already comprehensive foil ecosystem. You could compare it to ordering that ‘handling pack’ on your new BMW. RB

The fuselage today

• Black Ultrashort Advance+ Fuselage, from the Black Advance+ fuselage range
• Black fuselage compatible front wings
• Progressive rear wings

Read more from Foiling Magazine, and find issue 14 online.