MISTRAL FOIL S/S 2025 PREVIEW

Retail Buyers Guide: Foil S/S 2025 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Mistral
Interviewee: Steve West

What sport drives the most demand (kite, wind, wing, surf…) and why?
Our particular focus has been on wingfoiling; consequently, that is where demand is for our equipment, and we’ve been deliberately strategic in this regard. We don’t see windfoiling setting the world on fire at the present moment, and there’s no doubt its growth was impacted when wingfoiling gained traction. You only have to walk down your local hotspots where freeride wingers and sailors ‘mow the grass’ and draw your conclusions. Surf foiling is very niche, as is kite to a lesser degree.

Which of your 2024 foil setups has sold best and why?
Ironically, the extreme ends of the spectrum, whether it’s the 2100s or the smaller 880s, highlight the conservative approach taken in the learning phase and the desire to leapfrog to something more extreme in size in the search for something higher performing and more challenging to give the buzz they are searching. This is understandable because once you’re over the shock of being elevated above the water, many riders feel deprived of the speed, agility, and thrills many want.

What are the main trends in foil construction, materials and design?
The usual obsession with carbon fibre construction remains, though there is merit in sticking with aluminium masts for many users and some circumstances. We should never forget the price points and the knock-on for the consumer. We have to avoid overshooting the market in relation to entry costs. In respect of design, the human condition has pursued speed and manoeuvrability as the prima facie performance bar, which means going small; however, with the evolution of the longer gun-running downwind boards, we’re seeing a leaning toward super wide narrow chord foils for epically long glides which lift super with relative effortless effort.

What are the highlights of your 2025 foil offer?
We know the move towards longer, narrower light wind wing foil boards, which double nicely for prone riding with a paddle and especially for downwind riding. Wider high-aspect foils for longer glides and rapid lift are in demand because of this trend, and, on the flip side, smaller surface areas for the grommets who like to shred. The only questionable response to delivering on this is that they are still niche interests, and the focus must not be shifted from the entry-level riders’ needs.

Which of your 2024 foil board setups has sold best and why?
The demand for lower-volume boards is definitely beginning to emerge, so we have shifted from our larger-volume boards of 95L plus towards our 75L board, but this is countered by the emergence of the longer boards, which run closer to 100L spread over a longer, narrower hull length.

What are the main trends in Foilboard construction, materials and design?
There’s been an epiphany amongst a segment of hardened watermen and women who have looked at the conventional rectangular-shaped board and concluded that going longer and narrower, retaining similar levels of volume (or not) and adding pin-tails and needle noses creates a much improved hydrodynamic shape promoting faster take-offs as a consequence and this applies to landings where there’s less of impact frictional losses. Light wind winging and prone downwind riding are things that riders want to be able to pursue; it’s not all about pulling off radical moves, which tends to be for the lighter, youthful rider.

What are the highlights of your 2025 foilboard offer?
Internally, we are in discussion, but smaller models are required to suit the rise of the grommet rider, those advancing wanting to take on higher winds, and the longer, narrower boards 7’ plus for the light wind riders and prone downwind riders to satisfy the growing trends.

How have you implemented sustainability in your production and shipping processes?
To the extent that we are limiting packaging and the use of plastics. The greatest challenge in such a quest is gaining the cooperation of the factories, who generally see such measures as inconvenient unless they are regulated internally within their own country, and that’s generally not the case for Asian countries.

How will you support retailers in selling your 2025 products?
We have an online portal to streamline our ordering process for retailers, which we are constantly improving. Our staff levels have increased so that we have people on the road and are better equipped to deal with enquiries and offer support.