Duotone Glide 2.0 vs Carve 3.0 - which one is right for you?

This is a side by side comparison between the Duotone Glide 2.0 and the Duotone Carve 3.0. I'm hoping that it is useful for folk like me who are intermediate+ (gybe, tack, jump, 360, backwind etc) and want to spend their hard earned money well.  I wing foil in the Solent on the south coast of England in a combination of flat water and wind-blown waves and chop, occasionally heading off to Cornwall or abroad for some proper waves.

I've used the Glide 2.0 900 a fair bit over the last few months and I've now had about 8 sessions on the Carve 3.0 950 in flat water and Solent chop and in winds from 12-30 plus knots. Gear wise, I use SLS version of the Carve 3.0 with the PX175 stab and 66 fuselage. I ride a Duotone Sky Style SLS 4'11", 84cm Slim DLab mast, Unit 2025 wings.

Key takeaways

Getting on to the foil - the Glide 2.0 does this in a smooth, progressive way and seems to have plenty of lift for its size, you don't need to be too physical. The Carve 3.0, on the other hand, needs a slightly more vigorous wing and foil pumping approach but when it pops up, it does it quickly and has more of a tendency to porpoise if you're not ready. That said, I got used to this quickly and it wasn't really a problem. I'm around 73 kilos and would say that I'd be happy with either the Glide 900 or Carve 950 as my biggest foil.

Straight line - I found the Glide to be a very neutral foil from a nose to tail pitch perspective. I ended up moving it progressively further forward in the track because I'd been used to riding foils with more front foot pressure. For me, the Carve has the perfect amount of front foot pressure. I put it bang in the middle of the track and it felt absolutely spot on - controllable and confidence inspiring at speed.

Speed - To be honest, I'm probably the limiting factor here. I think that both foils are decently fast but the Carve just wants you to go faster, I think it must be the pitch stability that gives you the confidence to push harder. Either way, both foils are plenty quick enough for my purposes both upwind and downwind.

The Carve 3.0 loves to turn

Turns - I'll start by saying that the Glide is pretty loose and forgiving for a high aspect foil, it is patient with my clumsiness and has got me through plenty of pretty ugly manoeuvres. But the Carve… wow, it is born to turn. Minimal toe or heel pressure and you're through and out the other side with your eyeballs spinning. I love a 360, with the Glide I'd get over excited and turn tighter than it wants to. With the Carve, that's not possible - it's like it's saying, "C'mon. Is that all you've got?". It pushes firmly back into your feet when you turn hard, giving more lift and drive.

Glide and stall - I'm going to get technical now and say that the Carve is not as glidey as the Glide but really not far off. I'm not sure that stall speeds are that different either although the Glide lets you down a bit more gently than the Carve.

Waves and chop - ok, so I haven't used the Carve or the Glide in proper waves, you know, the sort you see in the promo videos. However, I have used them both in messy Solent wind-blown waves which can be insane fun on the right day (or annoying if you're not on the right gear). Both these foils perform very well but do it in different ways. The Glide is, as always, unflustered but, I found, was more prone to touchdowns than the Carve when riding over the chop, possibly I didn't have the foil far enough forward in the track. The Carve just seemed follow the contours of the waves in a smooth and predictable way with minimal rider input.

Heading downwind to try and catch the slow moving, short waves and the foils showed their differences. I think that the Glide offers slightly longer flagged out rides in these conditions and likes you to approach a wave from behind and drop down it. The Carve can do that reasonably well but will stall just a little earlier on the slow waves. However, what you can do on the Carve is drop into the pocket of the wave and then slash super tightly back to the top, flag back down and then repeat. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, after all it is only backside riding in mushy, onshore conditions but it gets your heart rate up and I like that dynamic style.

Jumping - jumping is not supposed to be the Glide's strong suit but when I've timed it right, I've had some pretty decent jumps on it. The Carve, however, is a jumping weapon, loads of pop but more importantly, very precise and controllable. In flat water, the combination of speed and instant lift makes jumping a joy but it is in short, messy chop that it was a revelation. You can make last second decisions to launch off a bit of chop, the razor sharp carve allowing you to pick a ramp upwind or downwind with relative ease. The freestyle boys and girls use the Carve 800 or smaller with a shorter fuselage to launch their mind blowing tricks - that's all way beyond my pay grade but I think I can see why they love the Carve 3.0.

Summary

So, who are they for? The Glide 2.0 is an exceptional foil that is the perfect all round choice for the variable wind and sea conditions we get here on the south coast of England. It does everything pretty damned well and is a great platform for building your skills.

The thing is though, the more I use the Carve 3.0, the more I want to use it. It isn't perfect, it can slap you in the face occasionally but the minute it pops up on the foil, it feels like party time. It is simply a whole load of fun and puts the biggest grin on my face. And that, after all, is why we do this amazing sport.