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Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

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BOEMIX
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Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby BOEMIX » Thu Jan 20, 2022 7:35 pm

Hi wingers,

Right know, I'm happy riding my tabou pocket air 116l, but sometimes I feel that it's lenght is not helping much when trying to get on foil, although I'm very comftable at that volume.

I would like to know which offerings are currently available that have a lenght of about 150 cm, paired with a generous volume of 110-120l? Gong and?

We have to prepare our new toys for the next season 😁

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bragnouff
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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby bragnouff » Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:49 pm

I don't have a particular answer to your question, but I'm not too sure that the length of a board is negatively affecting its ability to get on foil. A 150cm (~ 4'11'') with a huge volume like that will not necessarily fly any earlier than a 6ft+ board of that same volume. In the bogged down state, (in displacement mode), shorter will be actually worse at building up some speed than a bit longer. And super thick boards to compensate for short length also bring some other problems. Less stability, loss of feeling of connection to the foil, ...
Just saying that if getting on foil is a problem, I'd look at many other aspects before even considering length.

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fluidity
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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby fluidity » Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:15 am

The inflateables pack huge volume. Gong, Indianna, F-One, Naish, Fanatic etc...

BOEMIX
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For winging: Duotone 5'5 Aluula Unit, Takuma Ride3 5m, Cabrinha Mantis 4m, Slinshot 3'2, and also Custom Rikyshapes winging with Sabfoil as the biard/foil.
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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby BOEMIX » Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:06 pm

fluidity wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:15 am
The inflateables pack huge volume. Gong, Indianna, F-One, Naish, Fanatic etc...
Did you have any experiece with Iboards?

They seem to be a more begginer oriented options, as reviews state a lower performance than hardboards.

On the other hand, I appreciate the small package, and a good option for days where you don't have your big van available.

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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby geron » Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:53 pm

What would be the smallest, lightest, strongest inflatable? Any ideas would be good, thanks. I am thinking that I might use it also for very light wind days for kiting (if I end up without wind a bit far from shore, I can pack the kite and "swim" ashore with a bit more flotation?

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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby Eltreato » Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:11 pm

geron wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:53 pm
What would be the smallest, lightest, strongest inflatable? Any ideas would be good, thanks. I am thinking that I might use it also for very light wind days for kiting (if I end up without wind a bit far from shore, I can pack the kite and "swim" ashore with a bit more flotation?
They are all strong as hell. Pick one with the volume, footstrap setup, handle configuration, coanda strip that works for you. While people consider them "beginner boards" because they look silly, if anything they take more skill to ride than hard boards as they are stickier to get off the water and less forgiving in touchdown transitions to a lack of beveled rails.
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StellaBlu
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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby StellaBlu » Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:05 pm

The Takoon Comet SW and the JP X Winger are a couple of the shortest boards for their given volume. That being said, going shorter on length has diminishing returns. These super bouyant boards start to get really wide, which negatively impacts takeoff and handling, and can feel corky and unstable when in the water. Furthermore (as previously mentioned), shorter is generally slower and slower is worse for getting on foil.

The volume you are talking about is really high. Have you tried a slightly lower volume board (75-95 liters)? Unless you are huge, most people don't find a lot of benefit in that much volume, even in very light winds.

Kiting on a huge wing board would not be a lot of fun. You've got to go really low volume to stretch that overlap.

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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby fluidity » Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:39 pm

BOEMIX wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:06 pm
fluidity wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:15 am
The inflateables pack huge volume. Gong, Indianna, F-One, Naish, Fanatic etc...
Did you have any experiece with Iboards?

They seem to be a more begginer oriented options, as reviews state a lower performance than hardboards.

On the other hand, I appreciate the small package, and a good option for days where you don't have your big van available.
No, I haven't seen anything of lboards. There's also jp-australia, Manta and I'm sure there are others too.
All the thicker level dropstitch ones pack that volume in a relatively small space.
Key feature that the better manufacturers are working into their designs are flexible rails that can fold with the fabric deflated, but disrupt the coanda effect to interrupt water following rounded edges. Fanatic have made a very beginner attempt. Starboard might have one? I designed and 3D printed TPU disruptor strips for my F-One board, they helped in getting on plane and making it less sticky leaving the water and in touch downs.

Edit: The jp-australia ones have a decent under rail area. Still don't know of any manufacturers who are puting rails or as I call them, coanda disruptors, on the back vertical bends. it's usually under water water when you are trying to take off so all those edges can be made better than just rounded.

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Re: Shortest lenght boards that pack large volume?

Postby joekitetime » Wed Feb 02, 2022 10:25 pm

Hi Boemix-

Personally after a couple of years of winging I've owned and ridden over 20 wing boards. If you are riding 116L my guess is that you next board should fall in the 75-90L range depending on your weight and your wind conditions. All the newer boards have great potential and design. I wouldn't limit the length necessarily. Try out some different boards if you can, but you really can't skip the middle sized board volume wise. Try to ride a medium size board (one that matches your body weight in liters) for at least a season. Hope that helps.


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