Board Size Guidance

[phlow]

Folks -

Long time kiter, pretty much dedicated kite foiler last 3 - 4 years, normally riding kanaha shapes strapless 93cm with Moses 633 / 483. Have been a long term doubter of winging but now have taken 2/3 of a plunge. Bought an F-One swing 6m used and a new Moses 1100/450/82cm setup.

Have been playing around on an oldschool 10'4" SUP to get the hang of the wing, now keen to actually get a foil back under me. I've windsurfed a few times, but was never really a windsurfer.

My main question at this point is what size board to get.

I'm a bigger rider (98kg) but have a fair amount of experience SUP surfing (not foiling) in surf / chop and a fair amount of experience kite foiling. I know a bigger board is going to help a lot in those first sessions, but I'm really worried about spending a ton of money on a board that I will outgrow in less than 10 sessions. (Thinks lovingly of his 181cm LightWave Dave double swallow twin tip......) My entry lane is free riding in flatwater but ultimately want to get out into riding outside bumps, so lower swing weight eventually is appreciated.

Traditional wisdom would say for my size start on a 125L then move down to 100L or 95L. I'm wondering if you folks thought I might be able to start directly on a 95L or 105L, even if it made my first sessions even more frustrating and slowed down my progression curve a bit.

Where I'm living (NW Florida Panhandle, Gulf of Mexico), winging is still very niche so there's very little market of used equipment. As you know, shipping these boards all over the country is prohibitive.

So as far as mass market new boards which I've been thinking about, I'm looking at :
*Fanatic Sky Wing 5'4" 95L
*Naish S25 Carbon Ultra Wing either 5'7"/95L or 5'10"/110L
*Naish Hover Inflatable 5'7"/135L
*Ride Engine Moon Buddy 6'0" 120L

Any thoughts on any of these boards or other boards I should consider before I get my credit card out? All opinions / inputs appreciated.

[Dwight]

You can skip the beginner board. We kite foilers have no trouble wing foiling on day one. Only hurdle is learning to climb aboard the small board and knee start. It doesn’t take long to figure out that part.

108 liters is where you want to land for smallest fun board at your weight. You’re in Florida, you need volume when wind is lighter. Stick with the basic rule. Weight plus 10 liters. It’s still the best.

I’m in Florida BTW. Winging all the time.

You could add Axis Froth 5’9 x 28 110 liter to your list of boards



‘

[phlow]

Thanks Dwight, so I'm best to skip the Sky Wing 95L and go for the Naish S25 5'10" 110L, in your mind?

PS are the the OG Kure Beach Dwight from back in the very early fokiten flame war days?

[Dwight]

Thanks Dwight, so I'm best to skip the Sky Wing 95L and go for the Naish S25 5'10" 110L, in your mind?

PS are the the OG Kure Beach Dwight from back in the very early fokiten flame war days?

Yes, retired in Florida. NC too cold in Winter.

I’m foilsurfmachines on instagram

[ptraykovski]

I'm just a touch heavier at 105 kg also had a kite foiling background and had Dwight make me a 115 L (+10 L on my weight) 5ft board and seems like the right size, any smaller would be tough to schlog in when wind dies. It is short so works well in short period steep wind swell in buzzards bay, cape cod. I learned on a 150 L board and out grew it after 15 or so sessions. The +10 would have been tricky but not impossible to learn on. Ok in warm water..might have been tough in the cold with fullsuits. I think a board of this size will always be my daily driver as wind does die sometimes, but maybe a 2nd smaller board with straps for jumping on windy days would be fun to try.

With a big blade and 6 m wasp wing can get going no problem in 12 knots. In lighter wind I still kite foil.

Dwight's boards are really well made and can take impacts from harness hooks no problem with innegra construction and still reasonably light. Not sure if carbon production boards can?

[Peter_Frank]

Agree, weight plus 10 litre is by far the best, if you ride with a bigger wing, and if the wind can die.

In more wind, and stable, no problem with smaller boards, but I would stay away from these for now, especially in your conditions.

Humping back in almost no wind is just possible with +10 litre.
Not easy but possible.

Peter

[DAnderson]

Not intending to skew off topic...
I am also located in FL & considered one of these setups, but concerned after reading about heat-related issues like eps off-gassing & delaminating.
Is there certain board construction that may hold up better in the higher heat areas?

[ericmsil]

hi

in gong page have any sugestion about volume wing board:


What Size?



The Lemon is the ultimate Wing Board.

You can gain enough volume to float, in the order of your weight + 10 = volume.

Example: I weigh 80kg + 10 = 90L to float. This means that with a 5’0 I’ll be alright, provided I have a good wing level.

You can also under-liter it because the Lemon is wide enough to be stable. So, if you have a great level and want maximum responsiveness, you can switch to negative volumes. Up to your weight – 10 = volume you can go on your knees while leaning the Wing on the water. Below this volume you will have to do waterstarts while sinking the Board: it’s very technical, very physical, and you lose the lower half of your wind range. With each fall, you have to start all over again… Not very fun, and a very questionable performance gain.

best regards

Eric

[Dwight]

Not intending to skew off topic...
I am also located in FL & considered one of these setups, but concerned after reading about heat-related issues like eps off-gassing & delaminating.
Is there certain board construction that may hold up better in the higher heat areas?

that is why EPS boards have a gore-Tex vent. no problems when vented.

[jatem]

Would a wing foiling board be also suitably sized for SUP foiling when there is no wind? I'd like to paddle 500m to 1km out to a sandspit break.