I’ve owned 5 prone foil boards and ridden a couple of others and by far and away best board I’ve owned/ridden is a custom Portal shaped by Mike Pedigo. Solid construction of course, but more importantly the shape is perfect for a more surfy feel. It’s a 4’2 x 17.5” with a pulled in tail. Most of the width is in the upper third to accommodate a slightly offset front foot. Reach out to him or Erik for a board. And for reference I’ve owned Lift, FFB, flylines (pedigo), WCFC, and Amundson
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I have a an Amundson supermodel 4’4. It’s taken a backseat to my Portal. The supermodel is a great shape overall. I rode exclusively for just over a year. The things I didn’t like about it was that I felt it was a little too thick so made my back foot feel less connected to the mast, and the narrowness was carried all throughout and left very little wiggle room for front foot movement. The pulled in tail was awesome so I incorporated that into my custom Portal.
How do you like the flat deck? I was a little surprised they didn’t incorporate a concave design.
I decided to try a Portal 4-5 35L board. I was on an Amundson 4-5 35L Fire Bolt which I really like. But wanted to go back to something a bit wider and thinner. The Portal is the same volume as the Amundson but surfs smaller. I think this is due to the chine rails. All the volume is nicely distributed for optimal feel and performance. The tail is pulled in tight with what looks like winglets. It has a minor concave deck. Just enough to make you feel very connected to the board. It is super light and stiff. The carbon set up is very high quality. I will share some pictures since there were not a lot out there when I purchased. Maybe @mikepedigo or @Erik can say more about the design. I would recommend this board. Great job gents!
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Omen flux 4’3” x 36l has really surprised me. It feels bigger and paddles better than my previous 4’5” and 4’6’s. The board is also really snappy. It can carve a long arc. But then the white water rebound is extra snappy to whip it back around. Really liking it.
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That legit looks just like Amos Spitfire, I thought that was a Spitfire until I read your comment more carefully. Looks sick, there isn’t a lot of info about these boards on internet, thanks for posting.
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Don’t you find that tail catches on the surface of the wave during critical turns? Look more like a wing board.
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I don’t find that it does. Here’s bad surfline rewind footage if you care to see it in action. Mostly boring.
I also have an Amos Raptor. With the raptor you’re standing SO FAR up from the tail. Basically in the middle of the board. With the Omen and it’s Volvo station wagon design. You’re only standing up about 4 inches from the tail at times. There’s no tail to catch. (Misterbennets boards have gone this way too if you notice)
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KD doesn’t mind the wide tail either.
Plenty of crew experimenting with this atm, are we going full circle back to short/wide prone boards?
Is the idea with the wide tail to make whitewash takeoffs easier?
I find myself really struggling with whitewash takeoffs on my Amudson Supermodel. I don’t know if it’s the fact that the board is narrow or if it’s just the tail that makes it so unstable.
Once the board is flying it’s great, but those first couple of seconds are so much more crucial.
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It’s a mini simmons to my eyes. Planing hull. I have the wingboard version too, which I will put through it’s paces later this week.
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Adam’s board pulls in towards the tail and is a lot less crude. Yes a volvo it is and a witty call. I do agree with getting the foil back towards the tail as I never agreed with the foil being pushed so far forward. Maybe with Adam also chopping the tail off the Amos dw board we will see some common sense back in that area also.
Nice foiling in such terrible waves by the way. We are spoilt here in Aus and would turn our nose up at that crowd and conditions.
Is that omen foil difficult to pump in that disturbed water?
In surf usualy pin tail push the board more gently when the wave hit the tail you have more grip in the face of the wave too (not flying) , squared tail give you a big kick straight rail give you a quicker board with less grip and hold, so the first one is more for punchy wave takeoff the second for ultra mellow stuff small weak wave.
Thanks. That is literally the best foil spot within 30 miles of me (and it only works on very specific tides). One of 3. So yeah, I mainly wing now haha.
Couple things going on there, so I’m not ready to comment on the omen foil yet. That was my first time on the 850. I didn’t have a tool with me and I guessed at mast position. I did not nail the mast position. So yeah, I was struggling on the pump and there’s backwash/1 foot of water in some spots. The foil is so good on the wave though.
RE: Adam’s Boards. Maybe you’ve seen them in person. But to me, the difference just looks like Adam’s boards are 24ishL and this is 36L. Tail looks really similar to me. Just a chop tail. The main difference besides liters seems to be wide point forward on Adam’s boards and Omen is more normal wide point mini simmons parallel rails out the back.
Yes i have had a good look a few times. Small minimal and looks good for critical takeoffs. The omen looks good for sloppy fat takeoffs.
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I would imagine foilboards are evolving to be more specific to the wave they are built for, just as surfing has already done. Coming from SC, I look at @Hdip’s wave (and board) and think it looks epic. 
In our waves, which are not often over 2-3 ft and very short period wind swell, a wide tail like the Omen would likely be super helpful getting in, and be worth the sacrifice once up on foil if it means you get more waves. I’m definitely not an advanced foiler, but it can’t make sense that there’d be just 1 or 2 styles of foilboard outlines for the variety of waves out there. Likely heading towards a world where your local shaper is a better bet than an off the rack board.
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How close is your board to the listed weight? 7.5 lbs seems pretty heavy.
7.6lbs on my bathroom scale for the 36L and 10.6lbs for the 60L. Appletree seems to overbuild their boards. If it lasts for 2 years, I’m OK with that. Waterproof foam isn’t as light as EPS either.
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How do I order one? Found the website, but no way to purchase?
@JF4246 - I believe you can DM them on Instagram
@portalflightdesigns