I’m 85kg
The board is 7’5" around 125L but only 19" wide
I have no SUP experience. Plenty of surfing experience. A little prone and wing experience.
How steep is the learning curve for trying to balance on a 19"?
Should I pay an extra $1000 to first buy a 22" SUP to practice on, or can I start with a 19"?
I got the 7’6 aviator 18.5, 125L. I’m like 90-95kg. Yeah it’s super tough and I have some flatwater sup experience already. Main problem is standing in surf position and paddling the one side. But it took me like 3 sessions in flatwater and then I went to small waves and was able to catch waves my first day. Now I’m a few more sessions in and still practicing in small waves getting a little better, but I’m far from being good. But I was surprised that I was able to go into waves on my third session, and I’ve never been in waves on a sup before. So I don’t regret this board choice and problem is if you go wider it makes it harder to paddle straight on the one side in surf stance. I think the board you described is the biggest/widest I would go. Going bigger is a waste of money as it’s max 5 sessions before you can start catching waves on it.
It’s fine. Start in flat water. Lagoon. Harbor. Not the ocean with backwash and waves. A wider foil will help with stability.
Keep the paddle in the water for balance. Watch some YouTube videos on brace strokes and how to paddle straight.
It’s fine I started on a a SUP just under 19”, don’t expect anything out of your first 10 sessions, just keep at it before u know it you’ll be balancing and paddling up
One more vote for going straight to the 19”. A lot of the stability comes from the size of your foil and length of your mast. Practice in flat water, keep the blade in the water, knees bent, and progress to bigger and bigger chop. Won’t take long!
dont buy the 22! 19 is fine, you’ll be ok
What’s the end goal? Is it to DW, or just SUP foil in the surf break zone?
How much is your frustration worth? You will get angry at it, everyone does. It is not easy to do.
I was thinking of getting a wider and longer DW board (8’+ x 22") with last seasons boards going on sale, what’s the down side?
I’d mostly be using it for surf foiling as there isn’t much wind where I’m at, but foilable waves everyday.
lots of drag would be the main effect of 22"
yes, it will be hard in the beginning. you will fall even with a 21"/22". but the body adjusts quickly. flat water is good place to get comfortable but you want to get out there in teh ocean real soon because that will force you to develop the balance. it will take its time but as long as you know its just a matter of time, you can avoid getting pissed off at your board.
I use a KT 8’2" Dragonfly to sup foil with. If your goal is to just sup foil surf, then theres nothing wrong with going a little wider. The KT is 21" wide and I can catch plenty of waves on it. I dont know what people are talking about when they say “more drag”, no such thing! The guys in Maui who sup foil on 5-6 foot boards around 24-26" wide and they catch plenty of waves. Unless you like the struggle train of falling constantly on a 19" board. Even at 21" wide, my KT is still unstable when theres chop. The guys recommending 19" wind boards are setting you up for failure in my opinion, for DW sure. Because you’re only trying to catch one wave and hopefully get on foil and go. Where as in SUP foiling, you’ll need that stability to paddle around chasing waves.
I’m not experienced enough to give you any good guidance but I’m about to be selling a beautiful barely used 2024 board 8’2” x 121L x 21”. I’m 78kg and liked the board a lot but too old to really use it for what’s it’s designed for (downwind SUP). I’m going to invest funds in a smaller board specifically for light wind winging, which this board was also really good for but overkill for me.