Learning to prone foil without lesson or tow?

Prone Surf Foiling
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There are so many informative and well written replies here it is hard to know where to start. Thanks, everyone!

Regarding gear

As much as I would like to just drop the cash on a full progression setup it just isn’t in the budget at this time. The setups I’ve been looking at in the low $1000 range are used posts like this Axis SES setup or a sale Takuma (then get a used prone board to go with it). I’ve also seen Naish, Gofoil, and Slingshot setups in this range—but most of them I’ve seen on the used market are the bigger wing setups geared towards wing, wake, or towing.

I know these examples aren’t the best equipment but from what I’ve read after a year or so one generally outgrows your starter foil setup. It would be my preference to just go straight to Unifoil Progression and not have to deal with switching later, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.

Regarding safety

I am planning on wearing a helmet and possibly impact vest as well, at least while learning. This of course doesn’t mean injuries aren’t still possible—and still likely. I am trying to go into this being safety conscious though. I had however not put as much consideration into the benefits of a lesson though in this aspect, so it is something I will put more thought into in that regard.

Regarding lesson/tow/efoil/wing vs. “grinding through the difficult phases”

All the replies here have given me some good things to think about. It may be worth waiting longer and budgeting out for a lesson. For what its worth, when I started surfing I only surfed empty breaks (and I do mean empty as in no one in sight) for the first 6 months I did surfed. It was less than ideal because I couldn’t learn from watching others, couldn’t read waves well because there wasn’t a surfer to compare what waves to look for, and didn’t know how to look for the right spots to paddle out. It wasn’t uncommon to go several sessions without catching a single wave in the early period. All why rocking a hooded 4/3 gloves and boots It was a bit of slog. By everything I’ve read and heard, learning to foil (especially prone) is exponentially harder than surfing. But I will say that I’m not opposed to putting in the time for something and going through some pain if I am convinced the result will be enjoyable.

Regarding spots

One user said it well:

There is this spot they’re referring to—which I’ve seen guys foiling at… having more fun than everyone else, heh. For more context: Where I surf is all beach breaks, so the sand does shift. Unlike much of the east coast though—we have a lot of spots that break further out from the beach. My local certainly shifts/changes but the ‘normal’ setup for the zone I target regularly is a spot that has a deep trench around 15-20rds between the beach and the sandbar, and the take off is usually a little slower than other spots around here. Additionally, there are some ‘deep water’ spots I surf which if the swell is below 4ft the wave is so soft it barely breaks even at lower tides. That is also a setup with a trench between beach at the sandbar. All that to say, I’ve started thinking and scoping out zones that may work for foiling and I’m not assuming I can take the foil out on any day or spot I would surf necessarily.

And regarding…

I credit three things for my interest in foiling:

  1. Being more and more hyped on surfing and being in the ocean, and looking for any craft that I can increase the frequency or enhance that experience.
  2. Seeing guys in the water foiling who looked like they were having a blast on days I was bummed on the surf conditions
  3. Watching The Lift Journal

@theliftjournal, I started watching your stuff back when you did the ‘Surf Soon’ videos, before you became loyal to the foil. Then subscribed to The Lift Journal when you started that channel largely just out of curiosity—before I had seriously considered the foil stuff for myself at all. It has been enjoyable watching your journey along the way, David. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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CTRLB

I learned solely prone in the surf coming from a heavy/ advanced 20 year surf background. took about 10-15 hours for me 5-8 sessions for me to start getting decent rides from the outside sandbar to the shore. After about 1-2 months of consistent going when the conditions were good it started to be mostly “better/longer” ride length than surfing comparably and became pretty fun but with lots of wipeouts still
.
It took me about 4 ish months to start getting doubles and start connecting waves and now at about 8 months in i am getting consistent with doubles and starting to hit triples and over 1 minute on foil in decent/good conditions. I am not good enough to do a proper runner tried many times and longest rides are around 550-650 meters a good triple connector. I am hoping with progression i can get a solid runner 1mile plus on foil in great conditions in the next 4-6 months. I use Dawn patrol to track my data and objectively track my progression

**How much pain will I endure in the learning curve for prone foiling if I purchase the foil and just power through the learning phase with time being towed or a lesson?

i would say for about 100 waves your going to fall and have no sense of the foil, if you go in really good conditions it will be less. If your a QS level surfer you might have 40-50 waves or so before things start clicking. Local guy i learned with caught on super fast and hitting doubles in about 1.5 months but he is a QS level ripper

If I do it regularly and really commit, how long before it starts to be less of a battle and is actually enjoyable?

2 + months

Could I be close to doing shore runners in a year—or is that to lofty of a goal?**

Realistic if your 3X per week and work technique. legs and lots of cardio its def possible but 1 year of consistency for sure

Tips-

  1. Wear a helmet and comp wake vest first 15 sessions .

  2. Get a bigger board 40 plus liters and big foil at first, get a used setup but on a good platform. Lift and Takuma seem to have the best deals so you can fly under 1k. More waves you catch and time on foil faster you will get better faster. after catching about 100 waves on the foil board things will start to click a bit

  3. Have someone locally who is doing runners or ahead of your progression coach you, lessons are well worth it can take the pain out of it first month will be rough ! Efoil lesson would prolly be the easiest so you get some time on foil.

  4. One of the best parts about foiling is the amazing community so get plugged in with some guys and have them guide you on best tides, spots etc this is huge.

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Thanks for the rundown! Great to hear a real-world timeline of someone’s experience.

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Don’t want to come off as irresponsible, but you can definitely do it without lessons. I’ve done it and lots of people I know have also done it. In my experience, those coming from a surfing background have picked it up way faster than those coming from a wind-sport foiling background. Obviously, experience with both is ideal. Positioning, paddling, reading waves, and the popup are so huge. Flexibility is also important so age plays a big factor in the learning curve. I know that’s stating the obvious but it’s even more important in prone foiling than most sports.

With a surfing background already, finding the right conditions is absolutely vital. At an ideal, mushy beach break that’s not too shallow, I’ve seen decent surfers get a a couple rides on foil straight to the beach on the first session or two, granted they were totally out of control.

All that being said, go talk to the guys you see foiling. They’ll probably be a huge help in pointing out the right waves and spots, will probably have some used gear to sell, and at least one of them probably has access to a jetski or boat to give you some practice on foil before getting in the surf. There’s a good chance you will probably fall on your foil at some point, so be ready to bail as far away from the foil as soon as you feel like you’re about to fall.

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I learnt the hard way, without lessons or tow - imo most important to find the conditions as stated many times above.

So much great advice in this thread for anyone about to try this great sport.

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Definitely sounds like looking for the right day, spot, and tide is going to be crucial to success here early on.

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Just remember. When learning to foil a 2 foot wave will feel like Mavericks. That’s why the saying goes 1-2 foot and firing!

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Sounds incredible, really

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Foil drive is almost better than a jetski for learning to prone on the waves. It at least is good for the very early stages. Once you figure out the basics like going down the line and basic carving youre ready to get rid of the foil drive and move onto something not weighing you down. Tow foiling is invaluable to prone foiling as you learn how to carve. Dockstarting is also invaluable as you learn to pump. Prone foil is basically the discipline of surfing , carving , and pumping all rolled into one.

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A related option: Rent an efoil and learn on that first?

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Foildrive does look like a great way to get out and have some assistance being up on foil o either catch waves or pump. A bit pricey even used though. Foiling is not for the budget conscious that’s for sure.

And regarding

I think it would be a great option, but I couldn’t find any places locally that do efoil rentals, just lessons. The lessons are the same price as the prone foil lessons.

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I’m not sold on the e-foil / assist option to learn prone. The most difficult part of prone for me has always been the takeoff. Suggest:
As much time on the water as possible. Paddle in all conditions even if it’s crappy onshore slop.
Large and HA foils are not the best for learning. A smaller MA wing is a lot more controllable on takeoff and easier to correct mistakes. 150 or 170 (1000 or 1100cm2) is biggest you need. I’m 95kg and use a 170 in tiny surf and prefer smaller wings in anything over 3ft.
Wider boards make takeoff a lot easier, especially in whitewash takeoff. 40 to 50 liter depending on your weight.
First few sessions focus on keeping your weight forward and centered and the board in the water. Sounds counterintuitive but helps a lot to control the takeoff. Then when you are comfortably making the drop under control, instead of leaning on the back foot to get the foil flying, rather lift front leg in short bursts while keeping weight forward. This will prevent you getting ejected due to too large foil or too high AoA.

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What foil are you referring to 150 and 170?

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This is definitely the plan, and basically the way I learned how to surf, because we get way less off shore days than not.

Definitely will keep these dims in mind. I’m ~140lbs(63kg) fwiw. I’m curious to here peoples thoughts on how sensitive those numbers are? For instance: the Takuma I’ve looked at as an option is a 1200. Is that extra 100cm2 pretty minor for what a beginner would notice, or would that be pushing the limits of how much lift I’d need?

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I would add that it very much depends on what your local conditions are like. An hours drive I can access some really nice small to medium beech breaks. My local beech a few minutes away has some fun (really crap for non foil) waves. I purchased a gen1 Foil drive to make these unsurfable waves surfable and build up my skill so I can get the most out of a journey to good surf. I’ve gone from a 6’4 110L sup foil board to 4’6 35L prone board. Foil drive has allowed me to progress in the last year twice or three times as fast as without . I’m often the only one in at my home spot. There’s 2 very good prone guys who rarely go in at home as the take off is tricky, fickle and a hard pump . I catch 40 to 60 waves in a typical session and it’s like a skate park, absolutely love it. Learning with foil drive also eliminates sketchy take offs at the start. I mainly get onto foil first then carve onto a wave on the way out. Eventually my pump will improve and the foil drive may stay at home for some sessions. Maybe…:thinking:

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Agree Totally with ICSurf. I have exactly the same experience.

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Me too. I bought a FoilDrive because of RSI in my shoulders and couldn’t believe how easily I progressed, compared to earlier.

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There are so many other variables that it isn’t possible to say what exact area foil you should go with. However I would echo what has been recommended and go smaller side - less adjustment to catching small waves. Big foils are a bit shit, you have to nurse them over waves, nurse the takeoff, nurse the turns, need an expensive stiff mast etc.

Worth saying, foils (takuma especially) in your price often going to be structurally absolutely dead. Stiffness is really important for pumping (found this out on a mismatched mast, slop is really difficult to pump. Same with boards, old board will likely have very tired foil boxes (a shaper can replace them). The positive side is that you’ll want to try a few boards before you spend on something newer.

On the east coast I saw lots of Lift HA200s which while a bit big, are probably a good bet, and then a board for ~$400 and you should be ok for around $1200+ but looking to upgrade board and foil after a 6 months.

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Yes, you can typically learn by yourself. Learning behind a boat…jet ski…will give you an idea of what is foiling…unless you have A LOT of money or access to a jet ski or boat…it’s not a sustainable way to learn. You pay 4-5 hours of lesson…then you are going on your own with a surf foil board and a surf foil…usually smaller than what you learned of behind the boat/jet ski, it’s not a must. It’s a way to gain confidence.

However, I know you don’t want to wing, but you are in a prime spot for wing foiling…and since you are complaining about the wind…men you can use that wind to bring you behind the waves…then just surf foil your way in…you can learn how to pump the foil etc.
I don’t have much experience with surf foil but I do wing and each time I try surf foil I can surf and connect at least a wave once in a while and I just did very few attempts at surf foiling…it’s just the pop up that is very different vs surf…more fwd on the board…and you cannot angle…more strait…well for my level anyways…and don’t take a too big front wing…it will spit you up before you even pop up…ahah!!

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Awesome thread. Always great to read about everyone’s origin stories with foiling. I’ll add some info that may reinforce some messages. I learned to kite and surf at the same time, I also worked at real for a bit, and learned to foil with no lessons.

  1. Location. You live in an awesome spot, go to the local foilers and get their feedback on breaks, tides, and wave type.

  2. Full send, go all in. None of these sports are easy if you do them sporadically. The more time you spend in the water and on foil the better you will get.

I learned to kite with lessons, as it was not something I felt I could do on my own without something catastrophic happening. Surfing however I self taught and watched others and knew my limitations with regard to wave size. I was in my late teens so I had a lot of time to commit to both. I excelled much faster kiteboarding. Reading and understanding waves is something that is a continual journey in these sports.

Foiling, I started kitefoiling and had a few tows behind a boat. Early kitefoil gear, that gave me a lot of time on foil. About a year before I bought a prone board. At this point I was all in. It was not that difficult to paddle and get on foil on the beginning. Where I started to struggle was progressing to linking waves. This had to do with foils and time spent proning based on life and local conditions. I started to wing around the same time and have practically given up kiting. The winging was hard, again, no lessons, lots of videos. But once I was became consistent I was getting a lot of time on foil and riding swell and waves. Better conditions compared to proning here.

Proning is my favorite, I find the most challenging, and the most rewarding. I am not doing shore runners, but conditions dictate this a lot for me and time. But connecting waves really came through when I changed foils. I began to dock start just practice pumping as that is less dependent on conditions and close by for me.

Okay so point being, lessons will not hurt as it will give you a lot tips and time on foil in a controlled environment in a short period of time. This will hopefully decrease frustration. Again, maybe not necessary since it sounds like you’re young and have time to get out consistently.

Foil gear wise, I would say something in the mid aspect and meduim size range. Pending size something in the 4’6 plus range 35 liters plus. It may not be the setup you end up with but atleast you can progress and maybe teach a friend with down the road.

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