Wondering if anyone has tried prone surfing a larger wing board (~90L)? I want to learn to prone foil after the windy season dies down and was wondering if anyone used their wing board to dial in their pop-ups before moving to a prone-specific setup. Figure paddling will be weird because of the wider board but hoping it makes learning a bit easier instead of going directly to a low-volume prone board.
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It is doable but very far from ideal. Typical 90l wing boards are super wide which will make paddling pretty difficult. I prone my 60l Armstrong FG on smaller days. Would not go wider than that and honestly itās way to wide. Makes the pop up more difficult if you use the rails as you have so much leverage that the board will roll pretty quickly. If you donāt balance your weight carefully.
My Armstrong 4,5 SKT is oddly easier in every way except catching gutless small waves earlier where the extra volume helps.
Look for a used 5.0 or bigger prone board. Thatās will be great for your first year.
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This is exactly how I started. I had 5ā6āā 100L, it worked āfineā. I lasted 3 sessions before I went out and bought a prone board 4ā9āā 39L. Enjoy the journey and lean forward on takeoff.
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Iām doing exactly that on a 90 litre 5ā4ā KT Wing Drifter. Iām 62 and out of surfing for 20 years so the extra buoyancy is working well for me.
My setup is Axis ART1099/ 375p/ short black fuselage, 60cm mast.
The 1099 span means that itās not too twitchy and it comes up smoothly. Itās not scary at all.
Iāve had my first few short flights on my feet after taking a baby-steps approach of a couple of bellyride flights, followed by a couple of all-fours flights.
Getting to my feet was happening too slowly to fly for a session or two, but itās ok now.
I expected it to be incredibly difficult and take forever to learn, but with a wingfoil background itās much easier than I expected.
Itās really really fun so give it a whirl, Earl!
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Iāve attempted to prone on my 5ā6ā 105L Quatro Wing Drifter. It worked fine to get a feel for it, but Iāve since changed focus from prone to SUP on the same board.
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Thanks for the advice. The plan would definitely be to limit this to a few sessions to practice paddling, pop up, wave selection, etc. Would then get a larger prone specific setup to really learn on.
Nice! Will definitely be giving this a try
Iāve tried it and hate it but if that is your only option it is worth a go
Would a 5ā8 52L prone specific board be good for year one or should I go shorter? Weigh around 175 lb if that helps
For other wingers considering giving it a goā¦
I donāt actually paddle that much. I walk out to chest deep water with a 60cm mast and catch white water. Iāve just started getting short 3-second flights but the learning journey is awesome after an initial few bumps.
Iām hoping that as my flights get longer and I learn to pump that, instead of paddling until my arms drop off, Iāll walk out, chip into whitewater, pump my way out and repeat until my heart bursts through my chest.
Itās just a different kind of cardio. 
Mid tide is best at my local spot. High tide and low tide give fewer sandbars from which to choose, whereas mid-tide provides a range of sandbars with gutters in between. Prior to this I was getting spooked by waves that were getting super steep or closing out.
Those close-outs were delivering white water that was far too powerful for me to catch.
Yeah, give it a bash!
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buddy is trying/learning on a gong inflatable. Itās funny to watch, like surfing a pool toy. But it works ok. Might actually be a good initial learning platformā¦easy and stable (he can stand up on flat water), and so buoyant it catches virtually anything.
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Probably a good way to use what you have already and have your first prone foil board be something a bit smaller and hopefully more pumpable than what you would otherwise need to start on without any practice on a wing board. Not ideal but if it saves you needing to buy a beginner prone board that you wouldnāt use for long thatās a plus
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Yes, Iāve proned my 4ā 10" X 25" 70L wingboard quite a bit and had a good time on it. I caught waves easily and the pop-up was actually pretty easy. The board was all carbon and super light about 10lbs. It was nice having one board for everything. Eventually, I sold the board because I wasnāt satisfied with its performance as a wingboard. Now I have a dedicated prone board that Iāve been enjoying for the last 6 months and itās 58L. Trying to keep the progression going, I just scored a 45L board for proning and I know that I can also wing it if the wind is strong like 20kts. I also have excellent dedicated wingboards such as KT 60L, Jimmy Lewis Custom 70L, and Kalama E3 at 92L. Iām about 80 kilos and pretty old, but a foil-brained frothing grom who seen 64 rotations around the sun.
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I would say. If someone never surfed, I doubt you can learn to prone foil on a dedicated sub 5ā surf foil board in the 30-50L? The row while paddling must be hard, where to sit while waiting for the wave, could be a battleā¦and the pop up needs to be nailed down for sure before thinking about it IMO. Starting by surfing a longboard can helpā¦or trying to prone a large wingboard using white water is probably your best bet also.
But if you want to connect wave after waveā¦a dedicated board is pumping so much better or a 10lbs bigger board as Kai is mentionning makes sensā¦I assume he can link multiple waves with such a light board, isnāt it @Kai .
I know they are linking more than one wave with sup foil boardā¦but when you try something small such as a pocket board while dock startingā¦or a small Surf Foil Boardā¦you kind of want to pump that instead of bigger.
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Will echo what others have said. Time and limit to the amount of spots / conditions is the biggest obstacle, though I will say focusing on multiple disciplines (winging, prone, SUP, DW, dockstart) has opened up more possibilities. I also live in the bay area and there is always a condition thatās good for something as long as you are willing to drive.
Iām asking similar questions. I wing a 78L board and want to learn to ride a sinker and also learn to prone. Iām 77kgs, came to winging from kiting, and only surf sporadically, more lately because of my interest in prone foiling. Is there a āperfectā board for me or will I have to make sacrifices one way or another?
Some criteria Iām thinking:
Can take a beating - carbon?
Strap Inserts
Easy paddling
<50liters
<4ā10"
Wing boards work in the surf, but are very wide. That means theyāre stable though. So itās all a trade off. Use what you got. But you will eventually want a dedicated board for whichever discipline you are doing.
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This would be a great sinker wing board and still work well for prone IMO:
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