I hope this helps all the newbies were bouncing into here. It’s going to take a lot of time for you to get used to standing up and being elevated and then start to turn and then start to pump and then realize while you’re pumping that you’re sucking.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot on this site information about boards and Wing sizes and what size I should get at the mass size and I just want to give you a little bit of my progress so you could reflect to see if it’s similar to your journey if not identical or at least some type of guidance.
I spent probably about $5,000 total and learning how to do this sport in terms of selling and buying and trading. Im net negative.
I weigh 220 lb (203lbs now) when I first started 6 ft tall. Surfed ok waves for 15 years here in Southern California.
I started on used Niash 2200 wing, 4aspect rario, 420cm stabalizer or something…65cm mast. 6ft foil board. Wide and thick and catches everything.
Felt impossible to turn. The worst way to start. As a surfer i knew how to surf but to turn this thing it felt impossibile at the time. I wonder how id do now. Then i jumped to a 1050naish. Carbon mast. 70cm.
This felt like a huge change as a smaller Wing was a little bit more maneuverable but I didn’t realize it was most of the stabilizer that’s really doing the trick. Still have an aspect ratio of four and I was able to kind of pump it a little bit once I got over the fear of rising and then all I would do is like choose a line and just go down the line and go straight without doing anything and then kind of hop around a little after I learned how to stand up.
Suuuuuch a blow to the ego where i know how to rip turns surfing…and im back here in the lineup sitting on the inside next to new surfers learning how to stand up on a wave.
It took me probably 6 sessions to get it down. And over the fear of flying. But once youre gliding omg its a game changer!!!
Now, enter the world of high aspect wings. I jumped on a 10 90 from Nash as well High aspect of 9.5, and oh my God I felt like I was learning all over again not only could I not turn the damn thing with this giant stabilizer I think it was like 320 CM or something millimeters probably but it definitely felt like a huge longboard where I would just drop down the line turn and fly it was a lot of fun too I was flying so much and so fast but I wasn’t really able to connect anything until I move my mouse forward a little bit my friend recommended moving it forward so that there’s more feedback in the front foot which I didn’t realize was a thing cuz I thought I wanted more control from pushing the foil down.
After I move my mouse forward about 2 cm I realize oh my gosh there’s a huge feedback on the front foot and I want to find the balance point so I looked up that video where you had to balance the foil based on the middle of your foil and I sat there and used like a small point of contact between the middle of the wing and this metal device or plastic device that would help me find the balance point because it’s so much smaller and stronger than my finger or my palm.
Doing so I realized that there is a little bit more pressure now in the back so I’m able to lean forward more and not destroy myself when I try to turn but I still have no confidence in this. And after reading online much much much to my unknown knowledge I decided to purchase an F1 setup and sell my Nash stuff.
Which really sucks because you kind of invest in something and then you’re stuck with it so if anything maybe the universal mask might be your best option if you’re looking to upgrade the mask and thinking that the stiffer mask might help you but I highly recommend it’s going to be just a playful experience. I currently ride an F1 skate 950 full setup with the 80 cm mast.
I’m still getting comfortable with this thing and it’s probably been about 8 to 9 months since I first started foiling comfortably where I could stand up and now I’m starting to do cutbacks and turns but not as aggressive as our Lord and savior master bennets.