Is it realistic to have one board for winging and for prone? The marketing surrounding the latest Armstrong Mid suggests yes, but I wonder if there is a volume gap that’s not really filled. It seems as though a board with enough litres to comfortably knee start on the wing, would be too over volumed for all but the most benign surf. Thoughts?
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IMO yes, you can have one board, one foil, one wing, etc to do everything if that’s the desire. However, marketing hype is always marketing hype. Armstrong seems to be making a heavy push right now but I think we all know that having activity and condition specific foil, board, wings, etc is always going to outperform the one “do it all” item.
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For example. I have the Omen Flux 60L at 5’3"ish as my wing board. It’s narrow enough to prone paddle into waves and it works fine for that. It’s nowhere near as good as the 36L 4’3"ish version though.
For a trip where you’re limited to only having 1 board, then yes I could see it working. If you have the option to have a 2nd prone board then it would be the better option.
I’ve ridden a custom 5’5" x 18 55L board before. It felt decent on the prone and I tow boogie’d with it. I could knee start it towing just like a wing board no problem. It’s still not a dedicated prone board though. I would like to try paddling it into bigger waves though. That might be fun. Similar concept as the new Amos Kruzer foil drive shapes.
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You can but you will compromise somewhere. Prone board above 50L is a lot of foam, hard to duck dive, harder to pump. Wingboard under your weight in liters minus 10, roughly 60-70L for most people, require much more wind to get going, usually 15kts+, instead of 10kts with enough liters. If you live in a windy place, a 50 or 60L do it all board works, but remember the compromise.
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Possible in theory, not possible in reality.
If you get a 50L board for winging that you also prone, you will inevitably realize you need a 30L board for prone someday when you are better and realize how taxing the pump of that much foam is.
You need to accept the truth, that you will spend at least 2K on foil gear every year for the rest of your life.
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Yeah, I can’t imagine surfing my 75L fanatic and that’s a pretty compact shape. I hear about ppl in the 150 lb range prone foiling a 55L bord and it sounds like a nightmare so what do I know?!?
The best way to have a one board quiver might be to SUP and wing the same board.
I know I’m fighting the hypothetical a bit (SUP is not true prone) but if you’re really committed to only one board, I’d think that would be the way to go about it.
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I have a 48 Liter flux on the way which I will be using for Prone at times and hopefully be able to wing once I am better at that. In my opinion yes you can have a “quiver killer” board. Just keep in mind that you may be giving up some ability on the prone side compared to wing or vise versa depending on if you go high volume prone or low volume wing. I also think it has to do with what you’re after in foiling. Just like surfboards your wave count may go up in volume but the ability to surf vertical sometimes goes away.
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The 48l omen flux is my one board quiver now. I weigh 200lbs and can wing it when it’s 10-13 with my 8m. It’s pretty crazy how well such a small board starts in light wind. I switch to my 5.5 once it gusting to 15.
At 4’9 x19.5 it is pretty similar to my previous prone board in dims. Of course the additional vol is noticeable when duck diving but it’s still manageable. Love this board so far. It pumps really well too, of coarse I am still not great at that unless I have an assist to whip me in like a wing.
Eventually I will want a dedicated board for prone but this omen is a perfect fit so far. Personally feel the longer mid lengths are a bit over hyped currently. But I don’t mind using my 8m for light wind. Prefer it to a longer board so maybe I am an exception.
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I have a 55L Portal Enigma I’ve been riding the past couple weeks. It is really good at both disciplines. When it’s choppy or bigger than waist high surf, I’d rather be on the 30L prone board. Same goes for winging in light conditions. The Enigma does it but the small DW board does it better. So yea it’s possible but it would be more fun to have the 3 boards! The mid length style board has been a total blast though.
I don’t think anyone is saying a single board quiver is the ideal solution. It’s just a pretty convenient option. I love the simplicity of not having to guess the right board for the conditions. It always feels like a compromise. To small a wing board and you have to wait for the gusts or get skunked when it drops below nuking level. To big and you are always wishing you had gone with the smaller board.
Having one board that feels close enough to ideal for prone yet is still capable of winging is pretty rad. I just leave my mast on the board. Grab and go, no second guessing.
Admittedly I still suck at prone so having a slightly larger more forgiving prone board is an advantage. Once I get my pop up on lock I will likely get another dedicated prone board.
Ya, it works but I always want more granularity for conditions than one board can give.
I like to prone my 55L Portal quiver killer when the surf is tiny, or when it’s barely breaking, or when it’s it’s big and I want to be able to drop in sooner. The same board works very well for winging when it’s nuking but at my skill level it’s really hard in light wind.
If you’re completely foil brained, one board is not enough!
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Been using a 4’8" 45L for wing and prone in all conditions. Pretty happy with it for local conditions of mostly strong wind and no groundswell. I’d rather not use a wing over 6m, and there are times where a bit extra board length could really help getting up in light winds or catching waves in marginal surf. If you always have ideal conditions of strong wind or easy chip in waves then a quiver killer probably exists, but in reality, a larger backup low wind or tiny wave catching board can really extend the window of fun conditions.
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I am building a 60L homage to the Omen Flux…as a single board travel option, big enough to wing, small enough to prone. At home, the sprinter van has more room to fill with more boards, smaller to prone and bigger for easy light wind winging.
My 60L will allow me to bring a low volume tow board to Chicama next year, if my board bag can only fit 2 boards. 
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