I’m building my gear for SUP foiling and I have a Lift mast/tail. My plan is to SUP surf foil in small surf here in Charleston, SC, with a longer term eye toward building my skillset into downwind / runners. I’m a beginner. I’m 6’2 and 180 lbs (appx 75 kg). Our surf is frequently below 7 second periods and weak af.
Any recommendations on a Lift front wing and board? I was thinking the 220 HAX or 180 HAX, and then complementing that with the KT Dragonfly Surf. I know there’s tons of DW folks on here, but anyone that leans more surfy vs DW, I’d really appreciate feedback. Thanks!
I would connect with some of the FL downwind guys. I’ll be the first do downwind foil in my area of Florida and have been following what they’ve been using on IG. Looks to me that they’re using the progression 200 in sub 20mph winds and the progression 170 in 20-30mph. I’ll see if I can find Matt’s dw video and post it. It’s not lift stuff, but will give you a range. I hear the dragonfly board is outstanding from many, but dings easily
go long and narrow. Longer than you think and more narrow than you think. If you’re worried about balance, size up in volume not in width. I know you probably won’t listen to me because it just doesn’t seem like the popular choice, but if you’re willing to trust me - I’ve learned the hard way by paying for and moving on from several boards that weren’t the best choice.
I’m currently on Kalama 112L 8’x21" and I really wish I was riding about 130L and 18" wide. After riding a few other boards, everything is just better going narrow even if it means more volume. The 8’ kalama pumps as well and maybe even better than my 5’6" x 29" that I suffered on for far too long thinking that short is the way to go in the air. Catching waves on a long narrow board is so easy that you can ride all kinds of fun foils that you could never get going on otherwise.
I’m getting ready to order a custom, start DW “journey” myself. Seeing really competent friends trajectory- I know it’s a long road to dancing on water on open ocean and want to set myself up for success. I’m 95kg, demoed a 8’x21x111L Kalama-. Proned it. SUPed it, Winged it. Did a really short shore runner DWer over a few days. Width wasn’t nearly as big an issue as I thought, but definitely under volumed for DW in rough water. Thinking for 1st board going 8’6"-21" @130L.
Think if you’re SUPing primarily to prep for DW, I’d look for super fat mushy, barely breaking waves… I’m not super familiar w/ Lift option, but I’d use the same foil you plan on learning DW on to get it, you properly tuned to your board and your pop-up dialed. The ideal SUP surf foil would be funner in better waves, but wouldn’t get you and your setup dialed for DW.
FWIW, on the Coach Casey FB Group James has repeatedly suggested around 1.4x Kg in Liters for a DW board used for actual downwinding…so that looks about right
I’m just a guy on the internet so what do I know, but I’m 95kg too. I would strongly recommend 18-19" wide rather than 21". Keep the length and volume. A lot of stability comes from the foil down in the water not the width of the board
I started on a 7’8 x 20" @ 125L (and still am on it), and if I could do it all again I would have kept the liters (or even increased), sacrificed some width & thickness, but increased the length above 8’. (190-200lbs).
Thanks for that. I’ve heard from others. Being that I don’t have unlimited budget- would definitely love to hit that hard to find sweet spot of set up to succeed to learn on, with room to grow into. Have to see can track down something that narrow to try. Could probably figure out how reasonable it is in 5 minutes. I know when I saw 21" boards I thought- no way! Then found out it is totally doable.
Glad to hear you say that about 21” wide boards. That’s my initial feeling. I non-foil SUP surf 120 L boards now but they are 30” wide so the width of these DW boards sounds insane to me.
I do a lot of SUP foiling with my KT Dragonfly 7’7” and the Lift 180 HAX and 150 HAX. These wings surf amazingly well for their wingspans. I use the 180 for small waves and the 150 when it gets bigger. A friend of mine also rides the 220 and he loves it. A few days ago, I changed my Dragonfly V1 to the new 7’8” Surf and I am super happy. The new concave deck feels amazing and makes turning even more enjoyable than the V1. I highly recommend this model. Here is a short video of a downwinder with the new SURF. I hope it helps.
The foil gives you a lot of stability. I’m 98kg as well. Went from 7’6x20.5 to 8’2x22 to 8’6x19. The 8’6x19 is almost as stable as the 22 but lifts off so much easier than the 22 wide. I feel like if you are going to be riding in small surf and dw on it you will get the stability rather quickly. I was super nervous to go so narrow as well coming from sup surfing a 28-30” wide board.
When you are speaking of stability do you mean while you are standing still on the board waiting for waves or paddling stability when you are bringing the board up to speed? It seems like the narrowness of the board doesn’t shouldn’t matter when flying.
I’ve winged a 7’10" ~19.5" 103ltr barracuda without too much problem, but paddling it around in flat water is so tippy I can’t imagine something that narrow working out in the ocean. I’m 90kg, so thinking something in the 120-130ltr would be ideal. It seems like wider could be okay for the SUP aspect, but for pure downwind narrower is much better. It would be great to be able to demo more of these boards…
Yes “stability” refers to when the board is on the water.
Balancing on a narrow board in waves requires practice, but once you have the proper technique its not that hard. I find the key is to get the paddle in the water as soon as you get to your feet. The paddle is a huge source of stability - keeping it in contact with the water at all times (bracing) makes balancing doable in the waves.
Bracing basically means you skim the top of the water when you bring the paddle forward between strokes - this makes it possible to lean on the paddle when you are unstable. I will note once you have some forward speed (before getting on foil) things get more stable bracing is no longer needed, and the goal is generally to put down as much power as possible.
I downwind with Matt a lot in Jupiter. Both of us have moved on from the Prog 200 for much of anything but it was nice to learn to pop up on. Once your sorted on getting up the 170 its a much better ride downwind than the 200, but still a ways behind others offerings in terms of downwind.
You’re right the KT prod is delicate, I used to have a 7’4" and its an excellent ride once up on foil but kind of a pita to paddle.
For lift the 150x is the right one for the one wing for everything, its easier imo to pop up than the p170 and faster etc. If concerned about learning on it maybe 180x is a good option.
Erie foil hit the nail on the head, I’ve ridden he 7’10 103L and its almost a sinker for me standing still, im 98kg, I think you are right on the money with the 120-130L… I think of the wing as a few points ahead of the paddle for stability. but once you learn to use the paddle for stability it starts to equal out a little bit
