Anyone have suggestions on a wing foil board specifically for those interested in wave riding (not freestyle or jumping)?. I’ve been looking and there seems to be a huge hole in the wing board market in this area.
I’m looking for something 4’10-5’0 length and 50L volume, I weigh 78 KG but I figure these dimensions would be desirable among a lot of people. The reason these are my ideal dimensions is because I think going 4’8/45L essentially becomes a prone board and the planing surface of the board make water starts much harder (not worth tradeoff to deal with that waterstart difficulty), but going above 5’0/55L-60L range will be too thick/bulky for the riding experience. Kind of like a prone board but on the larger side, with a pointed nose, no crazy triple concave on the hull, and a narrow rear for control over the foil.
The best I’ve found is the F-One Rocket Wing S which has a 4’10 48L and 5’0 54L size. Im surprised there are not many comparable shapes from other makers though.
AK Phazer V3 5’0 48l…
i have the 5’3/66l as my everyday wingboard, even lightwind…am73kg… love it…super efficient when slogging or starting, starts as well if not better than other shorter 75l (edit: like the 4’11/78l appleslice v2 i had before) boards…will probably get the 5’0 soon too…
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in my mind the most important variable for wave riding is width and making sure you aren’t on something too wide. You can also trade volume for length in your dimensions and there are plenty of options out there. In fact shorter length is going to reduce swing weight which is also better for waves.
I think AK offers boards with similar dimensions to the Rocket S. Most others are going to be shorter at that volume, which is probably a good thing.
Appleslice v2 is a great option
The new Cabrinha Link looks good
FFB Nugget
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i kindly disagree about the length…short boards and swingweight are overrated imho…i’d rather have a slightly longer, lighter board for same swingweight, but wayyy easier to start, it does make a substantial difference…the phazer 5’3/66l starts as well, probably better than the appleslice 4’11/78l i had before
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I know a couple people who weigh a bit less than you but wing on the FFB Rubix (4’10 50ish liters IIRC). They have great things to say about them, and I prone a 4’4" Rubix and I love it so it makes sense. Worth a gander, they’re narrower and surfier underfoot, but still pretty thick foot-to-mast.
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Thanks, thats a good suggestion
Yeah I’m more in agreement with andiabel on the length, at least for wing foiling. The reason I dont want to go too short, even if that makes pumping better, is due to how much more difficult the waterstarts become from that. Its very hard to get a shorter board at these volume levels planing. I have a 4’8 FF Techno at 43L which is pretty hard to get planing and keep the nose above chop. Which is why I’m looking in the 4’10-5’0 range and not below (too hard) and not above (worse for pumping)
Good consideration, length looks good, 45L may be too low for me. I have a 4’8 Techno at 43L that was a huge PITA to try to waterstart when I tried it out. Trying to go a little larger to make this easier to get going despite the loss of performance
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Different strokes for different folks but a 4’8” ~60 liter board is ideal for me at your same weight (I can get it going down to 12 knots). Length will definitely help, but you also might just be going too low volume.
Different schools of thought - longer lower volume or shorter higher volume. Just keep it less than 23” wide.
Somewhat related - I understand Appletree is releasing a wing version of the new Appleskipper (surf) design in April. I don’t have dims yet.
I got a 38L kt wing drifter for prone recently which has more than average rocker in the nose. I was thinking that would bring the center of flotation close to your knees making it stable, and help it rise to the surface. Haven’t used it for wing yet but seems like it would be nice and in a variety of sizes.
Ooo, thanks for the heads up on Appletree. That board looks good, I’ll wait until then and see what the dimensions look like
Anyone try the FFB Nugget? I like the design and the super long tracks.
50L is a bit low for my conditions but maybe the design helps it?
Update to this - I was getting up on my 4’9" 60L board (-20) and a 7m wing in 5 knots “wind” gusting to 8-10 last week. I had to time and direct my “pop” and pump to harness swell energy, but I could make it work. If you are coming off foil a lot it wouldn’t be fun to repeatedly relaunch, but once you are up, you just keep speed, work the apparent wind, and pump to stay up. Different strokes, but the point is that its doable with a short board.
Nugget looks like a really nice board and if I was in the market it would be towards the top of my list to try. Heard some questionable things about FFB QC, but could have been one-offs.
Another datapoint, I have switched to using my 4’9 FFB Fusion (39l) as my goto Wingfoil board for any powered conditions. I have found that as long as I have power in my wing I can knee start that board. So with my 8m CWC I start using the 4’9 in 12+ mph. My light wind board is now my 60l Armstrong 4’10. The narrow width on the fusion makes a big difference in how much I can carve and I really prefer the narrow board for wave and swell riding.
I weigh 190 lbs for reference.
Curious about trying a long narrow dw board for light wind. If I get one I just had the realization that I could probably sell the 60l Armstrong. It took awhile to get to this level but I am really happy to be riding the smaller board as my goto for wing, kite or prone.
I don’t know if you watched the GWA world tour on the Ponta Preta Point Break. It’s a fast point break and something that stand out is boards were rather thin, more aligned with what f-one was doing since day one.
So chunky compact boards come to a price on the feeling of the foil I guess? In the past there was not real wave event, so I think for a real wave tour this year, company had to align their design?
I assumed they were mostly on “custom” board and foil?
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I heard that wave is very powerful so most of the riders were on small foils to stay in control on the wave face. Wind looked up and down so that would explain the bigger 60l board choice by most.
I would prefer going longer if needed now a going wide to add additional volume. The more narrow the board the harder you can carve without digging a rail in.
I think it looks pretty good too however its marketed as being geared towards “boosting” so I was less interested. I’m now eagerly waiting on the Appletree Skipper wing foil release happening in just a couple weeks
I doubt they were using “off the shelf” board and foil…, off the shelf board are designed from last year…well most of the top rider probably working with new product…and not set for mortals? So…label on boards…and what they were saying, I’m using a 65L with a 750cm2 foil…how legit it is you think?
The KT wingdrifter might suit you.
They have an 5.0x21.5x50l
I,m 95/97kg and using the 5.4x22x56l and i,m really happy with it.
I ride strapless so the jumping and freestyle part isnt my cup of tea, but for waveriding with a wing its awesome.
The slightly longer outline, less width and thinner shape ads a lot of “foilfeel” over my thicker 5.6x2790l AK Phazer V2. The KT is quick on the foil and handles touchdowns well.
a several guys here tried them and are amazed by how well it surfs.
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Appletree just released wing skipper: Apple Skipper Wing foil board. I’m probably going to get 4’10 55L
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