Hi everyone! After 30 years (almost 40! years) since the 80s windsurf scene, this is the summer for me to get into wing foiling! 97kgs so looking at a ~125 board. Need some interwebs help to stop procrastinating :-(
My choices are a 6'4" Naish Hover Wing, a 6'2" Takuma TK Carbon, or a 6' Quatro Drifter. First season will be learning on lakes mostly (10-20kn winds). Plan is to drop down to 95-100l board once i'm better. Will set up with Armstrong CF2400 foil and a 6m wing of some type.
Some folks are saying to get the longer 6'4" Naish or Takuma as the extra length will be better to learn and also handle light winds. Others say to get the 6' Quatro.
Look forward to random responses to help me in my decision!
Thanks!!!
If you are 97 kg get at least a 130L board. Volume is your friend when you are starting out. Plenty of time for a smaller board once you are confident on the foil
I have Naish 125l and Fanatic 95l.
The Fanatic has better volume distribution for me to get up from my 74 yo weak knees, it has a far better under water line and much lighter weight to get up on the foil.
The Naish is more stable when just bobbing along but that's its only benefit.
I am 76 kg and use Moses SAB 950 (1300sq cm) front wing with 400 race stabiliser.
I keep my 125 Naish incase I get the urge to SUP foil but now have an efoil so catching swells is easy.
Definitely recommend an efoil.
I'm your weight and the Hover 125 is perfect and I'm very happy with mine and not even considering going smaller.. The big foil like the 2400 is also what I started with and will be perfect.. I'd recommend starting with a wing in the 5m range rather than 6m and it will make learning easier and more enjoyable.
Fanatic boards have a very rear foilbox position.
It might not play well with the Armstrong.
The hover 125 would be good. I do think the length will help for touch downs and it's not too long to be significantly affected by swing weight when up on the foil. I think at 97KG it will be challenging at first.
I started with a 2019 7'6" 135L Hover which was an excellent board for learning the wing and then foiling in straight lines. I would drop down and turn the board with my feet. I was around 86KG, once I was able to foil with consistency I got a Fanactic 5'4" 95L which proved a tough choice for me. I spent several sessions just trying to start and stand on the Fanactic, when I got up on the foil it was great, but getting from kneeling to up on the foil was tough. I mentioned my struggles to a local wing foiler at the time, who bought the board during the conversation. This allowed me to get a S25 Hover 110L which was much easier for me to progress.
Hi.
I`m the same weight and have the same long ago windsurf backround.
Started winging on lakes with gusty wind.
I would recomend the bigger board and the 6m wing.
size is your friend when starting. with a windsurf backround you will be able to open up the wing in gusts and you will have definitly more time on foil. And it`s a good size to build a quiver with something in the 4m range.
I?m on the other side of the world (germany in lockdown) and got the 6m Smik Wing from australia.
couldn`t be happier. so light. so powerfull. I?ve got a 5m F1, a 7m airrush freewing and a 9m gong.
The smik! 6m is by far the best.
I love this sport. It makes my way through the 4 month lockdown.....
The hover 125 will be a good choice.
In my opinion the Armstrong 1850 is all you need for lightest wind. The CF2400 is a beast and will hit its max velocity early. With a 6m wing you have heaps of horsepower to drive a smaller more efficient foil up even at your weight. Go the 300 tail to start. (Alan Cadiz did a YouTube wingfoil podcast with blue planet recently and talks about how he favours the GoFoil M200 for learners over the bigger M280). More board speed and less resistance through the water makes it easier to fly. Most of us in Oz are using the 1250 or 1550 and we are normal people in the 85-100kg range.
Plenty of good wings to choose from.
- 5.8m PPC, 6.0m Smik, 6.0m Doutone Slick, 6.0 Cabrinha, Ozone v2.
Kiwiupover, given you haven't done much in the sailing scene for a good number of decades, I'd say go big. No offence, but if you haven't foiled before, it could take a bit of time to learn. You really want as much stability as you can while learning. Especially if you're in sub-ideal conditions (onshore mush with a bit of wind swell, gusty conditions etc).
It's a trade off. Smaller will challenge you more. It might speed your progress in that you are forced to improve faster, but it might frustrate you more as well.
Thanks everyone... good to hear from "real people" and greatly appreciate the advice! I'll go bigger :-)
I completely agree with the go big when learning philosophy. More fun faster.
I've seen a number of people having just a terrible time of it after taking "advice" to just get a small one as you'll want to get there anyways-bad advise from pro type athlete or ego dickhead types.
more fun-faster, go bigger
