Foil boards
As mentioned , wingsurfing boards can be your standard SUP with a drift stopper attached . Or you may own one with a central fin . There are some multi-discipline SUPs on the market created with winging and paddling in mind . Old-school windsurfing longboards with daggerboards can also work well .
Foil boards are an evolution of previously popular compact , parallel rail surf SUP shapes . They have a few modifications that make them applicable to flying above the water .
Compact in length , you ’ re looking at between 6 ’ and 7 ’ for your first wing foiling sled . Higher volume and more width are good , to begin with too . This could be something like 6 ’ 2 x 140L x 29 ”. Those dimensions shouldn ’ t put any experienced paddler off . I say it often in my reviews , but dimensions aren ’ t the be-all and end-all . Foil boards are designed to be stable yet nimble . They ’ ll take a bit of getting used to initially , but a board like the one quoted above will feel big in a short amount of time .
It ’ s possible to get hold of hybrid foil boards that accommodate more than one foiling discipline . You could also plump for something that can be SUP foiled ( sans wing ). Some hybrid shapes can also be ridden in standard fin mode , ala SUP surfing , giving even more bang for your buck .
A big tip with boards is don ’ t go too small too soon . There ’ s a lot of ‘ white noise surrounding wing foil boards and going low volume , and you can do this too quickly . A bigger platform is your friend at first , and it ’ ll help you learn all those foiling subtleties and have you up and flying quicker than something requiring a more dialled-in technique .
Also , inflatable foil boards are an option . They ’ re not quite as good as hard , but not far off . And they ’ ll suit any rider wanting an even easier time with storage and transport . Inflatable foil boards are really good for anyone travelling overseas to wing . s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k 36