Foil boards are constantly being tweaked by designers and shapers. The emergence of hyper efficient downwind foil boards, with their uber narrow widths and pronounced pin tails has seen an about turn within foil board shape trends. Longer, for extra glide, with narrow width efficiency and all round early take off hulls are now set to dominate all foiling disciplines. Not just the downwind market.
Anybody from a watersports background will be aware of how length, width and volume (plus other features) affect board performance. Whilst foil boards are created to fly above the water the start (take off) is something brands keep (and will keep) tinkering with.
Back a few seasons the industry realised flat hulls with hard water release edges induced much earlier lift. With (Dave) Kalama’s Barracuda emergence length was back on the agenda. And so it’s played out during 2023 as most foiling brands have brought their own downwind board to market.
Whilst a few have already been well aware of this (including myself) just how much of a difference a longer foil board makes to your early take offs is tangible. I’ve used, tested and demo’d so much kit. In all instances where boards are concerned additional glide helps massively as you aim to rise. Short, compact foil boards are great to throw around. But with something longer you can still do the same moves and not lose out. Swing weight isn’t even in the equation after a while.
Narrower widths I’m a little on the fence about. Too narrow and the roll stability is impacted negatively – particularly if you’re not used to this. Some downwind wind foil boards are so narrow that they’re actually prohibitive to any real world rider using them efficiently. Wing boards are a bit different as you do have the wing itself you can lean on whilst getting ready to stand and fly. In SUP foiling mode, if there’s any side chop, current or flotsam, again, too narrow and the board becomes a nightmare to handle. But I do get why a longer board should be, in general, narrower.
I’m sure as we move forward the foiling industry will start to bring more usable products to market, rather than just the extreme end of the performance sled arena. Dimenisons will at some point equal themselves out and everyday riders will find a super efficient foil board that fits their circumstances. I’m certainly watching this with interest.
If you want even more foiling goodness check out my other site Foilshop UK here.
Tez Plavenieks - content creation/strategy, SEO/tech SEO, social media, print media. 