I am looking at getting into wing foiling but also am due a new sup as well. Do you think it is better to get one new crossover board eg. Naish Crossover that you can both sup and foil or get two second hand boards that are dedicated to sup or foiling?

I would get cross over board 1st that you can sup surf and foil. Because getting dedicated foil board in my opinion is not ideal beginner to foil unless you get a really big board or you have exceptional skills like some of us. Another option is the starboard hypernut foil board.

Thanks JEG

Cross over boards never work. Get the sup you want and a learner foil board. Foil learning curve is steep so you go through boards getting smaller and smaller.

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hilly said..
Cross over boards never work. Get the sup you want and a learner foil board. Foil learning curve is steep so you go through boards getting smaller and smaller.

Oh then sell all your sup stuff due to foil brain taking over.

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hilly said..
Cross over boards never work. Get the sup you want.

+1
You will either love the foil and move to a dedicated board, or still SUP a lot, and then the added weight of the box while SUPing will bother you.

This said, getting a cross over board is not a bad choice either, because they are easy to learn on, and they resell well (but it may depend on your local 2nd hand market). And they make great boards for learning wing foiling...

Just like for SUPing, I would not put a lot on money on your first board, and plan to resell it after the learning phases.

Usually just ends up being a taint. Boards able to either are often good at niether. The things that make a foil board forgiving on touch-downs and really help out a beginner getting airborne- beveled rails, step/kick tail etc won't work as a surf sup.

Just get a dedicated Sup foil / Wing board , once you get the foil bug your surfing Sup board will just collect dust .

Let's not forget a lot of these foilers started on converted boards though some have exceptional talent and jump start to dedicated foil board

Nothing wrong with crossover board here

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JEG said..
Let's not forget a lot of these foilers started on converted boards though some have exceptional talent and jump start to dedicated foil board

Nothing wrong with crossover board here

Disagree totally. Looks very long and awkward. Nice helmet though.

4in1 or up to 4 dedicated boards depends on your carrying capacities.
If you're able to always bring the right board for the designated discipline and you have enough storing and carrying capacities buy dedicated boards.
Otherwise accept some of the before mentioned compromises and buy a 2in1, 3in1 or 4in1 board.
I'm happily using a 4in1 board for years, since I travel with a lot of stuff in a campervan, and if my sons are with me it's a whole bunch of SUP, Foil, windsurf and kite stuff a smaller surfshop would be proud of.

I accept the compromises in my 4in1, but it's just 1 board on the roof for supsurfing, supfoiling, windfoiling, windsuping and next season wingfoiling.

I'm very happy with my crossover 4 in 1 board from Naish and it got me into foiling where I think if I had started on a dedicated foil board I would have given up early thinking it's too hard for me at my age and weight.. btw I do now have a dedicated foil board and I would recommend demoing first before you bite off more than you can chew..

I have a crossover board that I use for paddling, wing foiling and windfoiling. I do not think the question is whether the crossover board is as good is dedicated boards but rather I can do multiple activities with one board, pay for one board and store one board. In my experience most people cannot get the most performance possible out of the equipment they have. I know I certainly don't. What I can tell you is that I really enjoy my board, I have fun doing all of those activities and that's all that really matters. I do believe the dedicated boards might give me a little more performance but I'm not sure that I would have more fun with more performance. On the other hand the slightly larger board makes everything easier when off the foil which for me makes it more fun.

Always better to have a dedicated board for foiling or SUP surfing. However there are a few options to people that want a 1 board does it all. Beware that for foiling you need a board that has a flat deck on the connection between foil and board.

The new SIC Marlin 7'8 Convertable (7'8 x 29.5" - 127 liters) uses as interesting concept for that with a deep center step channel, that helps the board creat lift and at the same time ensures that the angle of the bottom boxes are parallel to the deck standing area allowing the board to fly level on foil.

Board comes with double slotted Futeres fin box tracks, quad fin setup, mast locater for windsurfing and foot strap inserts. Construction is superb, with full Sandwich PVC with Co-Woven Kevlar and Carbon.

Great advice, thanks everyone. I think the 4 in 1 concept might be best for me initially as I can stick a sail on to learn how to foil. It might speed up the learning curve. That SIC board looks sick ?? but not sure how it would surf without the foil with that tail and the fins quite far forward.

+1
I'd rather put a shim under the foil to get the proper angle to the board than putting such a huge channel all over the bottom.
Such a shim plate could probably come stock with the board.
The channel takes a lot of rocker out of the board, affecting the turning, maybe .
But that's all theory, maybe the board works fine for supsurfing anyway.

Sorry... I can't see that board surfing a lick. If you are going to take the all in one approach...... had a buddy through bolt a stick-on plate mount onto a used Wavestorm soft top SUP to learn how to foil. All in for about $100. He did that for a few weeks and was up and foiling- he then got himself a dedicated 6-8 foil board. Would likely foil as well/better than and would definitely surf better than that SIC. At a mere fraction of the cost.

Everything is a compromise. I have a 6'10" Starboard 4 in 1 Hypernut 91 litres only 26" wide. You want as little volume as possible for wing foiling and it is big enough that it can be kneeled on. Shorter and wider would probably be better though. The tuttle box is a bit further back to cater for wind surfers, which probably delays foiling in light winds but is fine for strong. The board is a bit small for SUP surfing, I have trouble standing when it is choppy. It's probably reasonable as a windsurfer too.
The shape is not exactly right for each sport, but it does everything well in good conditions.

Thinking about this a bit more, a dedicated foil board should foil as early as possible and the way to do this (I think) is for the surface area to reduce as the board rises out of the water. You don't want that to happen when surfing with regular fins. The biggest compromise of a do everything board is that it will probably be slower to foil.

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AlexF said..
+1
I'd rather put a shim under the foil to get the proper angle to the board than putting such a huge channel all over the bottom.
Such a shim plate could probably come stock with the board.
The channel takes a lot of rocker out of the board, affecting the turning, maybe .
But that's all theory, maybe the board works fine for supsurfing anyway.

For us flatwater riders news that not every 4 in 1 is a wave first board is great news!

When ever I get a new board I always give it a fair go before giving it the flick. Sometimes you can learn new things by trying to make a board work. I have friends that get customs and write them off on the first outing. I am happy working out all the things I can accomplish on my 7'10" Hypster transformer.

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simonp said..
Everything is a compromise. I have a 6'10" Starboard 4 in 1 Hypernut 91 litres only 26" wide. You want as little volume as possible for wing foiling and it is big enough that it can be kneeled on. Shorter and wider would probably be better though. The tuttle box is a bit further back to cater for wind surfers, which probably delays foiling in light winds but is fine for strong. The board is a bit small for SUP surfing, I have trouble standing when it is choppy. It's probably reasonable as a windsurfer too.
The shape is not exactly right for each sport, but it does everything well in good conditions.

Sounds just like my new rig.


7'10" smik transformer