I posted something similar on a discussion in the SUP section but I thought I'd go straight to those who foil. I am an experienced SUP surfer and have looked at foiling a number of times but every time I look into it, I am bamboozled with considering the board type, masts, foil, length, width of foil etc etc, i just gave up. Too much to take in, plus, to my eye, it looks like it puts a lot of stress on the joints and body in general. I am a very fit 63 year old but am interested in longevity in the water and not risk injuring myself with extra stress on my body. SUP can be demanding enough as I am on short narrow boards. I imagine being in a fixed position with a heavier front foot on a foil would put more strain on my knees and hip. Would love to hear from others about the physical, endurance and technical differences with Sup surfing and foiling. Which is harder on the body? Thank you in advance with your feedback.

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TBM said..
I posted something similar on a discussion in the SUP section but I thought I'd go straight to those who foil. I am an experienced SUP surfer and have looked at foiling a number of times but every time I look into it, I am bamboozled with considering the board type, masts, foil, length, width of foil etc etc, i just gave up. Too much to take in, plus, to my eye, it looks like it puts a lot of stress on the joints and body in general. I am a very fit 63 year old but am interested in longevity in the water and not risk injuring myself with extra stress on my body. SUP can be demanding enough as I am on short narrow boards. I imagine being in a fixed position with a heavier front foot on a foil would put more strain on my knees and hip. Would love to hear from others about the physical, endurance and technical differences with Sup surfing and foiling. Which is harder on the body? Thank you in advance with your feedback.

I do both but 95% foil and am 78.5 yo so you will be fine foiling and love it.

im a relatively fit 62yo, sup foiling about 4 months after work and weekends, flat water mainly. about 4 years sup surfing at a decent level on weekends prior to this. Lot more stress foiling, sternum and shoulders in particular, also knees to a lesser extent.
on progression project podcast they talked about the physical changes foiling causes, most are positive but continuallystanding surf stance and powering up to foil has caused changes to my skeletal and muscular. Its a high intensity workout that I thought it would improve my sup surfing but takes a few surfs to get my surf legs back after continual foiling.

Thank you for your reply. I have read on the forums and spoke to a couple of guys who SUP but went to foil and said the same thing about the differences and the adjustment going back to SUP.

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warwickl said..

TBM said..
I posted something similar on a discussion in the SUP section but I thought I'd go straight to those who foil. I am an experienced SUP surfer and have looked at foiling a number of times but every time I look into it, I am bamboozled with considering the board type, masts, foil, length, width of foil etc etc, i just gave up. Too much to take in, plus, to my eye, it looks like it puts a lot of stress on the joints and body in general. I am a very fit 63 year old but am interested in longevity in the water and not risk injuring myself with extra stress on my body. SUP can be demanding enough as I am on short narrow boards. I imagine being in a fixed position with a heavier front foot on a foil would put more strain on my knees and hip. Would love to hear from others about the physical, endurance and technical differences with Sup surfing and foiling. Which is harder on the body? Thank you in advance with your feedback.

I do both but 95% foil and am 78.5 yo so you will be fine foiling and love it.

Wow! That's great. I hope to be able to surf, SUP and perhaps foil to that age. Thanks for your reply

The amount of strain foiling causes on your body very much depends on the type of foiling you're doing and how your doing it. I find sup foiling puts a lot more strain on my body than winging, particularly paddling hard on short boards and pumping hard to link waves. In comparison to sup surfing I think sup foiling is definitely harder on the body. Your generally on a shorter board pushing harder and then once your up your pumping and working harder. I find it puts strain on my back and hips, knees seem to not be bothered by it. You could mitigate this a bit by opting for a longer narrower downwind style board. Definitely don't let that put you off as sup foiling can be amazing, I almost never sup surf as I get so many more waves, longer more dynamic rides and overall fun out of sup foiling than sup surfing. Winging on the other hand I find to be easier on the body in comparison to both sup foiling and sup surfing. It's a great full body workout because you're really working both your arms and legs but it's quite low impact (mostly). It also doesn't put as much strain on your back as sup padding.
Definitely the huge range of gear can be confusing for a newbie. There's a lot of options but you don't necessarily need a huge amount of gear to enjoy it. As a SUP guy you can get a board that works well for sup foil and wing and have a setup that covers an absolutely huge range of conditions and locations both wind and wave powered.

Great! Thanks. I see a few SUP foilers here use a Foil Assist system. I'm guessing that alleviates the stress on the body. Would that be right and what are the negatives of that system attached to your mast, excluding the cost?

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TBM said..
Great! Thanks. I see a few SUP foilers here use a Foil Assist system. I'm guessing that alleviates the stress on the body. Would that be right and what are the negatives of that system attached to your mast, excluding the cost?

The main negatives of a foil drive ( foil assist) are that you have a big heavy battery attached to your board and a propellor attached to your mast which creates drag. These can affect your performance but people are still able to surf really well when using them. A foil drive would definitely reduce a lot of strain on your body.

I see a lot of older guys on foil drives that would be struggling under their own paddle power, either prone or SUP. With the foil drive their out having an absolute blast and catching tons of waves. Foil drives also open up lots of different spots that you can't ride under paddle power.

Thank you very much for your feedback. Really appreciate it

My foil journey started with winging and that's awesome but if winds not your thing that's cool.
I sup surf and still love it and initially when I saw sup foiling I though ok but the day I saw Foil Drive catch waves 200m further out I'm going yes that's looks fun. I got a second hand assist plus but with the integrated mast (no messing around taping cables) and need to get mount location as far forward but not to the point you're rubbing your back foot. Gen 2 awesome but couldn't justify the expense. I will sit way out and wait for the set, pull the trigger and turn on to the wave then hips back to get the prop out the water and let go of the trigger - that's when it's awesome gliding fast up in the air on the wave
Returning to sup surf your first bottom turn is hopeless but second wave your surf felling is back - gouging turns into the wave and hitting the lip.
My local we have a reef but its too shallow to foil so Ill sup surf or when waves are really good.
My next spot the wave is longer and sometime fatter and ideal for foil drive, it can be busy but go out through the crowd once and kick off before coming back in. Your wave count is high and like back country snowboarding - foiling feels like riding powder and only riding with other foil drivers and maybe a few sup foilers on long downwind boards - don't be that person riding through the pack giving foiling a bad name!
Do research and buy second hand - enjoy

Great information. Thank you. I will look into foil assist and the maze of boards and foil setups. But hey, that's the fun part as well. Search and discover and will look on the 2nd hand market. Thanks again.

Hi, I am 69 and sup and sup foil, and now with foildrive. I first moved to suping to increase my wave count and time on waves. My move to sup foiling was more for the challenge but the number of waves and distance keeps me there. I found at first supfoiling was harder on the body, but you quickly get fit for it and develop skills to make it easier. It does take a bit to get your balance back moving between the 2 disciplines but I have friends that don't seem to have any difficulty.
The move to foildrive just increased time and distance to a whole new level and opened up waves that I could never have caught otherwise. Again there are the downsides of weight and extra drag of the pod. I can't say now that I notice the weight so much and you naturally learn to ride a little higher on the foil where the pod has no drag. An average session for me is about 40 waves with somewhere between 6km and 8km total on waves, and mostly cutting out before the break and boardies. Sup foiling gave me around half that distance and mostly had me surfing the break so I was always looking for breaks with few or no surfers.
I still love suping but there really is something about flying above the waves, the speed and the distance. Addicted!

Great feedback and very informative. Thank you. You have answered all my questions and I'll have to weigh up if will purse the foil world. I have had a cursory look online, both new and second hand, and the costs certainly mount up to set up. I know from my plethora of SUPs over the last 15 years with progression and experimentation that foil set ups and board changes will be the same. Thank you to everyone who has given me feedback. I will post again if, when, I get my foil set up.

Go for it!!!

I am 63yo and was an avid sup surfer for years, I now pretty much only sup foil and love it.

I feel regular sup foil surfing is not that hard on the body at all and I enjoy the fact I can get enjoyment in much smaller conditions (so can avoid getting flogged by the big sets) and can avoid the crowds more.

I also downwind on sup foil and do some flatwater paddle ups etc, this starts to get a bit tougher on shoulders and legs etc as you have to put in a lot more effort to get on foil.

I actually enjoy the workout though and will be avoiding a foil drive unless I really have to as I get older, as I believe in use it or lose it.

I do find that where I used to be able to catch waves that no one else could I am now regularly competing with foil drives so it may get harder and harder to get waves but I do find most of the foil drive crew respect the fact that I am still just paddling and allow me to get a few.

So in summary sup foil surfing is not really much different than sup surfing unless you start pumping a lot to get back out or link waves.
That is not necessary though and you can just paddle as you would on a sup and when paddling back out I stand in a more parallel stance and paddle on both sides anyway pretty much the same as sup surfing.

Hi 913. I am interested in your comments and observations as I think I'm in the same category.
Im researching foil assist and pretty sure to get some form of assist shortly.
The foil drive guys here tend to be on small boards, get up onto a wave, ride it fully then fly back out for the next wave.
My idea has always been to use the assist to get onto a wave way way earlier than would have been possible, ride the wave then slowly paddle back out to wait for the next wave. ie not perpetual motion.
Ive been sup foiling on about a 5 ft 10 board for a few years now and simply want to keep the board, foils and style. just making it easier.
Is this what you're doing or does foil assist push one to perpetual motion.
Not sure I'm after that.
i still sup great waves and foil when conditions dictate.
i look forward to your comment.
Tanna

A lot of the stress on the body comes from all the work you have to do to pay for the gear.
Also the amount of stress depends on how user friendly or otherwise the days conditions are.

Interesting comments.
I'm 56 sup surfing for decades, 94 kg with a 130 litre board, but up until now I struggle on keeping my balance on a downwind board if it isn't dead flat.
But so far I usually go out in messy, choppy, wind blown waves with the sup foil gear when the waves don't look like being good for sup surfing.
How did you convert your balance from sup surfing boards to the narrower, more tippy DW boards?

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tannaman said..
Hi 913. I am interested in your comments and observations as I think I'm in the same category.
Im researching foil assist and pretty sure to get some form of assist shortly.
The foil drive guys here tend to be on small boards, get up onto a wave, ride it fully then fly back out for the next wave.
My idea has always been to use the assist to get onto a wave way way earlier than would have been possible, ride the wave then slowly paddle back out to wait for the next wave. ie not perpetual motion.
Ive been sup foiling on about a 5 ft 10 board for a few years now and simply want to keep the board, foils and style. just making it easier.
Is this what you're doing or does foil assist push one to perpetual motion.
Not sure I'm after that.
i still sup great waves and foil when conditions dictate.
i look forward to your comment.
Tanna

Tanna there's a guy sup assist foiling up this way on a Duotone Skybrid doing exactly what you say. Using assist to get on foil but paddling around whilst waiting for a wave. Getting some nice rides too.
Got me thinking same as you, as a long time sup surfer maybe instead of just FD surfing I should be combining them. Extend the time out there with the FD.

And have more under your feet without going SUP wide so when paddling the stance is more SUP natural and not the DW board stance.

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tightlines said..
Go for it!!!

I am 63yo and was an avid sup surfer for years, I now pretty much only sup foil and love it.

I feel regular sup foil surfing is not that hard on the body at all and I enjoy the fact I can get enjoyment in much smaller conditions (so can avoid getting flogged by the big sets) and can avoid the crowds more.

I also downwind on sup foil and do some flatwater paddle ups etc, this starts to get a bit tougher on shoulders and legs etc as you have to put in a lot more effort to get on foil.

I actually enjoy the workout though and will be avoiding a foil drive unless I really have to as I get older, as I believe in use it or lose it.

I do find that where I used to be able to catch waves that no one else could I am now regularly competing with foil drives so it may get harder and harder to get waves but I do find most of the foil drive crew respect the fact that I am still just paddling and allow me to get a few.

So in summary sup foil surfing is not really much different than sup surfing unless you start pumping a lot to get back out or link waves.
That is not necessary though and you can just paddle as you would on a sup and when paddling back out I stand in a more parallel stance and paddle on both sides anyway pretty much the same as sup surfing.

Totally agree Tightlines ,I'm 64yrs get out and enjoy

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tannaman said..
Hi 913. I am interested in your comments and observations as I think I'm in the same category.
Im researching foil assist and pretty sure to get some form of assist shortly.
The foil drive guys here tend to be on small boards, get up onto a wave, ride it fully then fly back out for the next wave.
My idea has always been to use the assist to get onto a wave way way earlier than would have been possible, ride the wave then slowly paddle back out to wait for the next wave. ie not perpetual motion.
Ive been sup foiling on about a 5 ft 10 board for a few years now and simply want to keep the board, foils and style. just making it easier.
Is this what you're doing or does foil assist push one to perpetual motion.
Not sure I'm after that.
i still sup great waves and foil when conditions dictate.
i look forward to your comment.
Tanna

Did that for years, using FD to assist not efoil, it is still a good workout as you catch so many waves and paddle back out. The gear is quite heavy which makes getting to and from the water is a good weights session

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TBM said..
Great feedback and very informative. Thank you. You have answered all my questions and I'll have to weigh up if will purse the foil world. I have had a cursory look online, both new and second hand, and the costs certainly mount up to set up. I know from my plethora of SUPs over the last 15 years with progression and experimentation that foil set ups and board changes will be the same. Thank you to everyone who has given me feedback. I will post again if, when, I get my foil set up.

I had a thought about what extra stress I put on my body foiling. I'm 58 , stuffed knee and I have to be gentle with my forearms and shoulders so paddling needs to be measured and calm. My SUP Foil board is a crossover so wide n short. Great with fins but unstable, surfed like a fish board. Loved it. With a foil much more stable but more effort to paddle. But it's a one board that really can do it all including windsurfing/ wind foiling. It's not a bad way to start the journey into foiling and it's a board that I'll keep for a long time. Hope this helps

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tannaman said..
Hi 913. I am interested in your comments and observations as I think I'm in the same category.
Im researching foil assist and pretty sure to get some form of assist shortly.
The foil drive guys here tend to be on small boards, get up onto a wave, ride it fully then fly back out for the next wave.
My idea has always been to use the assist to get onto a wave way way earlier than would have been possible, ride the wave then slowly paddle back out to wait for the next wave. ie not perpetual motion.
Ive been sup foiling on about a 5 ft 10 board for a few years now and simply want to keep the board, foils and style. just making it easier.
Is this what you're doing or does foil assist push one to perpetual motion.
Not sure I'm after that.
i still sup great waves and foil when conditions dictate.
i look forward to your comment.
Tanna

Hi Tanna,
I've been using a FD Assist + for about 2.5 years and so far have enjoyed using the cruise control to paddle out to the break and then wait for my pick of the waves. The FD then gets me up early on a swell. It's always felt more like surfing to me, a bit more relaxed and cruisy. I will admit that friends have moved to perpetual motion and they have definitely increased their ride distance and time.
I am 100kgs and do find the assist plus struggles to get me on plane. I know that bigger foils help but my style of FD use also allows me to use smaller foils.

Thanks for replies all.
Im really looking forward to getting started.
Hope to buy in the near future.
Your comments have cleared my mind on it.
cheers
tanna