JonahL said..
I had a really fun glassy session at Kaa on Maui last week where there were probably 30 SUP foilers out. I would say that 20 were on DW boards and 10 were on short/fat boards

I was prone on my 6' wing/prone board and was glad to have the extra paddle power, it's a really long paddle out.

Oh wow, so many of the vids I "researched" were from there definitely a bit of a mecca for SUP foilers.

Appreciate the count of the variety of boards out there, again interesting that it was either DW or Short where as I still think there could be something in between...

Sup surf foil and downwind boards, yep I've had a few.

I learnt to dw on a 6'1" x 25" One egg but being over 90kg at the time it was hard work, I pretty much knew even before I bought it I wanted something longer but that was the sort of size people were using for DW back in the day.
It is a great board in the surf but a bit short and under volumed for me to catch softer waves easily.

When I saw a 6'8" x 26"Sunova Aviator for sale second hand I bought that and continued my downwind journey but also surfed it a lot and it worked very well. (kinda wish I hadn't sold it)

Next board was a 7' x 23" Sunova Aviator which was better for downwind and still surfed ok.

Next was a 8' x 20" Smik, so much better for DW and great for tiny surf or even unbroken swell but not to good in bigger surf.

Current board is a 8'6 x 19 Smik, awesome for DW and I even as a O60 yo I can flatwater paddle it up but it is starting to get too long for decent surf.

So for surf my go to is normally the 7' x 23" Sunova as it is a good compromise of enough length to get on wave fairly easy, enough width to be comfortable standing around waiting in some chop and short enough to feel more comfortable on a wave than my current DW board.

Pic of my 8' x 20" Smik and 7' x 23" Sunova

tightlines said..
Sup surf foil and downwind boards, yep I've had a few.

I learnt to dw on a 6'1" x 25" One egg but being over 90kg at the time it was hard work, I pretty much knew even before I bought it I wanted something longer but that was the sort of size people were using for DW back in the day.
It is a great board in the surf but a bit short and under volumed for me to catch softer waves easily.

When I saw a 6'8" x 26"Sunova Aviator for sale second hand I bought that and continued my downwind journey but also surfed it a lot and it worked very well. (kinda wish I hadn't sold it)

Next board was a 7' x 23" Sunova Aviator which was better for downwind and still surfed ok.

Next was a 8' x 20" Smik, so much better for DW and great for tiny surf or even unbroken swell but not to good in bigger surf.

Current board is a 8'6 x 19 Smik, awesome for DW and I even as a O60 yo I can flatwater paddle it up but it is starting to get too long for decent surf.

So for surf my go to is normally the 7' x 23" Sunova as it is a good compromise of enough length to get on wave fairly easy, enough width to be comfortable standing around waiting in some chop and short enough to feel more comfortable on a wave than my current DW board.

Pic of my 8' x 20" Smik and 7' x 23" Sunova

I tried to pickup one of those 7ft*23 sunova, but sunova stopped making them

warwickl said..
I have 3 foil boards, a 5ft 8 in x 85l Duotone midlength, Naish DW 7ft 2in x 22in x 105l and a 2021 JP 6ft 8 in x 26in x 96l. So all completely different designs from almost no rocker to lots of rocker.
All work extremely well for me despite there differences so I can not recommend any one single design.
If it works in real life then it's perfect ??

Hey. How does the Jp compare to the Naish. I was thinking the JP shape would be more stable, is 26" wide max you would go. Thanks

rgmacca said..

warwickl said..
I have 3 foil boards, a 5ft 8 in x 85l Duotone midlength, Naish DW 7ft 2in x 22in x 105l and a 2021 JP 6ft 8 in x 26in x 96l. So all completely different designs from almost no rocker to lots of rocker.
All work extremely well for me despite there differences so I can not recommend any one single design.
If it works in real life then it's perfect ??

Hey. How does the Jp compare to the Naish. I was thinking the JP shape would be more stable, is 26" wide max you would go. Thanks

The JP 6ft 8in has a lot of rocker in both nose and tail compared to the Naish 7ft 2in, length also helps so not a lot in it.
The JP is better in choppy water and excellent when touching down as it just keeps going.
Both boards have chines and the JPs maybe a bit bigger plus it's got a stepped tail.
The Naish is only just a bit better at getting on the foil when 6 to 7kn gusts. Different pumping technique for both to get on the foil.
Initially I got the JP for FDA as easier in choppy water to go from kneeling to standing up, I don't use a paddle for FDA.
These days it's the JP if I am feeling lazy otherwise it's the Duotone Skybrid or if consistently very light wind it's the Naish with 7m Ventis.

We are all different in what we want or need for our surfing & foiling.
And our comfort ability is different too.
I sort of laughed when I first put a track box in my smallest SUP because it was very slow & sluggish because of its excessive nose & tail rocker. The nose rocker just pushed the water. The board is 7ft x 31inch x 115 litres and quite heavy after putting the track box in. In those early days it was rare to have a foil SUP at less than 8ft long because they said you need the speed to get up & foil. People said then it looks too short for a foil board. But I was pleasantly surprised at how the board quickly sped up & got on foil very easily on the drop down the wave because it took the nose rocker out of play and it felt like the power band clicked on. Also I think the tail rocker helped on the very first pump by its tail curve helping lift then clearing the water surface quickly.
I think that was around 6 or 7 years ago.
But during that time the boards got shorter & shorter & they started putting step tails in etc and it wasn't long that these boards got similar in shape & then even smaller in length. And now obviously going narrower & longer.
So now we have SUP foilers wondering which is the best. Wide & short, long & narrow? In my view, both overall. I don't think it is much different to the non foiling surfers. Some love their longboards & others short boards.
For me I like to be standing waiting for waves without falling off, especially in choppy swirly conditions and I hate falling off just as I start paddling for a big overhead wave. So I appreciate width. I also like the width after turning off a wave and staying standing & balanced before the shore dump so I can already start paddling before getting dumped on by the next.
I love the excessive nose rocker for recovering from slight nose dives which can help me bounce back up onto foil. I also love it on a steep drop going down a big or steep wave where there would be no way I would want to be on foil. Instead I just surf it as normal until I'm in control enough to kick up on foil.
Yeah a board like this will never ever get up on foil early and I need a normal take off similar to using a regular SUP. But it's a lot of fun. And with a slower foil it's nice to surf more in the pocket. But the swing weight is excessive because my board I call a barge. But I have contemplated getting one made in similar dimensions to virtually cut its weight in half.
But it is useless for pump & glide back out to the break. But that doesn't appeal to me anyway when I have a paddle. It would if I was prone foiling though to save shoulder fatigue.
Obviously if I wanted to get on foil quicker & away from the wash I would go narrower in width more towards a Down winder foil board. Both have their advantages and disadvantages to each other. For me the narrower longer shape would be the safest by not having to take the steep drop & deal with the boom crash opera on that steep bottom turn of a big steep wave. But that's so fun at times.
So basically like the old days choosing your long board or shortboard.
I would get both for my quiver.
My other board is the JP 6ft 8inch x 26inch x 95 litres which I mainly use for winging. But SUP foil surfing I think it would do better getting up on foil with a tail rocker than a step tail. It just feels to stick a bit on the first pump. So guessing the tail is digging under water causing a breaking effect. So probably designed more for a progressive rise on foil.

drc13 said..
I can actually add a little bit extra info now as in the past week I picked up a smaller SUP to finally find out if I could feel a difference in surf performance at all.

I went from a 7'10 x 19.5 @110L board to a 6'10 x 20 @95L board (about 800g lighter) so it's not apples to apples with the volume but I can report back even at these early stages of getting used to a new board, it surfs and pumps much better!

I have definitely lost a bit of paddle speed so not sure how it would go in really small conditions but in the waves we had over the weekend I was getting 35 decent waves a session so it's still a wave catching machine.

I don't think I could go all the way down to 5' though but can say I definitely noticed the difference of 1ft shorter and 15L less.


Goodbye 110L you served me very well


Hello to possibly the ugliest eggplant looking board in history but damn it surfs well.

Great to hear & see. Good compromise also. 1 foot shorter equals less nose & tail taps. Slightly more width to equalise stability because of less length.
And volume? I think sometimes that can be contentious regarding design.
My smallest skinny SUP only board feels corkier than my other SUP only boards.
And your new board doesn't look ugly to me. Looks awesome.
Have fun.

I experimented with a few custom dedicated surf sup foils. My last board finally does everything I wanted to do.
this just my opinion.I was always making variations of the same shape, my first was narrow and short, 6'1 x 22' 120l, I am 90kg naked. It was hard work, on foil great but I couldn't stand on it waiting too long without falling, in choppy condition forget it. My next board was 6'6' x 26 x 120l 5.7kg this board is great, very easy, I can use it in choppy waters and stand on it all day but I noticed than when you are about to drop in a wave I found myself loading the nose a lot and applying a lot of pressure to be able to paddle harder and get in the wave. This will sink the nose and if I wasn't careful I would miss the wave. But I used this board for a while, the forgiveness made it super fun.but then wanted a bit more performance..with this in mind I ordered my current board, 6'8" x 24.5x117L but square nose, this keeps the rails parallel longer and puts more volume in the nose area. This board is also 5.3 kg and boxes very forward.
'Paddles straighter than any other board I tried, I catch a lot more waves and haven't lost any comfort while standing. Being this light (I think the weight makes a huge difference) and with the foil forward I am able to use smaller foils (Ha 780 or ma800 depending of waves size) and the board feels small and nimble. I am very happy with this version.

Jason Pyke at JPD made all 3 plus 2 more wing board, he is a mad man, his construction is next level.all super light and crazy strong. Never put a ding to any of these boards and I abuse the wing boards jumping

all 3 boards wing really in light conditions.

It's been a long time in the making but hoping this is the SUP surf foil board I've been looking for (will also hopefully be decent as my light wind parawing/wing board as well)

It's the Carbon/Kevlar Construction board 6'6 x 21 @85L

Look at Kai's board in his new video. Looks like the tail of that board is wider. Almost Omen Flux ish shape. Board appears to be slightly wider. Cool. Fits those waves well.

drc13 said..
It's been a long time in the making but hoping this is the SUP surf foil board I've been looking for (will also hopefully be decent as my light wind parawing/wing board as well)

It's the Carbon/Kevlar Construction board 6'6 x 21 @85L

What's the verdict?