I'm 80kgs and want to use foil drive to access some far out sand bars and surf small clean waves. Experienced winger and sup surfer but not sup foil.

Do people prefer HA glidey foils or lower aspect foils to get on foil easier?

I have just got FD+ and tried it with a 95L Naish and my mid to HA 1350 Gong foil and it's doesn't want to pop on foil using the assist. As the board is fairly small it wants a bit more foil. I don't know whether to get HA or other. Maybe 1600 to 1700cm3.

I've seen people using Axis 1300 in small waves which is a big HA foil.

Interested to know people's thoughts .

In small waves with the foil drive I use a 1550 or 1850 Armstrong mid aspect but I can also easily get on foil in small waves on the 925 ha. I m 83 kg on a 140 litre board with the older foil drive assist. I would think you should easily get up with what you have unless you are doing something wrong somehow.

I actually just had a really fun day in some soft knee to waist high waves with my armie 1850. It was slow enough that I was running out of the waves but yet gave me good lift in mushy conditions. On a 130 liter board and I am about 85kgs for reference.

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IanInca said..
I'm 80kgs and want to use foil drive to access some far out sand bars and surf small clean waves. Experienced winger and sup surfer but not sup foil.

Do people prefer HA glidey foils or lower aspect foils to get on foil easier?

I have just got FD+ and tried it with a 95L Naish and my mid to HA 1350 Gong foil and it's doesn't want to pop on foil using the assist. As the board is fairly small it wants a bit more foil. I don't know whether to get HA or other. Maybe 1600 to 1700cm3.

I've seen people using Axis 1300 in small waves which is a big HA foil.

Interested to know people's thoughts .

It's tricky. Faster foils paddle with less drag, so they can make catching waves easier, up to a point. The point being when you go too extreme. Older, slower, bigger fails, can be difficult to catch waves at times. Way too much drag. The board can paddle like it's stuck in mud.

It may require some testing on your side to find the best for you.

Big HA will give you the glide but will be hard to turn. Big LA will be slower but you can turn to develop speed too stay on the wave. To use with my Foildrive I am going to get the GT1770 when it comes out, hopefully about 6 to 7 aspect ratio, so a good compromise of glide and turning. A larger stabilizer will help glide as well but may compromise turning if you get in a steeper section.
I am 105kg and find the 1400 foil I am using now a little underdone for small bumps when I add the weight of a Foildrive to the back of the board.

I found the 1850 too slow for the smaller unbroken swells. The bigger HA foils can match the swell speed better but require more practice to get the technique - flat board, paddling to build planing speed, pitch control, etc. I was just riding the 1525 in 1-2 ft non breaking swell and it was super fun - use the FD to get speed and when the swell reaches you you hop the board up so the foil is high then glide. The 1525 doesn't turn quick like smaller foils but on swells it carves fine. Chopped 1325 gives quicker turns

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MokesMax said..
I found the 1850 too slow for the smaller unbroken swells. The bigger HA foils can match the swell speed better but require more practice to get the technique - flat board, paddling to build planing speed, pitch control, etc. I was just riding the 1525 in 1-2 ft non breaking swell and it was super fun - use the FD to get speed and when the swell reaches you you hop the board up so the foil is high then glide. The 1525 doesn't turn quick like smaller foils but on swells it carves fine. Chopped 1325 gives quicker turns

Had the 1325 for a while it was horrible to turn, cannot imagine how bad the 1525 would be

Not sure which Gong 1350 you have. I assume you're talking about the Fluid LT but I think they have a few that could be called 1350cm.

I use the XXLT Fluid with the X-over med stab a lot with my FD Plus but I'm 88kg. I'm thinking the Fluid XLT (or XLS) may be a better mid aspect choice but I don't get in surf much. I think its 1550cm 6:1 area.