i started windfoiling 2019, stopped SL-windsurfing completely 2020/21, tryed and learnt (but stopped) winging 2022 - and now I own the AEON set (almost complete) with FMX and PD Foil-Sl Boards, powerd by PD HA-Race and GT3-Foil-sails.

Do I care, what happens in the PWA racing regarding the big "Foil-backlash"? No, not at all.

Do I care, that now 2026 these very large freerace or some very wide SL-boards boards are presented to be again the hottest **** on the market? No, not at all.

But one thing, I know for sure. After so many many days on the beach's (i started 1983) waiting for the breeze, for the gust, for my 30 minutes of enough wind to glide with my SL-Boards - i will never return from Windfoiling back to the fin at low- oder medium windrange conditions.

Interesting discussion.
I would have to agree with your observations about a shift back to the fin.

I think the windsurfing industry is worried that they have lost out to wingfoiling in the foiling department and hence the pivot back to the fin.

In terms of racing, it seems like the pwa is pursuing this dream of becoming the next 'f1' or a return of the glory days. Not gonna happen. They should instead focus on building a grassroots industry. IQ foil has an excellent numbers of participants. I have always felt that the iq racing is great (but poor coverage) and the pwa races are poor to ok (but decent coverage). A pwa format similar to iq (1 board, 8.0 sail, 1 foil, slalom & course racing) would allow all of those iq foilers to participate and really drive up the grass roots numbers.

Mario prefers fin and is most likely paid to be an influencer for windsurfing, not wind foiling so something to keep in mind. I'm not sure why these should clash and tbh, on a lake in the middle of Germany, I think anyone should own a foil if you want to make the most out of the conditions.

I've done windsurf foiling but switched to wing foiling for low wind days instead. It's super slow, but it's just more convenient for me as it's less of a hassle and the gear is compacter. I also like that it's just different to windsurfing, although there is a lot of overlap and some folks like Guy Cribb see it as the evolution of windsurfing. I don't agree on that, as there's nothing like the sensation of fin windsurfing, but I can see where he's coming from. That said, the foil is amazing, and a sensation on it's own, just different. Guess it's high octane (fin) versus serenity (foil), though some people go foiling in 30 knots days.

I think these disciplines can all live next to each other. The market is small but in places where there's light winds, its packed with foilers. In places with decent windy conditions, you still see that fin generally dominates. I would love to see both Slalom X and foil racing at the PWA, depending on the places they go. While I don't watch the Olympic foiling races, I think PWA races are amazing to watch. Admittedly the foil racing can be more exciting as these things still explode at random times, guaranteeing some dramas.

Mario is young. I'm closer to his dad's age, who wings. Let's visit Mario again in 10 years.

6u1d0 said..
IMHO, the 'industry' is stalling on the windFoil gear because brand (and most rider as well) completly missed the easy going style opportunity. They focused on high end performance.

Uhm, remember the time where almost any freeride windsurf board suddenly had a "foil approved" box? The brands did see the opportunity I think, but not sure if the market interest was there.

Apart from the fact that it might not make much sense to stick a foil in a normal windsurfing board, the brands pushed hard.

ptsf1111 said..
remember the time where almost any freeride windsurf board suddenly had a "foil approved" box?

I do remember, but they also pushed forward low aspec crapy foil. And though it can be a solution to get into foiling, you need to scale down sub 2m length at some point : but it was only done when winGing came into the game.

Nico just dropped a new video and admitted he's hardly been on a windfoil in months. At least he's back on - a shiny new toy will do that. Looking at the results of Trofeo, I'm wondering how much less interest in PWA foiling is because so much of the talent is in the IQFoil pool, instead? www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall

Mario has found his niche and dropped a new one. Windfoiling is dead because we can all afford to holiday in Tarifa instead of the crappy lake 45 minutes from my house where I've foiled 6 hours this week with a 7.7 in conditions a fin couldn't touch.

6u1d0 said..
Same problem : he says you need a big wide board, specific sail, expensive top end foil... and that is true for race winDfoil. But also this leads those who never tried winDfoil to think it's the only way : cumbersome, expensive, and for high end top riders. VS winGing that is still somewhat easier. No doubt this will keep winDfoil a niche sport.

...
The only problem is that most informations available on winDfoiling only talks of racy gear, and if not, there's a lot of 'not very good advises'.

Totally agree. Five yr old used gear still delivers a ton of fun. That's what I was using this week since my launch is kind of tricky and I'm not in the mood to destroy my good foil.

Bob van de Burgt: "But on a day like this, on the fin, it would be a disaster."

Sorry, but when you've had more years of experience than you have yet to do, reading, listening, and watching what influencers are offering makes me laugh (and cry).
The weather conditions, the spots, the environment, the social conditions, and the habits aren't the same across the globe.
This justifies such a varied offering and different ways of understanding sailing without a boat...
There are pros and cons to each specialty, and it's up to each of us to identify how happy we are when we get out on the water.
Price and quantity of materials, ease of transport, ease of use, reliability, access to basic information, the second-hand market, sharing with friends, and a thousand other things don't have the same priority for each of us.
Regarding the fin vs. windfoil debate, in the pre-foil era, I never saw anyone with fewer than 4-5 sails (with their respective masts and booms), 2-3 boards, and at least 6 fins.
If we're talking about costs in the racing world, it doesn't seem like there's a huge difference...
But even those who sail just for fun often turn up their noses when they're offered equipment that's only 2 or 3 seasons old...

I admire the efforts, expertise, determination, and mission of Nico, Mario, and Nils, but in recent months I've reconsidered my stance on what they publish.
Reputation is built through consistency...

IFCA Worlds that just wrapped up over the weekend was a(nother) case in point -- if there was another one needed. If it hadn't been for the foil everyone would have sat on the beach for four days and scrambled for a fin result on the last (half) day. And this on a spot that is amongst the most reliably windy.

If i wasn't wind foiling my days would cut down 2/3 if I just finned. Fin rules all..windfoiling for light to about 20kts. However this season I will be trying wingfoiling. And if I like it.I can see myself dumping windfoil gear.
it's the amount of gear that pisses my off with with windsurfing.. So winging instead of wind foiling is appealing.

yes; and the "winging is better because you can jump" is also sounding less appealing ? www.facebook.com/groups/3029048540489011/posts/26818625164438015/

skyking1231 said..
If i wasn't wind foiling my days would cut down 2/3 if I just finned. Fin rules all..windfoiling for light to about 20kts. However this season I will be trying wingfoiling. And if I like it.I can see myself dumping windfoil gear.
it's the amount of gear that pisses my off with with windsurfing.. So winging instead of wind foiling is appealing.

The worse outcome for transporting gear is a fin windsurfer and Wingfoil gear. Basically you have to carry everything: all your sails, all your wings, a different harness for winging & windsurfing, wing pumps, etc etc.

If I'm going winging, I don't pack the windsurfer in the car. However, a fin winsurfer and a windfoil board travel pretty well together - same sails, same harness.

Paducah said..
www.windsurf.co.uk/johan-soe-steps-away-from-pwa-slalom-season-to-chase-iqfoil-goals/
"Johan Søe has officially withdrawn from the 2026 PWA slalom season, choosing instead to fully commit to his Olympic and iQFOiL campaign. The Danish foil specialist often known as the ‘Beast’, has won every slalom event he has entered since 2023!"
Two of the best PWA foilers (Soe and Goyard) are now campaigning IQFoil even with the new 8m sail limitation. There's a whole lot to read into this. One thing that comes up to me is that the PWA limitation on the number of hydrofoil wings forced a trend to larger sail sizes and smaller hydrofoil wings, the opposite of what most recreational riders use. It also dampened development of performance lightweight gear as most of the focus was on smaller wing sizes as opposed to bigger wings that would be used by or influence the gear of rec riders.
For all the chatter about the IQ gear being meh compared to modern designs, it probably is but still can provide a good day on the water. It's a shame that Starboard stopped selling the additional gear (wings and fuses) that were compatible to extend the usefulness of the IQ gear that racers offload.

fully agree. if any more nails were needed in the proverbial coffin, this is it.
while manufacturers (and their influencers) are out there pushing the fin again, ironically neither of the first two big events of the year (IFCA, POS) have managed to pull off much (and in the case of POS, any) official fin racing, both effectively being saved by... the foil! a few levels down, this goes for the rec sailor too: many a session is saved by our ability to switch to foil.
so: the answer cannot be to drop foil development altogether; instead, the lessons learned must be directed at developing ever more efficient, easy to use, low to medium wind foil gear across the whole performance spectrum, rather than killing it or letting it die a slow death on the illusive expectation that the fin will save us. been there...
disclaimers: I love a good fin session as much as the next guy (but don't live in an area blessed by trade winds), and truly hope that all those making the trek to Gruissan will be sandblasted by a good-ol Tram next week so the fins can have their time to shine.