Having a hard time deciding on my next board, I am 70kg, can gybe, ride toe side and starting to flag the wing on ocean bumps. I think I am ready for a smaller board (currently riding a 105l) and I guess it will also help with my pumping which needs some work.
Any major differences in ease of ease of use, etc... between Sunova Casey Aviator 5' 75l (tried it a few month ago and liked it), Smik 5' 75l, Amos Peregrine 5' 80l and PPC Soar 83l? I don't think they are all available through my local shop but if they are kind of similar, my preference is to buy using my local shop.

The new trend in wing foiling is long skinny boards. Some companies are starting to come out with wing specific boards instead of
pushing their downwindboards as an alternative. I think it is a good direction. Winging on anything longer than 6' like my 7' Aviator in
meaningful wind is a chore for me.

Those skinny boards really make it easy to get up on foil and allow you to use smaller wings/foils thus enhancing your experience.
These are also much better at pushing hard upwind angles and surfing since you are less likely to catch rails but short enough to
avoid catching nose. The extra length helps to compensate for the narrowness on the stability aspect.

Think about adding boards in that category to your consideration:
Omen Flux 84L - omenfoils.com/collections/boards/products/flux?variant=42955761189023
Sunova Aviator Elite 80L - sunovasurfboards.com/en/legends/casey/aviator-downwind-elite
Amos Sultan wing 85L - amosshapes.com/products/sultan-wing-wing-foil-prone?variant=45100896190757

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burchas said..
The new trend in wing foiling is long skinny boards. Some companies are starting to come out with wing specific boards instead of
pushing their downwindboards as an alternative. I think it is a good direction. Winging on anything longer than 6' like my 7' Aviator in
meaningful wind is a chore for me.

Interesting to read. What would you say is the ideal size and volume for a narrow wing foiling board (not sup) that allows early lift in light wind but does not become a chore and spoil the experience in decent wind?

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burchas said..
The new trend in wing foiling is long skinny boards. Some companies are starting to come out with wing specific boards instead of
pushing their downwindboards as an alternative. I think it is a good direction. Winging on anything longer than 6' like my 7' Aviator in
meaningful wind is a chore for me.

Those skinny boards really make it easy to get up on foil and allow you to use smaller wings/foils thus enhancing your experience.
These are also much better at pushing hard upwind angles and surfing since you are less likely to catch rails but short enough to
avoid catching nose. The extra length helps to compensate for the narrowness on the stability aspect.

Think about adding boards in that category to your consideration:
Omen Flux 84L - omenfoils.com/collections/boards/products/flux?variant=42955761189023
Sunova Aviator Elite 80L - sunovasurfboards.com/en/legends/casey/aviator-downwind-elite
Amos Sultan wing 85L - amosshapes.com/products/sultan-wing-wing-foil-prone?variant=45100896190757

Great list

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MilesH said..

burchas said..
The new trend in wing foiling is long skinny boards. Some companies are starting to come out with wing specific boards instead of
pushing their downwindboards as an alternative. I think it is a good direction. Winging on anything longer than 6' like my 7' Aviator in
meaningful wind is a chore for me.

Interesting to read. What would you say is the ideal size and volume for a narrow wing foiling board (not sup) that allows early lift in light wind but does not become a chore and spoil the experience in decent wind?

Thanks, yeah I have been reading other threads about long skinny board for winging. I am lucky to live in a windy part of the world and haven't seen many people winging these at my local spot. The length and the lack of carry handle on the back has put me off, but I should probably at least try one.

No wisdom on what suits u - apart from longevity
Having worked on all of them recently, i am very impressed with PPC and Sunova particularly, never been anything wrong with a Smik, but an Amos had a woeful track install. Fair enough it was a special order so sorta custom - but it was very insufficient

you already have a bigger board which should work pretty well in light wind which is where the DW style boards work. Since you are looking for a smaller board I'd suggest focusing on a conventional shape in the 65-75 liter range - I think the 5' length is good. Don't be afraid to go 5-10 liters under your weight in kg as long as there is some length.
As someone with several styles of boards, the mid volume DW style boards are quite challenging in higher wind conditions. I'd only steer you that way if you already had a lower volume board.

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Velocicraptor said..
you already have a bigger board which should work pretty well in light wind which is where the DW style boards work. Since you are looking for a smaller board I'd suggest focusing on a conventional shape in the 65-75 liter range - I think the 5' length is good. Don't be afraid to go 5-10 liters under your weight in kg as long as there is some length.
As someone with several styles of boards, the mid volume DW style boards are quite challenging in higher wind conditions. I'd only steer you that way if you already had a lower volume board.

That's a good point, if you're going to keep your bigger board then you might be better served going with smaller dimensions.
I would still go with a narrow board for all the reason I mentioned before.

As an average intermediate 90+kg, I'm riding the Flux 5' 7.5" x 22 x 4.3" 72L from 10knots and up. I'm also adding a 5' x 19" x 3.8"x 48L
for those really windy days. Up until now I've used a 5' x 23" x 3.8" x 60L for these days.

I would point out that sacrificing some narrowness for a thinner board rewarded me with added stability and direct control.
This is why I went with the Flux, the dimensions they chose strike a good balance for me.

Thanks everyone all good points to consider. Being able to try a board should help decide what's right at my current level.
is anyone aware of new models coming out in the near future i should put on my list?

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panpanace said..
Thanks everyone all good points to consider. Being able to try a board should help decide what's right at my current level.
is anyone aware of new models coming out in the near future i should put on my list?

I believe you'll see a lot of new releases leading up to the AWSI trade show in Hood River in a month or so.

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burchas said..

panpanace said..
Thanks everyone all good points to consider. Being able to try a board should help decide what's right at my current level.
is anyone aware of new models coming out in the near future i should put on my list?

I believe you'll see a lot of new releases leading up to the AWSI trade show in Hood River in a month or so.

Thanks, worth waiting for then.

So I guess you're the other WA then....

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Mark _australia said..
So I guess you're the other WA then....

Hood river is in Oregon, right? Close but not quite.
Nah I am from the same part of the word as you ?