Hi - im currently using a Naish 110 board @ 29" wide by 5'10 (with Axis 1150 / 910 foils)

I really fancy one of the new '22 (maybe TE in mint) Fanatic Sky wings - for one thing i think they will be better strap position for my axis foil...and i just like the look of them and after 12 mths, im kinda itching to try something new.

However, Im deliberating what size

Head says - go with the 105, its 27" wide (so 2" narrower than current Naish) and 5'6 long
Heart says - nahhh, go down to the 95 liter....5'4, and 26" wide (so 3" narrower than current)

Im about 88kg (was 90kg...aiming for 85kg ish - but will still be approx 90kg i guess come winter in Wales with 5mm suit, boots etc), can gybe ok (learning to tack) but go out a lot in light winds (Unit 6m) where i might need to slog about off the foil a fair bit....so its the off the plane blobbing about capability im concerned about + how much more wind it will take to get on the plane.

Whats the general concensus - stay safe with 105 or drop down to 95?

PS
i know a lot of people are pushing sub weight sinkers...but for predominately light winds surely that makes no sense?
Cant help but think there is a bit of "race" to the bottom going on like there was with windsurfing back in the day, where everyone ran after tiny hookipa wave boards as soon as they could blast about...

Cheers all
Northy

Go the 95L ...... you will do it easy at your weight. It is a great board to ride and easy to get up on.

Doesn't seem worth it to only drop 5 L and a couple inches of width. I just went from a 115L wing board to a 75L (I weigh ~70 kg dry). There were a couple sessions of struggle but it's coming together nicely for me. Light wind sucks. Unless you're selling the 110L board I'd go with your heart; 15 L less is not that much.

Yep 95. Think of your next next board too. Probably around 75 L. So youl'll be dropping approx 20 L on current and future purchases. There, all planned out.

Thanks for comments.
i appreciate light wind isnt ideal - but if you have a lot of F3-F4 then you need gear to work with it...not for F5 trade winds (that we dont get)
Hence the question if everyone rckon 95 board (26 wide) is big enough for low wind for 90kg rider. I started with a 110...so 20 liters above weight and thats fine

96/97kg and riding an 90l board in more constant wind as you have...and considering buying back a extra 110/120l board for the cold winters. (temps between +10C on a mild winter and freezing balls off + iceskating at a cold one).

Like you mentioned, there is a race to the bottom. awesome when you have the conditions, but I have already seen pals sitting half an hour in the water waiting for that gust while the rest of us with slightly bigger gear less cool gear were flying around and actually having fun.

I have a few buddies that have both lite and good wind boards, as well as a range of hand wings, and foil sizes. I just use one board and hand wing, as I don't have that much space to store all the gear. They break out their 7m wings, 2000 cm2 foils, and larger 95-100 L boards for lite days, then hop on 40 L boards 1500 cm2 foils, and 4 & 5 m2 wings when the wind gets better. My philosophy is to aim towards the middle (1800 cm2 foil, 75 L board, 4.8 m wing). This has can work for many days, but not all. I've definitely given up some on the low end but really really like the feeling of my set up. If you're aiming for something mainly geared towards low winds, a video came out recently on lite wing foiling. The suggestion was board size +10L above weight.

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northy1 said..
Thanks for comments.
i appreciate light wind isnt ideal - but if you have a lot of F3-F4 then you need gear to work with it...not for F5 trade winds (that we dont get)
Hence the question if everyone rckon 95 board (26 wide) is big enough for low wind for 90kg rider. I started with a 110...so 20 liters above weight and thats fine

Did you go for the small board in the end? any change of heart?
I'm on the Hover 125 and looking at downsizing. Tried a 98 and felt really tricky to get up on. Im in Edinburgh the conditions can be 0-25 with hefty chop, makes a bigger board look more appealing.
I remember buying a 80L wave board in the 90s, I'd been watching too many videos of Robbie Naish, it did not get much use on the East coast ????

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rgmacca said..

northy1 said..
Thanks for comments.
i appreciate light wind isnt ideal - but if you have a lot of F3-F4 then you need gear to work with it...not for F5 trade winds (that we dont get)
Hence the question if everyone rckon 95 board (26 wide) is big enough for low wind for 90kg rider. I started with a 110...so 20 liters above weight and thats fine

Did you go for the small board in the end? any change of heart?
I'm on the Hover 125 and looking at downsizing. Tried a 98 and felt really tricky to get up on. Im in Edinburgh the conditions can be 0-25 with hefty chop, makes a bigger board look more appealing.
I remember buying a 80L wave board in the 90s, I'd been watching too many videos of Robbie Naish, it did not get much use on the East coast ????

I went from a 100L to 60.
Bottom end I have to concede I'm either swimming or not getting up, that's at the very bottom where on a floaty board it would be very marginal. That being said, I do miss having that marginal ability, I've had my fair share of big swims when breeze dies or swimming to wind lines. But the positives of the little board outweigh these marginal losses, and with big enough sails, you can make anything work. I love the responsiveness, snappiness and general fun of such a small board. My light setup is a 1000cm2 foil and 6m wing, I'll get up in a 12 knot gust, and with such a small foil, you're doing 20 knots anyway. Easy to gybe and get around, just need to load up the foil to turn.

Plenty of guys are concerned with prospects of a 5-10km swim if wind shuts down, but you're going to be doing that anyway on a bigger board. Little board is easier to paddle anyway.

Given your conditions both wind and how damn cold it sounds I'd be leaning towards at least the same weight to litres or go plus. Stuff sitting around in those cold waters. In WA we can afford to sit there and wait for a gust, have a nice warm paddle around - enjoy the view. That being said i watch guys on minus 5 dog around on the surface. Depends on how good you are.
so I reckon Big T is on it.

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King Crash said..

rgmacca said..

northy1 said..
Thanks for comments.
i appreciate light wind isnt ideal - but if you have a lot of F3-F4 then you need gear to work with it...not for F5 trade winds (that we dont get)
Hence the question if everyone rckon 95 board (26 wide) is big enough for low wind for 90kg rider. I started with a 110...so 20 liters above weight and thats fine

Did you go for the small board in the end? any change of heart?
I'm on the Hover 125 and looking at downsizing. Tried a 98 and felt really tricky to get up on. Im in Edinburgh the conditions can be 0-25 with hefty chop, makes a bigger board look more appealing.
I remember buying a 80L wave board in the 90s, I'd been watching too many videos of Robbie Naish, it did not get much use on the East coast ????

I went from a 100L to 60.
Bottom end I have to concede I'm either swimming or not getting up, that's at the very bottom where on a floaty board it would be very marginal. That being said, I do miss having that marginal ability, I've had my fair share of big swims when breeze dies or swimming to wind lines. But the positives of the little board outweigh these marginal losses, and with big enough sails, you can make anything work. I love the responsiveness, snappiness and general fun of such a small board. My light setup is a 1000cm2 foil and 6m wing, I'll get up in a 12 knot gust, and with such a small foil, you're doing 20 knots anyway. Easy to gybe and get around, just need to load up the foil to turn.

Plenty of guys are concerned with prospects of a 5-10km swim if wind shuts down, but you're going to be doing that anyway on a bigger board. Little board is easier to paddle anyway.

What you weigh?. I agree with the paddle philosophy and don't buy the usual. I can paddle my 34L prone board easily enough. And have done on occasions

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eppo said..

King Crash said..

rgmacca said..

northy1 said..
Thanks for comments.
i appreciate light wind isnt ideal - but if you have a lot of F3-F4 then you need gear to work with it...not for F5 trade winds (that we dont get)
Hence the question if everyone rckon 95 board (26 wide) is big enough for low wind for 90kg rider. I started with a 110...so 20 liters above weight and thats fine

Did you go for the small board in the end? any change of heart?
I'm on the Hover 125 and looking at downsizing. Tried a 98 and felt really tricky to get up on. Im in Edinburgh the conditions can be 0-25 with hefty chop, makes a bigger board look more appealing.
I remember buying a 80L wave board in the 90s, I'd been watching too many videos of Robbie Naish, it did not get much use on the East coast ????

I went from a 100L to 60.
Bottom end I have to concede I'm either swimming or not getting up, that's at the very bottom where on a floaty board it would be very marginal. That being said, I do miss having that marginal ability, I've had my fair share of big swims when breeze dies or swimming to wind lines. But the positives of the little board outweigh these marginal losses, and with big enough sails, you can make anything work. I love the responsiveness, snappiness and general fun of such a small board. My light setup is a 1000cm2 foil and 6m wing, I'll get up in a 12 knot gust, and with such a small foil, you're doing 20 knots anyway. Easy to gybe and get around, just need to load up the foil to turn.

Plenty of guys are concerned with prospects of a 5-10km swim if wind shuts down, but you're going to be doing that anyway on a bigger board. Little board is easier to paddle anyway.

What you weigh?. I agree with the paddle philosophy and don't buy the usual. I can paddle my 34L prone board easily enough. And have done on occasions

75kg. I also agree, starting out on a negative buoyancy board sucks big time. But the moment you have air in the wing, you're riding on the surface anyway. Then its just learning to pump up properly, it can be a hassle and can take forever. But when it clicks, you'll be up before everyone else, and the last one to head in when it starts to drop off.

Yeh I'm same weight. Have a 34L prone - can sink start well enough now but I need a size wing thats in its top third range to get that nose out of the damn water. My 90L board is now worse than a Mac truck. Even 75L boards look stupidly big to me now.

Contemplating a 60l ish using the stink bud or or even mid to high forties not sure.


60l about right for ya ? What board you on?

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eppo said..
Yeh I'm same weight. Have a 34L prone - can sink start well enough now but I need a size wing thats in its top third range to get that nose out of the damn water. My 90L board is now worse than a Mac truck. Even 75L boards look stupidly big to me now.

Contemplating a 60l ish using the stink bud or or even mid to high forties not sure.


60l about right for ya ? What board you on?

I got a 3"10 x 32L for when its nuking and for tricks. I was planning on getting a north swell, but when I was ready for it, none left in stock, really wanted the 4"4. I was also considering the Konrad 4"4, but the 3"10 was from Deep and my 100L was deep, so pretty happy with the performance. I'll put foot straps in it to make it a weapon.

Starboard 4"6 x 60L. I got this board earlier in the year, first session I had with it and the 100L never touched the water again. I have sent this little board hard, some enormous crashes.
No need for stinkbug start, I just sit on it like a surfboard, pull wing overhead, and wait until wind in sail and use this as leverage, hook my windward leg behind and onto the board, then in one move, stand and get the other leg up too. Its really smooth and saves my knees. I tried knee starting in the light on this, but the bruises wasn't worth it. I can go from surf stance to foiling in a gust in less time than the average foiler trying to pump up.

Interesting. So you putting your front or your back leg up first ? Must be front foot (windward) but you say you hook your leg behind board - so back leg? sounds like a good method - it's not just saving knees it's avoiding the wobble you can get on them in the chop.
sounds like ya need some flexibility with that start ?

Alan Cadiz like technique then?

also what's ya technique on the 32L.

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eppo said..
Interesting. So you putting your front or your back leg up first ? Must be front foot (windward) but you say you hook your leg behind board - so back leg? sounds like a good method - it's not just saving knees it's avoiding the wobble you can get on them in the chop.
sounds like ya need some flexibility with that start ?

Alan Cadiz like technique then?

also what's ya technique on the 32L.

Heavily inspired by Alan Cadiz, you can even have windward foot in foot strap, leeward foot dragging for stability. When you get up like this, it's all in a singular movement, so it looks smooth. I wouldn't say you need a great deal of flexibility, but it's more or less a deep bodyweight squat (with the wing doing 2/3's of the work). I tried for a while knee starting, but I honestly hate it.

32L, I've tried this method and currently without straps, you can't in 15 knots. I was on my 4m wing and HPS700. Not the right combo for the conditions. Still, same method, nice and easy to get up

Eppo PM'd me, and figured I'd share my method for getting up incase anyone wanted.


My 4"6 used to annihilate my knees and I could hardly walk off the beach if I was in light conditions, so I thought about it, and just watched heaps of resources showing how everyone had a different method and tested this out.

Obvs swim out until you're deep enough, I get up on the board normally, and get straight into a surf stance sitting just in front of my back foot strap (I will explain the caveat of this later). I'm stable here and comfortable, I can rest, chill and watch the gusts coming from here. When I feel it's time, I reach out and get my wing above my head. This is normal wing stance, I ride WASP's so when starting, one hand is on the "Y" handle, and depending on your arms length, the furthest handle I can get without the leach hitting the water. In swell and flat, this is usually second last handle for me at 183cm. When I feel resistance in the wing, this is where everything happens, so I'll try and explain this in as much depth as possible.

Windward (opposite side to wing) leg gets onto the board, for me, that's usually straight into the foot strap. I keep one foot in the water for stability in swell. But we're talking 2-3 seconds more at most. So at this point 2-3 seconds, we're going from one foot in the foot strap to standing. Here I'm sheeting on with the wing, this lifts me up (In light wind, this is more of deep squat). From here back foot is on the board, depending if I'm setting up for a gust, I'll quickly get my foot in the back foot strap. I'm now up, both feet in foot straps and ready to pump up. If I'm just looking to get up, my back foot won't be in the strap, I'll just comfortably stand where I'm balanced.

When you get get this method down, its easy and very smooth. As I mentioned earlier a caveat... I've worn holes in the butt of my wetsuit from a bur on a footstrap screw. I've now filed it and covered this area, I think Armstrong footstraps might be a little better for this problem (I use dakine).

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King Crash said..
Eppo PM'd me, and figured I'd share my method for getting up incase anyone wanted.


My 4"6 used to annihilate my knees and I could hardly walk off the beach if I was in light conditions, so I thought about it, and just watched heaps of resources showing how everyone had a different method and tested this out.

Obvs swim out until you're deep enough, I get up on the board normally, and get straight into a surf stance sitting just in front of my back foot strap (I will explain the caveat of this later). I'm stable here and comfortable, I can rest, chill and watch the gusts coming from here. When I feel it's time, I reach out and get my wing above my head. This is normal wing stance, I ride WASP's so when starting, one hand is on the "Y" handle, and depending on your arms length, the furthest handle I can get without the leach hitting the water. In swell and flat, this is usually second last handle for me at 183cm. When I feel resistance in the wing, this is where everything happens, so I'll try and explain this in as much depth as possible.

Windward (opposite side to wing) leg gets onto the board, for me, that's usually straight into the foot strap. I keep one foot in the water for stability in swell. But we're talking 2-3 seconds more at most. So at this point 2-3 seconds, we're going from one foot in the foot strap to standing. Here I'm sheeting on with the wing, this lifts me up (In light wind, this is more of deep squat). From here back foot is on the board, depending if I'm setting up for a gust, I'll quickly get my foot in the back foot strap. I'm now up, both feet in foot straps and ready to pump up. If I'm just looking to get up, my back foot won't be in the strap, I'll just comfortably stand where I'm balanced.

When you get get this method down, its easy and very smooth. As I mentioned earlier a caveat... I've worn holes in the butt of my wetsuit from a bur on a footstrap screw. I've now filed it and covered this area, I think Armstrong footstraps might be a little better for this problem (I use dakine).

Thanks for sharing. I tried the Cadiz method but did not have the flexibility, will give this ago.
cheers.