Hi All
I am in Geraldton WA, fairly decent sup surfer, 39 years old 80kg. I wing foiled once last summer and had fun, just got up on foil and liked the feeling of the wing. Surfing a 100L sup which feels too big at times, 90L feels great in calm conditions.
ultimately i'd love to foil in the surf, try downwinding, but initially will look for calmer beaches to learn how to foil.
there's no shops here to buy/try.

Can people advise how to buy/what to buy to start with?

I was looking at a 5m wing duotone unit. Board and foil I have no bloody idea.

Is it worth going for an all in one package for 4k or so just to get going or should i be more picky with what i get.

Cheers
Jim

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jimmy111 said..
Hi All
I am in Geraldton WA, fairly decent sup surfer, 39 years old 80kg. I wing foiled once last summer and had fun, just got up on foil and liked the feeling of the wing. Surfing a 100L sup which feels too big at times, 90L feels great in calm conditions.
ultimately i'd love to foil in the surf, try downwinding, but initially will look for calmer beaches to learn how to foil.
there's no shops here to buy/try.

Can people advise how to buy/what to buy to start with?

I was looking at a 5m wing duotone unit. Board and foil I have no bloody idea.

Is it worth going for an all in one package for 4k or so just to get going or should i be more picky with what i get.

Cheers
Jim

I'm 93-ish kgs and started a year ago with a 115L Duotone Sky Free board, Axis HPS foil, and Neil Pryde Fly v1 5.4m wing (because it was cheap and I came from windsurfing so knew the brand).

For me with the windsurfing background the +17L board was fine for learning on. You'd probably be the same with SUP and surf skills. So somewhere around +15-20L would be ok. +30 or +40 wouldn't hurt either.

The Axis HPS 1050 was a good foil for learning on but I've swapped to an AFS Evo foil which has been much better. I try to subscribe to the adage of buy once cry once (where I think it makes sense). AFS foils are available in Perth so something worth considering.

Your wing sizes are determined by the wind strength in your area, and your skill level. It's difficult to go out when it's nuking even with a small wing because the water gets so choppy. My 5.4m wing gets me out in about 15+ knots of wind. I swap to a 4.0m at around 23 knots. I typically don't wing once it gets to or over 30 knots because my 4.0 is overpowered. I've used an Armstrong XPS Mk2 4.5m in wind gusting to 32-33 (from memory), and I think those wings are what I'd buy today if I was starting again, probably in a 5.5m and 4.5m pair.

One general piece of advice is err on the side of caution and go for a bigger/more beginner foil setup and a bigger more stable board than you might think. I'm a similar age to you and time-poor with small kids, etc. Better to be flying around building skills on equipment that's "too big/easy" than struggling to get going and being frustrated on equipment that's too small & too hard.

Thank you that's very helpful - will look into that equipment/brands and try to find some stuff

I've obviously made a typo with the volume numbers btw - my board is +22L not +17. I also think +15L would be too small as a first board.

I feel like that first board is crazy to buy. I'm reasonably handy and I fixed up 2 boards that are HOT GARBAGE - a 135 L WHALE and a a 105 L both I was given trashed and rebuilt and I rent them out to interested parties for $50 a month and it's FANTASTIC for all involved. You do need a +30 for learning but you only need it for a handful of sessions. And the +10 for only maybe a season. These boards can be heavy and ugly pieces of TRASH. The point is to get off em quick.

too bad most lesson centers are only interested in renting hot looking gear at crazy rates to fuel you buying the newest hotness or charging you crazy rates for the wear and tear.

if you find yourself regularly connected to newbies at your local this is a fun little thing to do to give back to the community and make a few bucks for beer money.

While you can start with an old wreck of a board, don't buy old low aspect foils. They're terrible and will slow your learning. Code foils s series or unifoil progression in the larger sizes is a great place to start. Modern easy to use foils and should be fairly easy to find second hand in a lot of markets. (I have no affiliation with any of these brands)

I don't know about that. I exclusively ride modern sub 1000sqcm surf foils and I've put together 2 setups for beginners. Both 2200+ one of them a 6 year old gofoil and the other the big big reedin and I tried both with weird whale boards and actually had super fun sessions riding around with no speed. Seemed totally viable beginner gear.

I suggest investing in the foil and wing, and continuing to progress on your sup foil board until you really get the knack of it. Yes its going to feel like a barge, but that isn't going to hold you back for a little while until you have figured out all the basics (gybes, staying upwind, foot switches, etc...). Once you have those skills dialed in you will be prepared for a lower volume board. In the meantime, try other peoples boards if you can to figure out what works and what doesn't work for you.

If you get onto a smaller board now, you are going to have to switch again too soon. Volume really doesn't tell the whole story either. You might want a 90L board now, but you will probably want a narrower more efficient 90L board later (which is probably too advanced for now).

Im not going to make a foil suggestion, but just make sure you are investing in a system that is proven and that you can continue to grow with. A foil system that is prior generation may not be compatible with the current generation foils. Look at what people at your beach are riding and think about investing in that since the second hand market will be deeper and you will have more access to demo from friends. Invest in a good mast early since thats one piece of the quiver that you can hang onto for years.

I experimented w several beginner foil set ups for my wife and friends. The best so far is the Armstrong S1. It is very beginner friendly, great to learn jibes and tacks. It's cheap w the aluminum mast (US$1400) for a complete set. I wouldn't upgrade to the Armstrong performance mast because in 1-2 yrs when you're outgrowing the S1 you may want to switch to a different brand. At that point you can sell the s1. I would try to borrow a big wide board, usually there is a foiler in the area who has a beginner board floating around. As soon as you learned to get on foil and ride just a little bit you can switch to a moderate midlength board which comes off the water much more easily. For wings I would buy 2 year old Fone or Duotone wings w the expectation that you will end up putting holes in the wings during the early days of learning. No need to do this w new wings.

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georgsurfer said..
w the expectation that you will end up putting holes in the wings during the early days of learning.

This is very true. I've holed my wings twice, both times from falling during attempted gybes: I fell off the back, the board skates off downwind and flips over and the wing gets blown into it. Both times on the windier end of the spectrum.

Thank you everyone this is so helpful and generous to share opinions and experience.
any concerns about this as a starter board? naish 2022 115L (making it weight +35 litres for me)www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Foiling-Wind-Wing-Foilboards/~kjydh/2022-Naish-Naish-Wing-Foil-56-115-Liters-5-6-115-Litres.aspx?_page=2&search=S6pB6CtHYCJYr66t%2BZ59%2BC6KN6EXhW8g