Author Topic: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs  (Read 3860 times)

surfcowboy

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Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« on: January 04, 2020, 08:07:47 AM »
Ok, it had to be done. Mainly because I’m finally going to dip into this sport over here. (Finally to a place where a small injury won’t endanger my business and family to be honest.)

For those of us under 160, what’s a good size to learn to surf foil on?

Do we go big 1500 cm+ and keep it for downwind or tiny days when we are better? Or do we pick something smaller that will be more appropriate day to day?

I can’t believe  that steamroller and I would find the same foil “right” in the same waves. lol

I’ll remind you all that BluePlanet sells a 65cm wingspan foil as a starter foil and a lot of folks here learned on Takumas and smaller Naish wings. Was that just a bad idea that we’ve moved on from now? (Robert, not implying anything here btw, I just trust your knowledge 100% and so it interests me that you had that foil on the market as a starter. Though I know that your ideas may have evolved as well since your “real” recommendations are the larger carbon foils.)

Can we smaller framed folks scoop up these deals now that y’all big boys have moved on, or should we be learning on larger wings too?






flkiter

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2020, 11:13:08 AM »
Hey surf cowboy,
From seeing all the topics that you're starting, I think you should go down to your local beach and see what the guys are riding. I'm 160 lbs and I'm my local spot I use a 1020 and 1000 wing from axis. If I travel up the coast I'll mainly use the 1000 or I can go prone and use a way smaller wing. Hardest part of learning this sport is getting the right set up for your area as tuniy your gear. It took me a long time to sort stuff out but now my buddies get the right gear for our spot and with my coaching, they're catching doubles and pumping down the beach in the flat sections in a week or two. No one is going to have the perfect answer for you unless they know your spot and ability. The used wings out there are great and do the job. Most of us learned on them and changed gear cause we progressed in our skill.

JEG

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2020, 11:33:43 AM »
Bigger wings with small waves or tow behind the boat is the best to learn.
Get the small wings later on when your skills improve.

surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2020, 03:49:49 PM »
Thx guys and yes, I’ve been paying attention. Don’t see many folks my size so hence my ask.

But it seems that there is no such thing as “too big” for learning. Is that true? I guess that’s the real question here.

VB_Foil

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2020, 05:09:48 PM »
Good thread idea, as I was in your boat around a year ago.

I’m 145 lbs and prone foil an Armstrong 1200 wing in waves over waist high and the 1550 under waist. I have the new 1050 ‘small rider’ wing on pre-order for the juicier days aver chest high.  The 1200 gets tough to turn when there is a bit more size, as I’m focusing on keeping it in the water.  I also have the giant 2400 wing for wing dinging, which it excels at for learning. I’ve tried the giant wing once during my first attempt at sup foiling and was able to catch a few tiny waves alright.

I started on cloud IX s24 and x28 wings.

As a smaller rider, you can ride larger wings, you just need to ride further forward in relation to the mast. This will keep the wing from breaching, but you sacrifice maneuverability (not a bad thing for beginners). If you only have a small short board, say less than 4’5”, it can be harder to pop up with bigger wings as you will get airborne before reaching you let feet in some cases.  Longer boards, like my 4’10” allows me to paddle further up on the nose to compensate.

Not sure if any of that helps or not. I did find the s24 wing a lot easier to learn on than the x28.
I’m a 5’9” 65kg rider:

Boards:
   4' 27L Armstrong FG Wing/Surf
   4’5” 34L Armstrong FG Wing/Surf
   4'11" 60L Armstrong Wing/Sup
  
  

Foils: Armstrong HA525, HS625, HA725, HA925, HS1050, HA1125, HS1250, HA1325
Wings: BRM 2M & 3M, FreeWing Nitro 4M, OR 5M & 7M Glide

surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2020, 07:31:59 PM »
Thank you for this. I’ve wondered about excess lift. Good to know that it’s manageable.

CloudIX being local is cool to me. Saw an S24 on craigslist but was worried that I couldn’t find larger wing to add to it. Maybe I should call them and ask.

flkiter

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2020, 08:09:51 PM »
If you're going to go cloud, go with the X series unless you find a killer deal. The s series was licensed by liquid force  and called the impulse and just 2 wings fit the fuselage. The X series has several wings and I heard some new ones on the way. I think it was a dumb move on them to change the fuselage cause I would of bought a few of the wings if they worked with my older set up. The S series is great if those two sizes work for you. I prefer the 24 on a kite.

surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2020, 09:28:09 PM »
I heard there’s an upgrade path if you own one. But I saw an X series recently and the new fuse is beautiful. Carbon and solid as a rock.

On the Progression Project Podcast the owners said that they had to switch. I’m sure they just had to get big enough to afford to run a full order of parts but yes, rough on people who own them.

This one is super cheap. If I can get the larger wing I might do it. Also found a good deal on a slingshot infinity 76 which Clay and others say is a good starter foil. There’s also a ton of wings around for that fuse.

The thing about the CloudIX/liquid force is that the wing mount is super basic so making your own wings would be easier.

I guess it’s the classic buy vs build.

Dwight (DW)

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2020, 04:02:20 AM »
The larger Cloud IX wing that goes with the s24 is called the p27.

I’d take the s24 and p27 combo over the Slingshot any day. I have owned them all.


surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2020, 07:18:27 AM »
DW, thx, you know. ;)

They had a 27 and a 28 (P was pelican so early days)

Also still looking for an NP as although they aren’t meeting your pace of innovation, still sounds like a good setup.

I’m still also Gong-curious.

Interesting to see where this lands lol.

But thanks for helping the smaller folks out. So far it looks like folks are saying at least a 1500cm2 area or thereabouts to learn on.

surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2020, 06:12:49 PM »
Interesting info on the Gong forum. I spent a long couple of hours deciphering the google translate version of a 30 page thread lol.

They basically break it down to matching your wing more to the wave size than to the rider when starting.

They also advised me, based on my size and ability to go with their XL wing which I was somewhat relieved by. Big, slow, easy. So I’ll be putting this thing in the back of the box of my 7’4” converted SUP and starting (til I can get a dedicated foil SUP built.)

805StandUp

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2020, 06:36:29 PM »
Cloud IX are all local to us... word is that their X28 and X32 are a great improvement from the P series.  Chris also showed me his new high aspect wing and he was ripping!

surfcowboy

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Re: Small persons guide to foil gear - 120lbs to 160 lbs
« Reply #12 on: January 13, 2020, 06:49:05 PM »
I loved hearing that guy on the Progression Project. Such a good vibe and clearly stoked saw a foil at Fletcher’s shop and it was so nice. The carbon fuse is a work of art for sure.

 


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