Choosing your Wingfoil Board

Choosing your First Wingfoil Board

As a beginner, board choice is critical to ensure that you don’t make the early stages too difficult for yourself. Much like SUP (Stand Up Paddle) having positive buoyancy is critical to ensure that you have a stable platform on which to learn.

Buoyancy of a board is given by the volume which is measured in liters. As a general rule one liter will offset the weight of one kilogram. As a beginner wing border, boards should be at least 30 liters above your weight. I.e. an 80kg rider should be looking for a board 110+ liters. This ensures that the board will support your weight, and even if the wind drops out you are able to remain on the board.

The following chart provides a basic guide for Wingfoil Board size relative to rider weight.

Note: This chart provides a rough guide for board, wing and foil sizing. However, final selection will need to take into consideration each individuals previous experience and physical condition.

Progressing to smaller boards

When progressing, people often find that they move onto smaller boards which give less swing weight while up on the foil. This gives more maneuverability to the rider, allowing faster turning and pumping (developing power through the foil) of the board. There is a good second hand market of larger beginner boards, which makes the resale value high so upgrading is easy.