Midlength boards and Foildrives

Board shapes for 2024 have gone through a few fairly radical change's - slimming down in width and increasing length's, increasing the emphasis on early planing and ease of getting going. If you're not on foil, then you're not foiling!

Longer, thinner boards have become increasingly popular since Dave Kalama's infamous Barracuda designs changed the way downwind SUP Foil boards were seen. Initially designed with prone paddle downwinding in mind, SUP foilers quickly realised they could stand on these boards too. The massive increase in waterline length while maintaining a thin waist meant the boards would gain speed very quickly and get onto foil easily. Previously, the boxier design's would take quite a lot of effort to get to the speeds that foils would take off. Downwinding quickly became more accessible to more regular joe's.

Fast forward a few years and these design idea's have trickled down into almost every discipline of foiling. Most recently the crossover wing/prone/foil assist boards that have been popping up. For those higher intermediate/advanced wing foilers who want less swing weight under their feet but a relatively early take off speed, or prone foilers who want to get into waves early and paddle around with ease. Throw in the Foil assists that are so popular this year for those days with less than ideal conditions and for the right riders there may well be one board that can do all of three disciplines.

Limitations

Everything is a compromise in this game of foiling, and while there are clear advantages usually of early planing and more time on foil - its worth considering before purchase. This potential one board crossover is going to be way more suited to the intermediate and upward level riders.

• Winging - smaller boards are harder to use and generally need positive wind conditions and higher skillsets. You may find a smaller board will work well as a crossover but having a higher volume board for those lighter days will come in handy - perhaps thats where the downwind board comes in as a secondary crossover option, making a pretty solid 2 board quiver??
• Prone/Surf - the only likely downside here is swing weight. Paddling around and into waves is far easier on these midlengths, but once riding theres nothing quite like riding a tiny board to throw down on.
• Foil Assists - few downsides for this one.... you may struggle to learn on a 50/60/70L board, but it's not impossible in flat water and won't take long until this becomes your daily driver for everything foil assist. Smaller boards are definitely possible to get going on, but we see most customers in the UK as less likely to go down that route.

Conclusion

The quiver options for the least amount of boards has changed with the introduction of foil assists and the trends for these slimmer, longer boards. As already mentioned, the likes of one of these midlength styles as well as a downwind board may well be the most complete quiver we can think of that would include the bulk of foil styles: Wing, SUP, SUP Downwind, Prone and Foil assist. 

Our two main suggestions for this midlength role are the AXIS Foildrive board (50L, 60L, 70L) and the Appletree Downwind Skipper Prone (43L, 50L, 57L). The Skipper wing board would also work, but the rounded bottom reduces take off speed for each foil option as well as reducing stability.

Pick a size that suits your skillset and weight and enjoy an increased amount of foil time - hopefully!