What foil board offers great Day 1 performance AND the longest runway for improvement? TJ shares his pick and more from the lightweight 2020 Naish Carbon Ultra foil board line. Find more at the link below.

2020 Naish Carbon Ultra Foil Boards at Big Winds

Video Transcript:

Hi, I’m Eddy from Big Winds here with TJ who you’ve been seeing SUP foiling all over the Gorge making it look ridiculously easy. TJ, I tried SUP foiling with you three years ago. It was all humble pie for me.

I’m 180 pounds. I want to get into SUP foiling and I want try wing foiling.

What board would you recommend for me?

TJ: Well, you know Naish makes their Carbon Ultra board in three different sizes, Eddy. And not that you need the biggest size, because of your weight, but the 125 would make learning a lot easier for you.

So the natural progression is to go a little bit smaller and smaller as you get better
whether surf foiling or downwind foiling or wing foiling.

But I would point to you at this 125-liter model to allow for maximum float. It’s 31″ wide so you’ve got plenty of stability to progress quickly.

Eddy: So TJ, once I progress on this what is the advantage of a smaller foil board? Why would I want to move down? Is it maneuverability?

TJ: Yeah exactly, Eddy. It’s swing weight. So once you progress to the next size down, you’re gonna really appreciate how much more maneuverable the board is because of the lack of weight up front. So that swing weight becomes pretty critical.

Eddy: But do I give up some early rising by going smaller?

TJ: Not necessarily. No, as a matter of fact, you’ll find yourself getting off the water a little bit more because of the less wetted surface area. So less surface area actually allows for a board to pump up on to foil quicker

Eddy: Provided you have the skills.

TJ: Yes, provided you’ve got the skills. Yeah, and so there is one more size even smaller than this 110 here – it’s the 95 and that’s what I’m currently riding. It’s only 5’7″ so it’s actually shorter than I am.

Eddy: And I’ve heard you mention Naish Carbon Ultra foil boards are really lightweight. How much does weight really play into SUP or Wing Foiling? Does weight really matter?

TJ: You know weight is actually pretty critical. I would say more so for down winding with the paddle than anything. The wing is going to provide the lift that you need from getting some pull from the wind. But yeah, these are lightweight boards – the carbon ultra boards.

This 110 came in at 15 pounds the 125 -your board – would be only 17 pounds

Eddy: Okay … And then the natural next question would be the foils. And I know we don’t necessarily have the Naish Foils here at the moment, but we will soon. Which foil would you recommend for someone like me trying to get into SUP and wing foiling?

TJ: Yeah Naish makes a really great foil. But any manufacturer foils’ will fit on this board because it is just a track system right here. But the Nash templates great because it is modular and you can start with the biggest wing their jet 2450 for early rise and just keeping it slow and easy. But as you progress you’re going to want to go faster. So Naish makes a Jet 2000. They just came out came out with high-aspect wings.

So yeah any of the foils that are really good for down winding and surf are gonna be good for wing foiling and will fit on any board that’s got this track system here.

Eddy: And as I progress I’m simply downsizing the front wing? I’m not having to start over? It’s just a modular standalone purchase?

TJ: That’s the beautiful thing about these modular systems with the foils these days. It’s just a standalone front wing and maybe rear stabilizer.

Eddy: Great. Well TJ. Thanks so much. Hey, we’ve got these boards here at Big Winds available now and very very soon we will have the Naish foils that go with them. Check them out at bigwinds.com or give us a call at 541 386 6086.