Shopping for a Foil - Advice?

[bergermaister]

So after a couple hours in the casino on our last trip I find myself in the market for a hydrofoil.



Looking around for the most part I'm only seeing the Slingshot Hover Glide WF-1 or the Liquid Force Pod. My goal would be to have a board that can also surf without the foil attached, kind of the best of both worlds so to speak. Foil would be priority if I had to choose though.

Both boards look a bit short for that at 4'4" and 4'6" as I'm 6'3" and 215.

Any suggestions on other brands to look at, different setups, maybe piecing one together? What about foot straps - those don't seem to be as common on these, but the Pod has attachment points. Are they worth it, necessary, etc?

[spatty99]

I really like Slingshot foils. Super interchangeable, tons of options, and reasonable price and quality.

A foil specific board helps when you are learning, but after that the board isn't of huge consequence since it's rarely touching the water (although a smaller board reacts much better/faster). I'm not aware of a great surfing foilboard. The WF boards are probably a decent compromise, although they're not great for surfing. I have the WF-2 and it's meh, and the soft deck wrapping is nice but probably makes it surf even slower. You could just get the wakesurf board you want and then stick on a "foilmount". In that case it should surf great, but you'd have to get over the learning curve with a surf specific board.

As far as the foil, I highly recommend the Slingshot Infinity 84. It has a ton of lift, even at slow speeds, which helps for 200+ pounds, but it also tolerates higher speeds surprisingly well.

Straps can help with initial foot placement and water starts, but can become a hindrance after that (assuming you aren't jumping!). I like using foot hooks. They give you a good spot for initial foot placement when taking off, but after that they're out of the way (I have mine openings facing forward so I can shift feet forward if needed).

[bergermaister]

Thanks - surprised no one else chimed in here. I was WAY too impatient so I reached out to a few guys I know have foils (thanks Russ and Trayson) and ended up ordering a Slingshot V3 package with the WF-1 Board and the Infinity 76 foil wing. Should be here Monday.

Funny, both mentioned the comical ejection wipe outs and consider wearing a helmet so the foil doesn't try to kill you. Should be interesting.

If the board can't surf on it's own as advertised, oh well. Would have been an added bonus I guess.

[zabooda]

So after a couple hours in the casino on our last trip I find myself in the market for a hydrofoil.



Looking around for the most part I'm only seeing the Slingshot Hover Glide WF-1 or the Liquid Force Pod. My goal would be to have a board that can also surf without the foil attached, kind of the best of both worlds so to speak. Foil would be priority if I had to choose though.

Both boards look a bit short for that at 4'4" and 4'6" as I'm 6'3" and 215.

Any suggestions on other brands to look at, different setups, maybe piecing one together? What about foot straps - those don't seem to be as common on these, but the Pod has attachment points. Are they worth it, necessary, etc?

Too funny. You're the first one I know of that won anything there. A lot of social security checks went into that win. Did you do Dworshak? If not, make a trip there around the 4th of July when it is full pool.

[bergermaister]

Yeah I read a lot of Google reviews, more like complaints, that their machines were too tight. We blew a little and then I said let's go find the biggest most obnoxious machine in the place and give it a go. Huge screen with a 2-seat stool. Was $8.80 max bet per roll but it paid off. LOL Even the lady at the cashier box was like "wow".

We didn't make it to Dworshak - didn't even know it existed. We did run up the Clearwater until we were in about 3ft of fast moving cooooooold water. I could see the rapids up ahead just a ways. I'm thinking that reservoir would be wetsuits or drysuits required if it's anything like the river.

[jph3]

I’ve got a soft top naish with a foil for sale. Have tried lots of them... lift is my go to setup. Happy to help if needed.


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[htfit]

Late to the party but in case anybody else is inquiring...

I second the slingshot. I bought one from mackiteboarding.com

https://www.mackiteboarding.com/2020...ke-v3-package/

Best package/combo I could find. From what I understand they do there own Bundle combo. I called up there before ordering and were super helpful.

I ordered the smaller 68 foil option but also bought the infinity 76 front foil as an add on. Way more lift on the infinity 76 and comparing the 2 I like the infinity 76 better.

It is a lot of fun but be careful! Just rehearse how you will fall if you lose control. Want to fall back away from the direction your going.. Not that you can always avoid it, but I had some pretty close calls when first learning.

I would recommend first do it behind a wakeboard rope and just get used to stabilizing.

Also, I found it way easier to learn surfing with 0 ballast. It is not only stabilizing left right but also up and down with finding push with the foil.

It is super fun though when your able to start learning to pump and control it.

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[htfit]

The only thing I don't like about the foil boards is getting it to and from the lake. Have to disassemble the foil from the board just so it will fit in the back of the truck. It is really big but once on the boat and in the rack or in the bimini sleeves it is out of the way.

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[bergermaister]

Thanks Jason. Solid advice. I’m feeling good about it and purchased from the same place. Very good customer service. Can’t wait to try it out!