So much hype over these...Am I alone in thinking the experience looks awkward and kinda uninteresting?
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Hydrofoil / foil board - are you that interested?
- Thread starter casa_mugrienta
- Start date
Watched some dude getting rides at the local mushburger the other day. He sat way outside and stroked into peaks and it looked pretty fun. It didn't take much for the thing to get up and start moving fast. That kind of poop is going to catch on if you can paint 300 yards worth of lines at a super fast clip on waves that are no higher than your waste AND they don't even need to really break. Guy was cruising through sections where even a SUP would have had a hard time taking off and on to a better section WAYYYY over there to connect the dots.
One thing I didn't like was the dude was coming pretty close to some young girls that were just out goofing off on long boards. That kinda made me cringe because all it will take is one major accident.
One thing I didn't like was the dude was coming pretty close to some young girls that were just out goofing off on long boards. That kinda made me cringe because all it will take is one major accident.
Body positioning is goofy, like posing through turns. And they've turned the Huntington hop into the Huntington hump. 
I can see them being fun if the mast (i don't know what the fvck it's called) was much shorter and you could still engage the rail on your turns. Like a miniature hydrofoil as the center fin on a bonzer, or something of the sort. Just to give you a small amount of levitation when going straight or to help alleviate some of the chop on a windy day.
I've witnessed some SUP hydrofoils at a crowded punchy reef break and they have no place in a crowded line-up.
I've witnessed some SUP hydrofoils at a crowded punchy reef break and they have no place in a crowded line-up.
There's a video of guy at Raglan that looks terrifying.
Edit: by terrifying I mean terrifying for the guys in the lineup
Edit: by terrifying I mean terrifying for the guys in the lineup
You keep Roy Stewart out of thiscasa_mugrienta said:
He was just trying to break another speed record.
jkb said:You keep Roy Stewart out of thiscasa_mugrienta said:
He was just trying to break another speed record.
They look extremely awkward, constantly looking for balance and forced into a Laird-stance with your hands above your shoulders. They're probably like a moped, fun to ride until your friends catch you on one! 
That said, I'd love to try one on a super-high tide, mushy, barely breaking wave. The low-drag of the foil looks like it could open up the possibility to ride swell rather than a breaking wave. Far away from onlookers and laughter of course.
That said, I'd love to try one on a super-high tide, mushy, barely breaking wave. The low-drag of the foil looks like it could open up the possibility to ride swell rather than a breaking wave. Far away from onlookers and laughter of course.
The feeling of the wing planing under water is addictive.
Never did the surf board but I did an air chair a lot. It feels like flying. Surfing a wave normally is better but this feels good too.
The pumping looks annoying but that is great endurance leg work.
No replacement for the deadlift, mind you.
Never did the surf board but I did an air chair a lot. It feels like flying. Surfing a wave normally is better but this feels good too.
The pumping looks annoying but that is great endurance leg work.
No replacement for the deadlift, mind you.
These are promoted as the future of surfing: Ride open ocean swells! Much like SUPing, they are touted as an advancement and the future of wave riding. I'm sorry but I just fail to see how moving even further away from radical, in the pocket, vertical and aerial surfing is an advancement in any way. No coincidence it is the SUPers behind the foils as well. It's not surfing and certainly not the future of surfing. More akin to sailing.
I agree, I don't see them as the future of surfing. More a divergence from it to another path. That's the only thing that intrigues me about them is the possibility to ride otherwise unrideable swell (not waves). Like trimming on a longboard with none of the grace. They look horrible and downright scary in surfable waves and seem to lack the ability to do a traditional cutback. Like sex without the climax.bobwarren said:
I think it's good for the collective because the highest and best use of these (IMO) is to use other parts of the wave energy away from the part traditional surfboards use. The speed and glide look pretty fooking good to me but if the wave is breaking then that is not ideal for the craft. I am waiting to see someone ride some real open ocean corduroy, not that peaky broken-up stuff in that earlier vid.bobwarren said:
The trouble is going to be that learning the ropes of the thing could conflict with other people learning how to use waves and tourists and stuff.
I tried over the winter in shitty conditions and said 'no thanks'. The thing flipped and drew blood.
Fast forward to summer time on Maui. Surf is small and clean, perfect for foiling. I dedicated 4 sessions to learn on my friends foil and it's a game changer, at least here on Maui. It's just another sport to learn and have the option of doing. But the addiction to learning something new and fun after 30+ years of exploring all there is to surfboards/wave riding..I'm all in. There are plenty of foiling waves here that nobody really surfs or SUPs. So that's the exciting part.
So there are SUP foilers here..Dave Kalama and such. But also your Maui surfer icons too...Albee Layer, Matt Meola, Paige Alms, etc.. that have tasted the koolaid and they've picked it up too.
Hate it, I'm sure you will. But if you have the ability to really try it and learn, it opens up some new potential, that's all.
Fast forward to summer time on Maui. Surf is small and clean, perfect for foiling. I dedicated 4 sessions to learn on my friends foil and it's a game changer, at least here on Maui. It's just another sport to learn and have the option of doing. But the addiction to learning something new and fun after 30+ years of exploring all there is to surfboards/wave riding..I'm all in. There are plenty of foiling waves here that nobody really surfs or SUPs. So that's the exciting part.
So there are SUP foilers here..Dave Kalama and such. But also your Maui surfer icons too...Albee Layer, Matt Meola, Paige Alms, etc.. that have tasted the koolaid and they've picked it up too.
Hate it, I'm sure you will. But if you have the ability to really try it and learn, it opens up some new potential, that's all.
I was out this day, at the 5 min mark you can see I was surfing Pier 1 in the background. This was towards the end of winter. Yes, nobody would SUP or surf the zone Dave, Junya, and Alex were foiling. The first wave of Dave's was about a minute and a half+ ride.afoaf said:
[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17I_wl9d_uw[/video]