Fixed or inflatable board?
Similar to stand-up paddling (SUP), there are also two general types of boards for wingsurfing: Boards with a fixed shape, so-called"Hardboards", or inflatable concepts, even"Inflatables" called. While many shape units can be realised with hardboards, the possibilities with inflatable concepts are limited due to the design.
Inflatables can be particularly useful with large board sizes, as the advantage of the small pack size cannot be denied. The smaller the wingboard used, the more this advantage diminishes. With a 90-litre board, the difference in pack size between a hardboard and an inflatable is often only 40 to 50 centimetres, but with the inflatable concept you often have to accept disadvantages in terms of performance: the round edges of the inflatables sometimes tend to get a little stuck in the start-up phase, which requires either more wind or more pumping to take off.
In the following clip, we present the advantages and disadvantages of the two board concepts in more detail.
Regardless of whether you opt for a fixed board or an inflatable concept, there are different board concepts that you can use for wingsurfing:SUPs or longboards for light winds, which are used without a foil. Boards with multiple uses - so-calledHybrid or crossover boardswhich can be used for windsurfing, foiling and wingsurfing, for example. And of course the pureWingboardswhich are available on the market in all sizes from 25 to 180 litres.
Below we introduce you to the different board classes:
Type 1: SUPs & longboards
Your board needs to be big enough for your first experiences on the water. Ralf Madert from Surfers Paradise has been teaching wingsurfing for three years and therefore has a lot of experience: "A suitably large board is essential to be able to practise handling the wing in peace. If you have previous foil experience, e.g. via windfoiling, kitefoiling or SUP foiling, you can also start on a small wingfoil board, but it's easier for everyone to start on a longboard with a centreboard or SUP.
I have had the best experiences with long windsurf boards with a centreboard. If you want to use SUPs, you should make sure that the board has a centre fin to minimise lateral drift in light winds. WindSUPs offer the option of fitting a centre fin. Normal SUPs do not normally have this option. However, you can remedy this by retrofitting centre fins that you can simply strap around the board," explains Madert.
Two to four wind forces are ideal for practising on the SUP, so that the wing is self-supporting and develops some traction. For surfers who live inland and mainly go on the water at spots where light winds are the rule, a longboard or SUP with a length of over ten feet can also become a permanent solution, because: As attractive as wing surfing on the foil may seem, just under ten knots of wind speed is the minimum to get on the foil at all. In less wind, for bobbing around, the much shorter foil boards can do everything worse than longboards or SUPs - they are slower, more tippy and hardly gain any height.
There's also a tutorial on how to take your first wingsurfing steps on a SUP:
2. hybrid board - the board with multiple uses
Boards with multiple uses - e.g. for wingsurfing, foil SUPing and windfoiling - are all the rage and can reduce the amount of material required. All three of these sports require boards that have compact dimensions and still offer enough volume to be able to stand on deck reasonably safely. The main differences are in the loop and foil positions: Loops and foils on windfoil boards equipped with sails are positioned much further back than on boards for SUP foiling or wingsurfing, for example. In concrete terms, this means that for windfoil boards to be suitable for wingsurfing, they must offer the option of sliding the foil far forwards in a rail. The foot straps can either be removed or also mounted far forwards and inwards - then you can easily swap the windsurf sail for a wing.
There is also a large overlap between SUP foil boards and wingsurf boards, as they are very similar in terms of the foil position anyway, as Klaas Voget, wingsurfer from the very beginning and part of the Fanatic design team for years, knows: "The first boards for wingsurfing were foil SUPs, only the paddle was replaced by the wing. So if you have a foil SUP, you can simply get started without any adaptations. Foil SUPs are still a little too long for experienced wingsurfers, so you always have to make a compromise here," explains Klaas.
WING Tip: You can find a test of several boards with multiple uses HERE .
3. wingsurf boards
Special wingboards are characterised by their very compact dimensions (approx. 1.50 to 2.00 metres). However, this also applies here: To master the ascent, the board must have sufficient volume! What the right volume is depends not only on the weight, but above all on previous experience from other sports.
Type 1: Beginners without water sports experience
To have fun on a pure wingboard, newcomers without previous experience of other water sports should follow the following rule of thumb to get off to a reasonably safe start:
Body weight + 70 to 80 litres = recommended board volume
It is advisable to make your first attempts in a wingsurfing school, as large-volume boards are available here. Buying such a large board makes little sense. You run the risk of it being too big after just a few weeks, as the learning curve is very steep at the beginning.
Type 2: Beginners with previous experience
If you already have previous experience in other water sports such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing or SUPing, you are well equipped to take off in wingsurfing within a few days. But the same applies here: the board must have enough volume to master the ascent!
A rough rule of thumb is then:
Body weight +40/50 litres = recommended board volume
A surfer weighing 80 kilos with previous experience should therefore choose a wingboard with at least 120 to 130 litres in order to learn safely.
Type 3: Beginners with foiling experience:
Anyone who has already gained experience on a windfoil or kitefoil board will be able to get to grips with a wingsurf board within a few hours and can get started with less volume than newcomers with no previous experience.
The rough rule of thumb:
Body weight +30 to 40 litres = recommended board volume
Type 4: Experienced wingsurfer
As soon as you want to expand your horizons towards your first jumps, you should switch to a smaller board with a faster foil. The aim is then to ride a board that offers just enough lift for the start and feels small and compact after taking off. Experts can ride boards that have less volume than their body weight, even in 12 knots of wind, because the wing always produces upward pull and thus relieves the board.
A rule of thumb that combines potential for jumps and tricks with a minimum of buoyancy is as follows:
Body weight +/- 5 litres = recommended board volume
Heavy or light - which board construction makes sense?
As if the choice wasn't already overwhelming enough with the numerous brands, models and sizes, certain boards are also offered in a second construction. The following principle applies: the lighter the construction, the more expensive the board. Because a weight advantage of 600 to 800 grams on average is usually paid for with a few hundred euros, the question of whether the additional investment is worthwhile is more than justified.
We have therefore compared various boards in different designs and tell you when the extra price can be worthwhile - and when you are just burning money. Go to the article HERE .
