The KT Ginxu Super K midlength wing foil board is designed for efficient waterstarts and high-performance riding. Photo: Ken Cox//The Inertia
Of the three main components of wing foiling (the foil, wing, and the board), boards get a bad rap as the least important part of the equation, spending (hopefully) most of their time out of the water. While that may be true, a good wing foil board is an essential part of the equation, and getting on the wrong wing foil board can make it extremely difficult (and frustrating) to progress, whether you’re trying to build skills in the surf or just get up on foil for the first time.
In the following article, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the top boards in the industry, discussing their relative pros and cons, and giving you some side-by-side stats and comparisons to help you find the correct wing board for you, depending on your ability, weight, riding location, and other factors.
In our most recent update to this article, we got our hands on the latest versions of the boards already included in this review, and tested an array of midlength foil boards, which are becoming a super popular choice for wing foiling due to their all-around versatility.
Navigate To: Comparison Table | How We Tested | Buyer’s Guide | The Best Wings for Wing Foiling | The Best Wing Foil Gear for Beginners
Best Wing Foil Boards of 2024
All-Around
Beginner/Intermediate-Friendly Design: Naish Hover Wing Ascend Carbon Ultra
Great Range of Sizes: KT Drifter 4
Classic Wingboard Shape – Refined: F-One Rocket Wing V4
Wing/Surf
Wide Range of Available Sizes: F-One Rocket Wing S 2024
Innovative Design: KT Ginxu 2
Midlength
Hits the Sweet Spot: KT Ginxu Super K
High-Performance Midlength: Armstrong Midlength FG
All-Around Wing Foil Boards
Beginner/Intermediate-Friendly Design
Naish Hover Wing Ascend Carbon Ultra
Price (62L): $1,429
Weight (62L): 11.2 lbs
Available Constructions: Carbon/wood vacuum sandwich
Bottom Contour: Fairly flat with a slight double concave
Notable Features: Raised arch on tailpad for intuitive back-foot placement
Available Sizes (Liters): 42, 52, 62, 72, 82, 92, 102, 112, 122, 142
Pros: Retains a surfy feel despite wide, beginner-friendly outline, carbon construction is very light
Cons: Wider outline is better for beginners than advanced riders
The Naish Hover Wing is one of the best-selling beginner foil boards on the market, and with good reason as they do an incredible job of progressing past when a board their volume should be holding you back. The shape is fairly stubby, on the shorter side with a wide deck and average thickness. The board-shape inspires a surfy feel when riding, and is fairly intuitive to ride. The 2024 model features a slightly longer outline than its predecessors for better planing, waterstarts, and higher-performance riding at smaller volumes.
The width is a major selling point for beginner riders, aiding side-to-side stability, especially when waterstarting. However, it also presents the board’s biggest drawback, being that more advanced riders may find the wider outline limiting in trying to achieve the best upwind angles or make the sharpest tacks and gybes. For more advanced riding, a narrower board will be a much better call, letting you heel over much more, and keeping you from digging a rail when you make sharp turns. That said, the 2024 version of the board does have a more elongated shape, packing more volume into a slightly narrower shape, improving this aspect of the board over previous versions.
Other notable features of the board include inset carry handles on both the top and bottom of the deck, a soft but grippy deck pad with plenty of options for strap inserts, and a nice bit of arch support on the tail pad that helps you keep your back foot centered without having to look at your feet.
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Surfier “All-Rounder”
KT Drifter 4
Price (62L): $1,495
Weight (62L): 11.8 lbs
Available Constructions: Ultra Carbon Monocoque Construction
Bottom Contour: Mostly flat with subtle double concave through the front and optimized rocker for easy release
Notable Features: Shaped bottom, longer design
Available Sizes (Liters): 14, 18, 22, 28, 34, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 90, 100, 115, 130, 150, 170
Pros: Great all-around shape, huge range of sizes
Cons: Deep foil tracks
Prior versions of the KT Drifter have gained notoriety as some of the most popular intermediate, mid-volume boards on the market. And with good reason, as they have a well-balanced shape with dramatically beveled rails that make for an incredibly easy-to-use and high-performing ride. And they’re still awesome wing boards.
This year, all that bottom-contour design went out the window, with the Drifter 4 sporting a flatter bottom without the dramatically beveled rails or cutouts, as well as a teardrop shape with a wider nose and pulled-in tail for better in-air performance. Overall, the boards are a bit longer and narrower than the previous version for better front-to-back stability while maintaining better side-to-side stability thanks to the flatter bottom.
The shorter, more compact version of the Ginxu 2 (and without the step-bottom) the Drifter 4 still maintains a bit of extra length over most other “all-around” boards on the market and a surfy feel, though not as much as the Ginxu 2 or Super K. Like all KT boards this year, the Drifter 4 sports long mast tracks to allow for adjustment, however be warned that they are fairly deep, and it can take some finagling the first time around to ensure it works with your screws (we ended up having to use some longer ones for a couple different brands).
In KT’s lineup of boards, the Drifter has always been the all-rounder geared towards beginners, intermediates, and in the smaller sizes, freestyle-riding. Now, it’s received a bit of a user-friendliness update for better on-water stability to aid in takeoffs (and landings) for the riders most likely to gravitate towards this type of shape.
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Classic Wing Board Shape – Refined
F-One Rocket Wing V4
Price (58L, Bamboo): $1,519
Weight (58L, Bamboo): 12.1 lbs
Notable Features: Relatively longer and thinner outline than most boards here
Bottom Contour: Mostly flat with a slight double concave
Available Constructions: Bamboo, Carbon
Available Sizes (Liters): 47, 52, 58, 70, 85, 100, 115, 140
Pros: Great all-around design, refined feel and features
Cons: Not the widest range of sizes
The Rocket Wing is a tough-to-categorize board. In the smaller sizes, it’s a high-performance machine, great for freestyle riding, and even capable of some use as a prone board for foil-surfing. Sized up, it’s awesome for beginners. This board just feels good underfoot, whether you’re riding the 40L version as a sinker or the larger sizes as a beginner/SUP board.
For 2024, F-One made some subtle, but impactful changes to the Rocket Wing, most notably making the boards shorter and thicker, packing in more volume at a shorter length compared to the previous generation. The thickness is offset somewhat by a new concave deck, and some of the added volume has gone into the domed nose as well. The nose especially has received some work to give it more of a hull shape for better efficiency overall, and the tail for better stability – in other words, a tweak here, a tweak there, and all of a sudden it’s just a noticeably better-behaved and easier to use board than the previous version.
The Rocket Wing V4 comes in just two different constructions now – Carbon and Bamboo. The carbon construction is super light and surprisingly durable, while the bamboo construction, while it may weigh a bit more is the kind of board that will go years without dinging, and saves a few bucks as well.
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Compact and Capable
Duotone Sky Series (Sky Free / Sky Style)
Price (65L): $1,999 (Sky Style SLS)
Weight (65L): Not listed
Available Constructions: SLS (carbon/high-density foam), Original (bamboo/carbon sandwich)
Bottom Contour: Flat with beveled rails
Available Sizes (Liters): Sky Free: 105, 115, 125 | Sky Style: 75, 85, 95 | Sky Style SLS: 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95
Notable Features: Recessed deck, extra volume in the nose, footstrap inserts, Sky Free has a handle on top and bottom of board
Pros: Predictable and comfortable riding experience in a compact, optimized package, SLS construction is very lightweight and durable
Cons: Not the surfiest of wing boards, if that’s your style of riding
Duotone’s range of wing boards was revamped last season (2024), ditching the old “Fanatic” title to merge with Duotone as a single brand for wings, boards, and foils. And while the lineup saw some new additions like a downwind board, not a ton else changed. For 2024, the Sky Style and Sky Free wing boards received beveled rails on the underside, and the volume distribution was tweaked as a result, but the overall shape remained the same. The original Fanatic Sky Wing has been one of the more popular beginner-intermediate board shapes in the US, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon.
2025 has also seen minor updates to Duotone’s line. The boards in Duotone’s “Sky” series have narrowed this year, with the Sky Surf dropping out of the lineup (replaced by the prone-foil-specific Crush), leaving the Sky Start, a 155L beginner board we’d really only recommend for a wing school, the Sky Style and Sky Free, which are basically the same board in different volume sizes. The Sky Start and Sky Free received a bit of a volume redistribution, aimed at stability for waterstarts (and landings), and the line was streamlined further with the Sky Free SLS dropping out of the lineup. See “available sizes” above for the full breakdown. SLS is Duotone’s all-carbon construction aimed at higher performance, and for 2025 it’s even lighter and stiffer, with the Sky Style SLS (also offered in non-SLS construction in three larger sizes) dropping a bit of weight as a result.
We have found Duotone’s boards to be predictable, easy-to-use, and overall they’re well-loved, so it’s hardly surprising to see little change from last year. They aren’t the surfiest of wing boards, with the smaller sizes being geared towards freestyle riding (the Duotone Skybrid, below, fills the surf niche), but the construction (both SLS and non-SLS) is top-tier, and the boards are well-optimized for what they do – the larger boards provide a super stable platform for beginners and intermediates, while the smaller sizes are high-performance machines. Oh, and the deckpad is pretty awesome, too – low-profile and grippy, but not so grippy as to tear one’s feet up.
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Specs (Sky Style SLS):
High Performance and Functional Features
Armstrong Wing FG Board
Price (58L): $1,750
Weight (58L): 10.3 lbs
Available Constructions: Carbon PVC sandwich
Bottom Contour: Double concave with some nose-keel
Notable Features: Deep deck concave, comes with a board bag
Available Sizes (Liters): 34, 40, 48, 58, 70, 80, 90, 105, 120, 135
Pros: High-performing all-around shape, very light construction
Cons: Board is tippy in the smaller sizes
Some boards on this list lean into surfboard-inspired design choices with fluid curves and rail lines, while others fit more into the function-over-fashion techy windsports “aesthetic.” Armstrong’s Wing FG foil boards certainly fall into the latter category, and while they may not look like anything special, as we all know it’s how the board feels underfoot that really counts. And these boards do not disappoint – you can tell that lots of thought has gone into the design, with a strong preference for high-performance riding.
Notable features include a recessed deck with a low-profile but grippy deckpad that has raised edges and a raised back-foot arch area to assist in foot placement, a narrow outline with steeply beveled rails and a decent bit of keel-shape in the nose, and long foil tracks that extend to nearly halfway up the bottom of the board, allowing the rider to place their foil in a much more central position than most wing boards, reducing swing-weight while riding.
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Great Value
North Seek 2025
Price (58L): $1,509
Weight (58L): Not listed
Available Constructions: Hybrid carbon
Bottom Contour: Subtle tri-plane
Notable Features: Longer all-around shape, double mast-tracks
Available Sizes (Liters): 58, 68, 78, 88, 98, 108, 118, 138
Pros: Solid all-around performance, competitive price with hybrid-carbon construction
Cons: Nothing special in terms of design
The 2024 North Seek boards were about as standard as they come — classic boxy outline, some nose rocker, a concave/recessed deck, and a fairly middle-of-the-line volume distribution. The most interesting design element was the double foil tracks on the bottom of the board, giving you a very wide range of options for mast placement over other boards on the market. There is also a raised bump running down the middle of the deck that is a nice reference point for front-foot positioning. We’re also big fans of the low-profile but grippy deckpad.
The 2025 Seek follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, with a few modifications. The bottom’s tri-plane hull design has been mellowed out, and the boards got a bit narrower and gained some length as well (each size is now 3 inches longer), giving the boards a bit of increased glide and performance. They also got a bit lighter with an optimized hybrid-carbon construction. The construction is a major selling point as it produces a fairly lightweight board without the high price point usually associated with a carbon-construction board. And that’s reflected in the price, as the North Seek boards are consistently some of the most competitively priced boards we’ve tested, starting at $1,509 for the 58L version, a great value for a carbon-construction wing board.
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Wide and Flat, Great for Beginners
Slingshot Wing Craft V3
Price (70L): $1,489
Weight (70L): 12.3 lbs
Available Constructions: Bamboo sandwich
Notable Features: Out-the-back foil tracks, very short and wide shape relative to current designs
Bottom Contour: Flat
Available Sizes: 70, 80, 90, 105, 120, 140
Pros: Wide outline and flat bottom is great for stability
Cons: Not the best for upwind/racing given the wider profile
The Wing Craft V3 continues in the same vein as the Wing Craft V2, keeping the same short and wide outline, while introducing a couple of new features and reducing the overall weight to boot. Those new features include a slight volume redistribution and increased width for even more stability, as well as a “bump strip” on the nose of the board to help avoid dings and scratches while the board is flipped over to set up the foil.
The same super-comfortable deck pad and out-the-back foil tracks on the 80-liter and smaller board sizes have stayed the same. Overall, this board is a great choice for beginner wingers due to the stubby, volume-packed shape, providing an insane amount of stability. However, that same wide outline makes the board a bit lower-performing when in the air, as you’re more in danger of catching a rail during sharp turns or when riding waves in comparison to other, narrower wing boards. Worth considering, but for beginners and intermediates, who this board is geared towards, the stability will be much more important than the chance of catching a rail on a sharp turn.
Those looking for smaller sizes of this board should take a look at the Slingshot Flow Craft, which has a narrower outline, concave deck, and a shaped underside, all geared towards higher performance foiling and is available in sizes from 35L to 70L. The Wing Craft V2 is also still a great option for beginner and intermediate riders looking to save a few bucks by going with last year’s version of the board.
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Great Bottom Contours
Jimmy Lewis Flying VM
Price (60L): $1,899
Weight (60L): Not listed
Available Constructions: PVC sandwich with carbon reinforcement
Notable Features: Bottom contour designed to reduce “stickyness” when touching down
Bottom Contour: Hull-shaped with “nose keel”
Available Sizes (Liters): 60, 75, 85, 95
Pros: Bottom contour really does what it claims, narrow width gives solid performance
Cons: 60L board was a little corky at 4’8” x 22″ x 4 3/8″
The Flying VM from Jimmy Lewis was one of our favorite boards in this test. The 4’8″ 60L board just felt good, with a wide and flat deck, smartly contoured underside with a well-defined “nose keel” and beveled rails that made for great control, surfability, and rebound when touching down. The “foil feel” wasn’t the absolute best given the slightly thicker amount of board between you and your foil at 4 3/8 inches thick, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker and really only noticeable in comparison to much thinner/lower-volume boards, anyways.
We found the board can be harder to start in rough waters thanks to the corkiness and reduced width. However, it does have great trackability on the surface of the water and in light winds, thanks to the shaped bottom and despite the relatively short length. The rebound-ability was definitely one of our favorite aspects of this board as we found the shaped nose really does help direct the board back into the air when it hits the surface of the water without as much drag as we found in some other board shapes.
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Wing/Surf Foil Boards
All-around wing foil boards tend to be designed with on-the-water stability as a top priority. And with good reason, as those most likely to use these boards are those who could use a bit of extra stability, namely beginner/intermediate wingers, older riders, and freestyle/aerialists who need a stable platform to land on.
Advanced wingers who lean towards riding waves instead of hucking airs will likely be happiest with a wing/surf foil board (or a midlength, see below for those). Wing/surf foil boards tend to cross over quite heavily with prone foil boards designed for paddling into waves from a prone position in the surf – albeit with a bit more volume for waterstarts with the wing. Surf-oriented wing boards have more curve/rocker on the bottom of the board to better fit into the curl of a wave without touching down or digging in, and a narrower, often longer outline for sharper turns and overall better on-wave performance.
With that in mind, here are some wing/surf foil boards that we’ve particularly enjoyed riding.
Innovative Design
KT Ginxu 2
Price (62L): $1,859
Weight (62L): 12 lbs
Construction: Carbon Monocoque, S-Glass
Bottom Contour: Beveled rails, step-bottom towards the tail
Notable Features: Chopped/recessed bottom in the back, pulled-in tail
Available Sizes (Liters): 39, 46, 54, 62, 72, 82, 92
Pros: Awesome all-around design with a surfy feel
Cons: Hull-shaped bottom can be a bit tippier during waterstarts than a flat-bottomed board
Last year, KT released the Ginxu, a strange-looking step-bottom design birthed from the minds of Keith Teboul and Kai Lenny as they strove to make a board with less material between the rider and the foil, that was also less sticky when touching down and had a low swing weight. The board was well-received, especially the step-bottom design. In our testing, we found the board to be quite responsive and lively thanks to the cut-out bottom, with great rebound ability and overall performance. But as with many such inventions, some refinements needed to be made.
Cue the Ginxu 2, a step up over its predecessor in almost every way with subtle refinements that speak to KT’s long history in the world of surfing, as well as the latest and greatest in foil-board design. To start with, the board is now a full kilogram lighter with an upgraded Carbon Monocoque construction, and a matte finish that leans towards the looks of a traditional surfboard rather than that of a techy foil board. The shape feels quite surf-inspired as well, with a pulled-in tail that helps avoid touchdowns on sharp turns or in waves, and it’s hard to overlook the fact that the board gained a significant amount of length as well, the 62L Ginxu 2 is now 5’3″, six inches longer than the 62L Ginxu 1 at 4’9″, adding to that surfy feeling. It also makes the board a top-tier performer in takeoffs among boards of its size, though it has nowhere near the on-water glide of its midlength-cousin, the Ginxu Super K (see below).
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Wide Range of Available Sizes
F-One Rocket Wing S (2024)
Price (60L): $1,519
Weight (60L): 11.9 lbs
Available Constructions: Bamboo, Carbon
Bottom Contour: Flat with some rocker and beveled rails
Available Sizes (Liters): 20, 24, 32, 36, 42, 48, 50, 54, 56, 60, 70, 80
Notable Features: Concave deck, lots of extra volume in the nose, narrow width
Pros: Great shape overall, nose and bottom contours are well optimized for sharp turns on waves, etc., lots of size options
Cons: Not the most beginner-friendly, even in the larger sizes
The Rocket Wing S is F-One’s high-performance wing foil board, with a focus on riding waves (the S stands for “Surf”). Available in both F-One’s standard construction and carbon construction, the board features a shaped nose with extra volume packed in, a recessed deck, and beveled rails, making for a high-performance wave-riding machine. Furthermore, thanks to the wide range of sizes, this board is capable of far more than just ultra high-performance winging and wave-riding and can accommodate a variety of rider weights, too. We’ve had the opportunity to try this board in a few different sizes, and in every case, we were super impressed with the balanced and intuitive ride the board delivers.
Speaking to the features, the domed shape of the nose packs in a bit of extra volume, and helps guide the board to the surface of the water in deep water starts. We’re also big fans of the super-comfortable deckpad, which F-One has optimized over the past couple of years. Not necessarily the grippiest, but exceedingly comfortable and intuitive to move around on. Overall, the board is a bit narrower of a design compared to more all-around wingboards, requiring a bit more of an advanced technique and balance to get going. With that in mind, this wouldn’t be our first choice for beginner or early-intermediate wingers stepping down from a larger-sized, more beginner-friendly shape of board. Even though the board is available in an 80-liter version, the narrower width and advanced design will be more difficult to start, especially in rougher waters. However, for advanced riders, the increased performance while riding will be well worth it.
For the 2024 version of this board, there are some subtle, but impactful changes. Compared to last year’s version (the 2023 Rocket Wing S), the 2024 Rocket Wing S packs in a bit more volume for the same length, an increase of about 4-6L depending on board size, with the two largest and two smallest sizes maintaining the same volume-for-length. Three new sizes have also been added, a 4’2″ board at 32L, and the 4’6″+ and 4’8″+, which are higher-volume versions of the regular 4’6″ and 4’8″ sizes, adding eight liters to the same board length. Overall, while not much has changed to the overall design of the board, the line has been significantly altered with the new volumes/sizes, so if you’re familiar with the previous versions of the board, it’s likely worth re-familiarizing yourself with the new sizes before jumping onto the length or volume of board that you were riding previously.
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Midlength Wing Foil Boards
As of this year, there’s a whole new category of wing foil boards on the market – midlengths. Designed to take the efficient waterstarts of a downwind board and size them down a bit for winging more specifically (though they also make great prone foil boards), midlengths are without a doubt here to stay.
Marketed for light wind, we’ve found what a midlength board really does is let you ride a smaller wing/foil. Because of the way the board tracks along the water and picks up speed similar to a downwind board, takeoffs are a lot more efficient than on a short and stubby brick of foam, letting you size down your other equipment. Thanks to the narrow deck, turns are effortless (if a bit more drawn-out due to the swing weight) and you’re rarely in danger of sinking a rail, even when heeling out as hard as possible on an upwind tack.
Hits the Sweet Spot
KT Ginxu Super K
Price (60L): $1,762
Weight (60L): 9.9 lbs
Available Constructions: Carbon Monocoque
Bottom Contour: Ginxu step-bottom
Notable Features: Ginxu step-bottom, carry handle on 80L and above
Available Sizes (Liters): 60, 70, 80, 92, 104
Pros: Surfy shape, awesome all-around midlength design, great rail clearance
Cons: Deep foil tracks can require some finagling
The KT Ginxu Super K takes the awesome design of KT’s super-popular Ginxu Dragonfly downwind boards with the Ginxu step-bottom and shrinks it down for high-performance wing riding. The board’s smooth outline and smart volume distribution make for efficient and effortless waterstarts, both in light and heavy winds. The rounded hull design in the forward half of the board aids in that efficiency and helps avoid stickiness on touchdowns, rebounding back into the air with ease. The board is also a great paddler, making this a great choice for prone foiling as well, though the longer length inspires more of a midlength style of foil surfing with drawn-out carves as opposed to the tighter turns of a shorter, dedicated prone-foil board.
While not as narrow as the Armstrong Midlength FG foil board, the KT Ginxu is the second most difficult-to-start midlength board that we tested. The hull-shaped nose doesn’t provide much side-to-side stability while on the water, so in heavy chop or waves, getting this board off the water takes a bit of getting used to. However, the advantages of the design while in the air are undeniable. This board is an all-around ripper and true quiver-killer, excelling in both light and heavy-wind conditions, with the aforementioned potential for use as a prone foil board. The narrow outline slices through the wind efficiently on upwind tacks, and the longer deck makes it possible to get further forward over the foil for increased drive when needed. When it comes to midlength foil boards, the KT Ginxu Super K hits the sweet spot.
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High-Performance Midlength
Armstrong Midlength FG
Price (55L): $1,799
Weight (55L): 9 lbs
Available Constructions: Carbon PVC sandwich
Bottom Contour: Double concave at the nose, flat through the tracks, diamond tail, beveled rails
Notable Features: Grippy deckpad, long mast tracks
Available Sizes (Liters): 38, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 100
Pros: Super lightweight construction, great range of smaller sizes that are often overlooked in other midlength size ranges
Cons: Narrower design than most midlength boards can be difficult to start in rough conditions
Armstrong has always been an early adopter, and even an innovator at the forefront of foil design, so it’s no surprise that they are one of the first brands to get a midlength board on the market. While our past impressions of Armstrong boards have always been that they trend towards techier in terms of looks, their latest Midlength FG board delivers a surfy feel with smooth rail lines, and midlength glide.
In testing, we were huge fans of the board’s performance in the air – with steeply beveled rails, a narrow outline, and a lower weight than other midlengths we tested, this board truly feels like a magic carpet when up and riding. One thing to note, however, is that the narrow outline does make waterstarts a bit more difficult than usual on a midlength, especially in rougher waters or with any cross-chop. Features-wise, we were huge fans of the super-grippy deckpad, which has raised areas for the back foot to help keep your foot centered without looking, and the signature long mast tracks typical of Armstrong, which allow you to mount the foil pretty far forward on the board should you be so inclined.
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Extra Volume, High Performance
F-One Rocket Mid
Price (78L): $1,779
Weight (78L): 11.2 lbs
Available Constructions: Bamboo deck
Bottom Contour: Two-step, wider tail
Notable Features: Concave deck, bottom handle (not included on all midlengths)
Available Sizes (Liters): 78, 90, 105, 120
Pros: Very lightweight and compact construction, rides smaller than the volume
Cons: Smallest available size is 78L
F-One’s Rocket Midlength presents a unique design among midlength wing foil boards, with tons of volume packed into a surprisingly small and high-performing package, gaining tons of versatility. The board range starts with a 5’8″ 78L as the smallest size, and goes up to a 6’2″ 120L with 90L and 105L sizes in between. The board has a very lightweight construction and a concave deck that helps it feel a good bit smaller when riding than the volume suggests.
We tested the 78L as the smallest size available, and in comparison to the 60L-ish midlength boards we were testing from other manufacturers, were surprised with how well the board hid that extra 18L of volume when it was in the air. There’s no denying it felt a bit boatier with the extra thickness, but nowhere near as much as we expected. And in waterstarts the extra volume is a joy, inspiring confidence in light wind conditions, and providing some much-needed stability in rougher, high-wind conditions as well. F-One calls this board a quiver-killer, and we’re inclined to agree.
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Wider-Outline Midlength
Duotone Skybrid
Price (55L): $1,899
Weight (55L): 12.3 lbs
Available Constructions: Duotone SLS
Bottom Contour: Slight concave towards front of board, otherwise mostly flat
Notable Features: bottom handle (not included on all midlengths)
Available Sizes (Liters): 55, 70, 85, 100, 115
Pros: Wider outline and deck make this board a bit more approachable as a midlength
Cons: Not quite as high performing as other midlength options
Wheras it feels like Armstrong went about as narrow as you can get in a midlength design producing an incredibly high-performing but relatively difficult-to-waterstart board (tippy, but the midlength glide is still there), Duotone did the opposite with its Skybrid, producing a midlength that is one of the most approachable designs we’ve seen.
While midlength wing boards do offer an increased efficiency to get up on foil and once you are up, solid gains in performance, their narrow outline makes them unstable from side-to-side when on the water, which presents a bit of a learning curve when you first hop on one. It’s certainly not a beginner-friendly (or even intermediate, really) style of wing board, though we could see them being great for intermediates in light wind and flat water conditions. The wider outline on the Skybrid makes this the midlength we would suggest to anyone who wants to join the midlength crew, but is in need of a bit more side-to-side stability. And that’s not to say this board is a midlength in looks alone. The board takes off and rides with that signature midlength glide, and in testing, we found the wide deck a joy to move around strapless.
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Closed-Cell Foam
Omen Flux
Price (60L): $1,770
Weight (60L): 10.9 lbs
Available Constructions: Full carbon layup/closed-cell foam core
Bottom Contour: Semi-displacement hull with large bevels
Notable Features: Closed-cell foam construction, fin-style carry handle
Available Sizes (Liters): 36, 40, 48, 60, 72, 84
Pros: Super lightweight and rigid boards with advanced bottom contour/design
Cons: Not the most durable construction, but closed-cell foam means no repairs needed for minor dings, not a ton of foot strap-placement options
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this article, the world of board design in wing foiling is still figuring itself out, testing out new and unique concepts, and generally making our job as reviewers much harder. It used to be that the goal was to make boards as short as possible and stuff them full of volume. Now, we’re seeing that there’s a bit more nuance than that, and that length isn’t the anathema it once was. F-One and Appletree are at the forefront of the length revolution, and the Appletree/Omen Flux wing board is an excellent example of such a design. While certainly an all-around shape, especially in the larger volumes, the Flux is geared towards making light-wind winging fun.
The handle is an interesting one, consisting of a rounded surf fin that can be inserted into a twin-tab fin box at the bottom of the board, which Omen describes as a “low-drag handle,” but I’m sure it can’t hurt the trackability of the board in light wind or underpowered conditions.
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Wing foil boards come in many shapes and sizes. We tested a wide selection for this review. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Honorable Mentions
There are a ton of incredible wing foil boards out there on the market, and we can only write about so many without boring you, dear readers. Furthermore, while we do our best to get hands-on testing time with each and every wing foil board on the market, the high rate of turnover in the industry sometimes gets ahead of us. With those two considerations in mind, here are a few boards we tested that almost made the cut, we had limited testing time on, or have yet to test the latest version. We’re also including some older models of boards that may not be the latest and greatest but are still top-tier performers and smokin’ good deals.
The Cabrinha Code has been a classic stand-by for years, with an all-around wing board shape similar to that of the F-One Rocket Wing or the North Seek. We included the 2023 version of the board in the first edition of this review, but have yet to get any riding time on the latest (2024) version. That said, with a middle-of-the-road design and flattened-out bottom contours, there isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking going on here. That said, we do take notice of the smooth rail lines, which seem to be a bit more hydrodynamic than that of the boxier all-around boards. Worth mentioning is the price, currently $1,300 for the 60L board size, one of the best prices on the market for a 60L board.
Higher-performing riders who want the ultimate in lightweight board design will not be disappointed with the AppleTree Skipper. Made of the same super-lightweight, closed-cell foam construction as the Omen Flux, above, the Skipper fits more into the sinker/surf category of high-performance wing boards.
Advanced riders looking for a cost-effective sinker/prone foil board should consider the Slingshot Flying Fish V2. Although discontinued, there are still a few of these boards out there on the market, for the low, low price of just $399. Wide, flat, and very thin, this board doesn’t paddle very well, but when up on foil, it feels like there’s nothing below your feet but the foil itself.
Many of the all-around boards on this list saw subtle changes from their prior 2023/2024 versions. We make note of what changed in each of the board descriptions, above, but here it’s worth mentioning that the 2023 F-One boards (Rocket Wing and Rocket Wing S) are basically the same shape as the latest versions, with the 2024 boards receiving increased volume for the same board lengths as last year, and a couple of extra sizes.
The 2023 KT Wing Drifter has gained notoriety as one of the most popular intermediate, mid-volume boards on the market. And with good reason, as the board has a well-balanced shape with dramatically beveled rails that make for an incredibly easy-to-use and high-performing ride. Combined with a fairly narrow deck, the bottom contour (that features an even deeper cutout around the mast connection area) helps with sharp upwind angles and tight turns thanks to the steep bevels, and the bit of extra length adds some extra stability to offset the shaped bottom. The 2024 KT Drifter has received a decent number of changes, but the older version is a great wing foil board in its own right.
Finally, we are huge fans of the all-new Naish Chimera, a prone/high-performance wing foil board that we got on for a session at AWSI 2024. We intend to get more testing time on this new design, but until we do, suffice to say this board has an interesting and very surfy feel, and we found ourselves riding a bit more back-footed than we do on most foil boards, giving this ripping design a surfy, shortboard-feel that makes hard snaps and sharp turns a delight.
Side-by-side testing of the Armstrong Midlength and KT Ginxu Super K. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Wing Foil Boards Comparison Table
| Board | Price | Sizes Offered (Liters) | Construction(s) | Notable Features/Updates |
| Naish Hover Wing Foil Ascend Carbon Ultra | (62L): $1,429 | 42, 52, 62, 72, 82, 92, 102, 112, 122, 142 | Carbon/Wood Vacuum Sandwich | Raised arch on tailpad for back foot placement |
| KT Drifter 4 | (62L): $1,495 | 14, 18, 22, 28, 34, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 90, 100, 115, 130, 150, 170 | Ultra Carbon Monocoque | Increased length and narrow(er) width for 2024 |
| F-One Rocket Wing V4 | (58L, Bamboo): $1,519 | 47, 52, 58, 70, 85, 100, 115, 140 | Bamboo, Carbon | Added volume for 2024 |
| Duotone Sky Series (Sky Free / Sky Style) | (65L): $1,999 (SLS construction) | Sky Free: 105, 115, 125 | Sky Style: 75, 85, 95 | Sky Style SLS: 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95 | SLS (Carbon/High-Density Foam), Original (Bamboo/Carbon Sandwich) | Recessed deck, extra volume in the nose, optimized volume distribution for 2025 version |
| Armstrong Wing FG Board | (58L): $1,750 | 34, 40, 48, 58, 70, 80, 90, 105, 120, 135 | Carbon PVC Sandwich | Deep deck-concave, comes with a board bag |
| North Seek 2025 | (58L): $1,509 | 58, 68, 78, 88, 98, 108, 118, 138 | PVC Sandwich with Carbon Reinforcement | Double mast-tracks, narrower/longer design for 2025 |
| Slingshot Wing Craft V3 | (70L): $1,489 | 70, 80, 90, 105, 120, 140 | EPS with Carbon Reinforcement | Out-the-back foil tracks on 70L and 80L, flat bottom |
| Jimmy Lewis Flying VM | (60L): $1,899 | 60, 75, 85, 95 | PVC Sandwich with Carbon Reinforcement | Bottom contour designed to reduce stickyness when touching down |
| KT Ginxu 2 | (62L): $1,859 | 39, 46, 54, 62, 72, 82, 92 | Ultra Carbon Monocoque | Chopped/recessed bottom in the back for better foot-foil connection |
| F-One Rocket Wing S | (60L): $1,509 | 20, 24, 32, 36, 42, 48, 50, 54, 56, 60, 70, 80 | Bamboo, Carbon | Concave deck, extra volume in the nose, narrow width, added volume for 2024 |
| KT Ginxu Super K | (60L): $1,762 | 60, 70, 80, 92, 104 | Carbon Monocoque | Ginxu step-bottom, hull-shaped nose |
| Armstrong Midlength FG | (55L): $1,799 | 38, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 100 | Carbon PVC Sandwich | Grippy deckpad, long mast tracks |
| F-One Rocket Mid | (78L): $1,779 | 78, 90, 105, 120 | Bamboo deck | High volume but high performing |
| Duotone Skybrid | (55L): $1,899 | 55, 70, 85, 100, 115 | Duotone SLS | Wider outline, bottom handle |
| Omen Flux | (60L): $1,770 | 36, 40, 48, 60, 72, 84 | Closed-Cell Foam/Full Carbon Layup | Closed-cell lightweight foam construction, fin-style carry handle |
Getting after it at Hood River. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
How We Tested The Best Wing Foil Boards
This review is a continual work in progress as we work to get our hands on as many wing boards in the industry as we can to review, and as the red-hot foil market continues to pump out new designs. For the first stab at covering the category, we spent the summer and fall testing more than 12 different wing boards from the top manufacturers in the business at Crissy Field in San Francisco, on alpine lakes in Idaho and Alberta, Canada, at the foiling Mecca of Hood River, Oregon, and in light-wind conditions along the Southern California coast. We most recently updated this article in fall of 2024 after another summer of testing, and another trip to Hood River to test the latest and greatest boards to hit the market.
The boards listed here are our top picks, the ones that sang under our feet or we found to be particularly useful for a given application. With new shapes and designs dropping all the time, stay tuned for updates to this article as we continue testing.
Some of the boards we tested for this review on a sunny testing day at Crissy Field. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Best Wing Foil Boards Buyer’s Guide
Different Types of Wing Foil Boards
Beginner/SUP Wing Foil Boards pack the volume. These boards tend to be upwards of 90 liters in volume, with wide decks and flatter bottoms to give newer riders a stable platform to mess around on. They share a lot of similar characteristics with SUP-foil boards, and many can pull double-duty for SUP-foil and learning to wing. They are also useful in lighter winds, however, longer, narrower boards (similar to a downwind foil board) will perform much better in light winds for riders advanced enough to deal with the tippy-ness of a narrower deck. While it may be tempting to try and start out on as small of a board as you can to avoid having to buy an intermediate-sized board for as long as possible, you definitely don’t want to shortchange yourself with too small of a board that will keep you from progressing in the early stages of your winging development. Our Beginner Wing Foil Gear Guide dives more into those details.
All-Around Wing Foil Boards are exactly what they sound like, middle-of-the-road designs aimed at excelling in a wide range of conditions. For those who are looking for a one-board solution, this style of board may be your best bet, and a majority of the boards in this review fit into that category. These boards tend to be fairly short, often less than 5 feet in length, with plenty of volume packed in from tip to tail. Volume-wise, these boards generally run from 45 to 90 liters, depending on the weight of the rider. For example, a 45-liter board, while right on the edge of being a sinker for most riders, would be a great all-around size for a smaller grom. With the introduction of midlengths and surfier shapes, all-around boards are becoming more of a board for intermediate riders and freestyle riders who need a stable platform to land on while doing airs, while advanced riders more interested in riding waves than going skyward are turning to surf/wing boards, as well as midlengths for the benefits they provide in the surf.
Wing/Surf Foil Boards tend to be more advanced designs geared towards high-performance winging in waves. They tend to be narrower than all-around wing boards, with characteristics like shaped noses, increased rocker, and beveled rails or hull-shaped bottoms that are geared towards better clearance and rebound-ability to keep from touching down while wave-riding, and bouncing back up on foil when you do. They share a lot of characteristics with prone foil boards, though wing/surf foil boards tend to have higher volume and shorter lengths overall.
Midlengths are the latest type of wing board to hit the market, and boy are they a game-changer. Taking the glide and easy waterstarts of a downwind board, but shortened for better performance while in the air, midlength foil boards are a true easy-button for experienced wingers. While they are not the most stable side-to-side in waterstarts, and as such are best suited to advanced riders, their efficient glide makes it possible to get up on foil with smaller equipment than you might otherwise need to get airborne. They also paddle extremely well, and the longer deck length provides awesome drive and glide.
Other Types of Foil Boards include sinker boards, which really can be any type of foil board, sized down enough for your weight such that it sinks below the surface when waterstarting. In previous years, it seemed to all be about riding as small of a board as possible, with sinker boards being the ultimate goal, if you had the skills to do so, but these days there’s been more of a push to ride bigger boards, especially with the advent of midlength foil boards. SUP-foil boards (which share a lot of characteristics with beginner wing foil boards) are designed for stand-up paddling into a wave with wide and stable shapes. Downwind foil boards are a new class of boards that have popped up in the past year or two, being long, narrow, high-volume foil boards made for gliding from one bump of swell to the next on high-aspect foils. They are also gaining popularity for use in light-wind winging, as their length and narrowness provides great trackability on the surface of the water, perfect for building up speed to get up on foil in light winds. Kite foil boards and pumping foil boards forgo as much volume and length as possible for maximum efficiency and maneuverability.
Longer downwind-style boards are becoming popular for light-wind winging. Photo: Cory Diamond//The Inertia
Foil Board Construction
There are a few different ways to construct a foil board. The first two main categorizations are hardboards and inflatables.
Inflatable foil boards are best suited for traveling and beginners. In terms of travel, an inflatable board packs down to the size of a backpack, however, pumping up the board becomes an additional step in setup: something to keep in mind. Inflatable boards also don’t collect dings the way a hardboard will over time, a huge boon for travel and beginners alike, but should you somehow pierce their rhino-hide skin, they are much harder to repair.
Beginners will also benefit from the high-volume nature of inflatable boards, and the fact that they hurt less when you fall on them. With modern inflatable-board technology, inflatables are able to be pumped up to very high pressures, making them quite rigid and with a surprising amount of performance. That said, you will always be taking a step down in performance and how reactive your foil is when choosing an inflatable over a hard foil board. Inflatables also do not allow for the nuances in board design discussed in this article such as beveled rails, bottom contours, etc. Due to the nature of inflatable board design, in going with an inflatable you’ll want to choose a board of much higher volume than you would a hard board.
Hardboards are the industry standard when it comes to winging. They perform the best, are the simplest to deal with in setup, the list goes on. Hardboards tend to be constructed similar to a surfboard, from a foam core wrapped in some type of material like bamboo, fiberglass, or carbon fiber, and then laminated with resin. With an emphasis on low weight and stiffness, as well as all of the forces being exerted on the board through the mast connection box, sometimes these boards are constructed from a more sandwich-style epoxy construction, or have sheets or strips of carbon fiber running through the board to increase rigidity and durability.
Carbon Fiber is by far the lightest-weight and most expensive construction, but not all carbon fiber boards are constructed the same, and you may even find a fiberglass board from one manufacturer matches the weight and performance of a carbon fiber board from someone else – so don’t let the label of carbon fiber goad you into throwing gobs of money at a product. Don’t get me wrong — carbon fiber is no snake oil, but it’s also a label that has been widely applied to a range of similar but different board constructions.
Fiberglass and other laminate boards (bamboo is sometimes used) are a bit heavier, but often a good bit more durable, than their carbon counterparts.
AppleTree Foil Boards are made with a light closed-cell foam/carbon construction that doesn’t let water in when it dings. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Board Shape
The wing industry is really just getting the gear dialed. This, with the benefits of modern technology and a wide-open playing field to try new designs, has led board design in a few different directions. At first, shorter was seen as better, and the idea was to stuff as much volume into as short of a design as possible. Unfortunately, that idea didn’t totally hold water, with manufacturers realizing that many wingers could benefit from longer, narrower, and lower volume boards, for a variety of reasons. The industry has since come around to the idea that while volume provides a nice easy summary of (roughly) how big a board is, it in no way captures the intricacies of a board’s shape, and how its length, width, and thickness work together. Here’s our attempt at breaking these vastly complex topics down without absolutely boring you to death.
Thickness: thicker boards float better, but too thick without enough corresponding length and width will be “corky” sitting too high out of the water, unstable, and hard to start on.
Also, a thicker board moves you further away from the top of your mast, reducing the responsiveness of your foil. More and more board manufacturers are turning to recessed/concave decks where the rider’s feet are, to lower the center of gravity and get them closer to the foil while maintaining volume along the rails or in the nose, depending on the board. The KT Ginxu attacks thickness from a different direction, with a cutout on the bottom of the board where the mast connects to reduce the thickness of the board where it matters the most.
Narrower boards make for more radical turns. Photo: Cory Diamond//The Inertia
Width: wider boards are more stable, important for beginners and the rest of us, to some extent. However, the added drag from a wider board means you’ll need more wind to achieve liftoff, and doesn’t allow you to heel over as hard when going upwind, resulting in less efficient upwind angles. This matters a lot for wing foil racers, for obvious reasons! Turning is also affected by the width of a board. Especially in lighter winds, as you shed speed through a turn, a narrower board will allow for tighter turns without accidentally catching a rail. The downsides of increased width in turning and upwind performance can be mitigated by a longer mast, but only by so much.
Tucker, MACkite’s wing foil guru, and one of the most knowledgeable people we’ve ever chatted with on the subject, shared that he sees 23 inches of width as a threshold for wing boards — any wider and they tend to feel more like a SUP with lots of stability but a decrease in turning and upwind performance. Any narrower and the board will feel more like a prone foil board with decreases in stability and corresponding increased performance.
Length: “Swing weight” used to be anathema to the wing board manufacturer — everyone wanted to go shorter and shorter to eliminate that supposed decrease in turning performance. However, the industry as a whole has since realized there are plenty of other factors that are equally, if not more important than swing weight, and that aspects such as thinness and the shape of the board’s nose (how well does it slice through the wind?) can help to make up for a longer board. Furthermore, the benefits of a longer board (ease of takeoff, etc) have proven to be far more impactful than the decrease in performance that comes from “swing weight.”
Nose Shape: this one actually has a lot to do with length and swing weight, which is why we’re tacking it on here. A board with a trimmed-down and pointier nose will cut through the wind better than a board with a flat nose shape, making for less “swing weight” and easier turning.
Some subtle nose-keel on an Appletree foil board. Designs like these help a board rebound back into the air after touching down on the surface of the water. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Bottom Contour: it’s also well worth paying attention to what’s going on with the underside of your wing board as there are a couple of key characteristics that, while they might not be “make or break” aspects, can certainly make a difference depending on what you are looking for.
A completely flat-bottomed board tends to provide the best on-water stability, great for beginners, intermediates transitioning to a smaller-size board, and to an extent, freestylists who want a small but stable platform to land on while doing aerials. However, that flat bottom tends to be “stickier” than a board with some contour to it, with the added friction requiring a bit more power to get up on foil, and sticking more when touching down.
Boards like the Jimmy Lewis Flying VM or the Appletree/Omen Flux have a hull-shaped bottom that cuts through the water like the bottom of a boat, making for less sticky touchdowns – the product page for the Flying VM claims that the shape will “re-direct the rider back up onto the foil with little or no drag when they touch down,” and we have to admit there is a palpable difference between a flat-bottomed board and a board with a shaped hull. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that any sort of hull-shaped bottom will be tippier and less stable than a flat-bottomed board.
Sharply beveled rails on the Armstrong Midlength FG allow for sharp turns and efficient waterstarts, but are not the most stable when on the water. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Furthermore, when combined with a thinner and longer board outline, a shaped hull provides incredible light-wind performance. Over the past year, light-wind boards have shifted from looking more like a SUP board with a wide and stable outline to the longer and thinner downwind foil boards that are becoming wildly popular today. This shape allows a foil board to “track” and build speed while still on the surface of the water, so riders can get up on foil in extremely light wind conditions.
Some boards also make use of beveled rails, which reduce the width and surface area of the bottom of the board relative to the width of the deck. This is great for turning and upwind performance (see: width) as well as reducing friction for less sticky takeoffs and touchdowns. Just be aware of the decreased stability due to the thinner-width bottom of the board.
The KT Ginxu 2 (red) has the same recessed deck shape as the KT Ginxu 1 (orange/green), but the depth of the recess has been dramatically reduced. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Recently, a few board designers (notably KT and Cabrinha) have been experimenting with strange and interesting board shapes around the back of the board/foil mast connection area. KT’s Ginzu has a stepped deck in the back, narrowing the thickness of the board between the rider’s back foot and the top of the mast, providing a noticeable increase in sensitivity. Cabrinha’s Code, along with the beveled rail system mentioned above, has a much narrower area around the mast, making for much less area in contact with — and sticking to — the surface of the water when the back half of the board is all that’s touching, similar to the beveled rails on the KT Wing Drifter.
Board thickness makes a huge difference. Here’s a 32-liter Slingshot Flying Fish V2 next to a 60-liter Wing Craft V2. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
What Size Wing Board Is Right For Me?
Ah, the classic question. While volume doesn’t tell you the whole story of whether or not a board might work for you, it’s a fairly good approximation. If you’re asking this question because you’re new to the sport, we wrote a whole article, just for you, on the Best Beginner Wing Foil Gear. To sum things up, the general rule for your first wing board is your weight in kilograms, plus 20-40, equals the volume of wing board you should aim for. More like +20 for younger, fitter riders with prior boardsports experience, and more like +40 for older and less experienced riders. From there, you’ll want to size down incrementally as your skills progress.
However, there are a lot of other factors to choosing the right volume wing board besides just your weight. Riding conditions play a big factor – if you ride somewhere with a lot of wind (say Crissy Field in San Francisco, or Maui), you’ll be able to go smaller. If you ride somewhere with lighter winds, a bit of extra volume will go a long ways to ensure you make it up on foil consistently and without too much effort.
For example, Will Sileo (5’11”, 150 lbs), the lead gear tester for this review, tends to ride boards around 50-60 liters at Crissy Field. There’s plenty of wind, letting him use a smaller board, but Crissy Field is also a notoriously difficult location for winging with large tide swings, tons of chop, unpredictable weather, and commercial ship traffic. With that in mind, he sizes up a bit more than he would for a similar high-wind location as a safety precaution. The thought of trying to deep-water start a 30-liter sinker board with a cargo ship bearing down on him is a regular component of his deepest darkest nightmares.
Foil/Mast Connection Style
There are two main ways that a foil connects to a foil board, and it’s certainly worth making sure your board will work with the foil you have or are considering purchasing before you buy! Those two connection styles are the Deep Tuttle Box and the Twin Track System. The Deep Tuttle Box is a bit outdated at this point, however, some specialist foil manufacturers (such as Mikes Lab Foils) have held true to the older design. A board with a Deep Tuttle Box has what is basically a fin box (like on a surfboard) that is much deeper and has extra reinforcement to withstand the forces that come with operating a foil. The twin-track system is the go-to at this point, with a system of nuts and bolts threading into a pair of tracks on the bottom of the board.
Footstraps are a critical feature for those looking to get airborne, but they are also extremely useful for wave-riding and achieving better upwind angles. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Additional Features
While the volume and shape of a foil board should be your main deciding factors, it’s definitely worth considering the other aspects that make up a foil board.
Strap Connection Points
Do you plan on using straps on your foil board? They’re pretty awesome, giving you more leverage for recoveries and wave riding, and they’re fairly essential for sinker boards or taking to the air. Most boards these days come with inserts for straps, however a few of the larger sizes of boards on this list don’t come with strap inserts (such as the 105L+ sizes of the 2023 Rocket Wing) so it’s worth double checking your board has this feature if that matters to you.
Carry Handle
Almost every board on this list has a carry handle, most have it on the bottom of the board, but some like the Naish Hover Wing, have a handle on both top and bottom. The smaller sizes of a lot of boards on this list like the F-One Rocket Wing and Duotone Sky series forgo the carry handle.
Ventilation
Similar to a surfboard, you may think that ventilation is the last thing a foil board would want. However, due to the lighter, stiffer, and higher-volume construction of foil boards, ventilation can be pretty crucial. With so much air inside of the foam of a foil board, if left in the sun or a hot car that air can expand dramatically with the heat, potentially damaging the exterior of the board. You can really trust your manufacturer on whether it’s necessary or not depending on the construction and volume of the foil board, but it’s worth noting here that a vented board will have a small plug (usually located somewhere on the deck) that lets air in and keeps water out, and it’s generally best to leave this plug inserted unless performing repairs and trying to drain water or something of the like.
Three different boards with three different deck pads. From left to right, the Slingshot Wing Craft V2 uses a soft corduroy, the Jimmy Lewis Flying VM has a diamond-foam deckpad, and the F-One Rocket Wing has a grippy but low-profile deckpad. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Deck Grip
What’s directly under your feet can make a huge difference when foiling, especially if you are not using footstraps. Deck grip is actually a lot less straightforward than it looks, as it’s solving for a couple of different issues at the same time. Not only does it have to be grippy, but that grip needs to be durable (so it will last) and comfortable, so it won’t tear up your knees and feet or the material of your wetsuit if you wear one. This is especially important for beginners who spend a lot of time getting back up on their feet. The ridgy, diamond grip pattern made of a softer foam material (popular on surfboard traction pads) was very popular for wing boards, but it seems the industry is moving away from this pattern as it does not deliver on the comfort side of things. Instead, board manufacturers have been moving towards a lower-profile (less big ridges) but grippier material instead of the soft foam that provides a grippy surface to keep from slipping off of, without discomfort.
Recessed Deck
A recessed deck cuts away at the thickness of the board beneath the rider’s feet, allowing a manufacturer to pack in more volume without making the foil feel less responsive due to the added thickness. Boards with a recessed deck often have that extra volume somewhere else, evident in the nose design of the F-One Rocket Wing S. That redistribution of volume can be a double-edged sword. The benefits of a thinner board are undeniable (when it comes to performance) but the redistribution of volume can take some getting used to. For example, in testing the F-One Rocket Wing S we found ourselves shifting our weight forward during waterstarts to offset the increased volume in the nose. Not necessarily a downside, but something to keep in mind. This was also only noticeable in boards with a dramatic volume redistribution, a slight bit of deck-concave without significant volume elsewhere is unlikely to produce such an effect.
What About Custom Wing Foil Boards?
While there are plenty of awesome pre-manufactured wing foil boards on the market, there are also plenty of incredible custom shapers ready to make you the board of your dreams. What are some of the pros and cons of custom-manufactured wingboards? Well, pros certainly include the ability to dial in one’s own dimensions and a shape that matches the riding style you are aiming for. Custom is as custom does.
However, as with anything made to your own specifications, you’re likely looking at a bit of lead time from ordering to actually getting your hands on the board. And while you may be able to dial in custom shape and design, it’s a toss-up as to whether your shaper will have the tools and necessary components at their disposal to add on the sort of high-tech features we’re seeing crop up on boards today such as deeper concave decks, experimental bottom contours, and the like.
Certified ripper Ken Adgate tears it up on one of his custom foil boards. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Should I Get a Board Bag for my Wing Foil Board?
Yes, without a doubt. Wing boards are a pricey investment, and in being designed for lightness and stiffness, they are fairly brittle and easy to ding. The exterior is often made of tough fiberglass, carbon fiber, or another laminate material, but impacts with hard edges – say, the doorway of your apartment, or the edge of a foil mast when dropped from waist height (can you tell we’re speaking from experience?) – can do some damage. And if a crack develops that’s deep enough to let water in, the light foam inside will suck up water like a sponge, hurting your board’s performance without a doubt, and requiring time out of the water to dry before repairing. Rather than letting that happen, a padded boardbag provides critical impact protection, keeping your board in the water and performing at its best, and protecting your investment in the board should you choose to sell it down the line. We’ve reviewed surfboard bags here, and there are also plenty of wingboard-specific boardbags to choose from as well.
Return to Top Picks | Return to Comparison Table
Editor’s Note: To complete your setup, check out our guide to The Best Wings for Wing Foiling, and stay tuned for our Best Foils review. If you’re just getting started winging, here’s our Beginner Wing Foil Gear Guide, and be sure to check out our article on The Best Wing Foil Packages. You may even want to check out our Best eFoils review. Need a wetsuit? We’ve reviewed those too. For more gear reviews and features on The Inertia, click here.
The Best Wings for Wing Foiling of 2024
