Wing Foil GEAR TALK at the beach 

This is Cindi, Scott’s sister. Thanks Damien and Gwen for this video and all the others. Thanks Scott for getting me into the fun and all your help and optimism. I am so thrilled with my wing foiling experience so far; the community has been so welcoming and there’s always someone around to share my disproportionate enthusiasm.

Great interviews especially with the brother and sister! I'm heavy at 100kg and I think big High Aspect foils (1500 - 2100 sq cm) with lots of glide have helped my progression in two ways: 1) I can gybe through the turns at a higher speed and I have more time to make the transition because of the glide and low stall speed 2) less drag means less joint pain and more time on the water. My recommendation is if you are still having trouble with gybes or are experiencing shoulder, elbow, and writs pain ... move to a large HA foil.

We met Cindy and Scott in Stuart. They were super approachable and gave us tons of tips! We are so lucky to have such an awesome wing foil community in Florida! 🙌

I'm the brother in the video (Scott, yep the slow talker, yikes!!! thank goodness for the editing as it could have been worse). Thanks to Gwen and Damien for the great concept (as gear is the discussion nearly every day). Thanks for the riding footage as well. If you are a first timer and buy new gear try to have the store explain to you the size specifications of what you bought. I think you don't need to be an expert, but should have a point of reference and maybe understand the size and naming convention of your gear brand(s).

I took the advice of this interview and got me a 6m wing, 140l inflatable and a 1950 front wing. All Cabrinha. I’ve done 6 water sessions with 24 hours of water time. I’m 54 y o 164lbs and so far I’ve not been able to foil but I don’t do walk of shames anymore since session 5 being able to slosh upwind and downwind consistently. My next goal is to be able to foil for a few seconds at least. I’m still learning the nuances of balance in relation to flying the wing and still fall a lot. At least I’m now able to observe how the board is waking on the water without thinking much on balance and managing the wing. Still quite a ways from foiling but I’m a complete beginner so I’m realistic that it might take a while. I’ve subscribed to your channel and watched a lot of your videos with Gwen. Thanks for all you lessons and tips. You got me started on this. Kudos! Might as well do this at 54 than at 74.😂

Great video Damo and Gwen with our locals. Alejandro here. As Travis said. Balance point is a key. Am 190 pounds and learning in a 6' 4" 132L and 33" wide, Cabrihna 1950 foil with 70 cm mast, and 6.2m mantis and and finally able to stand on the board after 4 or 5 days. Am also practicing with a 4m mantis and my surfskate on land. Great to create hand wing handling muscle memory.

I truly appreciate this video! Real people referencing your past videos and these people are telling it like it is. Thank you for this presentation.

Love your vids Damien! Especially love speaking to peeps at the beach! :) From the (very rainy) UK

As always another great video, guys, keep them coming!

Loved these beach interviews

Thanks guys! Just got my first board, foil and wing all based off what you recommended. Looking forward to getting in the water.

Epic episode with golden advice from everyday wingers! So motivating!

Amazing video, loved it. You guys rock

Ran into "light wind" Scott on the beach in Jupiter last Sunday evening. He gave me tons of advice about his setup, progression and conditions in the area - launch sites in Stuart and Fort Pierce, etc. Ido at Jupiter Kiteboarding was also amazing- Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a lesson in with him because of conditions, but he was super informative when I dropped by the shop to check it out - he's definitely worth considering for anyone looking for help getting started. You guys clearly have a great community and so many ideal spots to learn and progress.

Yet another fantastic episode! You guys are rockstars, thank you 🙌🔥🔥🔥

For beginner, big board (your weight in kg + 30-40L) will help a lot. For the foil, some setups are easiter. The easiest setup that I've tried must be North Reflexed series. Easier than big fat low aspect beginner foils and can go quite fast for its size. Dont't go too big. I found that too much lift is not a good thing and big foil is harder than small foil with sufficient lift in choppy condition when the wave hit you from all direction. Hight aspect foil is only a little harder to learn on. Beginner can learn on big HA foil (1300-1500cm not too high aspect AS6.5-7.5 for 70-80kg rider) and keep that one for light wind day.

This videos are great. Understanding other people views on gear is illuminating. Keep on. Nobody is doing this small interviews with the right questions.

Fantastic idea! Gear is expensive, and nobody wants too sink $$$ into a setup they outgrow quickly and sell at a significant loss. As more people enter/ join us, the used market will stock up. Wings will have the shortest lifespan, but boards and foils will still be very serviceable. At 80kg, I chose 105ltr quatro /W1100 (2100cm2)/80cm mast. At the end of season 1 I downsized to W945 (1300cm2)/Phantasm 926 (1266cm2), and used that the second season. We have a lot of 5-15, 10-20 days. Smaller foils are more agile, turn better, and more fun, but many times I needed the next size up hand Wing to get going efficiently. Small hand Wings are more enjoyable too. But there's a trade off. (I could go 4m and W1100 or 5.5m W945/Ph 926 in the same wind conditions. Sure I could get the 945/926 up with 4m if I wanted to pump like a Monkey on Meth to get going, but I'd also come off foil sooner and have to do it again). And our conditions are very rangy and volatile. I've ridden 80ltr, and tried 60ltr. Our local conditions have so many Lulls, a big board allows you to save energy in the lulls and get back on foil with less energy. Gorge conditions I stayed with a bigger board because of the large wind range. Next summer.... yr 3, I'll keep a bigger ~100ltr board around, but start using a smaller one more. No rush. My wife (@60kg), started this summer, she uses the next size down from me, we can share the quiver. Windsurfed 80-2013, kited 2006- , kite foiled 2015-2020, Wingfoil 2021-.

Sorry for no complementing you for such a great viewer experience ! Hearing from people at different stages in wingfoiling, telling users what they use and what is important when selecting Thanks🙏

I am 64 years young,weight 190 lbs. 5'11". I started during Covid and there was not a lot of gear here on the Island in north East Puerto Rico. I finally scored a board from a surfshop in San Deigo that used to make my surfboards. The board is a little bit unconventional 6 foot 118 L.s. I bought a 90 L board but have not used it yet. We have had light wind for about a month. I am riding a big front WIng Naish foil 2000. I bought a new Armstrong higher aspect foil and will used it when the wind picks back up. Now only 8-10 mph. I ORDERED a 6 m cabrihna wing and will pick it up this January when I go back to San Diego. Gear here is still super expesive because the shipping is a joke. Most companies will not ship here at all in Puerto Rico.

interesting with interviews👍 would also be fun to hear about "most recent aha" and: current "challenge". from random foilers

Great stuff to listen too!

Great video! Can you please do a follow up with the biggest riders you can find? I’m 6’3” and 122 kilos, based on the NJ shore. I’m happy with my big 150 liter board but wing and foil sizing has been tricky with 12-20 kn winds. I’m an experienced sailor and former windsurfer, but this is taking all my sailing skills to learn. Thanks!

Fantastic Damo 🙏

Cindy and Scott are true legends! I winged with them dozens and dozens of days this summer in 10-15mph winds and they are always stoked flying around having a blast at the causeway

Gents. Great videos, thanks. Speaking of gear, I would love to see some review of yours of Cabrinha Macro Air as for some people out there (greetings from Germany) inflatable board is very valid option

Could you guys to an item on first time venturing out in waves and what board, foil, wing setup is good to get started? Long or short mast, big or small or thin or thick f-wing, high or mid aspect? What board, greater or smaller than rider weight etc etc. So many variables and every bit of guidance and preparation can make or break the experience. Loving your videos since the very start 🙏🙏

Genious, Damo

thank you for your Vid its a superb advice for Intermediates would be interesting same story but 4 advanced Level Foils at 700 - 1000 sq cm

great video

You guys should get a cut for all the gear you help sell!😂

I currently have a 2400 Armstrong front foil and wonder, as a beginner, if their 1850 would be a better option - I am 6’1” x 73KG with windsurfing and TT kiteboarding skills .

I started the hard way. 160 lbs on a100L inflatable and 1200 MA foil. I've heard somewhere that inflatable have more buoyancy compared to same hard board. True, but nobody told me they are thick thus the deck is smaller. After two days of not being able to get up from my knees, I didn't want to sell it...I wanted to pour gasoline over it, set it on fire and watch it melt.😂 Four months later I was stink bugging 75L. I should have gotten 120L inflatable. By the way, inflatables are lighter and you can pump them less to make them softer, so good choice for big beginner board.

Great feedback! I wish you asked to a 15 years old girl 🙂 what would be the right gear for my daughter who weighs 100lb?

After about already 20 sessions I still could not stay on foil more then 2 or 3 seconds 🤔 :-( 😞 As you know I'm using the Starboard X 145 Lit. with a 1950cm ² front foil wing. I got so frustrated to see other people getting and staying much much longer on foil with less sessions. I tried different foot positions, changed mast positions of the foil ... nothing helped. I also took a 7m² wing I.s.o. the 6m² I gave my setup to other people to try out and they get on foil, so it's certainly not about the equipment. Nevertheless they do agree it takes more effort to get up. Also they mentioned that with a bit stronger wind the board gets quite a lot, relative, cross wind influence. I'm not at to point to give up on the sport yet but ... I tried a 110 Lit. Fanatic sky 5"8 board and a 120 Lit. Gong Lemon 5"4 only to know how it feels. The 110 as the limit in volume for me personally, the 120 had the buoyancy but way to short. I'm selling my 145 to get a 125 Fanatic Sky as that seems to me and for me the best choice to continue and progress without ever again having to change board later as it has enough volume but still at 5"8 so OK for all wind types that I will go out on the water. (More lighter winds) The conditions here on the lake are mostly lighter wind force, very gusty and changes in directions.