Foiling Knowledge, SUP foil
SUP foiling foil set up tips for small, junky (real world) waves.
Feb
Pics: Tez Plavenieks, Oli Lane-Peirce, James Jagger.
Foilshop UK’s HQ is a varied beast when it comes to conditions on offer for watersports. Being a rider of many disciplines will see your time maximised Vs choosing just one activity where you may end up stuck on the beach often.
NCW 5/3mm chest zip Gulf Stream wetsuit (mens & womens fits).
Based in Cornwall family owned business North Coast Wetsuits (NCW) have been in the wetsuit game for a while. All their wetsuits are designed in the UK with UK weather and watersports conditions in mind. Hard wearing and durable yet flexible and tailored fits to compliment all your foiling activities.
NCW’s updated 5/3 winter chest zip streamer wetsuits are perfect for cold water/weather foiling as well as all other watersports. These suits have been very popular for a number of years and now come with some new features:
- Now built with 100% superstretch lightweight limestone neoprene which is more eco friendly.
- Glued and blind stitched seams.
- Spot-on tape at critical pressure joints of seams for added strength.
- Chest and back panels feature durable anti wind chill finemesh neoprene exterior and plush lined heat holding insulative interior.
- Interior lining made with low water absorption materials for quick drying.
- Anti flush envelope over head entry system.
- Tape and liquid welded reinforced overhead seam closures.
- Snug fit anti flush wrists with internal silicone grip tape.
- Rubberised anti flush neck lining.
- DuraFlex reinforced kneepads.
- High quality YKK metal zip.
- Anatomical suit shaping.
- Our new neoprene blend is more scratch / snag / velcro hook resistance than standard neoprene.
This wetsuit will keep you amazingly warm in the coldest waters. It works well for foiling, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, siton kayaking and a whole host of other watersports. If you’re looking for performance, quality and a product that won’t let you down the NCW Gulf Stream 5/3mm winter wetsuit is just the ticket. This wetsuit, being so flexible, is also highly recommend for SUP, but don’t just take our word for that, see the full review HERE in SUP Mag UK magazine
Size guide below. Note our wetsuits are a unisex fit and we sell many to ladies as well as gents. If your stats fit the chart then the suit will work regardless of your gender. Please email us if you need help with sizing.
| Size | Height | Chest | Waist | Hips |
| Small | 5’4″-5’7″ (162-168cm) | 34″-36″(86-91cm) | 27″-29″(69-74cm) | 32″-34″(81-86cm) |
| Small Tall | 5’8″- 6′ (169-180cm) | 34″-36″(86-91cm) | 27″-29″(69-74cm) | 32″-34″(81-86cm) |
| Medium Small | 5’6″-5’9″ (167-175cm) | 36″-38″(91-97cm) | 29″-31″(64-79cm) | 32″-34″(81-86cm) |
| Medium Small Tall | 5’10”-6’2″ (176-187cm) | 36″-38″(91-97cm) | 29″-32″(64-79cm) | 32″-34″(81-86cm) |
| Medium | 5’8″-5’10” (172-178cm) | 38″-41″(97-104cm) | 31″-34″(79-86cm) | 35″-39″(90-98cm) |
| Medium Tall | 5’11”-6’2″ (180-187cm) | 38″-41″(97-104cm) | 32″-34″(79-86cm) | 36″-39″(90-98cm) |
| Medium Large | 5’10”-6’2″ (178-187cm) | 40″-44″(102-109cm) | 35″-37″(88-94cm) | 38″-41″(96-104cm) |
| Large Short | 5’7″-5’11” (170-180cm) | 42″-45″(107-114cm) | 35″-38″(89-96cm) | 40″-43″(102-109cm) |
| Large | 6’0″-6’4″ (182-193cm) | 42″-45″(107-114cm) | 35″-38″(89-96cm) | 40″-43″(102-109cm) |
| Xtra Large | 6’2″-6’4″ (187-193cm) | 44″-47″(112-119cm) | 37″-39″(94-99cm) | 42″-45″(107-114cm) |
| Xtra Xtra Large | 6’2″-6’4″ (187-193cm) | 46″-49″(117-125cm) | 39″-42″(99-106cm) | 44″-46″(112-117cm) |
Whilst not a wave/surf Mecca we do get our fair share of swell – some days even offering good size. Often, however, south coast waves in general are gutless, mushy, short period suckers that roll in slow and dump quickly close to the beach. As such my SUP foiling set up – particularly the foil – is tuned accordingly.
Short foil masts are often promoted as being a beginner tool. Tue fact is, however, you need a reduction in length when riding at shallow venues otherwise you’re just going to ground out. As such I usually opt for a foil mast length of around 60cm when stand up paddle foiling. There’s another reason for this as well. With the waves I ride generally being less powerful I want my front foil wing closer to the power source (the wave) to aid early take offs and sustained ride height. I find a longer foil mast sinks the foil’s wings too deep and prohibits early flights. (In deeper water, with more wave energy you can go slightly longer if you wish). Combined with being close to shorelines a longer SUP foil mast severely reduces my amount of glide time. Of course, a shorter foil mast requires concentration when riding to not over foil and cavitate – particularly if you’re also using a large front wing. But you adapt and quickly learn to control ride height and respond to the foil’s behaviour as you cruise along the wave.
With a lot of sessions seeing waves around waist high or less I opt for the biggest front foil wing I can. It’s usually a low aspect wing with large surface area. At 90kg (dry) I need lift – as much as poss in sloppy waves. That said the wing does have to be nimble as I still want to turn!
Some of you may think low aspect wings are slow, which is correct to some degree. But it’s all relative. I do use high aspect foils when conditions allow but likewise I don’t find the lower aspec wings I use to be prohibitive. In fact, they suit my style of rider more.
Ocean Specific Strike SX-2 SUP foil/SUP carbon paddle.
Ocean Specific first appeared as a stand up paddle boarding apparel brand. Pretty quick they upped their game and offering to include hardware such as SUP paddles. We’ve used Ocean Specific’s carbon Strike SX-2 weapon for a while and have to say it’s one of the choicest paddles available, for SUP foiling and stuck to the water SUP.
Scroll down for more info.
As a surfer/SUP surfer I’ve always erred towards the longboard end of the spectrum. I enjoy a decent turn and lip bash but have never been a rip, shred ‘n’ tear shortboarder. My SUP foil set up follows this trend. So whilst it’s dictated by local conditions there’s a lot in there surrounding my style of riding as well.
To aid carving I plump for a smaller, more nimble tail wing which loses a bit of leverage for pumping (although my bigger front wings lift super early anyway) and helps with a bit more zoom (speed) offering to some degree my front wing’s slower nature.
Finally I usually fit a longer fuselage. Whilst some manouvreability is lost a longer fuse helps with early flying and helps control pitch better in the often flukey conditions I find myself. I want comfort and control, not squirrelly behaviour from my main source of enjoyment. Current foil trends are for riders to be using extremely short fuselages, but this doesn’t always help the rider. At least not riders setting off on their foil journey or progressing. Nor does it always suit the conditions you mostly fly in. Thid is all about real world foiling and not pro level glory hunting.
Axis Foils Froth SUP foil/wing foil board 5’5, 5’7, 5’9, 6’0, 6’6.
New for 2021 Axis Foils’ Froth range of SUP and wing foil boards utilise a whole bunch of modern design characteristic (bevelled rails, pronounced tail kick, compact lengths and packed volumes) to serve up progressive wing and SUP flight machines.
Add foil, add water, add wing and/or paddle and off you fly!
Scroll down for more info on the Axis Foth range of wing and SUP foil boards.
Ultimately, getting your SUP foil set up right is about asking some honest questions about where you ride, how you ride (or are likely to), what your experience level is and where you aspire to get to. It’s all well and good wanting to emulate the likes of Kai Lenny and co but realistically you probs don’t live in Maui, aren’t as biomechanically enabled and don’t posses that level of skill and/or talent. Being able to turn off the ‘white noise chat’ you find everywhere (like social.media for instance), and determine exactly what it is you want from your SUP foiling, will allow (hopefully) the right choices to be made about your foil gear.
If you have any questions about SUP foiling or foiling general then get in touch with us here at FS HQ. And don’t forget to check out Folishop UK’s other articles on the Foiling Knowledge page –