This article breaks down high aspect wings for foiling and efoiling, a new frontier for efficiently exploring the world of electric surfing.
eFoiling + High Aspect
Ok.
So you’ve been eFoiling for some time now. You’ve gotten into the groove, explored, gained speed, maneuvered and gotten plenty of air. You’re no longer a beginner, in fact you’d say you’re beyond intermediate, ready to really get out there and try the things Kai Lenny does in those viral videos that made you pay attention in the first place.
Where do you start?
We’d like to welcome you to the world of High Aspect Wings.
High aspect wings are designed to increase glide ratio in order to improve the rider’s ability to pump the foil and connect what would be multiple rides into just one. They are long and thin (which is why they have a high ratio, since it refers to how long the wing is in relation to its chord), giving the wingtip less area and producing less backwash. This significantly reduces the drag and makes your equipment extra efficient and extra smooth. When you pump, you can keep going with a fraction of your usual effort and you can ride over every bump at incredible speed, especially when you’re going downwind. When you bring this to the eFoil, what you can do on one battery charge is nothing short of astounding.
Precisely because of this efficiency, we don’t recommend these guys for beginners. This is a more adventurous ride than the one you can get when you’re using one of the wings from our Classic or Surf collections. It sets you up for some serious RPMs and some serious air so you want to be sure you’re super comfortable with the sport before you go to where they take you. That said, once you go High Aspect, you seldom go back. The delight of taking the mellow into the next level of adrenaline is highly addictive, and there are many ways to tweak it, depending on what you’re looking for.
If you’ve read this far and you’re convinced that you’re ready, your next step is to choose which High Aspect wing combo is for you. Our collection offers you four sizes of front wings. The largest has a surface area of 250 inches, with a wingspan of 37 inches. If you’re a bigger person or if you’re gonna be riding smaller waves, you want to start with this. The second to largest is our go-to recommended high aspect wing with a surface area of 200 square inches. It’s the ideal middle ground for float with minimal drag. If you’re a super pro and float is not one of the things you’re more concerned about, then you can go down to one of the two smaller sizes. Our 170 is essentially the 200s little brother and turns and pumps as if you had a motor below your feet (which, if you’re eFoiling, you’ll also have). Last but not least, the super pro experience comes to you via our 120. It’s built with a specialty premium carbon fiber that allows for ultimate rigidity at such a small size. It takes some getting used to, but once you’ve got it it’s the funnest one of them all.
As for back wings (or wing stablilizers) we have a 48, a 38, a 32, and a 25. The best formula for speed is a larger front wing and a smaller back wing but stability and comfort come when you pair large with large. If you’re riding the eFoil, we don’t recommend the 25, but for surfing it’s amazing.
And how do you pair these with your eFoil boards? When you’re getting started, you probably want to pair your 5’2 or your 5’9 with either the 200 or the 250 High Aspect Wings. Then, when you’ve effectively drank the Kool Aid and are ready to step up your need for speed, you’ll maybe want to combine your 4’9 with the 200. The feeling of this pairing is like nothing we’ve ever felt before. It’s truly a new frontier.
As always, these are just regular guidelines we usually use when we ride the equipment ourselves but we are always more than happy to help you choose exactly the pairing that’s best for you. Get in touch or visit one of our world-wide demo or retail locations. The important thing is that you get out there and try it. Because nothing is more convincing than the feeling of High Aspect foiling itself