I have read a report on the Gong forum. In French, but with Google Translate it should be readable:
www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=15411&start=15#p171247Basically:
- The guy says it is not too hard on this 19" board... but he was already using a 24" wide board. Coming from a 29" will be quite a step.
- It is tricky to get up, especially with chop, but once standing up it is not too bad
- Surprisingly, it is the for/aft balance which is the hardest. The thin tips are designed to go through water without drag so they do not restrict the rocking motions
- I asked him on Facebook if the foil was stabilizing the board with speed, so that may paddling a bit to give the board some speed made it easier to get up, he said it didn't seem to make a lot of difference.
In my experience of SUP foil (but not with these boards), the foil reduces the stability at first, as it is pushed around by all the water movements. But with practice, it becomes the opposite, you learn to use the foil for balance.
