...recent / trending boards are getting longer and thinner with often a nod (consciously or otherwise) to accommodate Parawing IMO.

Indeed, as example the latest Army 85 is 6'4. By comparison my older F-one 70 is 5'2...i think the 80 liter is 5'4...a foot shorter (and several inches narrower).

The new Project Drag looks super interesting...with the 72 coming in a 6 foot.

But for Winging ONLY, does this trend make sense - or do you think these dims (esp the length) are excessive?
Will they reduce in future for winging only?

i need to to try a few MLs, but on paper i dont feel like i want a board thats over 6 foot, ie 30cm/12 inches longer than my current. i appreciate a lot of the length is behind you, but....?

i dont think racers use boards >6ft, and certainly not freestylers. What about in Waves....i see Cash Berzola isnt wave riding on the Army ML? (although i appreciate he and his peers would rip on a barn door!)

Thoughts for "ideal" wing board design for 12-30 kts?

Many wingers went mid length long before pw was invented. If jumping and freestyle then maybe not but you will find a narrow board rolls much nicer than a short fat board and has so much better clearance you can commit to a turn or carve with more confidence.
A mid length has the potential to change a lot of wingers lives with more reliable starts on smaller equipment.
The guys that are jumping aren’t doing it on a wide or higher volume board or what we would call a conventional wing board. I love what Cash is doing but he is doing a different sport than everybody else.

i've had a 7'2" board and a 6'2" board both around the 100l range...sold them both. i'm a winger only, no PW for me. i find these long boards do nothing for me in terms of getting up in lighter winds. and i hate the way they track. my 'big' board is now the Omen 5'7", 72l and i feel i get up easier on that than i did on those bigger ones.

I’ve built a few boards now(hobbie).


yesterday I swapped between a 5-10 & 6-4, both similar widths and hull shapes, it was 3 m wing weather.

i noticed the extra swing weight, pumping felt harder, and slower to react to pitch control with the longer board.
I definitely prefer the 5-10 for fun in the bumps. The ML easier to get going.
Yet to try them back to back in light winds, where the ML should work better.

I also built a 7-10 for paddle ups, defo a certain type of riding suits these boards, more straight line cruising with smooth turns. The longer the board the duller it feels IMO.

I bought the Swift Foiling 73l FR board after trying a lot of different boards for winging (I weigh 80kg).
At 5’6” x 21” it fits nicely between the ‘long mid length’ and the soap bar boards. Good takeoff, not too wide, not too narrow, very strong but light, and can be customized to your preferred dimensions if you really wanted to. Highly recommend as an alternative to off-the-shelf boards.