Are Inflatable Wing Boards legit?

Matt Nuzzo puts Slingshot's I-Fly foil board up to the test.
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[@spencerburch7914]

Can attest to everything Matt says in the video. I learned on a 135L Naish inflatable. It works, but was also incredibly frustrating at times. I think the inflatable slowed down my progression a bit because of the "stickiness to the water." It's also next to impossible to get up in marginal / light wind. That's most of our days here in the north east. When sufficiently powered up, it was super easy to learn and pop out. Maybe think about oversizing your wing if you go this route. That said, the Naish hover inflatable allowed me to learn wining with my small Boston apartment and my sedan! If I could do it again, I'd probably opt for a larger hard board that I would eventually keep for SUP foiling or those lighter wind days. The inflatables are pretty incredible for travel. I was able to fit a board, wing, and large foil into a duffel bag for checked luggage!

[@hansmaier479]

Do you think the Naish hover inflatable is particular difficult when your are a beginner? Have you tried other boards? It has the smallest travel factor, I guess, which is why I bought it; however, I also find it very difficult even with a Moses/Sabfoil 1250 Wing (2400 cm2) and although I know how to foil with a kite for 2 years now. I have tried about 3-5 times in rather light wind around 10 knots without foiling success.

[@mandrinvuthaj4543]

Hey spencer thank you for the informative comment. Question I’m in Brooklyn I’m 215 lbs what you recommend on the size of board and wing for a beginner.thank you.

[@kenpohanis5211]

@Spencer Burch -would you ever use this with a kite? I’m playing w/foils but wonder why it’s targeted for wings. Any thoughts appreciated

[@erbartlett]

im in the same position as you, what would you recommend?

[@mikeb1039]

I read several reviews of the Naish inflatables that talked about how hard it was to get out of the water. Very little rocker to so it wanted to submarine on touchdowns too.

[@pierrearmand6590]

I own the slingshot 120 ltr. I bought for exactly the reasons he stated. Cheaper. An inflatable board has more volume than a hard board. If you bump into you don’t get hurt. It’s one less thing to worry about when taking it to the water. I can focus on keeping my wing away from my foil. As a beginner I am having so much fun learning that if there are draw backs I have the drive to work through it. I learned to surf on a 6 foot single fin lightning bolt made to ride pipeline. Not the easiest board to learn on, but my drive to get better got me surfing.

[@erbartlett]

A good option for someone coming from kiting and just doesn’t have the room for another board much less a huge board.

[@klrrafman]

I am Matt's size and was able to learn on 110L Naish inflatable. One thing I found was that despite relatively high volume the deck size is smaller in comparison. I wish someone told me to kneel across 45 deg with my feet outside because of the smaller deck but I figured it out and now I am glad I erred on smaller size so I still use it.

[@mikeb1039]

NO durability issues. I've owned inflatables for the past 10 years and never had an issue with any of them. And I ride at a rock (football sized and bigger) lined reservoir much of the time. Bash them, drop them, never a cut, very few marks. In comparison my hard board gets a mark if it falls over from propped on it's side......... Inflatables are WAYYYYYYYYYYY tougher in real world use. (because they "give" and flex instead of chipping, denting or breaking.

[@Bill-in-SF]

I guess I shouldn't care, since I purchased my hard-boards based on whether they would fit in the back of my Prius (a surprisingly large bed, as it turns out!). But a better test of the desirability of a "sticky" inflatable would be what a newbie thought of the hinderances when getting on-foil. You skilled guys make everything look easy!

[@REALmattnuzzo]

So the inflatable boards are more sticky than some hard boards. A board like the Armstrong FG with the flat tail is designed for forward speed and easy take off. The FG would be much easier for beginners to take off with. We mentioned that the inflatables will be stickier.

[@StefanWelker]

If it feels sticky you mostl likely dont have enough wind, or a too smal wing. My Gong Hipe Pro never feels sticky at all, but its also very stiff at 19 psi

[@RaskalnickoffTube]

nice to see you assembling it all in the video too.

[@larryluk6910]

great video and sharing, many Thanks, i am trying to buy the Macro air inflatable board, but struggle on the size or length (4'7/80 L vs 5'3" 110L) whether which is best choice, for a newb as me, my weight is 60kg 1.65m tall, as my preference is movability and playability on the water, for the the carry backpack size is huge, not very nice for trevally locally or oversea trip. hope you can share me some experience in handling this and selection ways. Many Thanks

[@Dantanalicious]

Great review! By the way, what brand of helmet were you wearing?

[@REALmattnuzzo]

www.realwatersports.com/products/gath-surf-convertible-helmet

[@scp8412]

Matt, your a beast! Keep the vid’s coming!!

[@paulchilvers5032]

Great camera work

[@iamkian]

I love the tool that you use at the beginning of the video to mount the mastplait to the board. Do you have a link/name of it for me? Thank you for sharing

[@EdwardPletz]

Could you ride this in small waves with a paddle rather than a wing? I'm wanting to get into SUP Foil with the possibility of learning to wing down the road.

[@REALWatersports]

Edward, that is tough to answer not knowing you, it depends a lot on the rider ability. For the most part, yes you should be fine doing that. If you have never foiled before and that is your first time trying, there will definitely be a learning curve, but it is doable even for beginning.

[@EdwardPletz]

@@REALWatersports thanks!

[@mikeb1039]

how much do you weigh? Do you have any board experience? If a beginner you really want enough liters of volume to float you comfortably. If it won't you'll struggle learning and fall a lot more. I'm 230lbs and a 100l board won't float me. A 150l will but very shakily and good luck standing up in dead air. If there's not enough wind to speed you up and get you planing you're going to fall a lot more on a small (wing) board.

[@zohnziaga]

how do you fix the camera on the helmet ? quick release, cool

[@philiptuffs-wh7jp]

I have the same 105ltr board as you with ma 1225 foil in light winds any settings or things I can do to get the max out of it . Bought it for a travel board like it , just want the low wind foiling to get just a little better

[@philiptuffs-wh7jp]

I have the same board and armstrong foil but have a 1850 HS foil would you advice the mast to be in centre of track like your setup . I am still learning .

[@mikeb1039]

I think most advise moving the foil forward for easier learning and then back for best performance once you are comfortable.

[@michaelvine7698]

People also want to transport on vacation. thanks for the info

[@wildhogget69]

Is that a torque Torx screwdriver?

[@REALmattnuzzo]

That is the Snap-On ratchet driver. They are expensive but really good. I put the T30 bit that comes with the Armstrong kits in it. It works really well for cranking together your foils.

[@Bill-in-SF]

@@REALmattnuzzo I've sort of wondered if I should be using a "driver" that shows me my torque - my Newton-meters, or Newton-feet, or whatever the heck they are. It would be an expensive mistake for me to learn that my Armstrong board doesn't like how tight I've been tightening my hardware... Thoughts?

[@wildhogget69]

@@Bill-in-SF I use a bicycle Torx Torque driver its really great and just do everything to the 6nm or 5nm has three settings. So I always know its the same, but I thought this was a ratchet and Torque in one.

[@REALmattnuzzo]

@@Bill-in-SF I just tighten them to max tightness. Don’t think you need a torque driver. With Armstrong gear, you won’t mess it up. Send it!

[@IRWE905]

Another thing to add about inflatable Wingboards is that you want one with a handle insert on the bottom. Not all the manufactures have them.

[@klrrafman]

Mine 110L is so light it doesn't matter. I grab it by the mast.

[@mikeb1039]

Not everyone needs or uses them. More drag in the water too.

[@paulgregory5079]

Which is your favourite Amstrong V2 or North foil 2022?

[@REALmattnuzzo]

IMO Armstrong is making the best foils on the market. Big range of performance to beginner wings and really well made. New North smaller MA and HA are pretty nice and user friendly but I prefer the Armstrong.

[@brynmrsh]

I love that he's evaluating the Slingshot board but puts his Armstrong foil on it and uses the Armstrong wing instead of the Slingshot stuff

[@REALWatersports]

He was testing Slingshot's new inflatable at that time, riding on the same gear he had earlier in the day for a more standardized/ direct comparison.

[@mikeb1039]

since he's evaluating the BOARD, doesn't really matter what foil he uses.

[@abelmurua6980]

Awesome! quick question, would you recommend a 80lts. inflatable board for a beginner? that would go with a 5 m. wing I am 1,90 mts height (6 ' 2")

[@someoneinmyhead]

80 is tiny, usual rule of thumb - your weight + 30 at least for beginners

[@oliverwilhelm]

What kind of mounting hardware did you use for the foil? I looked at some inflatable boards and the Armstrong titan screws were too long (they would poke into the board).

[@REALmattnuzzo]

This was the stock Armstrong board mounting hardware. Works fine on the Slingshot ifly and Naish inflatable.

[@mikeb1039]

MacKiteBoarding talks about some specific hardware that converts some setups too long M8's to M6's that won't poke the board when used. TopHat hardware or similar?????

[@michaelvine7698]

might just buy one

[@ericfernand]

Hey how much do you weight for reference? Thanks

[@REALmattnuzzo]

170 lbs

[@Sailaboat]

What a ridiculous headline. Of course they work.

[@REALWatersports]

Some of them are great now, but that has not always been the case in our opinion. There are some we have ridden in the past that would meet the definition of "working", but maybe not be what you'd want to travel with to a destination you may only be at once. As we said in the video, they've vastly improved and some are worth it if it meets your needs