Thanks Craig

Thanks for the comment. Awesome you will love it! If you make it to NZ pop in and say hi.

Hi, if you keep the 58, then I would go for the 55L for prone and winging. I'm 87kg and use the 58 if the wind is above 12 knots. For me, a light wind wingboard will be a 75L ML. A 55L would be a great travel-prone wingboard for you but unlikely to get you winging in under 9 knots. I've only used the 55L once, and it was patchy in light wind. I'm looking forward to spending more time on it. Feedback has been strong on the 55L from guys in the low, mid 70kg range as they perfected the size for a cross-over board.

Hey Byron, (This relates to using with FD Max) The width has only really been an issue when it was super choppy in a down winder. Water was bouncing off the rocks in low period wind vs tide swell. In saying that it was only a few mins and I was away. 65L is defiantly going to be easier and glide better and could cross into a wing board option better for you but you loose a little but of pump to connect waves. If you motor between waves then it's not going to be an issue. The only reason the 65 could become an issue would be if you have to duck dive or riding in more critical part of the wave its a bit longer in the pocket. If its just catching the swells and the above dosen't come into effect and if you want to use to DW and want a bit more security should you have a motor/ battery issue the 65 is a good option. Like everything pros and cons in a perfect world you would have all sizes :)

Hi, The 65 is not as stable as the 80L to knee start on especially if it's rough short period conditions but you are likely to be fine if it is flat and windy and you have good wing control while on your knees. If you want to replace the 80 and wing then the 75 would be a good option for lite wind. The 65 to the 75 is only 5 inches and it's like a DW board so you ride forward making the nose feel only a couple of inches longer. If you can comfortably wing a 58/60L normal FG board then 65L ML would be fine. If not I would recommend the 75. But at 70kg you would be fine on a 60L board if past the learner stage. The ML get going faster once to the water surface but harder to get to the surface due to the width so good wing control is key.

@@UndergroundSkateSurf Thanks for the detailed response, makes perfect sense. Great content 💯

Learn the Stinkbug start. There are many videos and it’s easier on these narrow boards because you can start off comfortably in the straddle position.

I’m in the same quandary. I have 400 days on the water and ride the 75FG and the 60FG. I was looking for light wind replacement for the 75FG without going to the downwind board lengths. Your comment makes me think I could ride the 60ML but do I really want to work that hard in light wind? Is the 75ML as close to as stable as the 75FG? On the FG I can maintain buoyancy and balance in 5kts waiting for that gust. But, the FG might need 12kt gust that lasts a few seconds. I’m hoping the ML means I only need a 9 gust for less time. Would that be case?

HI it really depends on your ability and what you want to do. My advice would be the ML is only for foilers your are in a decent intermediate stage and don't fall that often and have good wing skills. If you ride a smaller / narrower board you can ride smaller foils as the swing weight of the board is less. I certainly fall less when I rider a smaller board vs a bigger board as it's much easier once you are foiling. If you only fall every half hour max then a small board is much better. If falling is frequent then 100% make sure you have a board around your body weight and a wider easy foil to get you going again. There nothing worse than getting stuck.

Thanks for your feedback and reply, stay safe, cheers

I wondered the same thing, but then I heard the Progression Project podcast, episode 127, where Erik and Mike Pedigo are discussing their version of the midlength, called the Portal Enigma. They start discussing the topic from timestamp 12:40, and here's a snippet from around the 21 minute mark: Erik: "Boards started off bigger, but we didn't understand swing weight, we didn't understand box placement, we didn't understand touch points. And now that the downwind has taught us that, you make the mid-length, and it's no longer a 5'6, like it would have been three years ago, now it's a 5'6, that's surfing like a 4'5." Mike: "Yeah, I was thinking about that. If we had, you know, four or five years ago, when we were all starting to surf foil, if you got on a 5'6, it would feel giant, and it would feel super heavy in swing weight." Erik: "It's like a downwind board." Mike: "But the problem was, we hadn't really, we were still kind of designing and placing boxes similar to... with too much of a surf influence. You know, so like we were, back then you would have had a 5'6, and you'd be standing close to the tail, and you'd have a mile of board in front of you, and it would feel heavy, and you'd get on a 4 foot board and go, oh, this feels, mountains better. Well, it felt mountains better because the swing weight is more balanced. The board's more balanced. But now, you know, whereas then we weren't, we didn't quite have that grasp yet of placement and swing weight balance, and now, like you're saying, like with the downwinds teaching us, we're positioning our boxes on these mid lengths where you're really not, there's not much negative on swing weight that you're feeling. So you're getting the benefits of the volume without many negatives on the swing weight. It's minute, I would say. I mean, it's there. I can feel the difference... But the payoffs have been so well worth it.” From The Progression Project: 127 - Mike Pedigo, 6 Feb 2024