My First time flatwater SUP foiling with Armstrong Aidan Nicholas / SUPboarder

Trying something new is always exciting... How hard will it be? Is it even going to be possible?! Well, these were just some of the questions I was thinking when I heard that Armstrong team rider Aidan Nicholas was coming down to visit and teach me how to SUP foil on flatwater for the first time.

At SUPboarder we have been on foils in various forms for a few years now. But there was a new side to this foiling sport which I hadn't tried yet... until now! With the progression to longer, thinner boards and wider more high aspect ratio foils, riders are getting out on smaller waves, lighter winds and also paddling themselves up onto the foil on flat water... known as the flatwater pop up.

In this video you are seeing my very first flatwater pop up session, with some very good pointers from Aidan and top end gear from Armstrong. There's no doubt that having good, well set up gear and a pro at my side were definitely a major part to my claimed flights! But also having a good understanding of how to paddle shorter SUPs really does help.

This side of the foil sport will be a very interesting one to watch. Having the ability to take longer boards with bigger foils (like the Armstrong set up I was using) and ride very small waves or in very light wind conditions, maybe doing downwinding and surfing, will open up a huge arena for paddlers to play in. We will be following it very closely for sure, so keep an eye out on SUPboarder for more videos and posts in the future.

Thanks to Tris Best and Aidan Nicholas from Armstrong for coming down and letting me have a play on some very nice toys! I learnt a lot and had lots of fun!

[SUPboardermag]

Hey Guys, hope you liked the video. I forgot to ask, if you do please give us a sub. Lots more videos on the way! Thanks Reuben

[stkl]

Awesome! You did almost first try! It surely helped that you had SUP foil experience. I've learned flat water paddle ups this summer too and I couldn't paddle in a straight line for a long time. I recently switched stance (since it's a bit of a one-sided load on the back muscles) and now can't paddle straight again :-)

[njgoodchild]

This is unbelievable, amazing you cracked it so quickly. Excellent video!

[kaikaiser]

Thank you for this inspiring video. I am planning start flat water foil sup as well and will surely rely on all those helpful advice from this video. I am on the fence to add an 8'6'' x 19 120l Axis Downwind Board to my quiver, as this might help with gaining tracking & speed to get me up on the foil. We will see... so thank you very much with showing the necessary steps in this vid. I am quite optimistic as I have a lot of paddle experience, but still I will be far away from flying at the very first day like you did.

[ethanhuffsup]

Thanks for this entertaining and educational video guys! Love it. 🤙

[RamonSBruhn]

Amazing Reuben. For me it took far more attempts, with apf1880, 86kg. Starting to paddle upwind and dw it 500m, once confident with that will go open ocean with ma1750 and then ma1475. Love the feeling of freedom and flow.

[stevegwilliam]

Great will be buying the 6'8" after seeing this! Thanks

[markyboyclark]

Awesome video! Can't wait to have a go at this 😁

[alexfuller]

Great vid. It would be good to see where you position the foil mast on the board.

[regishooghe]

Hello guys.
Very nice vidéo, thanks!
I think I saw you shimmed the mast (negative). Correct? My question is why: for a easier take off?
Cheers
Régis

[IRWE]

What was the Mast length? Outstanding result for first attempts!

[AdamsHadEnough]

Crazy how fast you made this happen. As an advanced winger and SUPer I spent several sessions trying to get this and didnt come close.

[riaanvanschoor]

good day. awesome video thank you. Could you provide the exact board and foil you were using that day please if possible. Thank you

[frenijffels]

Awesome vid 🤙🤙🤙 incredible you got up first go. How much difference would and inch wider board make. For example for a 75kg person a 96L 19 wide vs 107L 20 wide?

[johnsmith-cnyv]

Brilliant video. Reuben did brilliantly of course.

One question - other than a fun thing to learn- whats the point in this ? Is it a way of learning to foil without needing a downwind situation or a wing ? Or am i missing something!

Love the innovation- but i wonder if im missing something?

[militaryathlete]

Hi Reuben! The mast had a base shim, correct? If so, do you know the angle?

[windwakerider]

Awesome video! What's your weight? It would be nice to demo the different sizes.

[robertho]

Hello Rubin
Thank you so much for the great video. I got my KT Ginxu 105L a few days ago and it was tough just standing on it . Eventually I got the balance but then going straight became the challenge. I found paddling out to in more effective then closing the blade. It was suggested going 45 degrees to the current- but the question is 45 degrees on which side and it seems to make sense to go right with regular left foot front and left with goofy right foot front . Am I correct ?

[joerghomberger]

Thanks a lot for the great video. I have a lot of SUP experience and a little bit of windsurf experience (4 years). Would you recommend to start wing foiling or flatwater SUP foiling as a next step (into the direction of foiling)? What is easier to learn (wing or flatwater foil)? Mahalo!

[Jayriihi]

Awesome video to help get one started. I am working with a similar setup. Were you using a shim in the tail? If so which shim(s). Thanks