Regarding windsurfing equipment, most of the writings usually focus on products from the top of the scale intended for professionals and competitors. However, windsurfing is first and foremost enjoyment, so it’s a shame that there isn’t a little more excitement (or at least information) about products intended for “ordinary” people who don’t care how fast they go and whether they can beat someone, but are primarily interested in enjoyment. Or learning because we don’t all start from the same place or have the same physical features and abilities.

In this sense, here is an experiential comparison between Starboard’s bestseller (so says Starboard) – a freeride foil wing with an area of 1100 cm2 during the last few seasons and the latest MKII freeride front wing of the same area from this year, 2024.

The Freeride foil 1100 in earlier seasons came on a 95cm fuselage and with a huge 500 cm2 tail wing. In addition to that, last year, Starboard offered an even bigger, almost gigantic front wing of 1500 cm2 (I wrote about it in this article: SB FreeRide Foil 1500 in Action). I liked the 330 tail wing better and the slightly longer evolution fuselage (105), which added liveliness and a little speed to the whole set. But Starboard’s freeride foil wasn’t really meant for speed. Its primary purpose was to lift quickly in a light wind without too much pumping, a pleasant and easy ride, and especially learning and perfecting turns in flight (in which it is unsurpassed).

This year, Starboard completely changed the design of the freeride front wings and the fuselage (which is now thicker, more stable, and slightly heavier, with a small fin at the rear end and the Jumbo label). Considering that I used the earlier fuselage (Evolution), I can say that progress has been made in the stability and general behavior of the foil, but that’s a jitter for another article.

As for the front wing, the difference is obvious at first glance. The new wing (2024) has a higher aspect ratio (not as curved as the old one), so its design is more similar to slalom SLR wings. It is also longer in span: the old wing was 80 cm, and the new one is 92 cm (that part is especially important for me because I noticed that in my driving style, the speed of the lift and the stability of the foil depend on it).

At first glance, it would seem that the 1100 has turned from a freeride wing into a freerace wing. However, in practice, the increase in speed is not so noticeable (perhaps 10%). The speed of lift is noticeable (I would say 25% faster under the same conditions. The strong feeling of floating that was present in the old wing is lost. The new one now glides through the water, with the feeling of pushing forward, while the old one floats in the water with a pleasant feeling of weightlessness. But that’s why the new wing more easily tolerates strong gasts, whereas the old one would have a tendency to lift uncontrollably.

As far as jibes are concerned, the old wing has a slight advantage (precisely because of the floating feeling that, in practice, translates into staying in the air even with a significant speed reduction. But the new wing is not bad in this sense either: it will not descend if the speed reduces, and it will still forgive mistakes in footwork or when turning the sail.

All in all, while the old wing was not bad (in fact, I would still recommend it to those new to the world of wind foiling due to the ease of movement and especially the ease of learning turns), there has been a change in design philosophy that I believe will suit a little sportier driving, a slight increase in speed while maintaining a high degree of stability, comfort, and ease of handling.