Hi all. Wondering what people's thoughts/experiences are with inflatable foil boards. I found a company called Indiana that makes a thin, short (125cm), light inflatable foil that looks perfect for hopping on a plane.
I've been riding a first generation Gong Hipe 5'1" for winging for nearly a year and have been happy with it. I have probably 15-20 sessions on it after coming from a 6'6" 125L hard board. It's nice not worrying about another super-fragile board at rocky launches. The board is so stiff I don't notice at all that it's not a hard board when it's in the air. It's a bit stickier on the water surface before I'm on foil, but in high wind situations it doesn't matter at all. Another nice thing about the board is that it doesn't hurt if you fall on it or if it hits you in the head when you're in the water. Surface touchdowns aren't too much of an issue without chined rails, but they probably aren't as smooth as a properly shaped hard board. I am glad I bought it, if was looking for a board today I'd go for the V2 with the carry handle on the bottom (this or a top handle is the thing I would like the most), or the Fanatic board with the coanda strip on the tail to allow water to release cleanly. Good luck!
I have a stinger board inflatable 99 litres and 5'2 love it, we use it behind the boat for new riders learing to wing and i use it to learn more stuff over my 73 litre smaller board, it does everything a normal board does and I can pump it off the boat as well and as above if you fall on it no pain and also no damage getting it in and out of the water. love mine https://www.stingerfoils.com/product/isup-traveller/