Foil sports are on the rise (pun intended!). In the last few years foiling has exploded onto the watersports scene. And flying above water continues to gain traction. Between equipment innovations – seemingly advancing every week – and blisteringly quick skills development foil sports aren’t going anywhere. In this article, we shine a light on 10 awesome foiling disciplines you could try this season.

Essential foil sports accessories from EXIT.

Whether you foil or not there are a few bits of watersports gear you can’t do without. Especially as far as wetsuit care goes. Looking after your wetsuit – as we’ve talked about in other articles – is super important for many reasons. The environmental impact of petrochemical materials and manufacturing is one. Keeping neoprene out of landfill is much better for the environment and your wallet! 

The above and below EXIT watersports accessories are all designed to improve the longevity of your wetsuit and make getting amongst it more comfortable. Nobody likes clambering into a damp wetsuit after all. And we all like to save cash where possible. Not having to fork out for a new wetsuit, in a short space of time, is always going to be welcome.

Wing foiling (wingsurfing) – the most popular foiling discipline.

For a long time, it was kite foiling that held the title of most popular foil sport (mostly because the equipment was more readily available in the past. More on this in a moment.). Wing foiling, however, has seen a meteoric rise among watersports participants. From its commercial inception a few years ago (even though winging’s actually been around since the 80s) to now the uptake has been significant.

Utilising a hybrid stringless kite (for want of a better description) wing foiling managed to bridge the gap between windsurfing, kitesurfing, paddle boarding and surfing. As such, many riders from these aforementioned sports have heard the call and now fly above water with wing in hand. And it doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.

Kite foiling – the forefather of modern foil sports.

Whilst windsurfers did experiment with wings back in the day it was kitesurfers who adopted hydrofoiling technologies early on and pushed the development of kit forwards. Many kite brands began experimenting with foil sports technology a good few years before the real explosion of foiling hit.

Kite foiling is arguably the most performance oriented of all foil sports. Kite foil racing – referred to as Formula Kite – will be featured in the 2024 Olympic Games. If you’ve never witnessed multiple kite foil racers gunning for the start line then it’s one to scope out for the sheer spectacle. Recreational kitesurf foiling is much more mellow.

Windfoiling (windsurf foiling – including IQ foil racing).

Like every other foil sports discipline windfoiling saw a few years of growth because of its low end performance opportunities. Particularly for the recreational sailor. Before the explosion of wingsurfing windsurf foilers, looking to get wet more often, saw its potential. Using more palatable-sized sails in less wind was a big draw. 

Unfortunately, wing foiling has eclipsed the general mass participation end of windfoiling. The majority of windsurf foilers are now made up of racers using IQ Foil gear. Whilst this is no bad thing IG Foil equipment is often criticised as being more technical and a world away from what everyday riders want to use. There’s a small group of sailors who practise foil style (windsurf freestyle performed with foil kit). But this is also quite niche.

Downwind SUP foiling.

During 2023 a resurgence of interest sprang up surrounding SUP foiling. More specifically downwind SUP foiling. Speared by the legendary Dave Kalama’s innovative Barracuda style foil board downwind foiling enticed many paddlers, who’d since hung up their blades, to return to bump chasing.

A particular highlight of downwind SUP foiling came about in April 2022 when another legend of the sport – Australia’s James Caey – completed a whopping 213 km on foil. The Guinness World Record was achieved in around 12 hours. And is still the longest downwind SUP foil run to date.

Prone surf foiling.

Prone surf foiling is a massively popular foil sport discipline. Many a surfer has switched from fin riding to foil to maximise their time on the water and on the wave. Hotspots for prone surf foiling include the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and few other locations.

One of the beauties with prone surf foiling is the ability to pull off a wave and then pump back out without the need for paddling. Linking multiple waves in this fashion gives much longer rides – if you can pump. In May 2023 Dylan Bez topped the previous record on foil set by Oskar Johansson (2 hrs 46 mins) and smashed in 3 hrs 6 mins! For most riders, this is a tad extreme although it does showcase just what you can possibly achieve with a foil beneath you.

Pump foil flat water wins.

Being able to pump your foil is a big foundational skill to try and nail early. Whatever your chosen foil sports discipline it’ll help with getting flying early and staying elevated. Pump foiling has held much fascination since commercial foiling’s inception. A tricky skill, pump foiling requires riders to launch (in a variety of ways) from static objects and then pump across flat water.

Pump foiling is one of the main catalysts for foiling development. Many brands now produce super wide span, high aspect front foil wings. The idea is to achieve maximum efficiency and glide. These innovations have then knocked onto other foil products thereby helping to make all foil sports much more accessible, fun and efficient. Pump foiling is all about the start. Of which there are a variety of ways you can do this. Running starts, bungee starts (see video below) and static starts all make pump foiling possible. And any stretch of water is game.

eFoiling’s rise in popularity.

You may think the eye-watering price tag affixed to the majority of electric foiling craft is prohibitive. And yet, in the last few years, eFoil riding has gained much traction. Arguably the easiest foiling discipline to master, riders simply hook up their charged LiOn battery, squeeze the throttle trigger, stand up and fly away. 

Within a short space of time newbie foilers will be flying comfortably atop an eFoil. And eFoil brands have done much work recently to make the performance of said craft better and easier to access. No less, eFoiling still remains the realm of the affluent. Unless you pay for taster sessions and/or hire.

Hybrid foiling – or, foil assisted flight.

Coming in hot off the back of eFoil riding is the hybrid foil or foil assisted option. In an attempt to make the foiling start more doable a new batch of brands sprang up in recent times with the aim of making this possible. Retrofitting to your existing foil setup a foil assist unit is battery operated and utilises a foil mast mounted propeller to boost riders on foil. 

Early incarnations had batteries mounted on top of boards. The end of 2023 and into 2024 has seen further product refinement with foil assist units coming as an integrated package. And there have been further developments with eFoil brand Flite launching the FliteLab project and more recently Axis Foils releasing a specific FoilDrive shaped board. 

Hydrofoil cycling – a unique and cutting edge foil sports experience!

Foil sports are nothing if not versatile. Perhaps one of the most cutting edge foiling products of late that highlights this is the hydrofoil cycling movement from Manta5. The SL3 is a fully realised hydrofoil bike that epitomises what great design can be. Using elements borrowed from eFoiling the rider does everything they would do on a land based bike, only this time on the water whilst elevated.

Only Manta5 (a New Zealand based company) is manufacturing hydrofoil bikes currently. But with such scope for fun it’s only a matter of time before we see more brands entering the market. Of course, these toys aren’t cheap. But if you’re a cyclist who also loves water then you may have your interest pricked by what Manta5 offers.

Summing up the foil sports experience. 

As you can see from this article foil sports are wide and varied. The versatility of a hydrofoil is broad. And we’re only just scraping the surface in terms of what can be achieved. The rate of foiling product development will no doubt continue. And with social media use in abundance, it’s easy to see what other riders are doing. This can then be adapted and learned from within your own situation and environment.

Foiling might not be for everyone. But for a large portion of watersports participants, it fits the bill. If you’re still toying with the idea of trying any form of foiling then now’s the time to get involved. This way you’ll have taken that first bite of the cherry and be well on your way to foiling nirvana.

Head over to the EXIT online shop for all the foiling and watersports accessories you’ll need.