The last couple of years that I’ve traveled with a foil board, I’ve had the issue that my Dwarfcraft 120cm foil board doesn’t fit in my travel bags. At 120cm, it’s an awkward size that doesn’t fit in a standard check-in suitcase. It fits in a purpose made bag like this mystic foil bag, which is a huge pain to carry because it doesn’t roll smoothly since there’s no frame and it’s too heavy to carry easily.

My first foil boards

My first foil board was a Nobile Split Infinity foil. I bought it to use it as a light-wind surfboard when traveling, and it had foil mounts on the bottom. Travel with this board was relatively easy because it was low volume, and just split in half. When split the whole setup was shorter than 90cm and fit in a check-in bag.

The Nobile check-in bag on the right fit my split foil boards plus a kite or two. It has wheels and backpack straps, so it’s a relatively good bag for travel.

The real issue started when I went to a smaller board that didn’t split in half. My second board was the slingshot travel craft 110cm.

The 110cm Dwarf craft didn’t fit in any normal rolling check-in suitcases. I had to use this large Mystic foil bag that had neither wheels nor backpack straps, which made it a huge burden to travel with.

The travel board

The solution is the Slingshot Travel Craft. It’s a 90cm pocket board that fits in a check-in bag like the Osprey Transporter. It’s a very close fit, so anything bigger would not have worked.

This solves my travel issue, so let’s take a look at how it performs on the water.

The Pros

Small Size and Weight

So obviously the small size and weight make it fit in a travel bag, but they also offer advantages when on the water. The board makes carrying the foil on land quite a bit easier because it’s not as heavy. In the water, the whole setup is more maneuverable, you can feel a noticeable difference due to its size.

The Price

I’ve found the board as low as $499, which is a fair price in the world where I frequently find foil boards that are $1000. This could definitely be my only foil board - it’s not just a travel toy. When you combine the performance with the price, it feels like a great value.

Touchdown Recovery

I expected this board to be much less forgiving since it’s so much smaller than my other boards. With less surface area, I figured touching the water would send you crashing down, and that’s not the case. The board handles touch-downs much better than it has any right to. I don't know if it’s because of the width or the bottom shape, but you can hit the water at speed and just bounce right off.

Space

At 6’1 , 235lbs, I’m not a small person. I was concerned the 90cm would just be too small for my frame - but that hasn’t turned out to be an issue at all.

In my regular riding stance, my foot never comes close to the edge of the board. When I’m crouched and riding more aggressively, I’ve still never come up against the edge, so I think it’s basically a non issue.

Feeling

The reason I foil is for that incredible feeling of flying. You feel like you’re silently flying a spaceship 3 feet off the water at 100mph (not actually — but close). A smaller board like this just amplifies that sensation.

With less of the board in your field of view, it increases the sensation that you’re flying. The lighter weight and smaller size make the board much more maneuverable and exhilarating. This board boosts everything that got me hooked on foiling in the first place.

The Cons

Power to start

The biggest down side is that with a smaller surface area, the board sinks down more and requires more power to get going. That means water starts in low wind are more challenging and require more finesse with your kite. My water starts still need work, so I think I can improve here and overcome this particular con.

Twitchiness

This board is more nimble, and on your first rides it will feel borderline twitchy. That’s intimidating at first, especially if your first session is in rough conditions (like mine was in decent break at Plage de l’Horizon in Cap Ferret). The waves were too big and fast, and only left a small window to water start, and very little space before requiring a jibe. Luckily I was able to stick it out and make it work, and the feeling of twitchiness went away after a couple more sessions. When you’re moving to a higher performing board, just expect a few sessions to adjust.

Too much volume for strapless starts

This board floats high in the water (especially with my heavy foil that sinks) because of its 11L of volume. That’s great for board visibility in the water or for floatation when you need to self rescue, but it makes strapless water starts tricky.

In flat water the board will ride quite high, which just makes it trickier to get your feet up on it. The whole process gets much more challenging if there’s any chop or waves… the board bobs around and it becomes a moving target.

Ideally I would have a liked a board with less volume that sinks into the water more like theCrazy Fly, the Naish Micro Chip, or the Nobile Skim , but you can’t have everything.

Durability

This isn’t unique to this board — I’ve seen this with all the Slingshot foil boards I’ve used. The corduroy grip padding they put on the board easily gets scratched by your harness. I don't even use a harness hook, I use a surf rope spreader bar.

On this Travel Craft board, I’ve also noticed the bump at the back of the board has started to peel. The corduroy material is separating from the foam, and it happened pretty shortly after I bought the board. At some point I’ll need to re-glue it.

Conclusion

The equation is simple for me: Travel ease + better feeling > downsides

For me, the trade-off is worth it. If you’re focused on super low wind riding, it may not be worth it. If you’re never traveling with your board, it may not be worth it. But for me the feeling and the ride combined with the portability for travel make this a no brainer, and frankly I wish I’d purchased the board sooner. The downsides of having a smaller surface area board were not as pronounced as I expected. Maybe that's also because I’ve been foiling for 3 years and without realizing I’ve become a bit more efficient.