The aspect ratio of your efoil wings will dramatically affect the performance of your board.
To recap, aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and height of the foils wing. Alternatively, you can consider this relationship to be between the wing span and it’s chord.
Maneuverability is one of the biggest impacts on the aspect ratio of wings. The ability of the rider will dictate which type of wing you can ride
What’s the chord? The chord is the distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing.
Learning foil wings dimensions and how they work are critical in your eFoil journey, read along to learn how aspect ratio effects the ride and performance of your ride.
We covered front wing 101 in a previous article, now lets dive into how the aspect ratio of a wing can affect the ride and feel of your efoil wings.
What’s the difference between a low aspect ratio wing and a high aspect ratio wing?
Aspect ratio is one of the more confusing things to learn as you begin to dive deeper into foiling and efoiling. As we mentioned, the aspect ratio between a wings width and height.
A low aspect ratio wing is typically shorter and fatter with more surface area.
A high aspect ratio wing is skinnier and longer with less surface area.
The difference is a higher aspect ratio will give your efoil more speed, maneuverability, and have less drag. While the lower aspect wings will be slower, more stable and less speed.
It’s recommended for beginners to select low aspect ratio wings to help with popping up and getting more comfortable with the wings.
Benefits of Low Aspect ratio wings
As we mentioned, lower aspect ratio wings are recommended for beginners who are first starting to learn how to eFoil. These types of wings have a cruisey and stable feel.
Benefits of low aspect ratio wings are:
- More stability
- Easier to learn on
- Longboard cruisey feel
- Better control
- Suited for heavier riders
- Less lift
These low aspect wings are a larger wing size. Since the wing has more volume it will operate at lower speeds and lose speed quicker than it’s high aspect counterpart.
The biggest benefit of a low aspect large wing is the stability and control the rider will have.
Benefits of Higher aspect ratio wings
Higher aspect ratio wings are recommended for experienced and advanced riders who crave speed and better turning radius for their foil.
Benefits of high aspect ratio wings are:
- High Speed
- Greater turning radius
- An advanced riders best friend
- Less drag
- More power
- More lift
High aspect wings are smaller wings with less
The biggest benefit of high aspect ratio will be less drag. By having less drag, the foil wings will be much quicker and hit higher speeds.
What are medium aspect ratio wings?
Medium aspect ratio wings are a blend of both high aspect ratio and low aspect ratio wings.
You can consider this type of wing as an intermediate wing. The speed increases but the foil will be forgiving enough and offer that same stability beginners are used to.
Medium aspect ratio wings still have higher drag and ride at low speeds compared to high aspect foil wings but they’re a great wing to experiment with before pulling the trigger on high aspect ratio wings.
How do I calculate the aspect ratio of a wing?
Luckily most efoil makers will tell you the ratio of these wings before you buy them so it takes the guess work out.
However, to calculate the aspect ratio of your wing divide wing span by the chord length.
To drive this point home, low aspect ratio wings have a larger wing span and a smaller chord. While high aspect ratio wings have a smaller wing span and a large chord.
When can I ride High aspect ratio wings?
The answer depends on how fast you progress.
If you’ve been riding your efoil or foil without falling comfortably for about 8-12 months and you have some extra money to drop on high aspect ratio wings then go for it. Just remember with great speed and more maneuverability comes great responsibility!
Another caveat is your weight may play a factor in being able to ride high aspect wings. Lighter riders typically have an easier time riding high aspect ratio wings than heavier riders.
It’s ultimately a judgement call you’ll have to make for yourself.
Does camber affect aspect ratio of wings?
No there is no relationship between camber and aspect ratio.
Camber is simply the relationship to the top and the bottom of the curved shape of the wing.
Which aspect ratio of wing will preform better in choppy water?
A low aspect ratio wing will preform better in choppier water.
Yes, this will be slower but anyone who’s foiled in choppy water knows how difficult it can be when there’s white caps in the water.
Does the fuselage length of an efoil impact the ride?
A longer fuselage length gives riders more stability but compromises turning. Typically longer fuselage length is for beginner boards.
A longer fuselage will give the ride longer more drawn out turns while a short fuselage is for quicker turns that pivot easier.
Does the size of wings effect the lift?
A larger foil wing has higher lift and smaller wings have lower lift. Also a fatter leading edge will create more lift as well.
More lift isn’t always better, too much lift can be difficult for beginners to get a handle on if they’re up to high on the water.
The front wing creates lift that elevates the board as it cruises through the water.
Do other board sports use foil wings?
Yes! Wing foil, efoil, foil and kite foils all use foil wings as a means of transportation.
Epic Foils: Our take on Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio is a little complicated if you’re just getting into efoiling or messing around with a wing foil.
As we stated numerous times, low aspect ratio wings are best suited for beginners while high aspect ratio wings are ideal for foil experts.
Remember: the less surface area the higher aspect ratio your wings will be. The aspect ratio dictates how the foil will behave in the water.