New Jimmy Lewis SUP Foil Board The Flying V2 Is Ready To Ride
The evolution of Stand Up Foiling has been fast and furious. Like any new sport, keeping up with that kind of rapid development can be a challenge. One of the keys to constantly improving is an ongoing connection to a continuous feedback loop with some of the world's best riders. And there is one place you can count on finding them, Maui. (Photo by Chris Madeira)
In fact, it is one of the main reasons Jimmy Lewis moved his board-building business to Maui in the first place. With the sport of SUP Foiling really taking off it has been a huge advantage for Jimmy in the process of testing and tweaking designs. The by-product of this latest round of iterative design is the new Jimmy Lewis Flying V2 Stand Up Foil board. While the board's primary design brief is SUP foiling we actually found it makes a great board for learning wing foiling too.
The original Flying V is one of the first, and most successful production SUP foil boards ever made. Following up on that design was no easy task and took years of testing to get it right. While there are quite a few small tweaks there are two pretty significant changes to the new board. As with any change, there are usually a few trade-offs so let's take a look at each.
First up is a major redo on the bottom. The original Flying V was essentially a flat-bottomed board. The new V2 however has a pronounced deep V bow design. To be honest this had us a bit worried. The original Flying V was renowned for its stability and the look of this new board had us thinking it may be a whole lot tippier. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it really was not that much of a change. While we could feel a bit more roll when standing still once paddling the difference was negligible. The upside was improved touchdown and relaunch capabilities. As the new V2 bow touches down deceleration is reduced and the board reflects more quickly to getting back on foil.
Change number two was a reworking of the tip-to-tail rocker line to give the new Flying V2 a flatter nose entry and building the rocker into the bottom. While this does make the original Flying V a little faster paddler, and better at catching small waves, the upside is it can really help when dropping in on waves of more consequence. The new rocker line also works in tandem with the new bow design for a light and bouncy feeling on touchdowns and relaunches.
Stand Up Foiling works when conditions for almost everyone else would leave them on the beach. Small, mushy waves have become just as much fun as down-the-line peelers and have opened up a lot of new places to get in the water. If you are still learning the sport the original Flying V is still a great place to start with its beginner-friendly features. If you are moving it up a notch and starting to ride more significant waves the new Flying V2 is the board of the future.
Both boards feature Jimmy’s industry-leading construction. The PVC sandwich shell is put through a vacuum bagging & curing process that creates an I-Beam layup. The I-beam, separates the layers of fiberglass, or carbon, with a layer of closed-cell PVC foam. The vacuum then removes all of the excess resin making the board both stronger and lighter. The resulting thicker and stronger exoskeleton for the boards keeps them not only super light but also extra durable.
To make room for the new Flying V2s as they arrive we are putting the original Flying V’s on sale at 25% off. You almost never see a Jimmy Lewis on sale so come score these before they are gone.