Matt Nuzzo: Are trench boards really worth the hype? What's up, everybody? Matt Nuzzo hanging out here at REAL with Ryan Arzy, and he's going to tell us about trench boards and if they're actually worth it. Ryan is a top-level foiler, and I've always said most people who are getting trench boards actually don't need them and are going kind of too advanced for what they're getting. Someone that's riding at your level, I've seen really benefit from hitting whitewater and the small board takeoff, but you're kind of at the pinnacle of all things Foil Drive. So, tell us about trench boards. What are they? Who are they for? What are they doing on your board?
Ryan Arzy: So, a trench board is for someone that's fully committed, all in on Foil Drive, and is actually experienced already on a Foil Drive. If you've already graduated and have your pop-up dialed, then you can consider looking at a trench board. But if it's your very first board, it's not a good idea, and you'll spend a lot more time struggling and using up your battery than you are foiling. The idea behind the trench board was to recess everything into the board, make you feel more connected to the foil because it's thinner here, and hide the drag of the Foil Drive by putting it all on an even plane with the board, so it helps with the takeoff. It helps with touching down, skipping on the water, and motoring around, makes surfing and pumping more direct, and makes turning off the whitewater or touching down more forgiving. But there are certain trade-offs.
Matt Nuzzo: Yeah, definitely. One of the things you said that people don't think about is they think about reducing the drag. I want to get this Foil Drive box out of the way, I want to reduce that drag. Well, if you get a good board, a lot of times that drag isn't really that big of a deal because the water's kind of hitting here, and by the time it's gone past, it's not creating a ton of drag. Sometimes these trenches are so big and so wide that they're actually making more drag than just having the box playing on a flat board. One of the things people don't think about is when that board gets really thin, like the tail of this board, it makes it extremely responsive. You put a trench into a mid-length board, that board is going to be very responsive, meaning it's going to be unstable side to side, so it goes rail to rail quickly, which is great for advanced riders. But if you're not that good yet, still working on your pop-ups and takeoffs, it's going to go really quickly rail to rail, which is probably not going to be a benefit for you.
Ryan Arzy: Yeah, it's one of those things where everything in foiling is a trade-off. As you go looser and more unstable, it's going to turn better, but then it's less forgiving. It's a matter of if you're ready for that trade-off, and if you have all your other techniques and ducks in a row with foiling before you consider getting on a trench board. The other trade-off of the trench board is that if you have a really tight hydrodynamic fit, you have to remove the unit to swap the battery. Some of the trench boards have a wider gap so that you can open the latch and the nose cone, but then that requires a bigger trench, which takes more volume out of the tail. Everything is a game of trade-off. So if you already have a good shape, if you have something that is low volume and you're comfortable—you're an intermediate to advanced rider and you're happy with it—you don't necessarily need a trench. But if you're on a really big board, like a 100-liter wing board, and you're ready to step down, you should first demo and figure out what your lowest volume size should be, and then you can decide whether or not you want a trench based off of that. If you're in the surf a lot, or if you're downwind and you really want to minimize the drag, then yeah, the trench board is great. If you're kind of motoring around the flat water or if you're just e-foiling with an e-foil mast, it's not necessary because the board's off the water most of the time. The whole idea behind the trench is to mitigate the board from skipping off the water and making it more responsive for high-performance riders.
Matt Nuzzo: Awesome. So to boil down whether the trench board is right for you, you have to consider a few things. One, your ability level first. Are you good enough to ride a trench board, and do you want to have a dedicated board just for Foil Drive? That is one of the biggest things: this board is only working for Foil Drive. It's not for winging, and it's not a multi-sport board. Next, are you good enough? Can you get to your feet? Can you ride? Have you ridden a lower volume board? Most trench boards are in the 50 to 55-liter range and smaller. There are some 60-liter trench boards, but if you're in that 60-liter range, many times you should probably be on a standard board, not a trench board, unless you're a really big rider who is actually good and wanting that responsiveness. The second thing is: do you want that responsiveness? Are you wanting that quick rail-to-rail, riding in the surf, or downwinding? What's the use case for you? And then the final thing is: are you willing to take the Foil Drive on and off every time to replace the battery, or do you want to have the type where you can replace the battery, but also have the other limitations that Ryan is talking about? Anything else I missed about considerations for deciding on a trench board?
Ryan Arzy: If you're only Foil Driving and you're at the stage where you want to have the best overall package, a trench board is great. If you're someone that wants to do different sports, or if you're traveling and you just have that one mid-length that you want to travel with, then you don't need one—you just take that one board. A lot of times for me, I'll take my 40-liter mid-length, and I'll prone on it, Foil Drive with it, and wing on it, so I don't need a trench when I'm traveling or if I can only afford one board.
Matt Nuzzo: Right. Sounds good. So if you have more questions or want to find out which trench board is right for you, give us a call to chat or reach out online at REALwatersports.com. We take a lot of sessions and talk to a lot of customers, so we can find out if a trench board is going to be right for you. There are a lot of people getting on these trench boards and loving them, and some people getting on them saying, "Whoa, gotta slow my roll." Let us help you make that right decision, and we'll get you dialed in. See you guys on the water.