Starboard Ace Lightning

Starboard were there at the genesis of SUP foiling, and in the short seven years or so production equipment has been commercially available, they’ve seen it fall in and out of fashion. With the DW age well and truly upon us, and their massive knowledge base across paddling disciplines, it’s great to see them produce some cutting edge DW shapes with the Ace Foil range. The shapes are clearly progressive, and draw from high-end race SUP boards as well as canoe and kayak design.

The Ace Lightning sits as the narrower of the two boards in the Ace range, and the 122L 8’4 test board was a little intimidating (for me) at 19” wide. Out of the box, the board is presented in a handy protective sock. Immediately the Blue carbon construction feels extremely light; the 122L comes in at 6.35kg. Due to its narrowness, the board doesn’t require a handle, as you can simply tuck it under your arm. The leash point is tucked up the board behind the pad, so you can use a very minimal length leash to stop things getting tangly. The center of the elongated foil box is demarked by a red line on the deckpad, so a quick glance down lets you check where you’re at, important for a board that requires accurate foot placement.

As a larger V-shaped individual standing at 6’3 tall, and with marginally above average paddle skills, was this going to be feasible for me to paddle in anything but glassy water? The answer was yes. Two things help its stability enormously. The rocker is quite pronounced, meaning your recessed standing area sits deeper in the water then the nose or tail area, planting it in and lowering the center of gravity. Imagine standing on a floating blue banana and you’re not far off. This is coupled with a sharp lower rail through the mid-section, which you learn to trust. The board’s width means you have to adopt a fairly narrow stance and this prevents you from overcorrecting. Using something this narrow made me reassess my paddling technique, whittling out a few bad habits. It’s not a difficult board to paddle at all, particularly considering the dimensions, but you’ve got to be accurate with your weight placement, and silky smooth when you put your power down to paddle in. Turning the board to line up for the wave takes a little adjustment; as it’s so planted, you really have to step back to get it to pivot. Coming from more of a SUP foil than race SUP background this took a little practice. Obviously, it builds speed extremely fast and efficiently and before you expect it the foil is activating. It receives tiny wind bumps or swells very well and channels that energy into effortless forward momentum. Takeoff is best described in two stages: an initial couple of slower paddles to get the board to the surf, then a burst to plane. Underfoot you can use that rocker to bounce and release the board very quickly; it tracks very well in this situation.

Its lightness, streamlined shape, and stiff carbon construction make it one of easiest SUP foil boards we’ve used to pump and connect waves with. No feeling is lost through the deck pad either, which is thin and grippy with a brushed finish which doesn’t cause cramp or any unwanted chafing. When the board is upside down on the beach with the foil attached, due to its rocker and top deck shape, there’s no flat surface for the board to sit on. It will just tip over, particularly in wind. You need to be mindful to place the board on its side and balance the tip of the foil on the ground. They’ve sensibly placed some clear rail guard on the nose where this meets the ground to protect it.

Its crossover into wingfoiling is better than anticipated due to its high stability, light weight and slim width. It runs into wind well, even outside of the lightwind remit. The test window timing also lined up with our formative stages of parawinging and K-Wing, where a board that releases extremely easily and is buoyant and stable enough to stand and wait for a gust is invaluable.

Downwinding has rekindled SUP foil development, and it’s brought nothing but higher levels of efficiency and usability to the market. The Ace Lightning is a prime example of an accessible and highly effective performance board which will push all disciplines further.