TL;DR: are there 125L. boards that are decent for flat water paddling for a 62M 5'9"(175cm) 170lb(77kg)? Extra points if I can also wing or windsurf it, and even more extra points if I can use it as my first foil board for learning (and keep it for the rest of the activities). Minimally I want a board that goes relatively straight on flat water and fits in the van; speed/easy-paddling not really a concern.

Background:

I am looking to eventually get into foiling, but locally the small lakes are not great for it (too small and too weedy) and transporting big hard boards is difficult, so until I retire in a year or so when we have more beach time. I will continue to mostly iSUP and use an ancient mistral windglider (blowup + sail, not really windsurfing but fun and it fits in the minivan). I've been searching for a 125L SUP board, so it fits in my van but did not find anything with that except for River Sup boards and Sup-Foil boards; the latter got me interested in foiling.

I enjoy the windglider, and I used to do real windsurfing on vacation, but it's hard to find places that rent those anymore). I could easily do more windsurfing if I had equipment I could easily move around (though maybe winging will displace it). I did some kite-surfing but destroyed my kite and had some big crashes, which at my age were not with it, so I quit kiting. I did a wing lesson (but not on foil) on my recent vacation and think I'll at least go that route. I could just wing-iSUP, but I would rather have a hard board that fits in the van to both paddle and maybe wing/wind.

I had contacted a dealer in California (17hr drive to the closest dealer) on the Naish and they returned the call to talk me out of the purchase as they said foil board would be really bad for flatwater. They said anything < 9ft on flat water will not track and just a waste of my money. They did try to sell me on a longboard or an ISUP, but as I already have the latter I passed. They said I'm looking for a unicorn. But the engineer in me says foil boards with enough floatation should work even if they are dogs at speed. If it's just about tracking straight, I figure that, at worst, I could add big fins or a long keel in the foil slots to force it to track well, even if it becomes hard to turn. I have since confirmed that, at least loosely, with someone from Blueplanet whose view was it would float/paddle straight with a foil mast or big fin added, so I could use it to practice but might not enjoy it.

I'm not buying one without some water testing, especially given the negative feedback I've gotten. . Sadly I could not find any place within 400 miles to rent them (other than e-foils), and only 1 shop in Colorado whose website lists boards for say -- and they have not answered email or voice mail in a week. So I feel I have to identify 1 or 2 choices and then take a vacation to go test some out, which really adds to the cost.

So I am looking for recommendations/feedback on plain flat-water sup on anything < 7'6". I'm 62, 5'9" (175cm) 170lb(77kg) and my balance is decent. Is 125L enough? If not how much. I do SUP for exercise and to be in nature; I don't need to go fast or glide far, as my petite wife is very slow in her 6' youth kayak -- I already do loops around her, so I get more exercise.

Some river SUP surfer have enough displacement in <7', but pretty odd shape so seems less likely to be effective but would consider them if I they are recommend and I can find a hard-board version (most seem inflatable). I reached out to two used Badfish listings on FB, and neither owner would even sell it to me after I said my goal was to test it first in flat water.

Since I do enjoy windsurfing too, and someday would like to sup-surf so I was looking at the crossover/multi-sport boards like the Naish 2023-s27-naish-crossover or a slingshot-70-shred-sled-143L. Others have said crossovers were poor, and I've looked at dedicated sup-foil like blue plant easy foiler (6'11") or NSP sup foil pro (7'2") and wondered if one of those would be better for flat-water sup and flat-water winging without foil (and eventually with it). The only locally used suitable boards I found were wing-sup boards 2 hrs away, but they would not do a demo/test before the sale, even for a fee.



Thoughts? Suggestions?

I think testing is the only way you will be able to find out if you are okay with how a short board paddles in flat water. I have paddled wave boards down to 7'2" in lakes and obviously one can paddle them, it's just that most people wouldn't have that much fun doing it. You can also sail anything if you put a mast insert into it. Again, it may be really draggy and many people wouldn't enjoy it, but all that matters is if it works for you.
I am curious about your van as I have put 9' boards into an old Subaru Forester well as a first gen Scion xb. I could even fit a 7'4" in my 2002 mini cooper(although driving with it in there was hazardous), but I could lock it inside if I needed to. I am sure you have tried various methods, but I would consider modifying the van a bit if it would enable you to stuff a 9' longboard shape in there. It would paddle a lot better for you and if you pick one with low rocker it would be more fun to sail.

Easy answer!
Sunova 4 in 1

7'5 x 30 at 118 liters - only 4.4" thick

Windsurf
Foil
Kite Foil
SUP surf
SUP foil
and paddle flatwater if speed is not important.... but way better than standard foil board.


I have paddled short SUPs for 10 k many times... but I have learned to cheat the system!
I found these amazing fins on AliExpress for around $15 each (50/50 foil, so work in all fin positions for paddling)
Very long base will make any board paddle straight
Heck you could put 4 of them on this board and you wouldn't be able to turn at all
Note... they would probably break if I ever surfed them, cuz they are junk plastic, but are great on flatwater!!

Thansk for all the feedback. I ended up designing a way to hang/support a board inside along the roofline which allowed me to get longer boards inthere (and maybe a bit longer than 9') and locally found a blue planet All Good 8'8" at a good price $200, which turned in to a great price when he threw in his 9'4" FunStick as part of the deal. Both had dings I had to fix but now I have a board I can fit in the van. I'l be testing it out today and will decided if I need bigger fins.