Custom Sunova Carver: 1000 Mile Wing and Parawing Review

Intro

I've had three boards in my quiver for 2025 and each has it's own unique strengths. As I cross the 1000 mile threshold on my custom Carver I want to share my thoughts on how these dims have worked out for me as an experienced winger and new parawinger.

Rider Data and Style

Location: Columbia River Gorge.

Experience: 150+ days a year. 10,000+ miles on foil.

Weight: 87kg dry

Style: I'm winging and riding on swell while specifically looking for down the line, steeper, wave like setups. I prefer top to bottom turns with fast rail to rail action. I wing in all conditions but I only parawing when it's at least 25 knots and prefer 30+ knots of wind.

Board History and Dims

For reference sake, feel free to take a quick look at my board history so you can tell how my quiver has evolved and where I'm coming from: Complete Board History

This board showed up with the following dims:

5'11"x20" 77l (-10l for me)

10.5lbs (4.77kg) with my deck pad added. (Delivered at 10lbs as requested).

BAR*GF: 3.14 (click here to learn more about BARG Factors)

Here's the customizations I had built into it:

Length: 5'11" for a little extra on water speed.

Volume: 77l to thin it out vs my 85l.

Weight: Vapor build, with reinforced deck. Requested 10lbs. Delivered at 10lbs.

No deck pad: Being in fresh water I struggled to keep mold off the original white deckpad which is hard to remove. As such, I now ask for all my Sunovas to be delivered without pad so I can put an easily removable black pad on them.

My 2025 Sunova foil board quiver from top to bottom. Pilot, Carver, Aviator. Nose length stays nearly the same across the models.

Gear and Conditions Used in Testing

Foils:

AFS Silk 1050, 850, 650. Ultra 750. Enduro 900, 700. Skinny 75cm UHM mast.

Sails:

Ocean Rodeo A, AA, 2.5-5m as well as the 2m Strike v3.

Parawings:

BRM Ka'a 2.3m

Ozone Pocket Rocket 3m, 2.4m

Wind and Swell:

Tested in flat water to head high swell with winds ranging from 13 to 30 knot averages and gusts over 40 knots.

Test Duration:

1000 miles and counting.

Ride Characteristics

My 77l Carver making pumping conditions fun every single time.

Takeoffs:

For winging:

I've always felt as though the Carver design had excellent takeoff and this board with custom dims is no different. It's essentially a thinned out and 1" longer version of the 5'10" 85l that was my all time favorite board. By pushing my takeoff technique in larger swell to look more like a paddler catching a wave and less like a winger going across the wind I am able to use this board in pretty extreme conditions with really small foils and wings.

For parawinging:

With the 2.3m BRM Ka'a I've been able to "chip in" to flight on swell in winds as low as 21 knots with my Ultra 750 on this board. I've come to feel like there's a combo of both the 5'11" length, the only slightly negative volume, and the squarish tail to the board that gets pushed well by the swell. The BRM is also really grunty. I have just switched to the Ozone Pocket Rockets, 2.4m and 3m, and find the takeoff and low end to be different, more technical than the Ka'a. If I do a direct comparison of my Pocket Rockets to my Ocean Rodeo Glide AA's I would say I like 2-3 more knots of wind for any given size when using the rockets. (20 knots for my 3mAA 23 knots and some swell for my 3m Rocket).

Carving and swell riding:

I almost exclusively ride the Silk lineup with the rare glide on the Ultra or Enduro foils. Rail to rail performance has great flow and works well with all my foils. As a daily driver I continue to feel as though the Carver is the most well balanced all around carving board I could ever ask for. I have had zero issues with this board riding small to large swell in the gorge and find it to be quite perfectly at home in any and all conditions I have thrown at it. If you are looking to compare how aggressive you can surf the Aviator, Carver, and Pilot, I'd say the Carver is right in the middle.

Pumping:

A few things I've found over the years that seem to affect pump are stiffness, weight and width. This board is nice and stiff for responsive pumping and has a reinforced deck. The lighter weight you go the easier the pump is and this board being 10.5lbs with pad is nice. Recently I've started to feel as though narrower boards pump a little better. I think that this is especially noticeable to me since I ride a with an offset stance on a short chorded mast that is very sensitive. The narrow boards keep my feet and board weight well positioned for efficient pumping directly in line with the mast.

Touch Downs:

The touch downs on this board are a dream. If I'm out of position and come off foil I've found I can routinely be caught by the swell following me, use a properly timed pump, and come right back up on foil without using the wing or parawing to assist my return to flight. I've been successful with this on foils as small as my Silk 650.

Freestyle:

I do very minimal freestyle riding (no jumps, just some creative tacks, the occasional fancy gybe, some 360s) and find this board to be sufficient for anything I do. The forward position of the mast box makes the board feel dramatically shorter than an old style 5'11" board would feel and as such it's quite nimble for all of these maneuvers.

Dims Analysis

Volume: 77l vs 86kg

For winging and parawinging:

I've always been a big fan of neutral volume. I strongly value a smaller foil in the water and smaller wing in my hand and think that having a little more bulk in my board is worth it. I want my takeoffs on demand so I can push myself, fall repeatedly, and never fear the restart. This year I have given the negative volume boards more of a go with my Pilot at -20l and this Carver at -10l. Both with the wing and the parawing I've come to the conclusion that this Carver at -10l is a nice compromise for me. At neutral volume I feel pretty much invincible on the water. I can taxi fast, prone paddle fast, and use any foil/sail combo I want. At -20l I'm very susceptible to lulls and I have gotten caught several times on my 2m Strike v3 when matched with my Silk 650 foil, struggling to get my water start. The problem is simply that at -20l I sink too quickly in lulls and fall off my board even in stronger conditions. That same issue can happen at -10l but it is far less common, much easier to recover from, and has never been an issue for me in stronger winds over 20 knots. Still, if you are looking for the absolute best low end, neutral or positive buoyancy is going to win. This volume difference is amplified with the comparison of a grunty mid aspect parawing vs a high aspect parawing.

Length: 5'11"

For winging and parawinging:

As previously mentioned, the forward position of the mast box makes the board feel dramatically shorter than an old style 5'11" board. Since I have a quiver of foils to choose from I have found zero negatives in the 5'11" length and expect that I'll have my next board made over 6'. Since my primary foils for both parawinging and winging are the Silks, which are medium aspect foils that value roll turns over pitch turns the length is less important than width to me.

One parawing specific benefit of this length is that I don't have issues snagging lines with the nose of my board at 5'11". My 6'6" does fish through the lines quickly when I am sitting in the water with the pocket rocket in the water as well.

From left to right showing the length distribution vs foil position in Sunova boards: 6'6", 5'10", 5'2".

Width: 20"

For winging:

I really like 20" width for stability in rough water and efficiency in takeoff. I also find that 20" gives me a little more command over my 900mm+ span foils vs a narrower board. I continue to feel as though I'll never have a board wider than 20" again.

For parawinging:

Since I'm always parawinging in strong wind with significant swell I initially found 20" to be critical to my ease of use on the water. 18" can be quite tippy with the PW due to their less predictable flight patterns but not too bad with the stability and immediate feedback of a traditional wing. Over time, I learned a new starting technique with narrower boards that are thick (log like) and parawings that has unlocked 18" boards for me and my mind is spinning about the future possibilities of board widths. However, it's impossible for me to deny that I have exceptional command over a 20" board when pushing rail to rail quickly and the surfing swell aggressively.

Thickness: 4-11/16" or 11.9cm

4.27 Width/Thickness ratio.

For winging and parawinging:

There's no denying that thin boards are fun to ride. They become just a little more responsive, similar to shortening your mast. This Carver is a little thinner than my last which was over 5" thick and I do appreciate the change. I think that some people feel instability or "corkiness" from boards when the width/thickness ratio gets too low. I never had an issue with my stock Carver at 20"x5-1/8" which calculates to 20 / 5.125 = 3.9 and this board having a higher ratio feels plenty stable.

(if using poor technique my Aviator is tippy as a PWer at 3.03 W/T ratio.)

Deck, Hull, Rail Shape:

I'm not a shaper myself so I'm just going to share the shape details direct from Sunova and will add a few comments below:

I mentioned this on my Pilot review but I think it's hard to ignore the deck differences in the Pilot and Carver. The Pilot is more aggressive and especially awesome with larger foils. The Carver flows better across all foils.

Tail differences of the Carver on top and Pilot on bottom. The Pilot has a slightly more aggressive angle built into the chines which aids in heavy carving touchdowns. There is also a kick to the tail where the Carver stays flat bottomed. Over time I have come to feel like the Carver tail excels at being pushed by swell in underpowered takeoffs which aids in my parawing sessions.

The slight nose kick of the Carver seems to get the volume above water a split second faster than my Pilot.

Weight: 10.5lbs

I asked for this board to be delivered without deck pad at 10lbs and Sunova nailed that target. My deck pad added .5lbs which means all of my boards are quite light in comparison to most production boards. They range from 9.3lbs to 11.25lbs and I've come to value a little weight in my board. It helps keep everything on the water in extreme winds, feels like it has a bit more drive to the pump, and typically lasts longer and stays stiffer as you can put more reinforcements into the board. I specifically had this deck reinforced to be especially strong and long lasting per Dylan Burgers guidance on this build and it has held up great so far.

Durability: Vapor Build

My first Carver in vapor build stayed with me for 3000 miles before going to its 2nd owner for a year, then 3rd owner, and is still going strong in the Gorge. This version feels solid and has shown no signs of normal wear. The deck is very firm and I specifically love the finish on the Carvers. It feels bulletproof (which you can actually order) while still being done in vapor construction. I baby my gear, but I do appreciate that when I do occasionally knock into something on the beach there's no sign of damage to my board.

What will I change for my next board?

Very little. My next board will likely be another variant at the same volume but I want to steal the deck design from the Pilot, go a few inches longer, get a few more liters again, and will consider 19" in width. I'm also considering some custom coloring for my next board.

Final Thoughts

My previous Carver quickly became my all time favorite board and this custom iteration is simply an evolution of that feeling. I have an absolute blast shredding turns with my Ocean Rodeo AA wings and when it comes to parawinging with Ozone Pocket Rockets I'd say this board is my favorite as well. I feel strongly that Sunova is doing a huge service to the industry by making custom boards easily accessible to riders. While this may be intimidating to some, I think that moving towards custom dims is valuable for almost every rider out there. Once you know what you want and can simply order it instead of waiting, hoping, that the next production board will have your desired dims... It makes the joy of foiling on your perfect kit that much easier to attain.

As always, huge thanks to Christian from Poseidon for helping me with my orders and Dylan from Sunova for setting me up with the best boards imaginable.

Questions?

Thanks for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoyed this Sunova Carver review. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below (join the site for free) or shoot me an email and I'll do my best to answer your questions!

See you at the river,

Bryan Lee, M.S. Experiential Education.