Fun year for sure! I broke away from being a single brand ambassador and went nuts testing tons of gear and having too much fun. Plus, I launched wouzel.com as a place to share everything I've learned and experienced! Here's the overall rundown:
Foil info:
Miles on foil: 2886
Sessions in the water: 172
Months in the water streak: 33
Longest ride: 40 miles 3 hours and 32 minutes.
Longest glide: 3+ miles
Website info:
Countries reached: 76
Site visits: Just shy of 10,000 in the first six months.
~Board Stats~
Most used board:
Sunova Carver, 5'10"x20" 85l: 2597 miles on foil. (Best all around board ever?)
Runner up:
Sunova Aviator 6'6"x18"x90l: 157 miles
Favorite:
Carver
Honorable mention:
2025 Sunova Pilot (2025 will push this board!)
~Wing Stats~
Most used wing:
Ocean Rodeo 3mAA: 1231 miles (Unbeatable)
Runner up:
Ocean Rodeo 4mAA: 744 miles
Favorite:
3mAA
Honorable mention:
2m Strike v3 (broke 60 knots with this little guy!)
~Foil Stats~
Most used foil:
AFS Silk 1050: 791 miles (hard to deny how friendly this foil is for surf and progression)
Runner up:
AFS Silk 650: 276 miles
Favorite:
AFS Ultra 750: 261 miles. (the highest performance high aspect foil I've ever ridden)
Honorable mention:
Silk 1050
Best singular ride of the year:
Silk 850 (why didn't I buy this!?)
~Mast Stats~
Most used mast:
Cedrus Evolution: 772.5 miles (worst gear choice of the year)
Runner up:
AFS 75cm UHM: 539 miles (My all time favorite mast. Almost perfect for every situation I've thrown at it)
Favorite:
AFS 75cm UHM
Honorable mention:
AFS 80cm UHM (Insanely stiff and reliable 8 days a week. This is the mast I recommend to most people)
~Best Gear I Didn't Buy~
Florence 110x with M2 mast. (I still dream fondly of the low end glide on this kit)
Omen Flux 5'2.5"x21"x60l. (such a fun board, a dream to ride in good wind)
~High Points of 2024~
Finding my way to Sunova boards, Ocean Rodeo wings, and AFS foils has been a dream. I absolutely love all the gear I ride every day and at the same time have a great deal of respect for these companies. I have two brand new customs from Sunova to ride for 2025. I'm looking forward to seeing what Ocean Rodeo brings to the table when they relaunch. AFS continues to impress with everything they release and I'll be testing out the Enduros in the spring.
and of course... launching the site!
~Quiver to Start 2025~
Boards:
Sunova:
Aviator 6'6"x18"x90l
Carver 5'11"x20"x77l
Pilot 5'9"x20"x66l
Wings:
Ocean Rodeo:
Glide AA 4m, 3m, 2.5m
Glide A 2.5m
F-One:
Strike v3 2m
Foils:
AFS
Silk 1050, 650
Ultra 750
Masts:
AFS
75cm UHM
~High Priority Gear to try in 2025~
Boards:
Omen:
Emissary 5'6"x19.5"x55l
Emissary 5'0"x18.5"x44l
Wings:
None?
Foils:
AFS
Enduro Range
Flitelab?
Masts:
None.
~Goals for 2025~
Have some monster days on my new custom Pilot and Carver.
I've already tested them both this winter and they are going to be excellent in the Gorge when the swell arrives.
Figure out how to get rid of my 4m wing and use my 3m or smaller every day.
Maybe a bigger enduro will unlock this?
40 hours of SUP surfing!?
Yep, variety is the spice of life and my Sunova Revolution is a dream!
40 hours would be an insane amount of time for me to surf since the ocean is several hours away.
2500 HIGH QUALITY miles on foil.
I got more miles in 2024 but this coming year I hope to focus on bigger, longer days in epic conditions instead of trying to milk the light/funky days. Plus, my surfing is going to get in the way.
Demos outside of my current system:
Board: Omen Emissary is the only board on the market that I have significant interest in trying and it looks sick.
Foil: Whatever company releases short chorded masts and fun new foils.
Wings: Cabrinha is releasing the AER line and Reedin also has some lightweight wings I'd like to try.
Get some pictures.
I think I'll get a Stawicki Photography photo package this year.
Get caught up on all the content I want to publish before the spring hits.
Gorge launch guides
Gorge Gear Library
5+ current articles lined up to write!?
Complete a few secret projects.
Shhhhhh!
~As Always~
Thanks for taking the time to read. I hope your 2024 was amazing and I'd love to hear what you want to accomplish in 2025!
See you at the river,
Bryan Lee, M.S. Experiential Education.
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