Tkb Review: 2022 CORE SLC Foilboard

Sizes Available: 115×46 11.5L, 125x47cm 15.3L, 135x49cm 21.1L
Sizes Tested: 115×46 11.5L, 125x47cm 15.3L

Core Says:

The all-new SLC foilboard is your ticket to foil. Light and responsive, the full carbon and PVC sandwich construction reduces the board’s weight and provides superior stiffness. Standard, unidirectional, and biaxial carbon laminations that reinforce critical stress areas improve longevity and durability.

Lean in, and enjoy the ride. Sidecut rails allow you to heel further especially in rougher waters. Should you unexpectedly come off the wing, the slightly convex bevel helps you get back on track. Reduced rail volume also sinks the rail deeper for fast water starts. Smooth, predictable touchdowns. A shallow Vee at the nose transitions into a double concave deep Vee. This hull design pops you up in a jiffy, especially after those unintentional splashdowns.

Balanced. Forgiving. And responsive. Optimized for no-fuss touchdowns, and a balanced foiling experience. You’ll notice on your first ride that your front foot has a better feel of the board and foil. And the slight deck indentation delivers fantastic foot placement feedback.

Visit for more info: www.corekites.com/us/kite/foil/slc

125cm SLC

TKB Says:

During our Baja Test Week we were able to ride Core’s small-sized 115cm and medium-sized 125cm SLC foilboards with the SLC 1000 and 1250 hydrofoils. Built with a carbon PVC sandwich, these boards offer a durable construction with a nice weight that communicates all your inputs directly into the foil for a crisp and efficient feel. With its foil specific shape, the SLC foilboards offer a dependable and steady foil platform that pushes the boundaries of high-performance as you move into the 115 size.

The design elements across the 115 and 125 are very much the same except for the details of length, width and volume. The widepoint tends to move forward on the larger boards along with an increase in rocker. The 115 has the flattest rocker with the 125 in the middle featuring a bit more rocker to protect against touchdowns. The bottom shape is similar as well with the double concave in the nose and a sharper V that softens as you follow the spine towards the foil mount. The 115 features a full deckpad all the way to the nose, while the 125’s deck pad doesn’t extend quite so far forward, instead, it covers just the area you will need for tacks and transitions. Both boards feature the same strap insert options with three forward/aft threaded inserts for placing your front straps in a ducked configuration and two forward/aft options for the back strap. The deck feels has just a tiny amount of concave built into it which seems to find a good balance between control and proper angle. The SLC boards utilize extra-long tracks to allow more range in mast positioning and also provide small but important details like clear labeling on the mast tracks so you can be sure to place your foil and configure your board to behave the same way every time.

115cm SLC

When it came to waterstarts, the SLC 125 offers a bit more floatation than the 115. With its longer deck and wider template, the 125 gives you more surface area which helps with waterstarting onto the board as well as planing before you lift up onto foil. If you’re completely new to foilboarding you might consider the 135 (largest of the SLC boards), but if you’re a larger intermediate rider or more confident beginner, the 125 will serve you well. The aggressive bottom shape in the nose smooths out chop and helps the board separate from the water for a clean and smooth release on foil-ups. We spent some time playing with the rail and stuffing it into the water on upwind tacks. The shallow chine/bevel on the rail combines with the template that narrows towards the board’s tail and both these things do an excellent job of touching down but without throwing you off balance. This helps you begin to experiment with edging at harder angles without catastrophic wipeouts if you push the board’s angle too far.

The 115 is a much more advanced shape. With its flatter rocker and limited surface area, it’s a better match for intermediate and advanced foilers that have a strong command of foil and kite power control. The 115 takes a bit more power to get the board up onto plane, but once you get it in the air, its shorter length amplifies every aspect of foilboarding. We found the 115’s small wafer-like size to be exciting but not daunting to control. As Core trimmed down the size, they also trimmed down weight, and while the super-rigid construction used in the SLC boards maintains a direct connection between your board and the foil, the 115 makes everything feel extra crisp. Every ounce of energy and control that you put into the deck transfers directly to the foil underneath. The SLC 115 gives you a compact deck with a pad that covers from tip to tail while the SLC 125 has a deck pad that covers three-quarter’s of the deck with substantially more room to move your feet around. All of the SLC boards have some extra rocker built into the forward section which gives your front foot a bit of an extra lateral grip against the board when riding strapless.

The SLC formula features all the best practices in foilboard design with a ton of small details that are combined to pinpoint a solid blend between user-friendly and precision performance. The SLC 115 deck is sized for intermediate and advanced riders that have superb foil and kite control and need very little planing surface to get going. The 125 deck is the solid medium ground that gives you some extra help on water starts, but still feels quite maneuverable and performance oriented for confident beginners, intermediate and larger advanced riders. With solid construction and excellent feel, the SLC line of foilboards covers the entire size and skill range.