The French brand Sroka is active in all water sports disciplines and offers everything from SUPs, kitesurfing equipment and foils to a complete range of wingfoils. These are sold directly via a Online shop This makes the products very attractively priced, especially as they are delivered free of charge within Europe. Our test set, consisting of the Air 5'3 Wingboard (115 litres), the S-Foil with a surface area of 1750 cm2 and the Sroka V3 Wing (5.0 m²), is available for as little as 2050 euros. We have tested whether cheap is also good.
On land:
Sroka Air 5'3
The inflatable foil board is available in three sizes, 5'3/6'0 and 6'4, at low prices ranging from 580 to around 620 euros. The scope of delivery includes a matching bag, pump and a good leash. Loop plugs are integrated into the deck, but the straps themselves are not included and must be purchased separately. The foil is mounted in a large glued-on plate, but this does not have a carrying handle. There is only one on the top of the board, so carrying it with the foil mounted is a little cumbersome.
The construction of the board makes a solid impression, but is also limited to the basics. For example, there is no glued-on rubber edge at the rear, so the edges are round.
Sroka V3 Wing
The V3 Wing from the French manufacturer is available in sizes of 3/4/5 and 6 square metres, with individual prices ranging from 660 to 829 euros, depending on the size. Our test size with 5.0 square metres (WING measurement 2.55 kilos) is rather stretched with a wingspan of 351 centimetres and comes without a window from the backpack supplied. The Wing, which has a rather flat profile, is inflated via two standard valves on the front tube and centre strut. When inflating, it is therefore necessary to change the plugs once, but the wing can be deflated quite quickly after the session. The leash supplied is ok, but the Velcro is quite narrow and thin.
The recommended inflation pressure is 6-7 psi, so when inflated, the wing appears tightly tuned. Sroka uses two wide handles for the grip system. These allow the hands to be moved sideways, are extremely comfortable to grip and still offer fairly direct contact with the wing.
S-Foil 1750
The S-Foil from Sroka is available in four front wing sizes - with a surface area of 1250/1500/1750 or 2000 cm2. Our 1750 test foil impresses with good accuracy of fit; the wing, mounting plate and fuselage are all attached with solid M8 Torx screws. The front wing with its 98.5 centimetre span sits quite close to the mast, which means that the pressure point of the foil is further back than average - as a result, the foil tends to be screwed to the front of the box on most boards. The 80 mm aluminium mast scores with good rigidity, and the foil is also available with other mast lengths (55/70/90 cm) and shorter fuselages on request.
The S-Foil is also available separately and costs between 799 and 989 euros, depending on the components selected.
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On the water:
The 5'3 board is stable in the water, only the raised strap plugs interfere a little with positioning on the board if you use the board without straps. The board gets off to an average start, but at the lower wind limit a more active riding style is required, as the rounded edge in the tail area produces a little more resistance than sharp edges. All in all, however, the board offers decent light wind performance in combination with the S-Foil 1750. The rather thick profiled foil produces enough lift even at low speeds and lifts off predictably - wingfoil beginners will really appreciate this characteristic.
The fact that the S-Foil does not break the speed record is in the nature of things, the focus here is on enjoyable cruising and stable inflow - and it is precisely this promise that the S-Foil fulfils with flying colours. Even in foil manoeuvres such as 360s and jibes, it remains stable in the airflow, carries reliably even at low speeds and is surprisingly agile. For beginners, this means that you should definitely choose the tested 68 fuselage, which already offers good manoeuvrability. The shorter fuselage variants (62/56 centimetres) should make the foil even more manoeuvrable, but also more challenging to ride.
And the Wing? The V3 Wing also made a good impression in the practical test. With its rather flat profile, it is certainly not one of the absolute steam hammers with the best planing power, but it is by no means bad either - especially if you give the wing a little less inflation pressure than specified. 5.5 to 6 psi is sufficient, especially in light winds, and even in the hands of heavy surfers (>85 kilos) the wing still feels tight enough. In the air, the Sroka V3 is balanced and stable in the hand, the handles fit well in terms of their positioning and allow gripping with equal pull distribution on both hands. In manoeuvres such as turns, jibes and foil 360s, the wing is easy to steer and the fairly flat profile also offers pleasingly little resistance when manoeuvring into the wind. Initial freestyle tricks also work well with it, but if you want to dig deeper into the freestyle trick box, you will find other wings on the market with even easier handling and more compact dimensions for faster rotations.
Sroka Wingfoil set - the conclusion
Sroka offers a very attractive set at a fair price! The foil in particular makes a very good and high-quality impression and is suitable as a good-natured freerider for relaxed cruising, manoeuvres and first rides on round swell waves. However, the fact that the board's features are somewhat inferior to other inflatables can be overcome in view of the very favourable price of less than 600 euros. The V3 Wing, which is also rather inexpensive, covers a fairly wide range of uses, has no real weaknesses and is therefore suitable as a fully-fledged alternative for freeriding as well as for basic freestyle tricks and use in small waves.
