beginner hydrofoiler questions

[fibbob]

What are optimal wind speeds for my 1st attempts at hydrofoil?
Am I better off with larger(slower) kite or smaller(faster) kite.
I am 165 lbs.
Twin tipper for 10+ yrs and would call myself intermediate.
Directional surf board limited experience. 1 out of 10 jibes and the 1 I make ain`t pretty.
Thanks

[3InletsWindsports]

Simply you want to reduce all outside influences that would detract you from concentrating on riding the board with foil and attempting your first flights.
So think location that is easy and deep enough.
Smooth water and steady wind.
And very stable kite flying conditions.
You don’t want to be concentrating on flying your kite while trying foiling.

[tautologies]

Just want to add make sure you do not go underpowered. Later on you can go very underpowered, but in the beginning just getting up on the board and get going should not be a concern.

[Lokihel]

Book a lesson, it is well worth it, even if just one hour.

The instructor will make sure you use the right kite for the conditions, and correct your mistakes.
It is painful to watch beginners try foiling on their own and trying to pump the foil to get going. I was that guy. Take a lesson, it will save you a lot of time and frustration.

[Strekke]

Not totally underpowered but also not well powered/overpowered. 12 - 15 knots on a 12m in chop free flat water without waves is ideal. For 16-20 knots you're better off on an 8 or a 9m. More than that, go TT. Remember to try and keep the board down as much as possible for your first session(s). Ride the board flat, don't edge like on a TT. Helmet and maybe even shinn protection and a thick wetsuit will save you some bruises and injuries.

[Foil]

all the above and wear full leg protection, and wear thin booties, or you will get cut!
a good tip as well is to take a first aid kit with you in the car,
if you don't use it, sure as hell someone else will need it at some time.
thing is I am 14 months in and never cut myself.
call me lucky
very lucky.
I always wear thin booties with ankle protection, and it still hurts like hell if I kick a blade, but I have metal plates running up each side of my left ankle, an old reminder of the power and lack of depower in a C kite back in 2004

[pj sofine]

For me it was 15 mph,13 knots? I went out on my 10 when everyone on twintips were on 12's and 15's.I'm 210 lbs and it worked well.I have a floaty converted ss space pickle so that helped. I've heard many suggest to use the same size kite that you would use if twin tipping. I found that I was better off down one size. I'm on a ss hoverglide so that may factor in also. x2 on leg protection,just removed stiches from my shin, went out for 1st time without a long suit on, big mistake at this point in my foiling endeavor!

[Peter_Frank]

You are medium weight.

Go out in 6-7 m/s (12-14 knots) with a 10-11 m2 kite.

This will be the easiest and safest conditions to start and learn in.

15-16 knots could also be used, with an 8 or 9 m2 if you have to, but a bit more risky.

Your kite wont be too fast, and no dangerous situations.
You will have loads of power to get up and just park the kite, without getting torn leeways which is the most common hazard.
It will be able to hang steady and never drop.

When you get up and start foiling a bit more, these sizes will be a bit too big for many - but does not matter when starting, where you should have only one size less than on an "old" board (TT/Wave).

Deep water and not onshore winds - and be prepared you WILL crash your kite a lot, on your first foil attempts - so you should be ready to relaunch or drift ashore

PF

[grigorib]

Use your regular kite to start with. Or maybe slightly smaller than your regular but on long lines.
Don't be underpowered but don't learn on a large/slow kite. Use line extensions to add kite power without going to larger size

[junebug]

I would not recommend adding line lengths unless you are experienced with it. One new variable is hard enough to deal with, let alone two.

I’m 185lbs, and when I was learning, the best conditions for me were 13-15 knots with a 10m. Second best was 12-13 knots with a 12m.