Strut length - your preferences

[BraCuru]

Frank described differences of riding various strut lengths in this topic:
viewtopic.php?f=196&t=2394861&start=80

Believe this subject deserves a separate topic. Let's try...

I' haven't tried anything shorter than 70cm and longer than 101cm.
I've preferred the longer struts so far.
I even felt more comfortable riding swell in El Cabezo and El Medano on a 101cm strut with wave wings than original 90cm strut.
Freeride - I love to feel a spare length and the 10cm makes big difference.
Hope to try 110cm soon and to learn from experience.

[Peter_Frank]

Good topic Bracuru, from a thread 20 minutes ago

Regarding mast/strut lengths, my experiences, having an 83 cm, 90 cm , 100 cm right now:

83 (or even 70 I think) is great for the very marginal winds, particularly in dead onshore marginal it provides an option to ride when too little wind to keep a light kite in the air without actively flying it, so not possible to drag out between sand banks to deeper water.

90 is a good compromise for everything, cheaper than a long one, and okay for most things.
But I still ventilate when frequent chop waves, which are the most normal conditions.

100 is the only one I like in normal "wind" waves - even the 90 is often too short here, where you cross and carve in close steep waves
And for riding really powered upwind, it is also better of course.

For jumping (strapped) and rotations, the shorter the better as you can tweak and turn and twist the foil way easier the shorter the strut
Strapped you can also ride faster and ventilate slightly, and recover most often, contrary to strapless, with a much shorter strut.

For waveriding in "perfect" smooth conditions, glassy and long swell period, a short strut would most likely work fine, and be quite lively.
In anything but that, which is our most frequent conditions, the longer the better IMO.


So yes, I also prefer 100 cm over 90 cm just like you Bracuru - but we have to look into ourselves, and say it might just be "getting used to the medium ones", or it could be the longer ones are simply better overall - difficult to say for sure

PF

[Mossy 757]

Stiffness decreases exponentially as length increases, so there's a golden mean between length and stiffness that's counterbalanced by ventilation risk. I've seen your riding style, you're like me in that you're usually riding hiked out.

For those that ride upright with their weight over the board instead of hiking out, I can see a shorter strut being more enjoyable as there's less drag in the water and more stiffness, but less ability to hike and go hard upwind.

Personally I wouldn't go shorter than 1m

[pierre.d]

I moved recently from 90 to 1m, what a progress !
The only downside of it is when you start from a beach with big breaking waves and a very low decline.

[borist]

1m for me (longest I own). 90 cm is noticeably easier to ventilate. Stiffness is very important of course.
I would like to have 70cm option though for those shallow places

[plummet]

Well I have only use my home built 90cm.

I hunker for more mast length when there's chop on swell.

[pikovsg]

Really good topic. For a while now, I've been trying to feel out a number of mast sizes, from the shortest to 110:

44in (110) – speed and (maaaybe) big waves, not as good for caving because less stiff and much wider. Needs quite a bit more wind to start. Works best with slimmer profile race wings Doesn't work well at all with fat wings. Not my fav, but maybe need more time.

40in (101) – Freeriding fast in a straight line, wide turns, bigger waves and initial racing. Much faster than 36in mast in practice, not nearly as nimble for carves and freestyle

36in (91) – my fav so far for tight carving, waves, freestyle and boosting. Perfect length for freestyling with BRM Clouds.

30in (76cm) – light wind saver. Gets you an extra 1-2knots on low end to help get on the foil.

24in (61cm) + 15in (38cm) – saves months, if not a years of learning to foil. Afterwards kind of works for super shallow places or low tides. But really kind of meh since so short. One thing it's really great for is making marginal wind work (4-6 miles). Waterstarts can be done in knee deep water, so you get on foil in less wind and have no fear of dropping the kite. Same can be said about 24in mast. Mostly ends up taking space in the back of the car.

Masts and foils are Moses (mix of wings) and Slingshot Hoverglide. Riding with BRM Clouds and Concept Air Pulsion. Curious to what you all think.

[Frank Rosin]

...
30in (76cm) – light wind saver. Gets you an extra 1-2knots on low end to help get on the foil.
...

This I do not understand, can you explain?

Cheers,
Frank
www.famousfrank.com/hydrofoil

[pikovsg]

Sure Frank. This is my own opinion and what personally works for me:

Basically, when wind is marginal (below 9 miles), I stop riding the Clouds and switch over to foil kites. Most LEI kites, and even bigger Clouds, tend to fall out of the sky below 5 mile wind. Of all the foil kites I've tried, the 12m Pulsion seems to have the best low end and stays in the air when almost no wind at all.

So.

Problem with Pulsion and foil kites in general, is the turning radius of is a LOT slower than Clouds. So you need a loop or two to build up momentum.

Here's the problem: You need to be in deeper water on a regular mast. Doing a loop or two drags you out to even deeper wanter. Now you can't stand up and provide resistance to the loop to generate more power. With 30" and smaller masts you CAN STAND while looping. Thus, your loops are more powerful and give you that extra bump of power to waterstart and get on the foil when barely blowing. That extra bump in power/speed could mean a day of foiling vs. being skunked (or worse giving up after hours of attempts).

The 24" mast is even better when the winds are that low. 15" is a bit too short and digs into the water in when waterstarting in these conditions.

I discovered this totally by accident and haven't really heard of people talking about this on the forum before.

[ahmthai]

I have ridden 45cm, 60cm, 72cm, 80cm, 90cm, and 105cm. I like to carve turns, ride waves and swell, and jump. I gravitate to the 72cm and 80cm. I find the stiffness, direct feel, and shorter turning radius of the 72cm and 80cm work best for my style. With practice, you don't ventilate often and when you do, you can easily recover without crashing. Shorter is much easier for toeside carving and riding.

Unless you are racing, I don't see the advantages of going longer than 85cm.

-Andrew