... I would not call that a duck tack, it's just an upwind carve to toeside. To be a duck tack you need to change your feet. The term "duck" comes from windsurfing. It comes from ducking under the back of the rig as you do a transition with your back facing the tail of the board. A conventional tac...

The only negative of a light foil is that they float. If the board floats on its side then it can sail along crosswind without you. If you have fallen then you have to drag back upwind to get back to the board. On the plus side, the foil is less likely to scoot off downwind away from you. This only ...

You can use any thread to lock a splice. Polyester is better. Bonded polyester is best. Upholstery thread is quite good. Cotton or nylon not so good. A run through a sewing machine is good. A few hand stitches is fine. I bought the end of a spool from a sail maker for a few dollars and I've been usi...

I think full face helmet may reduce the rare risk of facial injury, and massively increase the very likely risk of neck injury. The bucket effect from a full face helmet would be huge. A ski or motocross face shield might be useful. Not sure about the integrated goggles .... or if anybody would actu...

I often ride my foil through the wave zone, over sand bars and turn in the gutters on the inside. On more than one occasion I can feel the foil bouncing off the sand. It's a bit scary but works out well. I do the same thing at the end of a session. It's a bit freaky to flick off and find myself in k...

5 Fingers are absolute crap for kitesurfing. The soles are too stiff so they don't fit nicely into straps or pads. They don't come up far enough on your ankle so sand and shell grit get in. It is extremely painful when it works down between your toes. I am perfectly happy with any of the standard su...

... Self launching unhooked ... It is not for beginners... I don't get it. Unhooked self-launch is not for beginners. Ok. But experienced kiters should know how to self launch and do it in control and deal with potential malfunctions. So who needs to self launch unhooked? Why would you turn an esse...

I have seen lots of dolphins (and pictures of sharks) with propeller cuts along their backs. The dolphins seemed perfectly happy. A foil hitting a shark or dolphin at speed would amount to nothing. I have been tangled in fishing line about 6-7 times. 3-4 times with fishermen casting into the water i...

With my smaller foil the board floats foil down. It always drifts downwind back to me, like a naughty puppy. My larger foil floats and the whole board sits up on its side. It can either stay still, or sail itself crosswind away from me. I usually have to drag a bit to get back to it. It is a nightma...

No. The knot would be huge and probably block the sliding of the safety line down the tube. Why would you tie a knot? The whole point of splicing is that it is easy and neat and accurate and strong. There's lots of videos and threads on this forum about splicing. As for the thickness of the line. Me...