Slingshot NF2 Foil - Beginner

[junebug]

If you just want to surf foil, I think you’d be better off learning behind a boat. No kite to worry about and once you get the hang of it you can wake foil.

That said, if it were me, I would learn to kite foil. You might find you like it. I took it up for light wind only but I like it so much I haven’t ridden another board more than a handful of times in the past year.

[FLandOBX]

I finally crossed over to the Dark Side and started foiling. I am using the Hoverglide NF2 with the Slingshot Simulator board. I've only been out 2 sessions so far, but they were loads of fun. My initial impressions are that the equipment combination will be perfect for me. The board is larger, but I'm tall and, as a beginner, I really like the extra volume and size. The NF2 seems easy to ride. I'm getting long rides on the foil in both directions and will begin working on basic transitions next session.

I delayed taking the plunge primarily because I kept hearing about how hard it is to learn to foil. So far, I haven't had that experience. I've been kiting 12 years, have advanced twintip skills, and beginner level skills on a directional. From what I'd been told, I honestly expected to get beat up badly in my first foil session. After 30 minutes of surface riding, I was able to lift up on the foil and get some nice long rides. I'm using a 24" mast, and wouldn't want to start with a shorter mast.

My advice to anyone thinking about foiling is similar to junebug's. Give it a try. You may find that the first session is a lot easier than you expect. If you do try it, my (beginner's perspective) advice for the initial sessions is:

1. Stay relaxed.
2. Stay focused on your front foot. I don't need a lot of front foot pressure with my setup, but I do need to focus on my front foot to avoid reverting to twin-tip muscle memory.
3. Go out in moderate wind 13-15 knots with a large enough kite to make it easy to pop up on your board.
4. Use a short mast (24") and, when on foil, try to ride roughly 12" over the water.
5. Stay relaxed.

So far, I'm pretty excited about this new toy. If I can learn to transition, I expect it will become addictive quickly.

[adamj2281]

I finally crossed over to the Dark Side and started foiling. I am using the Hoverglide NF2 with the Slingshot Simulator board. I've only been out 2 sessions so far, but they were loads of fun. My initial impressions are that the equipment combination will be perfect for me. The board is larger, but I'm tall and, as a beginner, I really like the extra volume and size. The NF2 seems easy to ride. I'm getting long rides on the foil in both directions and will begin working on basic transitions next session.

I delayed taking the plunge primarily because I kept hearing about how hard it is to learn to foil. So far, I haven't had that experience. I've been kiting 12 years, have advanced twintip skills, and beginner level skills on a directional. From what I'd been told, I honestly expected to get beat up badly in my first foil session. After 30 minutes of surface riding, I was able to lift up on the foil and get some nice long rides. I'm using a 24" mast, and wouldn't want to start with a shorter mast.

My advice to anyone thinking about foiling is similar to junebug's. Give it a try. You may find that the first session is a lot easier than you expect. If you do try it, my (beginner's perspective) advice for the initial sessions is:

1. Stay relaxed.
2. Stay focused on your front foot. I don't need a lot of front foot pressure with my setup, but I do need to focus on my front foot to avoid reverting to twin-tip muscle memory.
3. Go out in moderate wind 13-15 knots with a large enough kite to make it easy to pop up on your board.
4. Use a short mast (24") and, when on foil, try to ride roughly 12" over the water.
5. Stay relaxed.

So far, I'm pretty excited about this new toy. If I can learn to transition, I expect it will become addictive quickly.

This is good advice, I think I'm going to circle back around and try it on a kite, just have to find a deal on one at this point. I've been kiting as long as you, but would probably characterize myself as pretty confident on a surfboard, and ride it 95% of the time. The main thing is it's something new, a new challenge, and that is the intriguing part. Thanks for this post, very helpful.

[cwood]

I finally crossed over to the Dark Side and started foiling. I am using the Hoverglide NF2 with the Slingshot Simulator board. I've only been out 2 sessions so far, but they were loads of fun. My initial impressions are that the equipment combination will be perfect for me. The board is larger, but I'm tall and, as a beginner, I really like the extra volume and size. The NF2 seems easy to ride. I'm getting long rides on the foil in both directions and will begin working on basic transitions next session.

I delayed taking the plunge primarily because I kept hearing about how hard it is to learn to foil. So far, I haven't had that experience. I've been kiting 12 years, have advanced twintip skills, and beginner level skills on a directional. From what I'd been told, I honestly expected to get beat up badly in my first foil session. After 30 minutes of surface riding, I was able to lift up on the foil and get some nice long rides. I'm using a 24" mast, and wouldn't want to start with a shorter mast.

My advice to anyone thinking about foiling is similar to junebug's. Give it a try. You may find that the first session is a lot easier than you expect. If you do try it, my (beginner's perspective) advice for the initial sessions is:

1. Stay relaxed.
2. Stay focused on your front foot. I don't need a lot of front foot pressure with my setup, but I do need to focus on my front foot to avoid reverting to twin-tip muscle memory.
3. Go out in moderate wind 13-15 knots with a large enough kite to make it easy to pop up on your board.
4. Use a short mast (24") and, when on foil, try to ride roughly 12" over the water.
5. Stay relaxed.

So far, I'm pretty excited about this new toy. If I can learn to transition, I expect it will become addictive quickly.

I believe this combo you have is the ultimate learning rig. I have had multiple people foil first time out with it. The long board and mast to the rear of the tracks makes for a very forgiving setup.

[GTC]

Hi there,
I am behind a good deal of a NF2 Foil and Dwarfcraft board.
Do you know what is the top speed of this foil?
Thanks in advance

[Alysum]

Hi there,
I am behind a good deal of a NF2 Foil and Dwarfcraft board.
Do you know what is the top speed of this foil?
Thanks in advance

Get it... why do you need to know the top speed ? Surely that's not a deal breaker

[adamj2281]

Reviving this thread - I bit the bullet and went with the NF2 foil - Real was running a deal I couldn't say no to. I'll report back once I get it and how the progression goes, the main appeal is on flat days this summer and for a new challenge. Eventually I'd like to get comfortable enough on the foil to move to surf foil, but for now, I'll learn with the kite as my confidence level with a kite is higher.

[alowishus]

Well... I'm keen for this thread to be more about how to use the NF2 foil with the original poster boring us with not getting into foiling...

I went out for 1h today on it, I can take off and do long runs without issues but I STILL cannot do transitions... I only managed to transition to toe side on my favourite side about twice.

Would be keen to hear what others on the NF2 have done to learn/do transitions. I try to keep the kite up at 12 and touch down going downwind to switch legs but it never works out, board sinkes/I fall off etc... Really struggling with this so any tips appreciated !

I don’t think there is anything special about the NF2 except that it is a good setup to learn on. Some pick up foiling quickly and others (like me) take longer. I looked at getting different wings at one stage to progress due to frustration/ stagnation. In the end I’ve just stuck with the H5 wing. My journey has been to get transitions to toeside sorted out before worrying about switching feet. You may decide different though.

Key for me for transitions to toeside was the downloop to keep solid power throughout the turn. Took a while to figure out the timing and balance especially riding my unnatural stance. You need to maintain line tension, or possibly suffer line inversions when your kite loses power and rolls over (happened a lot to me), but not too much that you breach your wing, just enough to carve around. A delicate balance. Eventually it doesn’t feel weird and you can put some power into it.

My current challenge is switching feet. I’m getting there, slowly. After a recent breakthrough of suddenly getting half a dozen on the foil last week, I nailed the first transition of my session yesterday with footswitch on the foil - very satisfying. I spent most of the rest of the session crashing out with small successes occasionally. I have strangely had better success on the foil than surface switches, so I’m giving up and just going for it on the foil.

I try to encourage myself by thinking about all the great waterstart practice I am getting! I am really starting to enjoy my sessions as my crashes gradually become less and less.

To foil, you need some speed, not too much nor too little. Keep that in mind when on the water.