What your most used kite size for foiling?

[OzBungy]

There's a bunch of problems with your questions and comments.

As a new foiler you're not even close to thinking about light wind riding. Light wind riding is an acquired skill and arguably doing it with a foil is even harder. It's kind of easy once you've learned to foil, but you have to learn to foil first.

You say you're not going to be a full time foiler, riding only when it's too light for a TT. That's almost impossible. It takes time to truly learn to foil. 50-100 hours at least. If you waste foiling sessions by going for the TT you are unlikely to build the skills to be able to properly foil.

People think they can foil because they can get up and ride and do a few turns. It's vastly more complicated, and simpler, than that. Almost everything you do on a foil is the same as a surfboard, and on a TT to an extent. The difficulty is your control inputs are hugely amplified and can be thrown back at you. It takes all those hours to develop the feel so that you can modulate the inputs and be able really push hard and get a proportional response. Spend the time and it's effortless and easy. Don't spend the time and you'll be missing out on a heap of fun.

[AndersP]

I think you can do what you like to do.
If your only goal is to get out kiting in lighter wind than with your twintip it is absolutely doable with a 12 or larger kite as long as it's light.

If you have kiteskills and don't drop the kite you can learn to foil back and forth with waterstarts when you change direction. However if you want to be good at foiling the best way is to commit yourself to it for some time.

[Flyingseb]

To go to simple facts: I’ve learned to kitefoil a few years ago. First with my freestyle kites. In medium wind, instead of going TT. It was enough to learn the basics of foiling (no gibes). Then I quickly figured out I wouldn’t want to be overpowered, thus that I needed a small kite, but light enough to be able to fly in light wind, especially not falling to the water when parked at the edge of the wind window.
My choice was a Naish Trip 10m, no strut, and it still does the job perfectly (I’m 190lbs) with a free ride foil.
My program is exactly that: to light for TT —> foil , enough wind for my big freestyle kite to allow for jumping —> TT

What I think is difficult to achieve, is to find a light wind foil kite, that could go also with TT freestyle in higher wind. My Naish Trip is simply not good at it, totally different flight behavior, doesn’t like to be overpowered.

Hence my advice: go with a dedicated kite, once you are sure you will continue with foiling (some don’t)

[Peter_Frank]

So the 13m or 11m are a better option than the 15m? The forecast was good for today but it ended up being super light.

Wouldn’t the 9m with 27m line work better than the 11m or 13m since it weights less and is easier to keep in the air?

Yes it would, work better.

For a 75 kg rider.

As you are 95 kg it is probably a 10 or 11 m2 which is this "size".

Peter

[TomW]

Everyone says this : " I want to only foil in light wind, and otherwise use my TT".
It rarely works out this way. Either the prospective wannabe foiler only tries to go out in light winds and gets frustrated due to the difficulty in those conditions and the inability to acquire the muscle memory, and gives up. Or they learn, sell the Tt and Surfboards and ends up foiling 100%.
There may be exceptions, but over time every one in my area has followed this path. I think 95% have given up all other forms of kiting, the other 5% give up.

[TomW]

When I learned on a small wing and 90 cm mast, most used kite was 12m single strut in low teens, knots. I was often overpowered. Then after 50 hours, the 9m in low teens. I'm 75kgs.

[plummet]

8m gets about 80% usage.

[Peter_Frank]

Everyone says this : " I want to only foil in light wind, and otherwise use my TT".
It rarely works out this way. Either the prospective wannabe foiler only tries to go out in light winds and gets frustrated due to the difficulty in those conditions and the inability to acquire the muscle memory, and gives up. Or they learn, sell the Tt and Surfboards and ends up foiling 100%.
There may be exceptions, but over time every one in my area has followed this path. I think 95% have given up all other forms of kiting, the other 5% give up.

Agree fully with the first statement here, it rarely works out this way.

Almost like those windsurfing slalom/waves only, saying "I want to kite, only in light wind when not sufficient to windsurf".
How many of these are still windsurfing now?

But we dont see anyone giving up on their other types of kitesurfing (except kitefoil racers, they almost always do, but not taken into account as a very different discipline).

Difference when learned to kitefoil is, the TT riders choose their TT when its good for this, say nuking winds and other TT riders out to play with.
Waveriders the same, they choose their surfboard when its good conditions, sideshore and good waves.

So when you learn to kitefoil, you remove all the "lousy" sessions from your kitedays, meaning sloppy waves onshore winds, or TT days hardly being able go hold ground.

Its a win win

Might be location specific, but around here in the central Denmark (and around Copenhagen too), kitefoiling does not remove your other boards, it simply increases the quality of the days on these

Except for racers, who give up surfboards...

For some reason I have never seen a TT rider around here, who has gone kiterace style???
But many TT riders are now freeride/freestyle kitefoiling also


If you want to go riding in light wind as you say, you need a lighter kite.

You could take your normal 10 m2 on long lines also (@95 kg), as this size is perfect for learning in a lot of wind, and CAN be used in 10-11 knots, when you are skilled.

We just know, that you will love it so much, you will get a lighter kite quite soon, maybe bigger too - but no need to get one now when learning, use what you got.

PS: You have written in the kitesurfing forum, thus not many answers.
There is a specific, very active, hydrofoil forum here

I guess Toby will move this thread sooner or later.

Peter

[Foil]

!st 6 months --100% moses 550 wing
50% 15mtr breeze
50%12mtr Reo
95% foil/ 5%Ttip

2nd 6 mth ----80% moses 548 wing
50% 12mtr Reo
30% 10mtr Reo
20% 8mtr reo
100% foil use, sold one of my 2 Ttips, but still took one on holiday, but zero use

18 months in - moses 590 or 548 then 633 wing
30% 12 mtr Ozone Alpha v1
40% 10mtr ozone Alpha
20% 8mtr reo
10% 6mtr reo

24 mths -28 months in -- 95% Moses 633wing and revisited the old moses wings and all the other Moses wings available up to 790
10% ozone Chrono V3 UL 15mtr [media]FIRST partial SWITCH TO USING FOIL KITES[/media]
30% ozone Chrono v3 UL 13mtr
10 % alpha v1 10mtr
30% reo 8mtr
10% reo 6mtr
last dusty unused TTip sold

28- 33 mths in 99% moses 633 -- 1% 720 moses baltz pro
total switch over to Foil kites
20% 11mtr Chrono v3 UL
60% 9mtr Chrono V3 UL 1st choice kite with unbelievable wind range, better boosting than any kite I have ever used in 20years
15% 7mtr hyperlink v2
5% 5mtr hyperlink v1 UL

lockdown

[drsurf]

I'm 65kg and my most used kites are a 5m and 3m Peak4 with Moses surf foils 633 and 679. These two kite sizes cover from under 10 knots to 25 knots + which is 95% of conditions in my region. With your weight being more than me an 8, 11 or 13m Peak4 may suit you better depending on how light you want to go.

BTW what is the brand of the foil you have? It looks a bit dated from the pics? If it is an old foil get a competent foiler to try it out and make sure it will work for you. Nothing more dispiriting than a crap foil holding you back. There are so many good foils available second hand so don't compromise.

I wish I had the Peak4 kites and surf foils earlier in the process of learning to foil as both make foiling easier. The gear I had at the time was reasonably good but pre-dated decent surf foils and the Peak4 kites. I did not enjoy the learning process but stuck at it through all the cuts, crashes, tangles and swims and now I foil 95% of the time.

Foiling has meant the light wind days are now heaps of fun and strong wind days are too as the right foil kite combo has more range than any other kitesurf activity