Looking at the wind ranges for some wings (I’ve never tried winging myself), they say you can get going with a 6m wing in 8 knots. Pump a little and go, depending on board and foil.
But if they can start with a 6m hand-held wing in 8 knots, then it sounds like I should be able to start with a 2-3m kite in the same conditions!!! As long as I use a wingfoil board that would allow me to kneel and then stand up.
I don’t have a wingfoil board at the moment that would allow me to just go out and try. But maybe someone has looked into this already?
Perhaps the same trade-offs — larger board + foil + modified start technique (kneel, stand instead of the classic kitefoil waterstart) — works with kites, and would allow one to pair larger, floaty foilboards with small kites and/or shorter lines? If so, then it’s surely something that I’ve got to try myself.