Recommended 1 strut for big wing hydrofoiling?

[cglazier]

Agreed. My 12m Boxer is easy to use and easy relaunch. I foil with it in winds as low as below 10 knots. Usually I just pull on an outside line to relaunch, but in very light wind I just pull on the opposite front line too (this is much more effective and easier than attempting a reverse launch in light wind).

My friends running a kite school in Baja like to teach lessons with Boxers because they are easy for beginners.

[Windigo1]

I have owned several different single struts kite I prefer the Boxer and the Ultra the Boxer feels more like a regular kite the Ultra is a bit lighter and it's great in super light wind. The Solo was a huge dispointment it was super heavy and didn't drift well. The Mono has a small wind range and you get overpowered very quickly. I now have 5-7-9 Boxer and 12m Ultra and the perfect foiling quiver for me!

[knot_moving]

I've been on Clouds for 5 years. I then purchased a 2020 Naish Boxer thinking I'd move away from strutless. Nice kite but my gawd was it a bear to water relaunch in light conditions. I know you're asking about 1-strut.... But I absolutely love my 5 & 8m 2020 OR Roam Aluula 3-strut kites. In so many ways they act like a strutless or 1-strut: Pivot turns, super drift, reliable simple relaunch, none of that fluttery bad control when sheeted out..... but the noteworthy improvement over a Cloud is it predictable power in all areas of the wind window with no dead spots. The weight DOES matter. When I place this 8m on a scale next to my 8m Cloud, the Roam in lighter. And I can definitely assure you that this aluula flies in the super low winds as good or better than a no-strut.

My sessions:
%80 foil with large surf wing
%20 directional surf board (this is only in strong winds & Gorge swell)

My friend struggles a bit relaunching the aluula roam 12m in very light winds. I will tell him about also pulling in opposite front line. I used it in 10+ kts and you are right it is a true pleasure to fly.

[Kiterisland]

Hey heavy guys 200-230lbs...From research it looks like my bottom end on a 12m pivot would be 10kts or so on hydrofoil, so is there really any advantage to getting a single strut kite? If so what size do you recommend for 8-15kt range?

[cglazier]

Hey heavy guys 200-230lbs...From research it looks like my bottom end on a 12m pivot would be 10kts or so on hydrofoil, so is there really any advantage to getting a single strut kite? If so what size do you recommend for 8-15kt range?

I own three Pivots, (5, 7, 9) and a Boxer 12. The Boxer is lighter and has great low wind power and it relaunches easily. The Pivots are excellent all around kites with better high wind range but they do not have particularly good light wind range. At 165lb I find my 12m Boxer is plenty big for very light winds. At your weight you may want to consider getting a bigger hydrofoil wing rather than a bigger kite.

CG

[junebug]

Hey heavy guys 200-230lbs...From research it looks like my bottom end on a 12m pivot would be 10kts or so on hydrofoil, so is there really any advantage to getting a single strut kite? If so what size do you recommend for 8-15kt range?

I'm not quite that husky (I'm probably 190lbs or so), and my 12m Boxer will reliably pull me out of the water in 8kn. In those conditions, I ride a Lift 150 and a Slingshot Dwarfcraft Micro. By 10kn, I size down to my 10m Boxer. (I really should trade in my 10m for a 9m to have more of a gap there. A 9m would probably start working around 11kn.) By 12/13kn, I size down to my 7m Boxer and switch to a smaller board. By 15kn, I'm thinking about sizing down to my 5m Boxer.

My guess is that, if I had 30-40 more pounds on me, all of this might be shifted upward 1kn or so, but that's just a guess.

[SMJ]

Check out the new 2021 Cabrinha Contra One Strut.

https://www.jupiterkiteboarding.com/sto ... -8512.html

[Windigo1]

Check out the new 2021 Cabrinha Contra One Strut.

https://www.jupiterkiteboarding.com/sto ... -8512.html

They are kind of late to the party. The Contra is a good 3 struts kite so the single strut may be good. There are so many excellent single strut kites now it won't steal the show. Maybe another option for Cabrinha fans.

[Windigo1]

Hey heavy guys 200-230lbs...From research it looks like my bottom end on a 12m pivot would be 10kts or so on hydrofoil, so is there really any advantage to getting a single strut kite? If so what size do you recommend for 8-15kt range?

Yes the reason you get a single strut kite is not for extra power it's mostly because they are lighter and when you go down wind on a hydrofoil in very ligth wind the speed at which you go down wind is subtracted from the speed of the wind so if you go down wind at 5 knots in 10 knots there is only 5 knots left in your kite and a heavy kite will fall from the sky. I have been out many times where people on single struts were kiting and the 3 struts with very skilled riders where all in the water unable to relaunch.

To answer your question my 12M gets me going in about 6 knots on the Moses 633 foil so with your weight I would say 8 knots there is not a big difference between heavier riders and smaller one because the foil cancels out your weight once your planning.

[jumptheshark]

The only people who seem to be able to ride around here in 6 knots are the purebred racers on 18 and 21m race kites and even then, they don't bother.

I had a 12m cloud for a few years and could barely keep it in the air in 6 knots.