Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
janeko
Rare Poster
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 8:37 pm
Favorite Beaches: Sunset Beach - Cape Town
Style: Wave, Wake
Gear: Cabrinha
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 0

Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby janeko » Sat May 01, 2021 9:37 pm

Hi all,

I'm currently planning to buy my first hydrofoil board for kiting and looking for something lightweight.

My top options right now are:
1. Cabrinha Special Agent (available sizes: 105cm, 125cm)
2. North Sense (available sizes: 135cm)
3. F-one Pocket (available sizes: 120cm, 130cm, 145cm)

But I'm not sure about the length of the board I should be choosing. I'm 6'3 (190cm), 187 lb (85kg).

What length would you advise from the above picks?

Thanks!

Breze
Frequent Poster
Posts: 347
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:53 pm
Kiting since: 2003
Weight: 90kg
Style: Foiling
Gear: Foils&Tubes
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 93 times
Been thanked: 103 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby Breze » Sun May 02, 2021 6:56 am

Hi janeko
From the boards above, i would take the F-one Pocket 120cmx 46 if you are a fast learner, if your progression will be more mellow then 130x47.https://www.f-one.world/product/foilboard-pocket/
Why the Pocket ? V Straps ( V + 2 Straps confi would be even better). Long tracks for a wider variety of bigger front wings. Most importand: With some volume of around 20l few things work better.
The Cab and North boards are novolume and kind of snowboard construction: Woodcore with glass, ABS walls. No scoop! No volume. This sort of board is so simple that everybody who ever held a jigsaw in his hands could think about a diy project.
I would say that Cabs intergrated T-nuts and that the North board has only 2 straps is a downside.
These users thanked the author Breze for the post:
janeko (Sun May 02, 2021 7:51 pm)
Rating: 3.03%

User avatar
lederhosen
Frequent Poster
Posts: 374
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:02 pm
Kiting since: 2017
Weight: 80kg
Gear: Flysurfer Sonic4 12m
Kitech FRS 9m
Peak4 3m
Peak5 4m, 6m, 8m

Zeeko Spitfire Xlw, Xxlw
Eleveight Process 135
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 119 times
Been thanked: 85 times
Contact:

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby lederhosen » Sun May 02, 2021 9:41 am

I started on a bigger foilboard because i read that it is easier at the beginning and switched to a 115cm crazyfly flite (can recommend) after a few months. I am not sure if i would buy a bigger board to start with again. It might be a bit less frustrating at the very beginning, but at some point soon it is just so much nicer on a smaller, lighter board.
These users thanked the author lederhosen for the post:
janeko (Sun May 02, 2021 7:52 pm)
Rating: 3.03%

janeko
Rare Poster
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 8:37 pm
Favorite Beaches: Sunset Beach - Cape Town
Style: Wave, Wake
Gear: Cabrinha
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 0

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby janeko » Sun May 02, 2021 7:57 pm

Thanks both. To add more data - I'm planning to ride strapless, been doing wave strapless for a while now. I'm curious in what aspects the volume is helpful - I suppose easier water starts and perhaps helps handling lulls? Are there any other things to consider?

romian
Rare Poster
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:11 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Style: Far from stylish
Gear: Airush Ultra 10, Slingshot UFO 7/5/4, F-One Carbon foilboard, Kitesyndikat carbon split foilboard, Moses W633/W679/S483/S425
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 21 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby romian » Mon May 03, 2021 12:34 pm

I´m at the same point right now... trying to choose my first foilboard (but focused on splitboards).

When learning to ride a directional I used a 6"4' fish surfboard I had at home and found that too much volume and thick rails made waterstarts very difficult because of the high buoyancy. Board wanted to stay flat and even with a front strap setting, the board in the right position was hard.

I can choose 118 x 45 / 24 litres or 128 x 45.

I´m 155 lb. / 70 Kg, so based on your recommendations for @janeko maybe I could go with 118...

User avatar
Kamikuza
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7057
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:49 am
Local Beach: Sabae Beach
Favorite Beaches: Ol' Stinky
Gear: This, that, the other
Has thanked: 220 times
Been thanked: 193 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby Kamikuza » Mon May 03, 2021 1:35 pm

F-one 120, or Double Agent 125 for skim board shits n giggles...

Smaller is better, ultimately. That 120 will feel like a barge when you try a real pocket board in the future...

User avatar
Kamikuza
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7057
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:49 am
Local Beach: Sabae Beach
Favorite Beaches: Ol' Stinky
Gear: This, that, the other
Has thanked: 220 times
Been thanked: 193 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby Kamikuza » Mon May 03, 2021 1:39 pm

janeko wrote:
Sun May 02, 2021 7:57 pm
Thanks both. To add more data - I'm planning to ride strapless, been doing wave strapless for a while now. I'm curious in what aspects the volume is helpful - I suppose easier water starts and perhaps helps handling lulls? Are there any other things to consider?
How big are your waves?

Low wind water starts are IMHO where volume helps. Otherwise it's dead weight.

You can get around low volume with more surface area... But wide boards create their own problems in waves.

Short, narrow, a tad more volume ie. Dwarfcraft 3'6" not micro

Tombstone boards that have all their width in front of the front door tend to get caught mid-gybe in waves. Dwarfcraft is a nice shape.

Onda
Frequent Poster
Posts: 478
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:12 am
Kiting since: 2008
Local Beach: Baltic Sea / North Sea (Germany)
Favorite Beaches: Wijk aan Zee (NL)
Ouddorp (NL)
Norre Vorupor (DK)
Heiligenhafen (DE)
Style: strictly unstrapped, mainly foiling
Gear: Slingshot / Infexion / Alpine / F-One / CORE / Firewire / Duotone
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 51 times
Been thanked: 99 times
Contact:

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby Onda » Mon May 03, 2021 1:41 pm

I started from the same point like you (strapless wave before).
My first (strapless) foil setup was a Moses W633 / 91 cm mast and a "Skate" board from Groove Kiteboards (120 cm length, 5 cm thick, dunno about width any more).
That was pretty easy to start with, and also suitable for wave foiling.
Recently I changed the board to an Anton "Skater", 100 cm long and only 1.5 cm thick, super light (1.8 kg), super robust. This is much more fun to ride than the bigger board, particularly in waves. You could use it even as a beginner due to its large scoop (nose of boards bends upwards). Touchdowns are very foregiving.
https://anton-kiteboards.de/produkt/ant ... -skater-2/ (hand-made 100 % in Germany by one of the most experienced shapers, really good quality, very fair price)

Just like kamikuza says: Volume mainly enhances the light-wind properties of your foil setup. But as a beginner, light-wind is not what you want (as it makes everything much more complicated). Hence I´d say: Thick boards are not essential for a beginner.

It took me a long time to get into waves (hip-high maximum yet) with a foil. You need a lot of practice to gain the confidence needed. On a foil, even rediculessly small waves get over-exiting! But this is an essential part of the fun!

romian
Rare Poster
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:11 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Style: Far from stylish
Gear: Airush Ultra 10, Slingshot UFO 7/5/4, F-One Carbon foilboard, Kitesyndikat carbon split foilboard, Moses W633/W679/S483/S425
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 21 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby romian » Mon May 03, 2021 3:11 pm

Onda wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 1:41 pm
Recently I changed the board to an Anton "Skater", 100 cm long and only 1.5 cm thick, super light (1.8 kg), super robust. This is much more fun to ride than the bigger board, particularly in waves. You could use it even as a beginner due to its large scoop (nose of boards bends upwards). Touchdowns are very foregiving.
https://anton-kiteboards.de/produkt/ant ... -skater-2/ (hand-made 100 % in Germany by one of the most experienced shapers, really good quality, very fair price)

Just like kamikuza says: Volume mainly enhances the light-wind properties of your foil setup. But as a beginner, light-wind is not what you want (as it makes everything much more complicated). Hence I´d say: Thick boards are not essential for a beginner.
I think I will go for this in 118 x45 split if they ship to my place:


romian
Rare Poster
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:11 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Style: Far from stylish
Gear: Airush Ultra 10, Slingshot UFO 7/5/4, F-One Carbon foilboard, Kitesyndikat carbon split foilboard, Moses W633/W679/S483/S425
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 21 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Size of a hydrofoil board for kite

Postby romian » Mon May 03, 2021 5:42 pm

romian wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 3:11 pm

I think I will go for this in 118 x45 split if they ship to my place:

The board is not in production anymore :cry:


Return to “Hydrofoil”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: trendab and 187 guests