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Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

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Indulang
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby Indulang » Mon May 10, 2021 5:03 pm

jumptheshark wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 11:59 am
I suggest going aluminum at first. I’d go simple Gong with decent size wings. Something around 1000 cm2.if I were starting today I’d get a Gong.
I want to clarify your point about 1000 cm2 foil. Would you consider this 712 cm2 foil to be too small for me to start with? They claim its beginner-friendly and I'm 64kg
https://www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/ ... reeride-3/

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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby drsurf » Mon May 10, 2021 5:10 pm

I'm 65kg and a 1000cm2 foil is what I use all the time and wish I had it when I was learning.
I learnt on a foil that was around 700cm2 and it made the learning process a lot harder, take longer and I sold it to get the right size. Go for a good 1000cm2 foil and you'll learn on it and probably keep it long term.
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jumptheshark
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby jumptheshark » Mon May 10, 2021 5:46 pm

I'm with dsurf in advice piggy backing on our learning curves.

I started on 560 cm2 then went to 710 cm2 and now ride 1100 cm2.

Your weight will factor more into what size kite you ride.

Start somewhere around 1000 cm2.
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby Zamed » Mon May 10, 2021 6:47 pm

Indulang wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 5:03 pm
jumptheshark wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 11:59 am
I suggest going aluminum at first. I’d go simple Gong with decent size wings. Something around 1000 cm2.if I were starting today I’d get a Gong.
I [media]want to clarify your point about 1000 cm2 foil. Would you consider this 712 cm2 foil to be too small for me to start with? They claim its beginner-friendly and I'm 64kg
https://www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/ ... reeride-3/
I had the gong freeride foil with the 712 cm2 wing. It's not user friendly and not easy to learn on. I would recomend gong to retire it as I've done... Now I ride the gong curve foil with the 1100 cm2 wing and I absolutly love it and highly recomend it to beginners and intermediate foilers.
[/media]
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby FLandOBX » Tue May 11, 2021 1:00 am

Indulang wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 5:03 pm
jumptheshark wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 11:59 am
I suggest going aluminum at first. I’d go simple Gong with decent size wings. Something around 1000 cm2.if I were starting today I’d get a Gong.
I want to clarify your point about 1000 cm2 foil. Would you consider this 712 cm2 foil to be too small for me to start with? They claim its beginner-friendly and I'm 64kg
https://www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/ ... reeride-3/
I agree with prior posters in recommending 1000 cm2 foil for beginner-intermediates. I think 712 cm2 is too small for a beginner (in 2021) to comfortably learn and progress. Sure, you can do it, but it's not the best direction to take with the current state of kite foil knowledge.

I learned on a 707 cm2 wing (also marketed as "good for beginners" 2-3 years ago......now you can buy it at 50% off). When I switched to 960 cm2, things began to finally click. Now (at intermediate level), I use a 990 cm2 front wing. The larger foils make a huge positive difference in (1) progression of skills and (2) enjoyment of sessions. You may eventually go to a smaller foil for high wind or jumping sessions, but for basic light to medium wind sessions learning and progressing hydrofoil skills, 900-1000 cm2 seems to be the sweet spot (or, at least, the lower end of the sweet spot). :thumb:
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby elguapo » Tue May 11, 2021 12:55 pm

i'll add...

whatever setup you use.. try to have a 'more' experienced person check it out for you...

i learned on original infinity split board attached a foil that needed to be shimmed (resulted in a center of balance was WAY edit:backwards.... no matter how much foot pressure i applied.. foil kept wanting to porpoise out the water. just toooo much lift.
my aja moment came when someone simply suggested i remove the straps(ie yes, i can move my fron foot forward)...and then showed me how to shim that rear wing.
i was literally up riding the that very moment.

it would have saved me many(many) wasted sessions and far too many spectacular crashes if i simply had someone take a look at my setup before i started trying to teach myself.


i never actually paid for lessons.. (i just watched a couple youtube videos)
but if i were trying to learn again. absolutely, i'd do the foil lessons.
much much less of a learning curve
Last edited by elguapo on Tue May 11, 2021 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby Indulang » Tue May 11, 2021 3:19 pm

Based on your feedback I've decided against that 712cm2 Gong foil. Thank you all for the inputs!

We've decided to buy the F-one ic6 950 foil from a local dealer.

Now, I'm wondering what would be appropriate board sizes for our weights - me (64kg) and my friend (80kg).

Also, what mast length would you suggest for us? We plan to foil only in sub 20kt winds with some chop and small waves (<1ft)

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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby tree » Thu May 20, 2021 2:35 am

Anybody have any experience with the F-one mirage 1000? Been kiting for about 20 years, thinking 95 cm mast. Decent place for a beginner to start?

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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby Flyboy » Thu May 20, 2021 5:21 am

Indulang wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 3:19 pm
Based on your feedback I've decided against that 712cm2 Gong foil. Thank you all for the inputs!

We've decided to buy the F-one ic6 950 foil from a local dealer.

Now, I'm wondering what would be appropriate board sizes for our weights - me (64kg) and my friend (80kg).

Also, what mast length would you suggest for us? We plan to foil only in sub 20kt winds with some chop and small waves (<1ft)
A lot of good advice already offered.

With regard to board size... & mast length: your goal is to ride the foil, not the board. A bigger board - ie. 140 cm or larger - makes the initial water start significantly easier when you are learning, but once you have decent ability to water start (which you can arrive at fairly quickly), there is no need for such a large board. However, it may still be worth it to get a 140 cm board to start, because it will likely make the first 10 - 20 sessions more successful.

As far as the mast is concerned, I would suggest starting with a "full-length" mast - which is to say 80cm - 90 cm. A short mast will make the first 3 or 4 sessions less intimidating, but ultimately you are aiming to ride the the foil & a longer mast actually makes that easier as it is less prone to coming out of the water & causing you to crash. The newer, larger wings on "surf foils" make learning significantly easier & make it less useful to start with short masts IMO.
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Re: Hydrofoil suggestions for beginners?

Postby aleks » Thu May 20, 2021 3:03 pm

Our shop in Toronto has great deal on last year Cabrinha foils:

https://www.silentsports.com/foiling/ki ... 5/kc20fo5/

https://www.silentsports.com/foiling/ki ... 5/kc20fo4/

https://www.silentsports.com/foiling/ki ... s/kc20fo1/

That is Canadian dollars, in USD it starts from around $400. Any of them would be great for beginners :D
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