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Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby Adventure Logs » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:57 am

simple...music. To me foiling is how I relax lol. With good music it's like "dancing on the water" for me.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby consumer » Tue Jul 26, 2022 3:34 am

Yes you are right we are blessed here in San Francisco- we get a lot of wind. If I was faced with consistent wind in the 8-12mph range I may consider taking up foil kiting. That being said, kiting in light wind in the bay can be terrifying.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby Kamikuza » Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:13 am

Yes. Next question.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby Peter_Frank » Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:01 am

rnelias wrote:
Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:48 am
consumer wrote:
Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:34 am
Have you considered Wing foiling? It being so much more chill than kitesurfing is one of the main reasons why I switched sports. No longer have to worry about:

1) flukey wind conditions
2) launch having enough space and being clear of beach goers /dogs
3) where I'll end up downwind
4) running my foil through the lines during a yardsale
5) foil hitting me (95% reduction).
6) longevity of gear

Also winging you add a dimension of wave riding that is unparalleled to any other form of wave riding.
how many days/year on your local spot wind is above 14k?

I've already thought about trying winging but 1) gear is huge and heavy to carry and 2) it's not a foil discipline for winds sub 14 knots. You may argue that there are huge wings and foils for light wind but I don't think it would be relaxing to pump two huge wings to mown the law at 15kph at most :lol: :lol: :lol:

Btw, today I had a very relaxing kite foiling session in 9-11k :thumb:

Agree, below 14 knots wingfoil is not interesting if you can kitefoil.

But the OP asked about 18-28 knots of wind and swell/chop, if it can be relaxing :D


Disagree with some of consumers 1-6 points:

1) flukey wind conditions
Is a lot better for kitefoiling, as you can almost always ride in lulls, or loop yourself ashore - where you are parked for good if a tad too light for wingfoil.
But if you think about winds where it dies almost fully (less than 2 knots but how often does that happen?) you are right, you can swim ashore on your wingfoil

2) launch having enough space and being clear of beach goers /dogs
True.
3) where I'll end up downwind
Dont understand that one...Assume you mean if wind dies fully.
4) running my foil through the lines during a yardsale
The risk of damaging your wing is much bigger than any damage/problems with kitefoiling.
5) foil hitting me (95% reduction).
??? I will say the risk of a bigger board and heavier wingfoil will hit you a lot more when you walk out/in through the break, whereas with kitefoil you hardly never get hit by the foil.
6) longevity of gear
Why should it last longer than kitefoil gear? Cant see any reason for that, actually a higher risk of damaging your wing if board tumbles into it in waves.

8) Peter
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby ieism » Tue Jul 26, 2022 11:36 am

You're not alone. Above 25 knots or choppy sea I'm not riding good and crashing a lot more. The kite becomes a lot more work to handle, as winds are often gusty at my local spots. Im more likely to choose the wrong sized kite.
I think the problem is, where I live the wind is often light so I'm pretty good at that. My smallest Peak only gets used twice a year, so I can never get used to it properly.

For me a perfect day is sunny, clean swell and 12 to 14 knots.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby leeuwen » Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:10 pm

Gear can help to some extend:
Riding a >100cm mast and you don't care about chop.
A bar with a good amount of bar throw and a kite that depowers well helps to soak up gusts.
e.g. my bar is setup with about 75cm of bar throw and that is basically like pulling the safety when fully sheeting out.

Other then this you can get used to most things by exposure.
I am sure there are moments that it is pretty much impossible to ride due to sea conditions when waves get very steep and/or impossible shore break.
However, some chop and swell doesn't bother me to much.
At some point going up and down with the board to match the swell just becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby 1234567Simon » Tue Jul 26, 2022 1:23 pm

👍👍👍
Thanks a Lot to all,

Looks Like my Feelings of Not relaxing Sessions will get lost with some 200 hours extra on the Foil...

Thanks to those of you, that Share my Experience.
Thanks to those of you telling me, it will get more relaxing.

The Kitespot was Sotavento on Fuerteventura.
So pretty special and not an easy Spot.


And yes, after changing from 85cm to 100cm everything got better....
Bar throw is 53cm.... Longer is Not comfortable with my short arms, as it would get hard to reach the bar (Infexion QR ist great!! and Seat harness helps a Lot)

Winging right now is not an Option😁

Thanks a Lot!!

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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby Kamikuza » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:18 pm

18 to 28 is the gravy. We get the big swell on the lake and I can use 6m kite and a small wing, and blast and carve everything.

Dunno if I'd call that relaxing ... but it can be I guess, if I slow down and just noodle.

I'd rather be excited though. Get plenty of relaxing <18knot days to relax about in.

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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby RadDrDuke » Tue Jul 26, 2022 4:41 pm

consumer wrote:
Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:34 am
Have you considered Wing foiling? It being so much more chill than kitesurfing is one of the main reasons why I switched sports. No longer have to worry about:

1) flukey wind conditions
2) launch having enough space and being clear of beach goers /dogs
3) where I'll end up downwind
4) running my foil through the lines during a yardsale
5) foil hitting me (95% reduction).
6) longevity of gear

Also winging you add a dimension of wave riding that is unparalleled to any other form of wave riding.
Agree completely, I almost never kitefoil anymore even though it's awesome, winging is just better and absolutely fantastic for riding waves. I was winging in mid-teens wind just this morning carving waves starting hundreds of yards out in the ocean with the wing flagged out doing literally 1-2 dozen turns/cutbacks flying like a pelican having an incredible surf experience only possible with wingfoiling. And we are talking 1-3 foot Florida swell often not even breaking.

Also once you get the proper gear/technique I can now wing in 8 knots and have a blast. Definite would rather wing in high-winds also compared to kitefoil although that's usually when I just use a TT or surfboard with the kite.
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Re: Will Kite Foiling ever be relaxing?

Postby drsurf » Tue Jul 26, 2022 4:55 pm

With time and the right equipment kitefoiling is extremely relaxing. If the wind is completely ridiculous with 10 knot plus variations then no wind sport will be relaxing but with reasonable wind, enough experience, a good foil and a range of kites suited to foiling it can be quite meditative.

It may help to try a range of equipment to find out what works best for you in a range of conditions as some foils breach badly, your mast may be too short for chop, your foil may be too big or too small or your kite may be the wrong size or type. Getting all these things sorted comes with experience and trial & error and you'll know when it's right because your hair will be dry at the end of a session and you'll feel like you hardly exercised at all. In fact relaxing kitefoiling may even reduce your fitness :lol: So you may want try challenge yourself at times.

I ended up finding the most relaxing combo for me was a good quality 1000 sq cm surf foil on a 90cm mast with a selection of Flysurfer Peak kites to cover from 6-8 knots to 30 knots. With a small Peak kite I can get a bit more exercise by drifting the kite downwind and pumping onto waves/swell/wind chop. The fun never ends :D


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