Learning to kitefoil

[MadDoggy]

Thanks all for the advice. I’m taking pointers for sure.

Related question, does the footstraps help you when foiling or just to position the board in prep for the water start. I didn’t find it that hard to keep the strapless board at my feet, even given the chop. The issue came when balancing in the board once already up. Do the straps/half hooks help you balance on the board while foiling or us it just airing in the water starts? Therefore if strains are just useful for water starts, I am inclined to just learn strapless.

As many have said, I wont waste my focus on trying to taxi now. Will just get on foil and practice balance.

[grtlakes]

Personal experience only.
I find the half strap saved a lot of time and energy holding the board in position prior to and during waterstart.
Also, once up on the board the “properly positioned” strap was an excellent tool to positioning the front foot. When learning having the correct foot position is priceless.
Now all you have to do is learn the foil. No wasted time in board position.
My best tips to learn foil is bend your knees and realize hip movements are required to point the board in the direction that allows the board to remain flat. Do not edge.
Once again have fun.

[Janus]

Like all say front strap(s) makes it a way easier, set them loose.
It is all very personal... I thought taxi ride was important too.. but only if you have a big board and faster foil..(what I had in the beginning)..
Witnessed my son getting up on a wave foil and pocket 118cm (in perfect wind conditions and choppy conditions, 10 kts with a Soul 12m) in one stroke to foil and dolphin ride 3 sinussen and of he went.. riding back and forth for more then half an hour .. wind picked up, 12-15kts changing to Peak4 5m et voila riding small waves and gibing on foil in one hour.. speechless we watched it on the beach.. took me more than a year.. it feels like surfing he commented.. (which he can)
So properly powerd with kites you can blindly handle is very important and an easy foil 1000 - 1200 cm wavefoil i suggest.

[Ian_NL]

You could also consider the 'Zandvoort strap' named after a Dutch beach where it's very populair among the foil kiters .
I tried full straps once, fell over and got scared by the forces on my knees because of this huge mast and foil connected to the board. Using the Zandvoort strap since then.

Makes positioning the board for the strapless waterstart as easy as with straps and once riding you have the real strapless experience. Once your ride you step out of the strap and because the strap is far forward on the board it will not interfere with your front foot.

See this topic https://hanglos.nl/news/355284/het-zand ... andje.html

[lederhosen]

You could also consider the 'Zandvoort strap' named after a Dutch beach with lots of foil kiters.

That’s a much nicer name than mono brow! It also has the advantage of not holding on to your foot when you fall.

[IWantToFly]

I found the foot strap to increase my foil time at least 3x when I was first learning just because it was so much quicker to start when I didn’t always loose my board and have to completely reset. I did come close to occasionally tweaking my ankle so you have to decide your risk tolerance.

Once riding it was much less important, but it did still help a little. I could pressure the edge of it, save an occasional slip, and carve a little easier because I could lift my toes against it (sort of like carving a snowboard). As I rode more strapless it became pretty unnecessary, but I definitely still use it a little while riding if it is there.

One note: I believe the half hook is dangerous and should not be used by a beginner. When you are learning to foil the board is going all the hell over the place and you are always trying to set it up right. Well that hook can and will hook your bar or lines at some point. One day it nearly caused my kite to death loop because of the way it caught my bar as was trying to get everything set up. I took it off that day and have never ridden with one again (even though I’m 99% sure it would be fine now as I have more practice controlling the board).

[Smeagle]

Now, I know everyone always says to learn to taxi first before trying to get up on foil. I reckon that would be good advice in calm water but I ride pretty rough ocean swell. I have a feeling it might be easier to go straight to foiling rather than trying to ride the constant ups and downs of large chop.

I heard this "taxi first" aproach too, before I started. And tried it for a long time.

But it was impossible for me, I couldn't taxi at all. Either nose dive "jump" out of water. Then a friend told me too ignore it and just get on the foil. That worked for me. Now that I can "balance" the foil I can taxi, too. But I still find it more difficult to get a solid balance when in "taxi"-mode.

Maybe a bigger board is needed? Is use the Gong Catch 4'8 (35l), my weight i 90kg.

- Oliver

[Nelis]

My vote is for VERY large frontstraps in the beginning. Only used during waterstart positioning. They make starting easier and actually allow to pull on them with your feet. Half straps don't really allow for that and they break very easily (they are too expensive for that). I used a very basic type of footstrap from Liquid Force a long time on very widest setting spanning 1 or 2 extra footstrap positions. They're harmless that way in a crash. You don't use them while riding at all. Lose them when you get into footswitches.

That 60cm fuse is quite short and twitchy on an Armie foil btw. A 70cm would be more stable and forgiving.

[Boston kiter]

Thanks all for the advice. I’m taking pointers for sure.

Related question, does the footstraps help you when foiling or just to position the board in prep for the water start. I didn’t find it that hard to keep the strapless board at my feet, even given the chop. The issue came when balancing in the board once already up. Do the straps/half hooks help you balance on the board while foiling or us it just airing in the water starts? Therefore if strains are just useful for water starts, I am inclined to just learn strapless.

As many have said, I wont waste my focus on trying to taxi now. Will just get on foil and practice balance.cra

Yes a front hook/strap helps tremendously IMO. It does a few things. I like that it keeps your front foot in the correct spot and you can now only have to focus on the position of your back foot. This makes foot positioning much less confusing. When learning start by keeping your back foot close to your front foot and gradually creep it back as you build confidence. Ease into it and you will have a much better experience, go in rambo style and you will have many crashes and bruises. Bulid as much speed as you can on the surface and slowly slide your foot back and try small flights at a time. Best tip I got when learning was to build speed first before flight, you will never have stability till you have speed , just like a plane you will be stalling if moving to slow.
.

[drsurf]

There are so many variables in learning to kitefoil and you will have to assess each one as it pertains to you.

Water and wind conditions depend on where you are but smooth water and 10-15 knots is preferable if you can find it.

You want a kite which relaunches easily and is easy to manage in the air. A single strut kite matched to your weight with just enough power to get you out of the water will be easiest. Once you're on the foil you lose the friction of the board and you need to feel in control of the foil and don't want too much power speeding you out of control.

A front strap definitely makes it easier in my experience as it will help you keep the board in position when starting. As Flyboy has stated, a snug fitting front strap so your foot doesn't go in very far will mean your foot will easily twist out of the strap in a crash. With your foot in too far it can jam in a twisting fall and break bones. If you come from a windsurf background you'll find the strap will give you a lot more leverage/control over the foil.

Definitely not a foot hook when learning. A crashing kite with slack lines will catch on the foot hook and when the kite relaunches it can turn the kite into an uncontrollable spinning beast dragging you into all the pointy bits of your foil

Choose a foil which has a surface area of 900 -1200 sq cm and is not high aspect. These type of foils will get you up at a relatively slow speed and not drop you suddenly as your speed decreases. A relatively long fuselage is better, and a short 60cm mast will make learning easier.

A low volume thin board will help when positioning yourself to start as it will not bob all over the place and will give you more grip on the water so you don't drift too much towards your kite. A board approximately 110-125 cm in length and not too narrow will also make learning easier.

I remember learning to kitefoil in the early days when it was mainly figure it out for yourself. It was challenging and the suggestions I've made above come from both bitter and positive experience