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I am about to take the plunge into the world of hydrofoiling, 210lbs, Moses Silente, FR425 front wing. Wind range upto 18 knots.

There seems to be a potential for a few swims. My SLE kites are generally heavily built and not ideal for the hydrofoil. I am toying with the idea of an 8m Peak, or similar, to use during the learning phase. I am guessing that the Peak's flying and power characteristics would be similar-ish to my Ozone Access 10m. Any constructive observations on this idea!

Also, should a swim in be needed, would it be pheasable to do pack down a Peak 8m to get it small enough in the water to stuff it under an externally worn rash vest?

Apologies if this has been covered before!

The bag approach

Thanks Apollo4000.

That was a beautiful demo. Helped me visualise the likely scenarios that I will encounter.

Having seen this, a bag looks to be much the better answer whatever the kite.

(Of course a packdown would be more or less a last resort.)

There is a lot of info on the Peak 4 on other threads which you might find useful. I think the Peak 4's are amazing kites for certain styles of hydrofoiling, however I would not use them during the learning phase due to all the inevitable crashes and potential for dropping the kite. I would learn (at least the first few sessions) with whatever kites you have before deciding on foiling specific kites.

On the question of self rescue, Peaks pack down really small and stuffing into a small bag is a very viable option. Many double skins will hold air for quite a while and my get you in before having to be packed. It's a real pain having to pack one down due to the bulk and water in the cells and you don't want to be very far out if this happens.

Wind dropped the other day and while I managed to keep riding, the two foil kiters dropped their kites and had to self-rescue till we got the boat.

They both rolled up their kites (Ozone 13 and 9m) and put them on top of their boards, and swam for shore. I imagine a Peak would pack up a bit smaller...!

slowboat wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:20 am

...Peak 4's are amazing kites for certain styles of hydrofoiling, however I would not use them during the learning phase due to all the inevitable crashes and potential for dropping the kite. I would learn (at least the first few sessions) with whatever kites you have before deciding on foiling specific kites....

I agree with slowboat. I used my LEI kites for the first 12-15 sessions of my relatively short hydrofoil "career". Once I could reliably perform air jibes in both directions, I switched to foil kites. But in certain wind conditions (strong gusty winds), I still prefer an LEI.

For your learning stage, you'll want a kite that you can fly "blind" without having to think about it. You'll want to focus on your hydrofoil. body position and balance adjustments, not your kite.

I wear a strap with a plastic snap buckle around my waist (I wear a seat harness so it can't fall off). If I have to swim (or a long walk) I use the strap to wrap up the kite.

I purchased the large Walmart mesh laundry bag. It folds up small and fits great into the pocket on my PFD/Impact vest. I leave a small white tab of the bag sticking out of the pocket so all I do is reach over my shoulder to deploy from the tab when I'm ready. OK... I did a swim rescue last week and the bag worked perfectly. Follow everything as per the video above.
Is is fun? No. Not fun. But it's orderly and safe.

Here it is:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-La ... g/16206971

Peak4s are not the kite you want for learning..

They great for cruising around..and are best in hands of riders that don’t put their kites in the water.

Thanks for all the info much appreciated.

I will leave the idea of a Peak until I have dialled in enough foil control to start thinking of riding in light wind.

A mesh laundry bag is on order to supplement my spare leash and strap as it just makes sense.

I am sort of looking forward to seeing how the kite skills I have built up over years will withstand the rigours of a different style of crash. I learnt to landboard before I kitesurfed and have never really gone through a dropping the kite in the water phase. I guess it might be unavoidable with the chocolate box of fall types you can have from a foil that wants to shoot out of the water.

If I do get a Peak I will sort it out on my landboard before starting to foil with it.


Thanks again!