Been a twintip rider for years and am just getting into foilboarding. Everyone is telling me that my foil kites will be no good for foilboarding because they fly too far forward in the window (etc). Is this true? I doubt it (and also don't want to believe it).
ok.. maybe they mean "for learning"?
if you are new, you will drop the kite, run into your lines, run under the kite a few times before your dial it..
having a tube kite for learning may be a good idea because of easier relaunch and water rescue..
Foil on foil and is arguably the best option in extremely low wind and certainly is the best for racing.
Also learning anything that requires lift from the kite is a lot easier on a foil kite (eg tacks).
Of course all kites have trade offs and they usually have potentially bigger problems with slack lines situations (easy to do on a foil going downwind/jibes/catching waves) and obviously potentially relaunch issues (although in sub 10 knots on flat water I would argue foil kites are a lot easier to relaunch as long as you did not bow tie the kite)
Usually people prefer lower aspect foil kites for generic freeriding eg soul or similar because they are easier to handle then the more high aspect kites eg sonic of vmg.
My only recommendation for your first sessions would be to go out in conditions where you can easily relaunch your kite since you are likely to crash it a few times regardless of kite skill.
As long as you can confidently relaunch it doesn’t really matter that much what type of kite it is IMHO.
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Been a twintip rider for years and am just getting into foilboarding. Everyone is telling me that my foil kites will be no good for foilboarding because they fly too far forward in the window (etc). Is this true? I doubt it (and also don't want to believe it).
I bet you can fly your kites without looking at them, you feel and know where it is and what it is doing, how it behaves and instinctly correct it..
it doesn't matter which sort of kite it is, use this (or these) kite(s) for learning to foil. you have your hands full with the hydrofoil, changing one parameter is the way to go.
If you're a big air foilkiter then take a smaller foilkite to learn otherwise start with the size in wind which you can ride the twin tip.
Gyre, Foil kites can offer incredible performance for foiling. Saying that LEI kites can also offer great performance for foiling. Deciding which option might be best for you can be down to many reasons. When pushing the light wind side of foiling typically the foil kites have the advantage. Like LEI kites, there are a range of designs in foil kites which cater to different riding style and performance characteristics.
Many riders use both foil kites and LEIs to hydrofoil. We use foil kites in light wind and LEIs in strong wind, although preferences vary. You won't need your 21m Soul for foilboarding, but a smaller foil kite (I use 10m Soul) is perfect for light wind foilboarding. The big foil kites deliver too much power once you're on the hydrofoil, unless you're racing on tiny wings.
ok.. maybe they mean "for learning"?
if you are new, you will drop the kite, run into your lines, run under the kite a few times before your dial it..
having a tube kite for learning may be a good idea because of easier relaunch and water rescue..
In all honesty, there's no reason to drop your kite a lot when learning ... assuming you are already a skilled kiter. Yes, you fall and screw up in a variety of exotic ways, but it's usually no problem to keep the kite in the air. The only issue is trying to learn to foil in too light wind - then you may end up dropping the kite a lot as you struggle to control the board/foil and forget to to maintain control of the kite. I think when you're learning it makes sense to stick with the kites you're used to ... and DON"T try going out in super light wind.