Belt/Waist leash highly recommended!

[Peter_Frank]

Agree, body weight + 10 litre is hard the first times, but possible.

And when learned, eventhough you CAN go small when windy, you will still love having the size when wind backs off and you have to stand up rescuing yourself to shore.

So one size you can use while learning, and later

When learning you should ride a bit too powered anyways, much easier.
Dont go out when its low winds, on a small board, when learning.

For very beginners, body weight + 30 litres is by far the easiest, though, if one had the option.

But you will catch it very fast so using + 10 litres is quite possible also, and you dont need to change board later.

You might of course end up having two boards, + 10 litres and a smaller one for really windy days or with more stable winds.

Peter

[bragnouff]

...
I know a bigger board is less fun to ride than a smaller board, but being able to paddle back in would give me the confidence to ride some nice waves that are a bit farther out than my preferred swimming distance.
...

When you say paddling back in, I assume you mean prone paddling. Lying down on the board and paddling with your arms, like a surfer. As opposed to SUP paddling, standing up and using a paddle, which requires a lot of stability.
For prone paddling, I don't think it makes that much a difference whether your board has -20L or +40L relative to your weight, it will still float you comfortably. And your ability to paddle in will be essentially affected by extreme width preventing a good arms movement, and short stubby board shape which is not optimal for non planning displacement. As an extreme case, considering equal volume, a 5'0 by 32" would be a pain to paddle in, compared to a 6'5" by 28"


On another note, more on topic, I'm using a surf coiled surf leash that I attach to a webbing belt (the ones that Ozone ships with every kite). This gives the advantage of being able to "handle pass" the leash around the belt if you're ever wrapped in the leash after a fall, and it allows easy clipping/unclipping of the buckle for entering/exiting the water.

[Glice227]

Hi, does "body weight" include the foil and board weight as well? Most set-ups are over 10 kilos...Thanks!

[Peter_Frank]

Hi, does "body weight" include the foil and board weight as well? Most set-ups are over 10 kilos...Thanks!

No, it is rider weight.

Meaning, for most in lighter winds, your body weight + 10 litres as a board size, works fine.

Eventhough foil + board + suit exceed the 10 litres (10 kg)

It would sink a tad if you did not move forward, but it works just fine and feels good/easy when you have learned.
IMO needed, minimum size, for riding back home non foiling when the wind drops a lot.

For initial learning if you want it easy, +20 to 30 litres is by far the easiest the first times out.

When learned you can of course go down to much smaller sizes that sink, especially if windy.

But rider weight + 10 litres is a very good target in my experience, and you can also start with this size for learning, if you are a bit skilled.

Peter