Advice for a jedi apprentice

[themacu]

Hello
I have just started learning how to foil with a custom race foil I was so lucky to get my hands on and now after weeks of practising and falling I have come across a problem: the weather in south of France is very unstable which means there are strong winds followed by weeks of light wind and that takes away all the possible times I would like to be practising. With strong winds and big waves it is very complicated but I still go to get experience and I use an inflatable 7m2 Fone kite I used trick around with. And with lighter or more medium winds I have same series 12m^2.

My question is if I should buy a ram air kite to extend my practise possibility range. Do I need another kite? What are your opinions of F One Diablo 4?
I like to jump around and surf waves but I am also very competitive and would like to compete in races in the future.

Thank you in advance for your help,
Lots of wind and waves
Marcus
<3

[foilholio]

The Diablo is a High AR kite, so for racing that is good, for jumping that is good, for surf that is hard. If you like to surf waves why are you starting on a race hydrofoil? Gear is becoming quite defined. If you want to jump and surf look at mid AR kites, like A15, Pulsion, Hyperlink. For surf the single skin kites are becoming popular like Peak 4, Firefly, Marabou. I recommend light fabric option with hydrofoil.

[themacu]

Thank you for your answer.
So to specify, I use that foil because it was given to me as a gift and buying another would be too expensive. I am learning on it as much as I can and even if it is not the best for waves it still works . I think thanks to you I can see more clearly now I just need to practice more and more and see in the future exactly what kite I need when I know better where improvements in gear should be done.

However, this has lead me to a further question:
What modifications could I do to my bar which is a 2016 F one normal kitesurfing bar. Asking this to improve current gear and performance and to improve my capabilities of learning. Do you have any other tricks for tips?
Thank you very much in advance.

[TomW]

Marcus,

There are guys up here racing hydrofoils on lei kites. They have good techniques and don't fall off, can do all gybes and tacks. They do well without racing foil kites.
It sounds like you are on a limited budget, so I would stick to your lei kites and have 7-9-12 kites to learn Hydrofoiling to top level.
Once you reach the level of flying gybes, tacks and footswitch without falling on 10km race, then a foil kite will allow you to be competitive in Upper level.
If you are not racing, lei kites with 3 strut work great. Save your money.
( I am only Freeriding and use Hyperlinks, 13-9-7m, but if I was on tighter budget would stick with lei kites)

[slingshotucf]

A used surf foil would probably be cheaper than a used foil kite. Plus you should't need a bigger kite than a 12 if you have a surf foil.