What type of kites are you guys liking for foiling?

[plummet]

Just wondering what everyone is using. Would C and C ish kites work well?

No

ahahahahaha... Peters shortest response in the history of kiteforum!,.....

and.... he couldn't resist a long response either......

Peter, why do you say no? I have PL chargers which are C shape foils. i had intended to use them.

As I recall, the Chargers are quite user friendly in every way ?

Not prone to gusts, and has some depower, right ?

"Classic" C kites are bad, of two reasons IMO and experience seeing others getting into hydrofoiling:

These kites has the least amount of depower, of all types.
AND, they are not as efficient L/D as race or foil kites (that also has low amount of depower), so no chance of being rescued by this feature (meaning, you can just ride the kite higher to the wind in the window, to avoid getting overpowered)

Of course every kite can be used, and just use the ones you know the best, that is by far the most important.

Secondly, you ride on a hydrofoil with extremely light line load, which means the weight of the kite is essential.

And freestyle C kites are heavier (built to work and to last of course), so they will drop easy in the big sizes, in lulls.


Thus, IMO, high L/D kites even if lower depower, works well for the advanced.
But a wavekite, low L/D and bad lowend, but turns fast and max depower, is the best for learning

Later you can pick for yourself what you like.

If you have a kite with bad depower ability, you can use longer lines though, and take a tad smaller kite.

This is always a win-win (if you got the space to launch), as you can get going easy when dived or looped, and not be overpowered when parked
And in the lulls, it is easy to work the kite.
In extreme lulls, you have the option to save a swim to the beach, as you have much more room for downlooping and saving the kite.

Race kites are quite okay too, as they have high L/D and not the best but still okay depower, and they are light so will hang in extreme lulls also.

So, the reason why C kites are not the best, is because of their weight and lack of depower, as simple as that.

But no problem using these - but you asked if they would work well ?

And IMO, No, they wont work well - but no problem using these of course, just not ideal not for learning nor racing.

PF

[darippah]

Just wondering what everyone is using. Would C and C ish kites work well?

No

ahahahahaha... Peters shortest response in the history of kiteforum!,.....

I noticed that. Clearly his account has been hacked

[C Johnson]

I'm not a foiler but it seems like the locals I see foiling are either riding wave specific kites or race kites.

I've heard the wave kites are kinda nice in really light wind foiling since going downwind can be way harder than going upwind. A kite that drifts really well will stay in the air easier when you go downwind.

Because of this the two guys I know that do the most foiling both ride Cabrinha Drifters. Neither of them bother riding a kite larger than a 13m either.

[noahsw]

What are your thoughts on the Best Kahoona? I just started foiling and my wife is brand new into kiting. The Kahoona is a great learning kite but also has great relaunch for me in case I get stuck in light winds. Not sure how its weight compares to my Best TS though.

Thanks in advance!

[Do-it]

Ok. No c kites. Thanks what about a north rebel, or is this kite to heavy and grunty?

[davesails7]

Ok. No c kites. Thanks what about a north rebel, or is this kite to heavy and grunty?

My 7m 2011 rebel and 9m 2012 Fuse did not work well for foiling. Loved these kites on twintip, but they could not handle the wind ranges where they were useful for foiling. They would fall out of the sky in the lulls and when you fall because they are too heavy. ozone edge is much lighter and works much better

[Do-it]

Ok. No c kites. Thanks what about a north rebel, or is this kite to heavy and grunty?

My 7m 2011 rebel and 9m 2012 Fuse did not work well for foiling. Loved these kites on twintip, but they could not handle the wind ranges where they were useful for foiling. They would fall out of the sky in the lulls and when you fall because they are too heavy. ozone edge is much lighter and works much better

Thanks Dave, That's what I thought, the rebels are heavy. I have a lot of kites but I don't think any will be good for foiling... which sucks, so, I'd have to invest in a new kite and an expensive ass foil board. Is it really worth it?

[Peter_Frank]

If we talk marginal winds, indeed the "heavier" kites are not perfect.

But for smaller kites you can use the Rebels (or the Kahoona even though it sits deeper) just fine

You will be able to use (if average weight) a 9-10m2 typical kite in 9-10 knots when you have learned.

The weight does not matter really, in that much wind, and more wind

Lack of depower is not "perfect" for beginners no, but dont overthink this - as you can use any kite just fine.
Put some longer lines or extensions on, so you are at say 25-30m (or even longer), and the depower issue dont exist anymore, and they work just great

The ONLY situation where it is an issue with the kite weight, is if using kites over 10m2 and normal linelengths - as here the kite will drop quite easy whenn not riding, and you will be overpowered when you build up speed, as you can kite in less than 10 knots so no support when you dont ride, and the apparent wind (power-overpower) is huge.

You should not ride in spots where it is important to be able to relaunch, so not important either.
Even with superlight kites, you can often not relaunch anyways, so just be prepared for that - it comes with the "Hydrofoiling thing"

Use your current kites Kahoona and Rebels, no problem.
A tad or a lot longer lines, and not too big a size.
For the very first learning, use a bigger kite than usual, but when you get the hang of it, rig down.

The Rebel is quite high AR compared to some wave kites, so flies more forward which is good.
And its powerful stroke is also good for starting on the hydrofoil, and then park it for riding.
This way a good sized Rebel works awesome.
The Kahoona sits deeper, but has some depower, so with longer lines and the right size it will work fine too.
C kites will work great too, as long as we talk sizes under 12m2, and longer lines.

Sometimes "Internet" discussions tend to reach too far, as (I thought) the topic for this thread was what we liked and found "ideal".

Everything works, except for really big heavy kites, they are not used at all - good so one can save a lot of money.

I use a bomb-proof (heavy) 9m2 kite myself, in most conditions (78kg).
It turns really fast and has good depower though, but still a "normal" heavy kite.

Perfect sweet spot around 10 to 12 knots, and can go a bit lower and higher too no problem.

Ride with 22m lines normally (better for turning and riding waves and more practical), and in marginal or risk of big lulls if I ride far away/out, I use 29m lines (7m extensions).

I hardly ever use bigger "normal" heavy kites - even my 11m2 is hardly used anymore.
As the 9 is by far the most used (and the 7m2 the next most used), and I got the big foil kite for marginal wind 5-8 knots or something.

So use what "normal" kite you got, works fine - just dont use the big ones, and remember longer lines will to a high or full extent solve any lack of depower

PF

[ronnie]

In terms of kite size, it's interesting that Horue like the 17m Cloud for extreme light wind freestyle.

https://www.facebook.com/Horuefoil/phot ... =1&theater

The 17m Cloud does have a slightly lower bottom end than the 12m Cloud for foiling, but it seems it's hard to detect the difference in the wind.

http://boardridingmaui.com/cloudwritings-blog.html

[darippah]

Its pretty simple. If you like to go fast and/ or jump you get a chrono. If you just like cruise you get a BRM Cloud