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What hydrofoil board to buy?

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coleman
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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby coleman » Thu Jun 29, 2017 9:41 pm

aftergetting fairly good on my alpine foil i had a go on my buddys foil fish, it was definitely not easy. i'd say those designs being beginner friendly is a myth. only thing friendly about it was the price.

the cabrinha looks to be the same . had another friend on one of those and he progressed slowly. then got a racey foil and progressed much more quickly

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tegirinenashi
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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby tegirinenashi » Thu Jun 29, 2017 9:48 pm

That's interesting, can you please elaborate what was "not easy"? With those plow wings beginner feels lift on much lower speed than with race wing. Lower speed is less scary. I can't possibly see how you can progress with something when you are scared letting it run at full speed.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby coleman » Thu Jun 29, 2017 10:06 pm

well, ill say this.....it took me literally 1.5 hours to learn to foil on my alpinefoil with xlp wing. yes its fairly fast, and yes full mast. lots of wipeouts but in an hour and a half i was foiling across our lake. both directions. even managed to get back downwind.

so id say it was beginner friendly. and for reference i am moderately skilled. above average id say but nothing crazy skill wise.

i could barely make the foil fish work. i absolutely hated it.

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tegirinenashi
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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby tegirinenashi » Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:40 pm

Think about it: fast wing is something that at low speed feels like no wing at all. And without wings the mast is just one giant rudder screwing with riders attempts to direct the board and get it moving. My first session was without wings (following Gunnar's advice) and it was absolutely horrible. As soon as I put wings, the foilboard become behaving much more nicely. Therefore, no, I don't take your word for it that learning on race board is somehow magically easier. And you specifically recommend alpinefoil featuring this idiotic sharp nose?

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby borist » Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:15 am

I'll give you the sharp nose, but calling alpine with XLP wing a race foil is a BIG stretch. It is a large wing that can be flown very slow and thanks to large wing span and the long fuselage it is very pitch and roll stable set up, unlike earlier LF. If you are used to an average race foil or Spitfire and jump on XLP, it will feel like riding in oil.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby tegirinenashi » Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:51 am

To quote coleman: "...then got a racey foil and progressed much more quickly..." vs. "my alpinefoil with xlp wing", which is a contradiction.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby BWD » Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:01 am

Alpine has long fuselage = more pitch stable = easier to learn.
Also has more refined wing shape I would bet. And they're carbon, less wiggling. Etc.

LF fuse shorter, wings = glass/plastic/whatever, therefoere harder I would theorize. Never tried one though. But if I did, it would also be hard for me as a novice to adapt to anything besides the foil I am used to.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby coleman » Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:55 am

tegirinenashi wrote:
Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:51 am
To quote coleman: "...then got a racey foil and progressed much more quickly..." vs. "my alpinefoil with xlp wing", which is a contradiction.

you misunderstood what i said. i said my other friend had the cabrinha double agent and he struggled. he improved slowly and did not like the foil. then he got a race foil and loves it. i dont own a race foil.

as to the speed issue, i like the alpine xlp wing for its low wind ability, low stall speed, and relatively high top speed. to give you an idea of its range of use i had a great time fully powered on an 11m edge, with the XLP wing in 20+ kts....i would have been happier on the higher aspect SPORT wing but i didnt feel like switching it out.


and yeah, seems like the pointy front nose is out of fashion. probably best too, but the alpine stability is amazing. incredibly easy to learn. had a friend who was on a foil fish and he borrowed mine one day. he came in, told me i was cheating and bought an alpine the next week.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby 14ToeSide » Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:01 am

+1 What Coleman says.

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Re: What hydrofoil board to buy?

Postby revhed » Fri Jun 30, 2017 9:12 am

Easy for me and MANY others to understand this idea.
The "late comers" LF and CAB for example, simply "thru" something cheap together to grab a piece of the fast growing KBHF market,
where as other MUCH older and established companies, zeeko, ketos, alpine for example, simply have done LOADS of real life R and D to have an advanced product, ENOUGH said!
Buyer beware, do your research, know the history of what you buy.
And no doubt a higher performance KBHF is easier to learn and progress with!
R H


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