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Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

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downunder
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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby downunder » Wed Jun 27, 2018 4:34 am

Craz Z wrote:
Tue Jun 26, 2018 9:48 pm
downunder wrote: Re your back wing, it might be that your bolts are just not long enough (or thread on inserts in a fuse)? We have a lot of 316 here, they are cheap and I replaced it all.
I think the bolts are too long and need to shortened to clamp down harder. Do you know of any other way to attach the wing? You mentioned inserts I've never messed with composites and i'm kinda afraid of it. do you cut threads with a tap and then put in a insert like a helicoil? Also im kinda green on hardware we dont have a large selection of quality SS. I ended up on amazon and the only thing i could find was what was similar to the JNJ and its for putting furniture together, so I'm assuming they are crap plated junk too.

On the updated foil you have is the mast plate carbon or aluminum? and are the holes larger for countersunk normal size bolts like the name brand track boards? From the pictures the new one looks like several key upgrades but i can't tell much from the picture on their website. I like the fact you can remove the fuse from the mast makes storing and putting a cover on it way easier. And now it comes with a nice bag shoulda waited for this one i guess.

Also judging from the pictures it appears the new one doesn't use the sandwich nut and bolt just a bolt which would make all my loose wing issues go away. On mine I have to use 2 allen keys one on top and bottom of the wing and tighten it as tight as i can and it still wants to walk out even with loctite usually the opposite happens you want to lube the bolts so they don't seize haha.

Thanks Downunder!
I would suggest to put a semi hard foam between a wing and fuse, something like North NTT pads has under the heel which can be soft, medium or hard. Or even polyethylene plastic strip (from kitchen cutting board, thin it). Or rubber. That way its 'cushioned' for the tiny vibrations. Dunno, hard to tell. Clamping it super hard might damage the insert coz brass is 'soft' and SS is hard. If it is brass, you can probably tell. Sure, bolts can be too long as well. Measure the distance with a calipers, you'll than know for sure.

It is 'wobbling', which is causing this, I think. Maybe the way to reduce it would be a bigger surface area.

My foil has a tuttle. I'm not a fan of plates due to reasons mentioned.

Correct. It is one key operation. Not sure about the issues going away, if the surface area is small it will still wobble. Think of it as a rounded part (ball) on flat surface. The way to make it stable is to flatten the part or...

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby Craz Z » Wed Jun 27, 2018 4:59 pm

Wow thanks again Down Under!

Everything you mentioned makes perfect sense. I do think its vibrating alot I cant feel it but surely its happening. I will certainly put some kind of pad inbetween the wing and fuse. Like you said it would cushion and allow for more space in the hardware to clamp tighter hopefully isolating the vibrations. My version is a SS allen nut tube thingy and a allen bolt that sandwiches the assembly together both sides are countersunk no brass. :thumb:

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby Oats » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:55 am

Hello all!

I thought I would ask a quick question here to those who have tried them.... and would be forever grateful to anyone who has some input! I am fully intent on buying one of these foils at the end of the month along with a custom made board from the same company... but alas I had a couple of questions about the foils themselves from those who know much more than I. The questions I had were the following:

1. Which type of plate was the one from JNJ that broke quite easily? I was not able to follow so easily through the posts! Was it the plate seen in Option 1/2 or in 3? The plate in 1/2 appears to be quite shallow, but possibly more reliable since it is made of fiberglass (can flex a little bit better if it had some force on it).

2. For Option 3, I believe this is the plate type that will need to glued to the mast by myself or the factory, correct?

The sales rep at JNJ mentioned that option 3 was the better way to go in terms of strength, but I do not necessarily know his own interests or if this plate type is a problem.

3. The final question: Does the front wing of option 3, with the screws coming through the fuselage, raise any eyebrows in terms of performance / durability?

Thank you for reading and sorry for the long post! :D :D . I hope everyone is getting some awesome riding in. Will post with info when I receive mine as well!

Option 1/2 (Different companies, pretty much the same foil):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Carbon- ... autifyAB=0
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/produc ... 6e0cck5Zp9

Option 3:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/produc ... 6e0cNYHtwQ

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby downunder » Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:48 pm

Ah well,

I have found issues after taking it for a ride...

The fuselage cracked on 4 places in mast slot. Yep.

The mast cracked near the brass insert.

Not happy....I do know how to fix a fuse, but the mast is a bit more complicated.

Anyways, today I’ve seen a MikesLab prototype. Unbelievable piece of equipment...

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby juandesooka » Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:57 pm

A bring forward from this massively long thread, a year or two later.

My Takuma clone (Chakuma) is still going strong. Though I am likely selling it soon, as I have since gained a slingshot H4 / batwing. Still need to test it out to ensure I am happy with the performance.

A buddy just bought what appears to be a copy of Naish Thrust. Initial testing seems to be solid, good quality, works fine. Probably another clone, versus a knock-off -- with the difference being an unbranded version of the same production foil, rather than an imitation.

Reports of the China foils seems to show quality is highly variable. Not surprising! I think the best risk avoidance is to only buy from a seller after getting a positive first-hand report from another buyer.

However, I suspect the cheap Chinese knock off market has died off for many of the bargain hunters. With the foil industry maturing (especially for SUP/surf foils), there's a lot more availability out there for mid-range products and also former high-end products now on sale used for a nice price. For example, the bigger US shops have recently had last year's Naish Thrust on sale for as low as $850us with free shipping. My Chakuma was $450 with $200 shipping ... while I may not be keen to pay an extra $1000 for a brand name, I'd quite happily pay an extra $150-200 to avoid the risk and also have something easier to resell when the time comes.

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby Craz Z » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:24 pm

Oats wrote: 1. Which type of plate was the one from JNJ that broke quite easily? I was not able to follow so easily through the posts! Was it the plate seen in Option 1/2 or in 3? The plate in 1/2 appears to be quite shallow, but possibly more reliable since it is made of fiberglass (can flex a little bit better if it had some force on it).

2. For Option 3, I believe this is the plate type that will need to glued to the mast by myself or the factory, correct?

The sales rep at JNJ mentioned that option 3 was the better way to go in terms of strength, but I do not necessarily know his own interests or if this plate type is a problem.

3. The final question: Does the front wing of option 3, with the screws coming through the fuselage, raise any eyebrows in terms of performance / durability?

Thank you for reading and sorry for the long post! . I hope everyone is getting some awesome riding in. Will post with info when I receive mine as well!
1. The glue on mast plate is the one i have and the one that will break if u jump it.
2. I asked jason repeatedly over and over and over and over to glue it on for me. Finally he did and sent me a picture of it before shipping.
3. Performance and durabilty is not an issue with the screws you wont notice if it is happening. HOWEVER MAKE SURE YOU LOCTITE THEM DOWN and check tightness before every ride. Once the loctite sets up its permanent and i just do a little wiggle test to make sure they arent backing out. I lost my rear wing from not doing that. Judging by downunders post the screwed in FUSELAGE didnt work out to well. I was thinking of getting the one he has as a backup not now.

After a Season of using this foil I'm happy for what it is. I will not nor have jumped it as it will surely break. I have name brands for jumping when the conditions are good. I really do enjoy the ride on this foil its super fast at a good price. I use it mostly for long distance tours of our larger lakes. it turns quickly and is smooth and fun to ride.

The prices have come up some since last year and if I was in the market today i'd keep an eye on new or used ghostwhisper/moses or another name brand unit. I suffered a rear wing loss from the hardware early on and have loctited the bolts permanently and have had zero issues since. if your new or getting the foil thing down Its still a awesome value to reduce the weight and go carbon with this setup.

Once you get dialed in i think its time to pay the man or the actually the brand of your choice.

With all foils especially with carbon if you hit something they break if you jump and come down wrong they can break or blow the track bars right out of the board. I have seen some new gadgets for tethering your foil in case it breaks. Doesn't work on fuse or wings tho.

Downunder What happened? did u jump, hit something or did it crack out the inserts on a normal ride?
Last edited by Craz Z on Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby Craz Z » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:33 pm

juandesooka wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:57 pm

Reports of the China foils seems to show quality is highly variable. Not surprising! I think the best risk avoidance is to only buy from a seller after getting a positive first-hand report from another buyer.

However, I suspect the cheap Chinese knock off market has died off for many of the bargain hunters. With the foil industry maturing (especially for SUP/surf foils), there's a lot more availability out there for mid-range products and also former high-end products now on sale used for a nice price. For example, the bigger US shops have recently had last year's Naish Thrust on sale for as low as $850us with free shipping. My Chakuma was $450 with $200 shipping ... while I may not be keen to pay an extra $1000 for a brand name, I'd quite happily pay an extra $150-200 to avoid the risk and also have something easier to resell when the time comes.
YUP my sentiments are exactly the same as yours. Last year was the peak and now the deals are everywhere out there even the GW has come down to a reasonable level.

Its mindblowing how quickly it changed inside of 3 years it went from bargain basement foils going for a grand plus to now you get highend completely out of my price range super carbons going at that price. This knockoff market will certainly die quick it takes a month to get it or longer and parts are a nightmare to get.

Still happy with what i got and really stoked that I dived so deep in foiling. FOILING totally changed my aspect and attitude on kiting in shitty conditions. :thumb:

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby juandesooka » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:55 pm

Craz Z wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:33 pm


YUP my sentiments are exactly the same as yours. Last year was the peak and now the deals are everywhere out there even the GW has come down to a reasonable level.

Its mindblowing how quickly it changed inside of 3 years it went from bargain basement foils going for a grand plus to now you get highend completely out of my price range super carbons going at that price. This knockoff market will certainly die quick it takes a month to get it or longer and parts are a nightmare to get.

Still happy with what i got and really stoked that I dived so deep in foiling. FOILING totally changed my aspect and attitude on kiting in shitty conditions. :thumb:
Agreed on diving deep, goiling has been such a pleasant surprise. This year I am somewhat embarrassed to admit how much I've come to enjoy foiling in "good" conditions too -- by good I mean high wind with greatly rolling swells, which would be fun for both twintip and surfboard, but also amazing for carving with the foil. :thumb: I still draw the line at waves, though, if there are breaking waves to ride, I am on the surfboard, full stop. 8)

And back to the thread.....also agree about the deals. 3-4 years ago it was all about high end carbon race foils or cheap POS "beginner" foils ... now there's an abundance of free ride middle options. It's a good time to be a foil shopper.

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Re: Chinese KB Hydrofoil : 300 USD + shipment

Postby dericcio2 » Sun Sep 08, 2019 3:40 pm

:-?


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