Hydrofoil board for beginner, cheaper VS expensive

[juandesooka]

I am a fan of starting inexpensive to learn and test the waters. Buy a used complete package with low or medium aspect wings. Then if you like it and want to advance, you can sell the used package for pretty much what you paid for it to the next learner, and then upgrade to as fancy a long term model as you like and can afford.

The learning curve seems to vary from a horrendous process of dozens of miserable sessions, to those who get the basics in a half hour and have base competency in their 2nd session. With this much variation, it is difficult to get good advice on here, as it depends on where in this spectrum both you and the adviser fall. I think I was in the middle somewhere, learned behind my boat, hated first couple sessions, then started getting it (especially once learned to start SLOW Something I observed: a friend recently got the slingshot 3 mast flight school option (used, relatively cheap), and he was up and riding on the first session without any trouble, on 15" mast. Graduated to 24" mast after maybe 3 sessions. Then maybe another 5-6 graduated to full 35" mast. He didn't have the misery I have seen others go through, so it may be something to consider.

[Kitemanmuc]

Get a board that can take you from beginner to advanced. Everyone buys a beginner board and then after 2 hours of foiling they wish they didnt spend money on a beginner board.

I recommend a moses. You can get a t40 board, fluente mast and a 548 wing to start. Will take you from beginner to advanced!
If you want a review of the Moses gear take a look here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80SF00u ... KMZtuhAR3o

[tegirinenashi]

...Everyone buys a beginner board and then after 2 hours of foiling they wish they didnt spend money on a beginner board.

I recommend a moses. You can get a t40 board...

Yeah, right, solid advice. Get T40 board, and after 2 hours of foiling wish it had mounting tracks, like virtually every not-so-premium board has.

[sedluk]

I would buy something with a durable wing to start with, G10 wing ect.. and aluminum mast. Get to the point where you are not running aground and then buy a nice carbon setup. The nicer setups are easier to ride, something like a Ketos FR2 or Levitaz or many others. I would skip the short mast, they can have their usefulness in shallow circumstances but I did not find them useful at all for learning and much prefer a 90cm+ mast.

[Kamikuza]

Axis Ride and the aluminum foil. Easy to ride and no bad habits. And light for aluminum. They offer a 60 or 70cm mast too.

[Foil]

I can only give you my experience, and warn you to be carefull as the wrong choice may cost you a lot of cash and frustration from early on.
Remember as a newbie you will hit the bottom a lot, carbon wings will not take the abuse, and damaged wings will cavitate and chuck you off before you know what's happening, replacing them hurts just as much as a good fast face plant.
I Started off with the slingshot school set up on the special offer alien board, 3 alli masts, very robust wing and stabizer and all quite heavy, but hay ho, I never damaged anything and I hit the bottom countless times, yes it was a pain lugging it out long walking distances and back again but it did the job of getting me up and ready for the dream gear, but there was a sting in the tail of this decision.
The good points were as I mentioned, durability, which made the gear easy to sell on as it was undamaged, in fact I sold it on the first day I was able to foil both ways for a good distance on the tall mast. I lost about £200 on the full set up, good deal, I was happy.
I was now ready (or so I thought)for my dream board, a new super lightweight Moses with 91cm carbon mast, then reality hit me, It was like starting all over, I had a hard time getting up and foiling on such a lively advanced set up, it was so hard compared to my every so easy slingshot gear, and the carbon wings were so fragile, and I was so bad at keeping them off the bottom, I needed new wings within weeks, but would I change the way I approached the sport? Absolutely Not!
The Moses gear is so sexy to even look at I have a full length mast polished up and on show in my house, it's a work of art!
I now have the carbon t60 board and wish I had started out on it as it offers better pop up after touching down.
Where I sail I sometimes have to walk a long way to the water, the Lightweight carbon gear makes this so easy, resting the whole rig on my shoulder without a problem for a very long walk.

[juandesooka]

I was now ready (or so I thought)for my dream board, a new super lightweight Moses with 91cm carbon mast, then reality hit me, It was like starting all over, I had a hard time getting up and foiling on such a lively advanced set up, it was so hard compared to my every so easy slingshot gear, and the carbon wings were so fragile, and I was so bad at keeping them off the bottom, I needed new wings within weeks, but would I change the way I approached the sport? Absolutely Not!

Your progression seems sensible to me. You basically rented a cheaper intro set up for learning. Worked out to maybe 10-20pounds per session?

For a new learner, what might be helpful to know -- you said you felt like you were starting over when you went with Moses, it was so different. Do you think that if you'd started right at the beginning with your Moses that it would have made your initial learning more difficult or more frustrating? Or maybe the key question: if you could do it over again, would you have gone with the slingshot flight school baby steps approach, or jumped right into the ferrari for learning?

For me, I jumped from original carafino as low aspect as it gets to a stringy mid-aspect ... and the first few sessions were super difficult, felt like forgot how to foil. But I am confident that knowing the basics first was helpful in advancing. If I ever try high aspect wings, I am sure it will be the same transition.

[edt]

I like the liquid force beginner setup a lot. I'm still a beginner but I'm doing jumps and tricks and screaming 25mph over sandbars. One time I slammed a sandbar at speed, I did a cartwheel, the foil did a cartwheel, I was for sure that everything had snapped in half, but it was all intact. I think I've hit bottom a hundred times so far at least and while the foil looks like someone has taken a sandblaster to it, everything still works. I've heard that slingshot is also pretty durable but I know for sure that this liquid force beginner setup won't snap in two just because you crash into the bottom at speed. For me at least since I am so hard on my gear (my kites never last more than 2 years before they are tissue paper) durability is my #1 concern and I've been happy with my happy foil setup. Buying a carbon setup would be sick as hell as foils have a huge swing weight under you when you boost and do tricks, but I'm sure I would shatter it before I finished paying for it. I've been foiling all this year but still consider myself a beginner and while I am itching to upgrade, I'm really not ready yet. Next year is my target for buying a carbon mast, carbon foil and new board (I have plans to build my own board).

The great thing about foils is you don't have to upgrade it all at once. You can upgrade the board, the mast, the tail, the wing, all separately as you desire and mix and match. You have to be a little careful about mixing and matching so everything mounts correctly that's all and might need to drill a hole or two that's all.

[revhed]

Remember as a newbie you will hit the bottom a lot

Not if you have even half a brain!
Rule number one for KBHF, DO NOT BOTTOM OUT, PERIOD!
There is no need to ever do this! With the exception of wave foilers taking the risk flying close in, but they should be aware if they are good enough to play there!
RH

[revhed]

I think I've hit bottom a hundred times

Why?
R H