Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Dwarfcraft 3'6" vs Groove Skate

A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
caps
Medium Poster
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:28 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 6 times

Dwarfcraft 3'6" vs Groove Skate

Postby caps » Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:35 pm

Anyone out there that has ridden both and can compare the two? I’m an intermediate that rides on foil most of the time, working on tacks, 360s, 180s and jumps. I have a ss gw 633 setup arriving soon. SS is my local brand but curious how the Groove compares considering all the hype on this forum. I currently ride a 2016 SS Alien Air with HG foil. It’s time to lighten up. I’m leaning to stay local with the smaller dwarfcraft.

Cheers!

grigorib
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4147
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:12 pm
Kiting since: 2009
Local Beach: OBX; Clinton Lake, IL; Lake Michigan; Hood River; La Ventana; Ocean Park, PR; SPI; Tawas, MI
Gear: Kites: Slingshot Rally 5/7/9/11m, Turbine 9/13m, SST 4/5m, UFO 3/5/7/9m, Flysurfer Speed4 10m standard, Flysurfer 2cool 6m, Peter Lynn Venom II ARC 16m

Boards: Spleene RIP 37, Flysurfer Radical6 138, Flysurfer Flydoor5 XL, Slingshot/Moses/RDB 70/90/101cm masts with 1200/860/800/730/600 kitefoil or 2200/1700/1400 wingfoil wings and 310/230/425 stabilizers, Naish MicroChip 80cm, 36" Woody, Slingshot Dwarfcraft Micro 100, MBS Comp 95x

For sale: Slingshot Turbine 9/13m, 20” Guardian bar, 1700 sq.cm wing/fuselage/stabilizer fitting Moses mast
.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 461 times
Been thanked: 691 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby grigorib » Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:53 pm

Ask Eric how he feels about the 633 and 3’6” Dwarfcraft. Or Fred. Or bunch of others. I think you’ll want to burn the Alien Air at stake once you’re on the small DC....
Not as much nose scoop rocker as AA but with 633 you won’t be touching water much either

I’d love to try the Groove but looking at the cost and the queue to get one I’d rather wait for the DC micro or get a Kanaha 37”

salvino
Frequent Poster
Posts: 323
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:16 pm
Local Beach: Eastern end of Lake Erie
Favorite Beaches: Barbados
Hatteras
Lakes Erie and Ontario
Gear: Stallion SB
Moses 633,590,500 HF
Temavento board
Grooveskate board
Airush Ultra, North Neo 5,7,9
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: buffalo, ny
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby salvino » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:07 am

I do think that these pocket boards have so much to offer. That, combined with a significant market of intermediate foilers looking to upgrade are going to overwhelm suppliers.

Select and order soon. Just sayin

grigorib
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4147
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:12 pm
Kiting since: 2009
Local Beach: OBX; Clinton Lake, IL; Lake Michigan; Hood River; La Ventana; Ocean Park, PR; SPI; Tawas, MI
Gear: Kites: Slingshot Rally 5/7/9/11m, Turbine 9/13m, SST 4/5m, UFO 3/5/7/9m, Flysurfer Speed4 10m standard, Flysurfer 2cool 6m, Peter Lynn Venom II ARC 16m

Boards: Spleene RIP 37, Flysurfer Radical6 138, Flysurfer Flydoor5 XL, Slingshot/Moses/RDB 70/90/101cm masts with 1200/860/800/730/600 kitefoil or 2200/1700/1400 wingfoil wings and 310/230/425 stabilizers, Naish MicroChip 80cm, 36" Woody, Slingshot Dwarfcraft Micro 100, MBS Comp 95x

For sale: Slingshot Turbine 9/13m, 20” Guardian bar, 1700 sq.cm wing/fuselage/stabilizer fitting Moses mast
.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 461 times
Been thanked: 691 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby grigorib » Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:23 am

salvino wrote:
Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:07 am
I do think that these pocket boards have so much to offer. That, combined with a significant market of intermediate foilers looking to upgrade are going to overwhelm suppliers.

Select and order soon. Just sayin
You’d expect suppliers to read the writing on the wall and kind of dump the unnecessarily complicated truck-sized horrors they’ve been offering for freeride so far. The

User avatar
junebug
Frequent Poster
Posts: 439
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:14 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Weight: 195 lbs
Style: Freeride Twintip, Strapless Foil
Gear: Rebels (6m, 8m, 11m, 13m)
Nobile NHP
Boxers (3.5m, 4m, 5m, 7m, 10m, 12m) (flat water)
Peak4s (3m, 4m, 5m, 6m) (waves)
Lift 150 v1 Surf front / 38 back (flat water)
Lift 170 v1 Surf front / 26 back (waves)
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 63 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby junebug » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:00 am

Any other pocket boards out there that people like? I’m leaning toward getting a SS micro, but, at 42 inches, I’m wondering if I won’t think it is too long in 6 months. I like what I’ve read about the Kanaha 37 inch, but I like adjustable tracks, and I don’t really want to pay $850 for a board without them.

Foil
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1447
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:44 pm
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 91kg
Local Beach: New Brighton near Liverpool. Open sea with big low tide deep lagoon
and regular at Rhosneigr and Newbrough on Anglesey
Favorite Beaches: New Brighton, Rhosneigr, Fleetwood, Newbrough, Blackrock sands
lake Como (Italy) El Medano
Style: kite foiler since 2017 Ttip since 2000
Gear: My rule to gear choice is "IF IT DONT BOOST ITS NO USE"
Groove Skates 110cm 2022 editions
kraken mast systems 103k and 93k.
Kraken fuse 703k
Duotone SLS Evo's -- 11mtr/9mtr/7mtr/6mtr/ 4mtr RRD.
Duotone 2022 click bars x2,my own custom made lines fitted,
(modified lines now available for the flite99 shod duotone bars)

Bar lines made up to any length in a choice of strengths, power lines, trim lines, pigtails, leader lines, bridal lines, elasticated lines, I make and fit them all, free fit and tune service,
quick turnaround,drop me a message, find me on messenger, Colin Moore.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 324 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby Foil » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:40 am

Just the look of the groove skate wins for me compared to the dwarf craft, there are 3 in regular use at my local spot, all different colours, mine is in fluro green, another is fluro orange and the other is in light grey, and the grey one looks a beast and the best, the grey and black contrast between the deck pads and carbon mast wings looks stunning.
Apart from looks it still amazes me in every respect, so easy to manage from car to the waters edge, weighs so little, the way it resists diving is amazing, it needs adjusting to as it feels very twitchy when you jump from a larger standard size board, but this translates to very fast, or slow tight turns.

There is one annoying bit about the board, the rails which are dark silver black, scratch up far too easily, and expose the white layer underneath, shame really but someone will share a cure for this I hope.ie like never rest it on its side unless the sand is fine soft sand.

caps
Medium Poster
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:28 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby caps » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:58 pm

Having not ridden a “pocket” board yet, the push to go increasingly smaller reminds me of the similar trend years ago when everyone pined for smaller and smaller twintips until the tide turned and it reversed course. For the forever intermediate foiler, what is the optimal “pocket” board length/width/volume/scoop/etc.? Time will tell! But in the meantime, I love the forever search for the ultimate gear in a sport with no equal in stokability!

oregonkiter
Frequent Poster
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 2:26 pm
Style: foil
Gear: Foil stuff
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 53 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby oregonkiter » Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:00 pm

I went from the AAir to the 36 DC and there is no going back. I got it because I got tired of wrestling the AAir into my hatchback... I am riding the SS 633 on a 105 cm GW mast in all wind conditions. So much easier to ride, lighter, less mass in front of you slowing everything down, easier to get into position on the water, much, much easier to waterstart with straps, hook(s), or strapless if you ever want (need) to do that. In general, if your goal is to stay on foil through all transitions (never touch down), then going smaller will be pure joy. If you want to do moves on the surface, you will have a lot less margin for error on the smaller boards. I just picked up a spare 2018 36DC as they are on sale prior to the 2019 36DC release which is identical except for color.

I am very interested in the upcoming Micro DC36, but if you ride a bigger wing like the 633, the mast needs to go ALL the way back. I need to see where they put the Micro track before I buy one. As per the image of the Micro on the SS site--which may or may not be the production final, it's 5cm ish forward of the regular 36DC which will not work for the 633 wing for me. It will work for the 590 wing very well, however.

In general, I feel like on a small board I now "ride the wing" vs "ride the board." Thus, smaller board-->better wing feel-->bigger hydrofoil sensation--->bigger smiles. Moreover, and much to my surprise, the smaller board felt EASIER from the very first reach. Case in point, my hyper-coordinated 19 year old son who has foiled maybe 20 sessions and was switching feet on-foil on session 3, already learned to sit on his board, doing tow-in with other kiters etc, thought my 36DC should be smaller for him. So, he picked up a free wake board, takes a saw to one end of it, cut it 6" shorter than my 36DC, Solarezed the cut end, sprayed Gorilla adhesive on the deck and stuck down a pad, drilled holes for his 633 mast and mounted with bolts from local hardware store. Size--tiny; Cost--$45. He loves it.

Lastly, get yourself a SS GW 91 setup. This has the 633 wing. Amazing wing. So fun!

User avatar
junebug
Frequent Poster
Posts: 439
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:14 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Weight: 195 lbs
Style: Freeride Twintip, Strapless Foil
Gear: Rebels (6m, 8m, 11m, 13m)
Nobile NHP
Boxers (3.5m, 4m, 5m, 7m, 10m, 12m) (flat water)
Peak4s (3m, 4m, 5m, 6m) (waves)
Lift 150 v1 Surf front / 38 back (flat water)
Lift 170 v1 Surf front / 26 back (waves)
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 63 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby junebug » Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:04 am

Bumping to see if anyone else has any other recommendations on a pocket board? I’m looking in the 100 cm-108cm range. I’ve looked at Groove skate, naish, dwarfcraft, j shapes, zeeko mini, and kanaha.

DAnderson
Medium Poster
Posts: 130
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2016 2:17 pm
Local Beach: SWFL
Gear: 14.5 A Flite
8/5 A Roam
18/12 soul 11/9 av8
15/9 s3
ha725/195
ML B3
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 20 times

Re: Dwarfcraft 3’6” vs Groove Skate

Postby DAnderson » Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:51 pm

An ongoing list I've compiled w/ the smaller ones bold if it's helpful.
Foil Boards.jpg
Board List


Return to “Hydrofoil”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: consumer and 156 guests