Hey Guys,
I've been reading these threads and everyone seems to stop the foiling at around 100 Kg.
With some talking to people, I've been advised that 195CM and 125 Kg "You're not designed for foiling."
I will break masts and wings when I breach/jump etc.
So my questions are
Is this true ?
Who out there at this size has foiled (successfully or not) ?
What size/brand/model did you find the best for the various stages ?
I'm looking to go out on the 10-15 knot days and cover some serious distances, where self recovery would take an extended time.
Currently I'm looking at axis, slingshot and Naish gear
Go for it but don't jump the Surf Sup size wings.
maybe go for a mid sized wing and settle for building a little speed before takeoff.
In Zeeko terms the Bullet with 950 Carver wing would be great.
The Blaster ( currently under a g) would also be great and jump able.
The XXLW Spitfire would suit but no jumping on that.
Someone reply who has learnt TO FOIL at 125- 135 kgs .
looking for experience of learning compered to the 85kg guy.
we all know the gear will bust but what about the rest of it....
Balls. I'm a few inches shorter but about as heavy. When the 60kg guys on surfboards can't get away from the beach on 12m kites, I can rock upwind on a 10m without effort.
I've had Liquid Foil Fun Fish, Slingshot HoverGlide, Axis kite foil and now Axis S-series 148 Ride board and the Surf carrot, and the 72 and 82cm S-series wings.
My current setup is Axis 75cm mast and 82cm wing, with the new Surf carrot or Ride 48 for 10 knots or less. The lake is shallow, and I prefer the crispness of the shorter mast over the 90cm one I have. Tempted to cut it down to 82cm though...
I've ridden three different Naish foils and board, three SS boards and HG foil, Cabrinha DA and the latest Carve, Alpine Access IIRC, a few Axis wings and probably others I can't remember.
You get what you pay for.
The Axis masts are the most rigid, no question, and tough ... and I know because I'm impatient, lazy and really hard on gear. I destroyed the unbreakable Fun Foil board, and continually bent the 1 inch thick fuselage running into the shallows while learning. I've run into the shallows mid-gybe on the Axis board hard and fast enough to twist the bottom of the mast microscopy (now 1mm offset, only person in the world to do that :D ) but the board is undamaged. Unlike the Naish or SS boards that cracked around the boxes
I found the SS way too heavy. The moment I picked up the Axis gear I knew I had to sell the SS. The Axis S-series foils are a tad heavier, but still not as bad.
Low aspect big wings like the Naish Surf or the Cab Carve are too roll twitchy for me; I prefer a little stability and the higher AR wings seem to offer that, with no loss of fun in waves.
So it depends what you want to do. I tried jumping for a while, but the weight of the foil gear hanging off my feet put me off. I do like boosting *off* the board though, good fun.
Surface area of the wing is what you want to consider IMO. For reference, my 82cm is ~1500cm2 and the 72 is ~1200cm2. I greatly prefer the 82, as it glides better for longer with less power from the kite, and the cruising speed is a tad lower, which makes riding waves and especially lake swell so much more fun.
Compare a few different sizes and see what you think.
105kg....
If you have an appropriately large wing and appropriate board for initial planing then you will have no issue.
My "this will get me going rig" is a naish hover 155 skim board (easy planing) and an AXIS 102 wing (2000cm2)...... just match a kite and off I go.
I have ridden this rig with 17m kite from about 7 knots. Also ridden it with 4.8m kite up around 30 knots.
I'm 105-110kg. Learnt on a 530 mm Axis front wing (600cm2 or so). Once i was comfortable riding it was great fun in 15knts plus, but did lack lift for my weight in light winds. Bought a 600 mm Axis wing (808 cm2) which gives me a low end of around 10-12 knots on a 8m kite. I do jump, but only strapless so nothing to extreme - so far haven't had any issues with breakage (touch wood).
Recently bought a bigger 820 mm axis surf/sup wing (1400cm2) - way more lift than the smaller kite foils and really stable, looking forward to giving it a test in some light winds.
At 125 kg in 10-15 knots I reckon a 1200-1400 cm2 wing would be perfect for learning, but still fast enough to be exiciting once you get the hang of it.
... absolutely you can do it,,,, and its fun,,,, even us big boys can fly too!
I'm 120 - 125kg at 193cm,,,, learnt to foil on a mates North Speedster and now have my own, a Duotone Spirit Carve 950 (950cm2) with a 4'10" Pace board. I regularly get out in light winds using a 14m Evo and as the wind picks up to 15 knots plus, I put up a 9m Neo. If there is enough wind for the kite to fly then I can go. Once your up and running, rider weight is not as much of a problem like it is with surface bound gear.
I've also got an extra wing I swap over onto my set up, the Spirit GT which is smaller surface area (565cm2) wing for the times when I'm in the mood for speed runs. Takes a bit more board speed to get going so a bit more wind needed but it has better top end and is way more agile,,,, I wouldn't say more fun, just feels like your driving a sports car instead.
I've had no problems with gear failure and I've managed to clock up some miles too, even rode it in surf in Bali recently, which is fun, but I did push the boundaries a bit at low tide so hit the reef a few times with no problems so far, mind you I did scratch my shinny not so new toy.
I've ridden other brands and a big stand out was the J Shapes Cruiser (1076cm2) which is an all carbon setup. Super smooth and super fun too. My mates had his for 3 or so years and is going strong so don't be put off by the idea of all carbon gear.
Go for it dude, you won't ever be looking back wondering what to do on those 10 knot days,,,,, soon enough you'll be flying,,,,, it's gunna rock your world.
Cheers,
Robbie
Too big for foiling! Foiling opens up endless possibilities for bigger guys. Once up little kite needed so suites bigger guys just as much - infact if anything reduces significantly the limitations created by a large mass. Becomes an advantage to push down those bigger foils. My skinny ass gets handed to me on bigger wings if I'm not careful.
Whoever told you you are too big, never listen to their advice ever again for anything, they couldn't be more wrong.
tap into puetz and kami' above they know what they are talking about.
Thanks everyone.
It looks like I'll go with a duotone setup maybe a little cheaper than axis and more available.
Foil = SPIRIT CARVE 950
Board = Free 5"0
Any comment appreciated
as mentioned special thanks to my comrades in size puet and kam
we should get pizza together
I think the wing is too small but if you're into buzzing around at speed then it's a good fit.
I'm more into floating about on the swell, so more is more for me.
I was wondering about that, some other advice was the larger float wings are too slow and will cause catapults.
I am thinking that after the initial learning, a large surf wing might be an addition for playing on the deep sandbars.
You mean ventalating right, not catapulting. Who are you getting this advice off ?
Pm some of these bigger boys and get some solid advice on size and stop listening to whoever you are talking to.
So had a go on a mates secret agent. An older cabrinah. Was fun and after about half HR started little pops. Definately sketchy wind from 5 to 35 knots with a 12m switchblade.
Order updated to duo surf. Locked in delivery should have started this morning from Sydney. Maybe next weekend.
Thanks everyone for your comments and help
use a JShapes Cruzer wing , 70cm Mast with Tuttle plate adaptor and fit this to a surf board with Tracks, you won't go wrong. Minimal sharp edges and a whole lot of fun.
myself and others are 100+ kgs in my area and we kite from 8 to 30 knots with this type of set up
I am 112kg and on KeNalu Iwa 580 foil and custom 4'x19" foil board. Never had any issues with the equipment despite foiling in brutal onshore beach breaks. Thanks to foiling I have minimized my kite quiver to two kites only - 9m and 7m. Between the foil and my surfboards I cover 10 to 35 knots.
It'll be interesting to work out the difference in force exerted by a 75 kg foiler vs a 100kg foiler on the mast, and compare that to the difference between the force of a 9m and a 19m kite .
my guess is that the racers are putting far more strain on the wing/ mast that our extra 20 kgs would!
also 110 kg is hardly a reason to limit yourself to surf wings. A std set of wings generates enough
lift.
got another go on the dbl agent on Sat.
i think I know why I went so relatively well the first time.
I WENT REALLY SLOW - like barely enough to keep goin
Saturday I added some speed and really felt the foil provide lift.