I'm just doing some research on foils, after trying Juandesooka's. "Damn I almost had it...just one more try..."
It seems like a fun thing to do, maybe, when the wind is so light that you can barely jump etc. I'm watching close kiter friends fall to the newest darkside.
So I see there are now many brands.
I like the Tony Lagosz boards shaped for Slingshot and their Hoverglide. There is a nice North board/foil.
There seems to be a large selection now. What do people ride here or in Baja?
It looks like a big range in price so does that translate to performance? Is it worth buying something marketed for beginning or will the learning curve be that long so.. might as well just buy a more advanced board/foil right away?
Is there one foil maker that is way out in front of the others and is really the nicest to ride?
Just curious..

Here is something to aspire to
[Vimeo]http://vimeo.com/171007518[/Vimeo]

It looks like a big range in price so does that translate to performance?

Yes, I believe so ... but the performance seems to be mostly about racing. The video I posted above, an interview with that guy was the first I heard someone say "I don't want to go faster, I want to go slow and have better freeride/freestyle performance". As the market matures, I think there will be more separation between rockets and fun boards.

Another part of price range is materials: carbon expensive, aluminum mast less so.

Is it worth buying something marketed for beginning or will the learning curve be that long so.. might as well just buy a more advanced board/foil right away?

I'd go cheap and beginner-ish, then re-sell it for what you paid and upgrade. However, others say that you'll outgrow the beginner one so quick it's not worth the bother. I am not sure how that translates into super high speed vs maneuverability though.

Is there one foil maker that is way out in front of the others and is really the nicest to ride?

The range in brands, models, styles is bewildering. From what I can tell, key issues are low aspect vs high aspect wings, and wing size. Low aspect is slower but easier to get up on the foil. Smaller wings turn faster.

The LF aluminum foil is the controversial market disrupter...first one aimed at mass market with low price point. But supposed to be limiting in use. You can find those for roughly $1000 used.

It goes up from there. Name brand one 1-2 years old seems to be $1500-2000.

Lots of people paying $2000+ for a carbon rocket board, but others just screwing a foil onto a piece of plywood (like that video above, with paipo). The LF one uses their foil fish.

There's a strapless movement in foiling too, partially for safety (get away from it in a wipeout) but also for style. Though the strapped folks are also starting to do some big jumping.

The other thing is the newer more efficient foils mean you need a lot less kite. So when everyone is on 12m, foilers may be on 7m. (this will be part of the "shit foilers say" video ... "you were on a 17m? DUUUDDDEEE, I was on a 3.5m!")

For me, it's a fun novelty, something to do when there's no waves and when the wind is light. I want to explore the wave riding part of it....rolling swells, supposed to be like powder snowboarding, just floating above them. I am not too keen to sink a bunch of $$ into the novelty! But for many others, it has replaced regular kiting, that's all they do any more....those who like it seem to love it.

PS an example of kiteforum discussion of performance characteristics of different wings for Moses foil. I believe this highlights a key difference between foils designed for speed vs foils designed for freestyle/waves etc. (and I am trying to figure this all out too.....what to aim for in my own eventual upgrading)

"I also have the new 560 wing which is radically different, and probably closer to the other faster foils out there. You have to retain speed through the turn as it will stall more easily if your speed and momentum drop, and stalling in the turn is generally not recoverable.
As for the foot change, I believe this will be easier on the 560 (I'm still getting there), as it is much more stable, but again you have to commit to maintain speed to get this stability benefit. The old wing seems quite difficult to change feet on.
I suspect the new 550 wave wing would be a good in-between, able to turn at slower speed without stalling, but still nice and stable for the foot change. There doesn't appear to be a version of this for the Silente."

are you foiling again today?

Mark Vincent designed and built his own foil (of Course!). I saw all the R&D time he put into it...tweaking board position where it mounts to the foil and also the shape of the foil over the last couple of years. Seems with your skills Greg a similar route could be followed if so desired. By the way...Mark rides as well or better than most people I have seen foil...but then he is a few years into it now.

Greg,
I have an Aguera foil that you can try for a bit.
Now riding the Spotz 2. There was no learning curve going from the Aguera to the Spotz. The Aguera lifts at a slightly lower speed.
All we need is a tuttle box on one of your boards.
martin

Magic carpet ride 👍
But when u crash it's an explosion
Helmets and vest should be
Part of the foil quiver

hey Martin,
I have an Aquera race board that has 5 tuttle box fin boxes! It's a similar board to one that I watched Neil in Baja convert to a foil for Cynbad by cutting in and epoxying steel plates to hold the mast. It's the big yellow beast. Do you think that would work? One through bolt.

Ray I have seen Mark ride his foil/surfboard strapless and he is still ahead of the crowd and he did make it himself - yes- impressive. I might attempt but want to ride a little first so I can understand it a bit more before building something. I don't need another table with a stand.

Thanks Papa Dwayne. I googled Magic Carpet Ride and only found Jeremie Tronet on a foil board with an actual carpet on it! I think he rides the North foil/board. I thought you meant that was the brand. http://kitemovement.com/kitesurf-videos ... ie-tronet/

Marty has, my uncle's LP foil up in Nitinat for Demo.
Try it when you are up there.

Yes, Greg I think it will work.
I will have a look at it and see if the middle tuttle is in the right place.
It may be a bit too far aft. Two bolt though. A single bolt is a power box I think.
I bought the Aguera foil with a converted Aguera race board.
Later sold the race board and bought Adam Withington's Aguera race foil board.

martin

If your going to spend the $ on a
New one Don't get a fin that is to big
It's like dragging an anchor .
Once your riding you can learn to slow your speed.
Without the anything to do with the size of fin .

Can't afford a new one, don't want the original LF foil fish. I think that I have what it takes to make one skill-wise. But most of the diy vids are using carbon and recommending 5 yards. So that's 300$ right there, plus a couple hundred more for epoxy, hardware, mistakes. Then there's the labor... Which is free, but I have a ton of other projects that are more important (though not as fun).

The only way I can see this making any sense is if I could get away with fiberglass instead of carbon. Has anybody tried this? I'm told there will be too much twist. Maybe just carbon on the mast? I've only seen MV's foil once and it didn't look like carbon. But he is also 50lbs lighter than me, so a lot less lift/torque.

I don't care about racing speed, just want a stable float to get my knees out of the chop and a new challenge.

So is it worth it? Or too much effort and room for error?

smartang wrote:Can't afford a new one, don't want the original LF foil fish. I think that I have what it takes to make one skill-wise.

The only way I can see this making any sense is if I could get away with fiberglass instead of carbon. Has anybody tried this? I'm told there will be too much twist. Maybe just carbon on the mast? I've only seen MV's foil once and it didn't look like carbon. But he is also 50lbs lighter than me, so a lot less lift/torque.

So is it worth it? Or too much effort and room for error?

In this DIY thread, here's a wooden wing without even fibreglassing it! ;-)
http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... er/?page=1

you can get an aluminum mast and fuselage cheap (see end of thread above). Then only need to make wings.

Diy budget thread....lotsa good stuff http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... 5&p=862668

carbon diy https://vimeo.com/134895729

hard core carbon diy https://vimeo.com/136474166