i thought this, then I bought an inflatable wing board and was shocked how big and bulky they are packed down
Hawaii surf foiling is actually more fun even when the waves are terrible.
But yeah with kids surf travel is just kind of not a thing anymore. Lucky to get away for 2 hours let alone 2 weeks. And even with 2 weeks you still might get skunked
What brand/model/size did you try?
I have one from Manta that is really bulky.
I have 3 from Gong that pack pretty well.
Did you flip around the pump hose and vacuum the air out of the board?
Inflatable boards are probably a bigger space savings in bigger (learning to wingfoil) sizes. If you can already wingfoil with a complete sinker of a board, then you wouldn’t save much for your travel setup.
Gong hipe 5’1. Very disappointed with it, not just the packing down large
Just scored my first few sessions back on the kite foil. Definately felt a little wierd and HOLY CRAP that 6.5 M kite felt like a freight train and it was so light i could barely keep it in the air! Looking forward to dialing it back in on flat days and working back into my old program with tacks, etc but the wing is definately #1 for any kind of wave work.
Already destroyed my old micro board…i think the front foot pressure of my current foil is too much for it but thats what carbon is for!
Not gonna lie, another reason i like the kite foil is it can be one handed so i can buzzz a powerboat out for a cruise, snag a cold beer on the fly, and enjoy a beverage while buzzing around. Winging is decidedly a two handed program!
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After a few years of going hard winging, it’s now got to be pretty decent waves to be fun. Sad to say, novelty time’s over.
My plan this summer is to get the kites back out, both surf and foil, maybe even some twintipping on my OR mako (more like a skateboard). I want to regain the skills and confidence to be ready on the good kitesurf days, as when it’s good for kitesurfing it’s often not the best winging around here. I also miss the kitefoil…SOOOOO fast, tiny profile wings, and a balance bar to avoid falls 
. I was getting into jumping it when I got bit by the wing bug…can really get some big air, lotsa pop.
So yes, I am going back to the strings too, or at least plan to.
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I can’t bring myself to go back to wave kiting for a few reasons…all the sail and power required. There’s just a lot to go wrong in those big wind big wave conditions that you are declining the kite foil or the wing on. And if your only kiting those conditions a few times a year your definitely not up to snuff and your gear probably is also deficient. It’s a safety factor, it’s really hard to be a casual wave kiter where as the foil your never on so much kite you cant man handle it in a pinch.
Also, (I’m kind of feeling this with the kite foil but I’m committed to pushing through) I had the TIGHTEST wave kite flow and chasing that feeling but not having the skills to back it up is endlessly frustrating.
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yeah, you may be right…I went back to wave kiting after 2 years away on a gusty 5m day and stopped after 10mins…felt really unsafe. My thinking is to do a flat water kite session a week over summer to get my sea legs back to the point that I can make it work again on a casual basis. I don’t need to be Mr. Radness, just good enough to get a few nice slashes. I miss that. I’ve been all-foil-all-the-time for a lot of years now, some surface riding to offset will be a nice change. And kitefoil too, which is maybe kinda like going back to waterskiing after SUPing.
Does anyone who does both kite and wing foil, decide to ride the kitesurf twintip instead of the kitefoil?
When I used to wing I would still kite if the conditions were good, but since I started parawinging and dockstarting there is almost no reason to kitefoil again.
What I do still do is kite with my finless skim in shallow water as you can’t foil in 4 cm of water and it’s still a blast.
Yeah, I know a couple guys that wing up to maybe 25kts and break out the kite and twintip or strapless surf above that.
It’s good to have the options to choose according to the conditions. A small surfboard and a kite is still the Apex predator when conditions are good. Over 25kts and with good cross shore and well formed waves, it’s hard to beat. Butter flat water on a twintip could be great too for a change after foiling for a few weeks. I like the variety at times. In light steady conditions, kitefoiling is also the king of the hill, even if you’re a chunky rider with “antique gear” from 3 seasons ago. Light wind wing is the apex of the gear sport. Chasing those couple of knots at the bottom comes at a price.
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I’m 15 minutes away from the ocean, bay, and mountain bike trails so I do a bit of everything - Prone foil, surf, snowboard, kite foil, twin tip kiteboard, surfboard kiteboard. I’m also slowly learning to parawing and wing. DW will be next…
These days my I’m mostly prone foiling, twin tip kiteboarding or mountain biking. I have prone foiling conditions most days so that is my first choice - I get to surf and get a good workout. We have really flat water so if it is blowing 30+ mph I still like to boost airs on the twin tip after 24 years of kiting. No waves and no wind I’ll mountain bike or snowboard.
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Yes I twintip all the time when it’s windy and big waves, it’s awesome.
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I’d really advise to try the Flysurfer Hybrid in the smaller sizes for wave riding - it’s like the best aspects of kite and wing foiling combined (almost). The drift is awesome and it pairs perfectly with a shorter mast and the foils you would use for winging in bigger surf (I primarily ride sk8 650 and 850). It’s the absolutely best drifting kite by a big margin; you can turn on the wave however you want with barely any need to manage the kite, even let the lines slack massively - the kite just drifts along. When the lines are slack, you surf with no pull from the kite at all. It might feel like cheating, because everything is so much easier, but then you can also ride/turn/slash much harder and it’s so effortless I can be out enjoying waves for much longer than winging or parawinging. Throw in some loops for fun, perhaps use straps for small jumps and rotations. Still really fun up to 35 knots, after that it’s a bit more difficult to keep the line tension down while riding downwind. Packs really small, no need for a pump. A v2 4.5m and 3m has my 72 kgs covered 12-35 knots, though I’d use line extensions in the absolute bottom end.
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Using a non-inflatable kite in waves sounds like an objectively bad idea. I’m sure the drift is insane though!
Lots of people seem to think so before they try, but the Hybrid is nothing like a “normal” ram air kite, it’s the complete opposite in its behavior. I swear there is no kite I feel safer with than the Hybrids. Firstly, it’s so intuitive to fly and easy to keep in the air, it’s the kite I’m the least likely to crash (ask anyone having foiled with Flysurfer Peak!). It’s also the easiest kite there is to relaunch, from 6 knots it’s more or less a guaranteed relaunch; just backstall it and it rises instantly. I push my limits when riding, so I drop it in the waves sometimes, but there is never any drama. I’ve only had a problem once when there was medium wind (~7 m/s) and a lot of seaweed which instantly caught the lines (so much that I can’t see that any other kite would have relaunched in this scenario!) - I tried to backstall it, but one steering line was heavier so the kite turned around and crashed again in a breaking wave and half of the kite twisted around itself. First I thought I was f*d, but like magic it sorted itself out after a minute and second time relaunching was successful.
TLDR; I really don’t think fear of crashing this kite should be a reason to disregard it.
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I have been kite foiling on the Peak 4 kites in waves for the last five years. No drama. Relaunch is about 50/50 and I end up swimming the kite in about once a year. Really easy since they pack so small. The key is that it is very hard to crash a Peak since they drift so well. I mainly ride the 4m. Rode BRM Clouds before the Peaks.
How much better for surfing is the hybrid than, say, the 8 m soul, or the latest craze the 5/7m north code? Need lots more Wind to be able to tack?
I notice the 8m soul slacks a lot and deforms when going straight downwind, but it handles it well…
Surfwise it’s not even comparable, it’s like a whole different sport. Today I would never even think about wave riding with a tube kite or double skin ram air kite, there is simply no freedom when having to manage the kite, adjusting to keep line tension and not getting too much pull from it. The Hybrid offers almost complete freedom in the waves with the option of instant power on demand when you want it. You can park the kite on one side, ride towards it, turn away from it, bottom turns, top turns, do whatever you want! It’s so confidence inspiring, you won’t be afraid to put it in the water like a Soul either.
Yesterday we had shitty wind in our bay with weak waves because it was too much sideshore, so I went 1-3 km out and lapped small downwind runs with the 4,5m unhooked for even greater freedom. It even handled following the speed of the open ocean bumps straight downwind in 20 knot wind with a fast Eagle X 700 foil. I had an amazing time in otherwise mediocre conditions!
I’ve loved the v1 2.5m and 3.5m, the v2 4,5m is even better, probably the 3m as well. I would not get something bigger than a 6m, though that size is still good (although not as amazing). The v2 goes further forward in the window than the v1, so it’s better for maneuvers like tacks (and upwind!), but you’ll be riding small sizes if you want to surf so tacks, foot switches etc will be a little more difficult than with a Soul/tube kite. But you’ll be so busy catching waves you’ll forget that!
Sorry for the wall of text, but this sport makes me too stoked…
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