Enjoy..





September / October trip in Indonesia. Kitefoiling & Kitesurfing my latest hybrid board from Lift Foil / MHLCustom. Special thanks to Bertrand Fleury from Indokitecamp for the hospitality and coaching, Surffx for the support with kite gear and Nicholas Leason from Lift Foils for listening to my design requests and delivering the best made hybrid Kitesurf / Foilboard on the planet.

V

Cool edit V and making it look so easy , classic ending

Good Stuff V, looks like your taking your foilboard kiting to a whole new level. Keep up the great work!

Fantastic man. Your pushing foiling into new relms, good commitment too.
Did you take any decent hits by the board or foil when you wiped out in the waves?

ps I recon you need a board with more nose rocker!

Kudos for taking the foiling thing to the next level, but isn't it more fun to carve and smash lips with SB?
Seems all one can do with a foil in waves is just go in a straight line with some gentle turns thrown in occasionally.
Shame to let a good wave go without destroying the $h1t out of it.
Just saying

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balidru said..

Kudos for taking the foiling thing to the next level, but isn't it more fun to carve and smash lips with SB?
Seems all one can do with a foil in waves is just go in a straight line with some gentle turns thrown in occasionally.
Shame to let a good wave go without destroying the $h1t out of it.
Just saying

For a start. Why limit yourself? why not do both which is what SirV is doing.
Secondly. Its like the difference between 2d and 3d. The sensation of flying above the water is pretty darn cool. I'm not good enough to take yet to take on anything decent. But I feel that flying gliding sensation. The other sensation you don't feel on the surface is the power of the wave in the water. How the current flows before during and after the wave. That's a pretty insane sensation in its self.

So is one better than the other? No. It just different.

A surfboard smashing a lip will always look more visually appealing. But the foil guy will be grinning just as hard, if not harder.......

Here's another thought. What if are sitting on the beach with your biggest kite waiting to smash those lips. But its just not windy enough to stay upwind and get back to that favourite lip you want to smash?

What then?

Then this arsewhole on a foil fires up an 8m and proceeds to blaze upwind like the bastard that he is and then rides the wave that you cant because its not windy enough!

What if theres a break a couple of km upwind of your launch that super awesome but its just too hard to get to on your sb?
What if you could ride 3 waves to every one on a sb because your upwind is 3 times as good on the foil?

I'm not saying its better. I'm just saying its different and certainly there some advantages.

Maybe the super powered 4m+ swell days become your sb days. Maybe the underpowered marginal days become your foil wave riding days. Maybe you will ride 1000 more waves per year if you opened your mind to an alternative sensation.

thanks for sharing the video. a lot of work you have put on editing the video. cheers

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Plummet said...
Here's another thought. What if are sitting on the beach with your biggest kite waiting to smash those lips. But its just not windy enough to stay upwind and get back to that favourite lip you want to smash?

What then?

Then this arsewhole on a foil fires up an 8m and proceeds to blaze upwind like the bastard that he is and then rides the wave that you cant because its not windy enough!

What if theres a break a couple of km upwind of your launch that super awesome but its just too hard to get to on your sb?
What if you could ride 3 waves to every one on a sb because your upwind is 3 times as good on the foil?

I'm not saying its better. I'm just saying its different and certainly there some advantages.

Maybe the super powered 4m+ swell days become your sb days. Maybe the underpowered marginal days become your foil wave riding days. Maybe you will ride 1000 more waves per year if you opened your mind to an alternative sensation.

Generally agree ... ride the best craft for the given situation. Every dog has its day. Like every surfer's favourite whipping boys, boogie boarders, getting shacked off their nuts in the closeout corner section at cloud break. Hard to argue those guys are kooks!

The one iffy decision though is if the wind is too marginal to kite and the waves are epic.....rather than a huge kite or a foil, may be better at that point to just surf! As a longtime surfer who is crazy amped on kiting I have made some stupid decisions involving swimming in gear and Krazy Kaos when I could have and should have been surfing. To each their own, but as my kite honey moon period wanes I am going to surf more. Though if junk conditions or just swell I will be foiling for sure.

Hats off to sir v for going for it .

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juandesooka said..

Plummet said...
Here's another thought. What if are sitting on the beach with your biggest kite waiting to smash those lips. But its just not windy enough to stay upwind and get back to that favourite lip you want to smash?

What then?

Then this arsewhole on a foil fires up an 8m and proceeds to blaze upwind like the bastard that he is and then rides the wave that you cant because its not windy enough!

What if theres a break a couple of km upwind of your launch that super awesome but its just too hard to get to on your sb?
What if you could ride 3 waves to every one on a sb because your upwind is 3 times as good on the foil?

I'm not saying its better. I'm just saying its different and certainly there some advantages.

Maybe the super powered 4m+ swell days become your sb days. Maybe the underpowered marginal days become your foil wave riding days. Maybe you will ride 1000 more waves per year if you opened your mind to an alternative sensation.

Generally agree ... ride the best craft for the given situation. Every dog has its day. Like every surfer's favourite whipping boys, boogie boarders, getting shacked off their nuts in the closeout corner section at cloud break. Hard to argue those guys are kooks!

The one iffy decision though is if the wind is too marginal to kite and the waves are epic.....rather than a huge kite or a foil, may be better at that point to just surf! As a longtime surfer who is crazy amped on kiting I have made some stupid decisions involving swimming in gear and Krazy Kaos when I could have and should have been surfing. To each their own, but as my kite honey moon period wanes I am going to surf more. Though if junk conditions or just swell I will be foiling for sure.

Hats off to sir v for going for it .

If you are a surfer then yes go surfing too. I agree. Also there is a point where the swell is too big and the wind is too light that you cant get out past the shore break on a foil. So its not the one thing to rule them all. Just another tool to expand your grin factor.

Sir V getting much tighter into those waves man...awesome.

Yeah guys, each to their own.

I can't argue against smashing the lip on a good darn wave , but just like I said: it's been done, it is being done, it will always be done.. it's the surfer's way. The Stoke is specific for that feeling and a reward in itself.

But foiling is 'different', just like Plummet mentions on his 2 well written posts. I am not here to compare and quantify which is best .. they all are. Foiling is just another dimension to a Waterman.

I just wish I had learned to surf when I was a kid, but it wasn't the thing in Africa so I missed out. I am however getting in waves through the 'back door' of kitesurfing. Does it look like I'm having fun? Hell Yeah I am

Glad you guys enjoyed it.. your turn now. I can't wait till people realize it is actually possible to surf a wave (differently) on a foil and start busting out moves so I can learn some more.

Keep'em coming boys, that's how we learn.

Peace up and sweet Seabreezes to us all.

I knew I had forgotten something.. the 'Nose Rocker' issue..

I have tried several boards with the same foil, got them made custom for me in different shapes and sizes - I am very fortunate to have a manufacturer that will make ANYTHING I ask for, if I pay for it LOL.. so it's my investment. So here are the considerations I've been through:

The nose rocker is definitely a valid point Plummet. I've had several iterations of surfboards made to test this - 5'10, 5'8, and now a 5'3. The 5'10" & 8" are really good to get thew nose off the surface but also make for a bigger and heavier board. My boards are all full carbon and solid as anything, I hit the bottom and rocks all the time.. so I am happy that nothing breaks and they are bullet proof.. trust me, I've tested them to the limits

So this time I've gone for a board modeled on the Vanguard (similar). This means the board is smaller, lighter (7kgs complete with foil). Also means it has almost no rocker on the design.. but it goes upwind as a surfboard like no other eheheh.

Yes, it dives if it hits the wave at wrong angle, but.. it's a hybrid, it does both jobs. As a foil it works like no other, super maneuverable and light, as a Surfboard it rides really well too - watch the video.

I am happy with the trade-off. Am I 100% happy? I never am, this is why I keep trying different stuff to make it work for me. It's the investment I am willing to make for my own enjoyment. I am not trying to push my stuff on people, these are my choices . My videos and photos are a simple testament of what is possible and how much fun I have.. so I try and share it.

I am not sponsored, this is out of my pocket and I work for a living. So just enjoy, I am happy to share my stoke, that's all.

Peace up and sweet Seabreezes for us all

(almost) first time poster but long time watcher of all good topics.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sir V. They give a good perspective on a sport we love.
I like nothing better than smashing that lip on a surfboard and sliding into that big bottom turn....
but im watching the foils with interest to add another toy to the toy shed. im not an innovator so please keep posting so I can throw some coin for a 'refined' toy to play with!