The short story
I'm 65, 87 kg and an intermediate.
I'm using a Gen1 FD+. At 87kg and in crappy Wellington waves and trying to prone in 20-30 knots the Sk8 1050 felt great but just didn't have enough low end and so was a bit unforgiving. The 1150 Sk8 solved that for the most part but still felt like a struggle at the low end. In decent waves the 1150 sk8 was fabulous in up to head high waves. Smooth and carvey and gorgeous.
The 980 and 830 nomad are a whole new world. Heaps of on-foil bottom end, pumping/gravedigging is light years easier. The 980 is about the same in terms of takeoff to the 1150 Sk8 ie it'll take off on flat water if I double paddle. The 830 needs only a little wave to get up and once up the pump feels almost as easy as the 980.
I loved the 1150 Sk8 and didn't expect the KTs to be a huge advantage, there's always another bloody unicorn foil on the market etc. I tried the Armstrong HA 980 and 880 and wasn't that impressed although my friends thought they were amazing.
I was ready to buy the 980 after the first minute, similarly with the 830. If I could only get 1 then it would be the 830 and then I'd only go out if there was a semblance of a wave. I wouldn't need much!
The detail
I'm running a FoilDrive+ Gen1 with a Magic Hub.
The KT rig was 63 cm fuselage, 190 nomad rear, 77 cm Carbon mast.
The F-one rig is 80 cm 14mm mast and 200 carve rear.
The board was an Amos Sultan prone, 5 foot/55 L/18 inches wide.
Further comments/questions may ensue where I posted this earlier today at:
forum.progressionproject.com/t/f-one-sk8-vs-kt-nomad-comparison/8100?u=tangogeoff