Ordered the 6'1"x26" 'wide' downwind board @115l from Kalama. Since it is new, I figured I'd add to the forum as a long term lurker. I'm using it primarily for sup surf; with some winging as I get better.Downside: not many. only came with centerline foot inserts, color is more red than orange.
Upside: where to start. I'm coming from an older 7'4" Starboard Hypernut with Tuttle base @105l. The Kalama blows it out of the water on liftoff. Even in micro-surf I can now pop up with a single stroke; something I could never even imagine with the older board.
Initial stability is relatively low; but secondary is high, and I've had no issues paddling it, which was a major concern with the drop down in width for me. Its still narrow enough to prone paddle, and have a nice volume/weight distribution. In comparison to the Blue planet carver (only other sub-6' board I've tried) at the same volume, it is significantly more comfortable to stand on.

Anyway figured I'd post about it. For reference I'm 160, riding Armstrong HS foils, and at roughly the 9 month mark of my foiling journey; with just a few more months surfing. (But a lot of time doing other paddling/water sports).



pictures await my kook status being elevated on the forumn. ??

Few Kalama boards over here. Some arriving soon I believe; it has been a long wait. Thanks for the review.
I agree with your comments about initial stability v secondary. Good boards.

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wanabxtrm said..
Ordered the 6'1"x26" 'wide' downwind board @115l from Kalama. Since it is new, I figured I'd add to the forum as a long term lurker. I'm using it primarily for sup surf; with some winging as I get better.Downside: not many. only came with centerline foot inserts, color is more red than orange.
Upside: where to start. I'm coming from an older 7'4" Starboard Hypernut with Tuttle base @105l. The Kalama blows it out of the water on liftoff. Even in micro-surf I can now pop up with a single stroke; something I could never even imagine with the older board.
Initial stability is relatively low; but secondary is high, and I've had no issues paddling it, which was a major concern with the drop down in width for me. Its still narrow enough to prone paddle, and have a nice volume/weight distribution. In comparison to the Blue planet carver (only other sub-6' board I've tried) at the same volume, it is significantly more comfortable to stand on.

Anyway figured I'd post about it. For reference I'm 160, riding Armstrong HS foils, and at roughly the 9 month mark of my foiling journey; with just a few more months surfing. (But a lot of time doing other paddling/water sports).



pictures await my kook status being elevated on the forumn. ??

Do you think the tracks are forward enough to work with the Armstrong HA foils? Great it works with the HS , I would have thought being Kalama the tracks would be set to the back to suit Gofoil.

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kobo said..Do you think the tracks are forward enough to work with the Armstrong HA foils? Great it works with the HS , I would have thought being Kalama the tracks would be set to the back to suit Gofoil.

They work fine with Armstrong. I used the 1125 and 1325 with the 6 foot E3. I flipped the front washer and used the hole to get as far forward as possible.

I don't have a HA to answer directly, and I'm still playing around with position. But I have the mast about the half way point of the box with the HS1550/1850, so have 1.25~1.5" it could go forward. So if your moving your mast more than that between a HS and HA then it may be abit short; but I'd think it would still work.
I can say the board is definitely well dialed in for what it's designed and marketed for, and I'm certainly not yet good enough to take advantage of all of it. But it certainly instantly upped my own game. This is certainly a 'the right gear makes a difference' scenario. I'm sure it's even better with a go-foil setup.

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hilly said..

kobo said..Do you think the tracks are forward enough to work with the Armstrong HA foils? Great it works with the HS , I would have thought being Kalama the tracks would be set to the back to suit Gofoil.

They work fine with Armstrong. I used the 1125 and 1325 with the 6 foot E3. I flipped the front washer and used the hole to get as far forward as possible.

Are you back on Armstrong?

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BigZ said..Are you back on Armstrong?

No, happy with GoFoil. Found the HA Army wings challenging work. GoFoil for the same width turn so much better.

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hilly said..

Thanks Hilly, looks like it can work but maybe not ideal.

The shipment of Kalama docks in Sydney tonight! Finally! Everyone will have their boards over the next two weeks. There will be many more great reviews coming through soon.

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pohaku said..
The shipment of Kalama docks in Sydney tonight! Finally! Everyone will have their boards over the next two weeks. There will be many more great reviews coming through soon.

Curious to hear what more experienced riders think of it!

Have a handful more sessions with it. Seams durable enough, on par or better than my last board. And certainly lighter.
I thought I'd miss having the top handhold, so I added the webbing. Frankly I haven't used it at all. re: stability. I've had a handful of times I've either sunk the tail pretty deep on a spin turn or a rail when I'm beam too and not paying attention. I've been very impressed with how far over it'll go and can still be recovered. Since I am to cheap to have tons of boards I'm hoping this will fit the bill to cover everything but a small <50L prone/wing board. So far all indications are it will.
anyway not sure how many posts I need to make before I can share photos, but will once I hit that point.
cheers.

Looks like 5 is the #. Here's a few I snapped on the deck real quick. Can push some more detailed ones if needed.

www.instagram.com/reel/CgzEI1tF9qn/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Got my 5'4 Kalama board today, it looks awesome, cant wait to test it out. For those interested in where the tracks are, they actually start where they end on my other 5.4 board. That should be good for those HA wings and to make it less nose heavy

Can anyone comment on the standing stability of the Kalama's with their deep V tail vs a totally flat bottomed board of similar dims? I know both designs are aimed at early release but I'm starting to wonder if a board with a good amount of volume below the waterline ( ie thinner rails) might actually be more stable to stand on than one with thicker rails that floats higher . I'm assuming same / similar width for both boards to get a true comparison . Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

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mikesids said..
Can anyone comment on the standing stability of the Kalama's with their deep V tail vs a totally flat bottomed board of similar dims? I know both designs are aimed at early release but I'm starting to wonder if a board with a good amount of volume below the waterline ( ie thinner rails) might actually be more stable to stand on than one with thicker rails that floats higher . I'm assuming same / similar width for both boards to get a true comparison . Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

I had the 6 foot E3 and it was very stable for my 105kg. If I had really clean conditions I would have stuck with it. Due to wind and chop being the usual at my local changing to the 6 6 for more paddle power not stability.

I don't have a similar size width wise to compare. But volume wise I've ridden three boards within 10L of each other (starboard Hypernut/blue planet carver). I prefer Kalama's design. The carver was 27.5" wide I believe. I'd love to try an Armstrong; but we haven't hit the level of 'demo' that other industries have.
Normal standing/paddling for reference my back foot is just aft of the color change. Front foot is in/around the front foot straps on the e3.

With a flat bottom board, it will feel stable initially, but want tip/shoot out rapidly once the chines go below water. With a rounded hull/vtail it will feel tippy initially, but won't actually want to roll or flip until your push it very far over.
I've had the board 30-45 degrees in pitch and roll (not at the same time) and can consistently recover it without issue.
compared it the other boards: the starboards volume distribution with the relatively narrow tail allowed the same with pitch but not roll. My tail was typically sunk on the starboard with normal paddling.
The carver with volume focused in the rear I couldn't do either it felt like a cork. That said because the volume of the carver made you stand back foot heavy it launched out of the water super easy.
Not sure if that's helpful or not.
Additionally, I've been trying to mimic Jeremy Riggs flat water paddle up technique (no success yet, but getting closer). I don't think a flat bottom rear would allow the motion to come together. I can say for certain a flat bottom nose definitely won't.
my $0.02 from a non naval engineering perspective (mechanical mostly here) the aviation industry (before computers) spent a lot of time and $$ figuring out float planes. Principle is the same regarding water release for us. Stability similar but not directly applicable. They almost all universally use a v-bottom shape taper. a proven design that simply works.

On the flip side, modern foil sail boats have a mix. Designed with consideration of all the proper constraints, and usage goals, either can work. I'm just not sure all designers have tweaked the necessary parameters to optimize the boards with flat bottom shape, though I think a few have hit it.
my personal opinion is the higher secondary stability of a v or contoured bill combined with the keel provided by the foil would give you the best combination.

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mindhoc said..
Got my 5'4 Kalama board today, it looks awesome, cant wait to test it out. For those interested in where the tracks are, they actually start where they end on my other 5.4 board. That should be good for those HA wings and to make it less nose heavy

Just an update about my experiences so far: I can't see myself getting any other board shape now. I am mainly winging with it and used it in light/strong winds with Mid and HA foils. This thing is brilliant!
- The takeoff efficiency is not koolaid, it really works (better than my previous board which had 6lt more)
- Good nose rocker and plenty of volume on the nose but little swing weight (i am guessing forward tracks help)
- The tail. OMG! I can carve really hard and dont even touch
- Touchdown crashes are something of the past
- Constant stability. I find it behaving the same wether the swell is just a tiny bit messy or very messy in stronger winds (surprising). Wider boards just totally missbehave in big chop.
- It is a bit more directional and the nose stays afloat when trying to take off against or sideways to the messy chop

I have a 104lt 5.4 and i am 104kg. I can't comment about other sizes but i guess they would have some of this same magic for their riders in one way or another

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mindhoc said..- The tail. OMG! I can carve really hard and dont even touch

Same, it works so well.

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mindhoc said..

Just an update about my experiences so far: I can't see myself getting any other board shape now. I am mainly winging with it and used it in light/strong winds with Mid and HA foils. This thing is brilliant!
- The takeoff efficiency is not koolaid, it really works (better than my previous board which had 6lt more)
- Good nose rocker and plenty of volume on the nose but little swing weight (i am guessing forward tracks help)
- The tail. OMG! I can carve really hard and dont even touch
- Touchdown crashes are something of the past
- Constant stability. I find it behaving the same wether the swell is just a tiny bit messy or very messy in stronger winds (surprising). Wider boards just totally missbehave in big chop.
- It is a bit more directional and the nose stays afloat when trying to take off against or sideways to the messy chop

I have a 104lt 5.4 and i am 104kg. I can't comment about other sizes but i guess they would have some of this same magic for their riders in one way or another

Is it efficient though ?

Looking at the 5'2" x 28" 105L, I'm on a 5'8, x 28" 104L right now, totally different shape, it works, but build wise it's a POS. Delam, etc.

Mostly short period, quick bumps in an inlet setup. So....the initial takeoff is pretty key.....any comps to bigger boards, etc. would be helpful.

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adamj2281 said..
Looking at the 5'2" x 28" 105L, I'm on a 5'8, x 28" 104L right now, totally different shape, it works, but build wise it's a POS. Delam, etc.

Mostly short period, quick bumps in an inlet setup. So....the initial takeoff is pretty key.....any comps to bigger boards, etc. would be helpful.

If my experience is anything to go by it will be a major improvement. They pop up really well.

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adamj2281 said..
Looking at the 5'2" x 28" 105L, I'm on a 5'8, x 28" 104L right now, totally different shape, it works, but build wise it's a POS. Delam, etc.

Mostly short period, quick bumps in an inlet setup. So....the initial takeoff is pretty key.....any comps to bigger boards, etc. would be helpful.

The design works extremely well. I recently started testing them out with thin profile foils (SAB 940 and 1110) and interestingly, It makes them come out just like regular surf foils (no porpoising). With my previous boards I had to push hard through the water for the board to start planing and then porpoise hippidy-hop to catch enough speed for the foil to start flying.

Another interesting thing I found out today, The vtail and chimes prevents tail drag when coming up across the chop whereas tail boxy boards just catch the rails and slow down. E3 is a really well tested design!

Kalama was right. Planing is a technique to catch speed but it is not really required for the foiling we do

I'm 105kg, and recently got the 5'4 E3 104L and paired with gofoil (mast all the way at the front), it's perfect for winging, so stable and the board feels really small, not like a 5'4 at all as you're riding at the front of the board. The volume is in the right place for winging, never tips me off in choppy conditions starting from knees, whereas the board I came from a fanatic 2022 95L tipped me all the time as the volume was in the back of this board.

I also got the 6'6 141L E3 for sup foiling but have been using it as a light wind wing board paired with the GT1400 and FTL14.5 tail, 6.5 Unit 2022, works really well and almost negates the need for a bigger hand wing.

Can carve these boards too aggressively with the chimes, hardly ever dig the rails, money well spent imo.

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mindhoc said..

adamj2281 said..
Looking at the 5'2" x 28" 105L, I'm on a 5'8, x 28" 104L right now, totally different shape, it works, but build wise it's a POS. Delam, etc.

Mostly short period, quick bumps in an inlet setup. So....the initial takeoff is pretty key.....any comps to bigger boards, etc. would be helpful.

The design works extremely well. I recently started testing them out with thin profile foils (SAB 940 and 1110) and interestingly, It makes them come out just like regular surf foils (no porpoising). With my previous boards I had to push hard through the water for the board to start planing and then porpoise hippidy-hop to catch enough speed for the foil to start flying.

Another interesting thing I found out today, The vtail and chimes prevents tail drag when coming up across the chop whereas tail boxy boards just catch the rails and slow down. E3 is a really well tested design!

Kalama was right. Planing is a technique to catch speed but it is not really required for the foiling we do

So.....I'm 2 sessions in on the 5'2" 105L for strictly SUP foiling (for now), I'm picking up winging. Anyways, first session was a choppy mess, basically just getting used to the board. Second session wasn't optimal, but clean, no issues with stability, especially side to side, the yaw takes a second to get used to, but pretty much got it in 1 session coming off the 5'8".

This, however is a key point: - The vtail and chimes prevents tail drag when coming up across the chop whereas tail boxy boards just catch the rails and slow down. E3 is a really well tested design

With my boxy design 5'8" I would snuff a good bit of speed in chop and/or if I touched the tail on a turn, now it releases a lot quicker, surprisingly so the first few times to have that much speed still. Love it after basically 1 session.

I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

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Pacoo said..
I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

I tried dropping down to 95L once and I'm roughly your same weight, it's doable, but tough. It wasn't a Kalama shape, so take it with a grain of salt, but.......I feel like you need stability either in the width (I'm on the 5'2" x 28), or length .........5'4" x 26" would be my call between those two. I went with the shorter and wider, because the majority of what I ride is short period bumps. I feel like bigger, longer period work better with the longer, skinnier boards.

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adamj2281 said..

Pacoo said..
I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

I tried dropping down to 95L once and I'm roughly your same weight, it's doable, but tough. It wasn't a Kalama shape, so take it with a grain of salt, but.......I feel like you need stability either in the width (I'm on the 5'2" x 28), or length .........5'4" x 26" would be my call between those two. I went with the shorter and wider, because the majority of what I ride is short period bumps. I feel like bigger, longer period work better with the longer, skinnier boards.

Thanks for the input Adam.
I rode a Sunova aviator 6'0 for a while, and this was 96 L. That was fine for me.
But once tried an 85 L 4,8 by 26 and could not stay on top for more than 2 secs.
I had a custom 5'6 by 26, 115 L and that was fine.
It looks like length is a big factor in stability because I'm riding a downwind board 6,9 by 19 and I have no problem at all.

For sup, I'm inclined to go for the 5,4 by 26, but that will be a dog for winging, and I'm looking for a single board for trips.

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Pacoo said..

adamj2281 said..

Pacoo said..
I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

I tried dropping down to 95L once and I'm roughly your same weight, it's doable, but tough. It wasn't a Kalama shape, so take it with a grain of salt, but.......I feel like you need stability either in the width (I'm on the 5'2" x 28), or length .........5'4" x 26" would be my call between those two. I went with the shorter and wider, because the majority of what I ride is short period bumps. I feel like bigger, longer period work better with the longer, skinnier boards.

Thanks for the input Adam.
I rode a Sunova aviator 6'0 for a while, and this was 96 L. That was fine for me.
But once tried an 85 L 4,8 by 26 and could not stay on top for more than 2 secs.
I had a custom 5'6 by 26, 115 L and that was fine.
It looks like length is a big factor in stability because I'm riding a downwind board 6,9 by 19 and I have no problem at all.

For sup, I'm inclined to go for the 5,4 by 26, but that will be a dog for winging, and I'm looking for a single board for trips.

I ride the 5'4 for both sup and wing.

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pohaku said..

Pacoo said..

adamj2281 said..

Pacoo said..
I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

I tried dropping down to 95L once and I'm roughly your same weight, it's doable, but tough. It wasn't a Kalama shape, so take it with a grain of salt, but.......I feel like you need stability either in the width (I'm on the 5'2" x 28), or length .........5'4" x 26" would be my call between those two. I went with the shorter and wider, because the majority of what I ride is short period bumps. I feel like bigger, longer period work better with the longer, skinnier boards.

Thanks for the input Adam.
I rode a Sunova aviator 6'0 for a while, and this was 96 L. That was fine for me.
But once tried an 85 L 4,8 by 26 and could not stay on top for more than 2 secs.
I had a custom 5'6 by 26, 115 L and that was fine.
It looks like length is a big factor in stability because I'm riding a downwind board 6,9 by 19 and I have no problem at all.

For sup, I'm inclined to go for the 5,4 by 26, but that will be a dog for winging, and I'm looking for a single board for trips.

I ride the 5'4 for both sup and wing.

Thanks all for the advice. I finally went for the 5,0 by 26 , 92 L. Let's see how it goes.
I have a 6,9 by 20 for serious days, so I hope the 5,0 will cover flat small days.

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Pacoo said..

pohaku said..

Pacoo said..

adamj2281 said..

Pacoo said..
I'm between the 5,0 by 26 and 92 L and the 5,4 by 26 and 104 L. I'm 82 kg, and main use will be Sup foil.
I have 2 years of sup foil, using between 96 liters to 105 in my downwind board.
Do you have any recommendations?
Is anybody using the 5,0?
Best

I tried dropping down to 95L once and I'm roughly your same weight, it's doable, but tough. It wasn't a Kalama shape, so take it with a grain of salt, but.......I feel like you need stability either in the width (I'm on the 5'2" x 28), or length .........5'4" x 26" would be my call between those two. I went with the shorter and wider, because the majority of what I ride is short period bumps. I feel like bigger, longer period work better with the longer, skinnier boards.

Thanks for the input Adam.
I rode a Sunova aviator 6'0 for a while, and this was 96 L. That was fine for me.
But once tried an 85 L 4,8 by 26 and could not stay on top for more than 2 secs.
I had a custom 5'6 by 26, 115 L and that was fine.
It looks like length is a big factor in stability because I'm riding a downwind board 6,9 by 19 and I have no problem at all.

For sup, I'm inclined to go for the 5,4 by 26, but that will be a dog for winging, and I'm looking for a single board for trips.

I ride the 5'4 for both sup and wing.

Thanks all for the advice. I finally went for the 5,0 by 26 , 92 L. Let's see how it goes.
I have a 6,9 by 20 for serious days, so I hope the 5,0 will cover flat small days.

How's it going on the 5'0"?

I wing on E3 5' x 26"/92L and weigh 175 #'s.

I also have E3 5'10" x 29"/123L which I bought for SUP foil and used for mostly for winging when my original wing board was being repaired.

I have limited SUP foil experience - find it challenging even on the 123L.