4 TIPS for Starting to Foilboard

In this video we cover four tips we wish we would have known when getting started with foilboarding - plus one bonus tip at the end! If we've missed anything let us know in the comments below.
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[@IRWE905]

All Great Tips, Here's what no one tells you when learning. 1. Push on your Big Front Toe to keep the board flat when riding. 2. Your shoulders should be parallel with the board down the center of the board. To control the height of the board above the water move your shouolders 3 cm forward (down center of board) to bring board dwon or shoulders 3 cm back (down cwnter of board) to have board lift. Thee is a natural tendency for Twin Tip riders to automatically lean away from the board to edge which will only end in disaster!

[@OurKiteLife]

Great tips! Wish we knew these when we were learning. Thanks for sharing!

[@whenitswindy7034]

Great tips, i couldn't agree more. Especially the last point. So many times I see new foilers decide its a twintip day and leave their foil behind only to miss out on epic foil conditions and have a very mediocre twintip session.

[@MatDGVLL]

The extra-bonus is the most important one for me 😄😄 ALWAYS bring the foil even if weather predictions are perfect for a twintip session...!

[@OurKiteLife]

We have made the mistake of leaving it in the car too many times 🤦‍♀️ it’s a good habit to just bring it no matter what!

[@MatDGVLL]

@@OurKiteLife 😄 definitely ! And it's way easier and safer to switch boards than kites if the wind drops..

[@leapnlarry]

I am learning to wing foil in hood river. I bought all used stuff on Craigslist, total about 2k vs 5k for two wings a board and a foil. I was up on the foil consistently at the end of my first session staying up wind. Im headed to OBX for 3 weeks and hope that I can up my progression an move to a more high performance board and foil. Then i will spend the money for a better setup, and sell my learning stuff on Craigslist, i should be able to get close to what i bought it for. It is stupid to spend 5 k for a learning setup, hopefully you will be progressing away from quickly. Larry

[@alpinedrift]

Awesome! And amazing drone shots!

[@OurKiteLife]

Thank you!

[@autokanada]

Good video as always , see you at Kipling spot . I just wanted to add that it it true not to use too large kite for the specific wind to learn foiling.

[@wmedlinmd]

Those are super useful tips!!! Thanks so much

[@OurKiteLife]

Thanks, glad you found them helpful!

[@mrmonkeboy]

Thats one monster jump!

[@paul-akers]

Thanks again for another great video so informative so helpful

[@OurKiteLife]

Glad you liked it :)

[@mikemiller774]

I would add this: as a part of foil learning process, prepare for pain and suffering, cuts , hits, doing a very unusual stunts during failed starts with experience nothing like you've had on a twin tip learning. Twin tip fails don't stand near foil ones.

[@OurKiteLife]

Very true!

[@sergemann5951]

True

[@dougdemonde]

Hmm, am focused on twin-tip and figured I would try foilboard later - want to be ready for 2 week Brazil downwinder in November. However, frustrated that since I came back to Stockholm from Portugal the wind has been too light to kitesurf :-( - 10 days, no kite,, very sad. But maybe it is time to get a foil and follow your tips :-). Thanks!

[@OurKiteLife]

Sounds like a great time to give it a try! :)

[@canolando3499]

Great content. I started with a medium size foil. Lots of crashes. My throat and nose was burning so bad from the water being rammed up there . I bought a big foil the next year and it made all the difference, easy slow starts and rideability. The board makes a big difference also as mine is a bigger board. A friend was learning the same time, had smaller board had nothing but trouble. I let him try my setup and he was sold. As to kite sizes I tried them all except for my 2 foil kites. I am too scared of dropping it. To foil in 6-7 nots I really need a big 15m pls to do this eve with the big foil head.

[@GaetanoCrisci]

hey, how many square centimetre is your wing?

[@JamesLamb]

I'm still getting up to speed on a twintip, but needed to use a gift certificate. So I got a hybrid board that I can use as a directional board or later attach a foil. I was told that if I get good with the directional board, it will be less difficult to go from that to adding a foil to it. I haven't used it yet since we're off-season, but also I want to be competent enough to know I'm not going to wreck the new board on the rocks. (or get to a beach with fewer rock hazards!)

[@snowbell01]

foiling is a whole nother ball game all together. Make sure your very competent with kite skills, I know i just learned to foil last summer and you can't still be thinking about the kite and the foil at the same time, all my time went into thinking and understanding the foil meanwhile I could just do my thing with the kite. Starting with your normal twintip kite size works for when starting out as you are grunting it, but once you can get on foil you will pick up way too much speed and at that point need to go down some size/s

[@mbkiteboarding]

Tip 5: Start learning with a shorter mast like 50cm. Tip 6: use the kitesize you normally use when twintipping. Tip 7: dont give up

[@OurKiteLife]

Great points, thanks for your comment :)

[@steviev2504]

great video; thanks! do you think the Liquid Force Impulse is a good starter?

[@OurKiteLife]

Thanks! We haven’t tried it ourselves, would just make sure everything is compatible

[@kathigray123]

Great video! I highly recommend wearing a helmet when foiling. From experience I know that the board can come at you at a pretty good clip when you bail out the front door.

[@OurKiteLife]

Just got a new helmet for foiling (the last one was too big). I’ll be using it moving forward :)

[@krash2094]

I really want to get the soul for foiling and TT but can't decide on the size. I normally see 7-14 knots in my local area, I prefer foiling at 7-10 Kts and TT at 11-14 kts. Any suggestions ? I weigh 75 kg.

[@OurKiteLife]

We would recommend the 12m Soul. Of course the size of your foil wing and twintip will also play a role. If you are on a large wing you could foil in light wind on the 10… but unless you’re on a large door twin tip, a 10m may be a bit small at 11 knots.

[@zeratul4330]

Hi guys. I am a big fan of your videos, they are really amazing! Riding only inflatable kites, now I am considering buying a foil one (particularly, soul) and hope I can ask you some questions, because here where I live everyone rides only inflatable kites. I am 60 kg, definetly not an expert, looking towards riding mainly a twintip or, ocassionly, a surfboard (dont have a foilboard yet) in a really lightwind conditions, something like 6 - 12 knots (my largest kite is 12m duotone rebel) and dont know which size to pick up. I am thinking about 15 meters but not quit sure yet. Given your experience, maybe you can tell me something?? Thanks in advance

[@semperfu733]

I think 15m is too big for 60kg and foil boarding. I recommend 12m. most of my friends same weight use 12m soul or hyperlink FRS and hyperlink in same weak condition. enjoy it.

[@semperfu733]

sorry 12m Kitech FRS and hyperlink ozone

[@zeratul4330]

@@semperfu733 Thank you for your answer!

[@OurKiteLife]

We agree that the 12m Soul would be a better choice!

[@junglsmor]

Whats the difference of foil and surf?

[@krash2094]

Is it possible to foil properly under 10 knots ? If so what size kite is recommended

[@GaetanoCrisci]

this is what everyone ask and hope... it's not for beginner for sure, but after you can kite from 6 to 10 knots with a 14m one struts LEI (Ozone Alpha V2, Ocean Rodeo Aluula etc), or with an 11m foil kite (still more advanced)

[@OurKiteLife]

As Gartano said, it’s possible but likely not for a beginner. It takes time and practice

[@airgaborpara3824]

How much cost approx a complete equipment? Foil, kite etc

[@OurKiteLife]

It really varies. Both kites and boards can range from inexpensive (used or entry level) to quite expensive. I’d suggest checking out online kite shops to get a better idea of pricing

[@Morrreee]

Ooh! Good video! Me and my father is going to buy two souls v2 and a HF board. But dont know the sizes yet. We're both 90kg. And we have a TT 138 and a flydoor (165?). Wind here is around 7-18 knots. But we do have 20-25 as well. But very gusty and rarely. 10 and 15? 12 and 15? 10 and 12? Or do you recommend anything else? Thanks!

[@OurKiteLife]

Thanks! We would recommend going with 10 and 15 Soul2

[@glebov66]

The next step is a wing foil. Looking forward to that video!

[@GestaltReality]

Personally, I would disagree with Tip 2. I tried learning with a big wing (1650) at first and it was a disaster, then tried a smaller wing (500) and it was way easier. Also have a friend learning right now and he prefers a much smaller wing (850) to start off with short mast (40cm) as well as opposed to a big wing. I would say this for the first 4-8 hours was the way to go for us, and then once ready to transition from taxiing to foiling a mid size wing (1000) was good.

[@GaetanoCrisci]

there is a debate on which is the easiest wing dimension to start... someone say big someone small, for sure with the small one you have to be ready to act rapidly and is for sure difficult to learn changing feet position because the board can't withstand lower speed...

[@TheSmallsAbroad]

1. How come you dont make videos any more? 2. How do you choose the wing size for kite foiling? I'm sure it varies with wind, kite size, and your weight?

[@OurKiteLife]

Work/life has been busy but we’re hoping to publish more videos this year :) Yes - wing size will depend on a few factors. We choose with wind conditions and kite size in mind

[@mattin84]

My tip for learning HF is to forbid yourself to use your TT until you have learned how to ride your HF and do transitions on it :) (obviously dont go out in 30 knots with your HF as a beginner)

[@OurKiteLife]

That’s a great one. A friend of ours made a similar rule to always go out on his hydrofoil first before he was “allowed” to go out on his twin tip. Worked very well!

[@TheSmallsAbroad]

Where are those shots that are not Toronto?

[@OurKiteLife]

Presqu’ile provincial park

[@DarknessNam]

Which beach are you kiting from? I’ve been looking to transition from static flying to kiteboarding. I mostly fly nasa wings though, up to 6m.

[@OurKiteLife]

Nice! Majority of the shots from this video are from Presqu’ile

[@petebang]

Nobody, talks about the wounds people get from foiling....

[@OurKiteLife]

Can’t argue that. We’ve seen some first hand, but the risk is greatly mitigated with proper safety gear - helmet, impact or life vest, thick wetsuit, gloves, booties

[@theleviathan0]

Best way to learn to foil is with an efoil

[@TylerKaraszewski]

Tip 5: stop calling it *foilboarding* 😂

[@OurKiteLife]

Oh no… I’ve been saying that for years 😄 what’s the correct term, foiling? Hydrofoiling? Kite foiling?

[@TylerKaraszewski]

@@OurKiteLife I don’t know, maybe it’s regional. We have kite foils, wind foils, wing foils, sup foils and occasionally e-foils out here on any given day. Which one is “foilboarding”. I think “kite foil” is more specific, but maybe “foilboarding” is common in some places.

[@christianhuegel1495]

Once you guys have passed the dolphin stage and can fly the hydrofoil safe it is time to start experimenting with kite line length. FS bars come standard in 17m +3m use 17m. After 1 year of hydrofoiling I am sure you will hate to hydrofoil with more than 15m kite lines...

[@OurKiteLife]

Agreed that hydrofoiling with shorter lines is so much better. Unfortunately we get so much doming in the summer that we have to use long lines to access the wind