Forums > Kitesurfing Foiling

Custom made hydrofoils

Reply
Created by softguru > 9 months ago, 15 Apr 2022
softguru
9 posts
15 Apr 2022 4:16PM
Thumbs Up

Hi all, greetings.I am new to seabreeze and the forum, having read a number of interesting articles and discussions here I wish to ask the experts on advise on what is the best custom made hydrofoil made or finished in Australia or New Zealand.My interest if for a multi purpose set-up able to be adapted for Wave/Surf (wake/prone), Wing and Kite assisted foiling.I understand not many brands have custom made foils for specific biotypes and riding styles so I am avoiding stuff that is mass produced which you end up with 10 foil sets to do the job.All suggestions are appreciated, $$$ are not the defining factor.
Cheers, SG

KBGhost
QLD, 260 posts
17 Apr 2022 11:35AM
Thumbs Up

I could be 100% wrong here and I wouldn't call myself an expert but...

my 2c is that you can't ask one wing to do everything, and you can't ask one board to do everything. No matter how tailored to your "biotype" (weight?) and riding style.

Even if you go custom you will end up with multiple boards and front wings to cover 3 different sports, if you don't then you're compromising all of them.

Essentially you need a huge board for ding (moving down in sizes as you skill up), medium for wake/prone or learning kite, and pocket is best for freeride kite foil (ie not for speed and not for learning).

I had a quick try of a prone board for kite foil a couple of days ago, being used to smaller boards it felt like a tank, totally lifeless and I struggled to turn it. Yes you can ride like that all day and probably really easy to learn foot switches or rodeo etc, but it was pretty grim.

If you want a custom board made I would recommend CarbonCo.
thecarbonco.net/

drsurf
NSW, 177 posts
17 Apr 2022 11:14PM
Thumbs Up

Agree with KBGhost' comments.

If you have had no experience with any type of foiling then your request may seem reasonable, but once you've entered the foiling world through any of its avenues you'll find there is no specific answer to your question.

If you enter foiling via kiting for example you'll have the best chance of using just a couple of wings to do a lot of kitefoiling disciplines. Plus you can end up with potentially the smallest amount of equipment size wise depending on your kites.

The question is one of those how long is a piece of string questions, and although foiling may look the same from a distance or on video, up close the variations are almost incalculable. So many factors need to be taken into account starting with skill level, chosen foiling discipline, wind strength, wave size, rider weight, specific discipline preference, (ie. speed, waveriding, downwinding), fitness level and so on.

In the country of origin stakes NZ wins over Australia big time with some of the biggest names in foiling, Axis and Armstrong, originating there. However there's not much in the way of mass production or even custom made production of foils in either country that I am aware of, as the main foil production facilities for the planet are in Asia and Europe.
If you want a foil brand that has at least some of its core in this part of the world you're probably best to go for Axis as they have a massive range of foil equipment for most disciplines with lots of interchangeability and a vibrant second hand market.

dachopper
WA, 1784 posts
19 Apr 2022 12:19PM
Thumbs Up

Your best avenue here in my opinion, is to get in contact with a foil designer, and then probably get it 3d metal Printed, which will probably cost more than buying 10 production foils that are targetted at your individual application.

That is the cheapest way to get a custom foil made.... and chances are it will not do what you want it to do as others have said you want it to do 10 different things, and they do not exist together in the same space.

Have a look at Alpine foils. they are high performance and have a wide range of wings to bolt onto the rest, Moses also.



Subscribe
Reply

Forums > Kitesurfing Foiling


"Custom made hydrofoils" started by softguru