Hi All,
I am a beginner-intermediate skilled kitefoiler. Normally I can ride straight, go upwind, do some toeside transitions, basic stuff. Today I had my first day on my H2 on a 54" Dwarfcraft having previously used smaller wings like the Slingy foil that Greg from BRM used to ride as well as the LF Rocket wing. Riding the H2 which I thought would be mellow ended up being almost impossible despite having it full back in the track. I expected I would need more forward foot pressure, but even compensating for the bigger size it would lift immediately, once up after much struggling I was okay but still didn't even get foiling much at all. I am thinking I will need to go back to something smaller like an H2. Does anyone have any experience with the H2? Oh yeah and I couldn't get over the weight of this thing. How do people water start these things strapless?
Honestly your progression will be incredible on this wing. I learnt to foil in 2 hours on this.
The trick is to stay directly on top of the board, do not lean out or try to edge.
Next thing is to keep the board flat on the water by using lots of front foot pressure. Once you get the feel of it, lift off very gently.
This is wing has huge lift so front foot pressure is crucial
I think the thing to remember with bigger foil wings, is they were designed to have a whole lot of SUP projecting forward of the mast. So starting does often generate serious lift in a very upward direction.
Try to slow down the speed of your start by getting on top of the board before huge forward movement.
Never used it but the standard H5 is a great all round wing for progression. H2 is too big for me and low speed. I ride the speed wing now. Heaps of stability and fast.
Did you have the mast inserted in the wing or on the fuselage behind the mast? I found when I used the Infinity 76 I had to put the mast in the wing. When using the H4 wing I was able to put the mast on the fuselage rather than in the wing. With the Infinitiy 76 I found it was unusable for me when it was on the fuselage as there was just too much lift.
Thanks for the replies guys. I think the statement about getting on top of the board first is a good one. I may have been cocky trying quick starys onto the foil like with my old setup. As for the H2, I have been using the wing with great results windfoiling for the last few months so I know how much lift it is capable of. I have been eying some used H5 wings and will probably go down that route eventually. I can't imagine keeping that 76cm Infinity in the water and yet people rave about it for kiting.i suppose in swell it would be a blast if I could take all that lift.
The Infinity 76 actually has a higher top speed than the Gamma (H2) wing.
It is the next generation in foil wing design and has a greater range. Both low end and top speed.
So it's actually easier to handle than the H2 at high speeds both kiting and surfing.
However the H2 has insane acceleration. Which feels awesome when riding down the face of a wave. Whereas the Infinity will have a much more controlled acceleration.