Mini Foilboard

[Yoda]

I was looking online for a video of a guy riding a foilboard with a mast that was half the height. During my search I stumbled onto this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxVQvm0in3Y
Looks like just mounting a foil onto a twintip could achieve the same affect. The board would need to be stiff like a wake-style board, but it could be a cost effective way of getting into foiling. What do you guys think of this?
Btw, anyone know of the "half mast" video that I'm talking about? I can't find it.

[CdoG]

is it this one ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzRG6n11t1w[/video]

[CdoG]

also a lot of discussion here on cut down mast
I found a cut mast helps for alameda ..i.e. for low tides and also less pain when you crash
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=196&t=2389369

[dwaynej]

Buddy purchased an Alpine Access 5.0 three weeks ago and was foiling after one season. He has 5-6 sessions now and today was working on his gybes.

You can go down the route of purchasing a really average foil and spending more money on short masts and such, or you can go out and buy a decent foil and start foiling.

[Xor]

As curious myself and planning to jump foiling wagon next season, I see StringyWings is the cheapest, but pretty good way to get into foiling. If you are not into racing, setup could serve you long time, with plate mount you can bolt it onto anything.


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[Xor]

That's StringyWings bolted to some cutoff tt:

https://youtu.be/2VElcu_AKnI

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[CdoG]

I should clarify I like the three foot mast on the sorka foil over the four foot mast on the hml lift.

[g00mbs]

John from Kite the Bay has a "mini-mast" he teaches on. Did my first session on that. Works really well. Aside from the idea of riding Alameda on a mini-mast due to tide constraints, I wouldn't see myself wanting a mini-mast for longer than a 1-2 sessions.

I went out and purchased an Access 5.0 from Alpine. I have 2 sessions on it so far and really like it. Note - I don't have much to compare it to. With the USD decent to the Euro right now, the foil and board was delivered to my door in 4 days from France for $2.4K.

My decision to go for the Access was due to the amount of time Alpine has been making foils, the great customer service I received thus far over emails, the medium price, the weight of the board+foil is 15.9 lbs, and the ability to slap on other wings if I would like to.

Just my $0.02 after riding the mini-mast. I do think it helped me progress faster than I would have otherwise.

[jaxonholer]

+1 for Sroka. It does have a 10 cm shorter mast than standard, but I think this is of secondary importance to the wing shape. The short mast does help, I recommend it, it's a great way to learn. Any shorter than that, I think you could be wasting your time, but not completely. You're not going to ride a shorty, then add 10 inches, then in a few more sessions add a few more, right? Maybe it helps a bit, but be ready to want to move on from that size quickly, I can't see buying one.

Like cdog said, the sroka is fun to ride relative to the lyft because of the wing shape, not the mast length. I don't have a clue what's easiest to learn on, but they are both good to learn on because they are slow. And by slow, it's still probably faster than you've ever gone. The key is water time, so get on it early and often. Eventually, you'll be saying, "That was the best session I've ever had". And the next session, you'll say, "THAT was the best session I've ever had". You'll platteau obviously, but you'll improve a lot each time.