Why is Kite Foiling Dying? 🤔

Why is kitefoiling on the decline? In this video, we dive into the reasons why some riders are stepping away from kitefoiling, with insights straight from industry experts. They share their thoughts on the sport’s future, what’s pulling people toward other emerging sports, and what’s needed to keep kitefoiling alive. Whether you're a dedicated kitefoiler or just curious, you’ll get the answers you’ve been looking for from the pros!

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[blakoemail]

I windsurf I kitesurf and I wingsurf. I am 47 years old. When the wind is over 20 knots I like to windsurf. When the wind is around 15 to 20 with no waves I like to kitesurf. Around 8 to 15 knots I wingsurf. Still my favorite is windsurfing.

[unorthofox]

Kite foiling isn't dying per se, it's just getting lost in the plethora of watersport options available to us.. What a time to be alive!

[bikesbeersbeats]

I switched to wing foiling purely because it was just simpler, required less gear and is a lot cheaper to get into. I had been kiting for years and just wanted to do something different. Wing foiling was insanely difficult to learn compared to kiting. With winging it opened up a lot more options, wave riding is more fun, downwinding is awesome, being up to pump foil off a dock is amazing, wake foiling is amazing. I also like that friends can try it out without having the inherent danger of a kite carrying them off into the distance.

[pierreisabelle]

I have been kiteboarding for years and took up kite foiling to simply allow for more time on the water. I especially love going out with my foil board in light wind, rip quietly around while my ttip friends sit idly by, twiddling their thumbs.
Keep up the great videos Mike!

[dp]

I chased that wind for over 30yrs and now the waters drying up here. I’m not selling any toys yet but, You can find new waves to ride right in front of you if you open your minds. I found Onewheels about 7 years ago and now I’m going crazy with off-road EUC’s. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” LOL of chasing fun, sleeping in vans, and sand in my ass. Now I just walk out my front door and there’s all kinds of terrain to ride right here in my neighborhood. This is super accessible fun and I can sleep in my own bed every night and never ever drive a car anymore.😊
Unfortunately the dirt and pavement hurt REALLY BAD compared to water but, I just keep padding up more and riding within my limits. No one ever loved more than me but sometimes I’ve found that I need to keep moving on and keeping it fresh to be happy. In my older age I’ve found that you really don’t have to decide either / or when you can try everything.
Keep on charging!

[hugovdz]

What I noticed is that many people abandon kitefoiling because they do not manage to learn to jibe or tack. It is quite a challenge indeed, but once you know it there is nothing that compares to the smooth ride and the dynamics of kitefoiling. I love it! On tip, the choice of equipment is way more important than with twintipping. After months of struggling with various foil brands I bought the Core foil and shortly after I was nailing my jibs and tacks. Really an awesome foil. The videos of Steven Akkersdijk, Ben Beholz and Fred Hope were a big inspiration.

[MuddyTrousers]

It’s really hard to get in/on a wave and keep the kite in the air. The thing about just switching off the kite being impossible is a large part of it. The wingers I know when they get that feeling of the waves that’s all they want and the kite aspect is almost now a distraction. The funny thing is they’re instructors with their own schools. For fun they wing for work they kite.

[HrSnuggles]

Here at my spots at the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany we have only a handful of people kitefoiling and I don't understand why because it's amazing as an addition to your twintip.
10-15knots = kitefoiling
>15knots = Foil/Twintip


Just grab some used foils for a cheap price and just try it. It will add a lot of days on the water!

[flojos]

Great video. Good questions. It is nice to have a video that "meditates" about what is happening with these water sports and where the trends are going. Thanks!

[passatonvoisin]

I got into kitefoiling recently and I love it. From the start I always thought that might not be the end game but that it was the easiest entry into foiling for me. Next step being winging and prone foiling.
What really blows my mind, besides the quietness and efficiency, is the ability to ride whole new angles, going far downwind and back in no time. This opened up my usual spots, allowed me to explore them deeper and further knowing that even if the wind drops to 6-8kt I will still make it back which I think would be a lot harder with a wing. But I can see now that after progressing to the point where i'm comfortable in waves, when I find myself on a downwind wave, I wish I had that wing that I can flag out and just stay on the wave.

In the end it's amazing to have all these options, and any new discipline brings a lot to the previous ones, if your wallet can handle it.
And big thanks to Fred and Steven for making it look so good and inspiring. I think I'm gonna get these water headphones.

[AdamsHadEnough]

It's totally dying at my home spot, there's a few guys still doing it. I got sick of going out on those 10kt days that kitefoiling opened up, only to have them becoming 3 knot days with brutal swims home, not to mention the beach bans, crowds and hassles. I swapped out to windfoiling, then winging and dockstarting and haven't looked back. The lack of depowered foiling was the thing about kitefoiling that bugged me the most, I was never good enough to shut the kite off for more than a second or two, also I kinda sucked. So much respect for guys that can kitefoil well, it's the most challenging of the wind-based foil sports in my opinion.

[glidejunkie]

A very interesting debate with the best in the field. The advantages and disadvantages of kitefoil and wingfoil were made clear. What surprises me is that no one talks about the sensations you feel with a kite foil and a wing foil. I’m referring to the feeling transmitted by the foil + board combination. In kitefoiling, the foil generally has less surface area, less wingspan, less A/R and with a short, lightweight board, it allows you to feel the foil better. The result is more acceleration, speed, and sharper turns. In wingfoiling, due to the inefficiency of the sail, the foils are larger and require more wingspan and higher A/R to facilitate gliding at low speeds. With large, heavy boards that have swinging inertia, the sensations of the foil are completely dampened. Of course, I’m talking about the average gear that most people use. I know expert wingers are using very small, fast foils with pocket boards, but most will never reach that level.

[EDWARD_KOENIG_ARCHITECT]

I've been kitesurfing for 19 years and just this week I bought my first kite foil setup and board. It's insanely expensive to get into this sport. That, coupled with a lack of lesson centers makes it tough to get into. Why is gear so expensive? I've seen the cost of boards go from $500 to now $1100. We don't need carbon fiber boards. That's crazy. I still have my two first boards from 2004 when I started and they work Cabrinha Prodigy 158 which I use for light wind days and my Best Kiteboarding 133. I love that board. Why are bindings so dam expensive? What entry level kid can afford this stuff? I only buy close out gear. Any board I buy is a closeout from 3 years ago. The brand new foil I just bought is a BRAND NEW Cabrinha Hi: Lift from 2020. It's 5 years old and was sitting on a warehouse shelf all this time, for I bought a brand new 2021 Slingshot Alien Air that again was sitting on a shelf. New setups are easily over $1000. I only buy Chinese Pansh foil kites because they are 1/4 the price of anything else. Not to mention the standard kite quiver is usually three kites.

Anybody that asks me on the beach how to get started, I tell them to get lessons, then rent the equipment first. Then if they want to pursue it more to get some used gear from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. There is tons of good CHEAP used gear.

[TheSmallsAbroad]

Great video. I am learning kite foiling, and man its hard, but also so serene.

[MaximilianSeitz]

What about the benefits of jumping with a Kite Foil? You can go huge with low and very strong wind. Big Air Foiling is amazing! 🔥

[dianamccandless]

I'm glad to hear that my instincts were correct: Wing foiling is safer and more accessible that Kite foiling. I took a 6-hour double lesson on Kite surfing with my boyfriend and I got a little freaked out by all the long kite lines going all around me, and didn't like the complicated "self-rescue" (coming from a windsurfing background). we Decided we want to switch to Wing foiling. Got started with some e-foil lessons.

[Saxofaxo]

What a great idea for a video. Love that you interviewed these amazing kiters. thank you

[lifeoftopher]

Just had my first ever successful kite Foil session and I am so stoked on it. It allows you to Foil when you can’t wing because of lite wind. And you have way more fun in flatwater, light wind conditions. My buddy was winging and could barely get up on Foil and I’m doing like 10 foot boosts over his head. That’s sick that you interviewed the Sandy van guys.

[MBACSailing]

I'm still working on my windsurf foiling and starting to get into winging for those lighter wind days. As you said, wind is pretty limited here in San Diego at times so I just haven't had the opportunity to get into kiting yet unfortunately.

[edublanquet]

Long time kitesurfer. I started kitefoiling a few years ago and i mostly kitefoil now. My local spot has very bad wind and kitefoiling has really opened up lots of days where I would not get out. I love being able to boost in 12-14knt or be able to easily stay upwind in low winds. Might try wingfoiling in the future, but in my local spot most days with marginal winds kitefoilers are boosting while wingfoilers can barely get going.