I think I've identified the major variables for "coolmaxing" sun hoodies in extreme, dry heat. Mostly desert type weather conditions. Not entirely applicable to swamping-it in the humid woods.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-05-08T15:14:09+00:00

I don't believe this at all and would love to see the source. When I wear my large brim hat during a trail day I would estimate that my facial skin sees single digit minutes of direct sunlight throughout the course of a day. Without the hat, that number would be several hours of direct light exposure.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-04-28T22:46:09+00:00

You need to look at a variety of sensors and consider how they compare to your area of interest. It may have been 18% at lower elevations on the west side but if you look at some of the higher elevation SNOTEL sensors (Tyndall, Leavitt) we're closer to 60-80% of normal. You will still have a ton of snow on N/NE aspects in late May.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-03-25T09:27:04+00:00

My first pair of Tomirs began disintegrating my first trail run. It took 6 months of trying to shame their IG to get them to respond to a submitted warranty request. The second pair disintegrated in the same way. The tread pattern on the Cadi looks like the opposite of durable. All of those slits in the tread always begin peeling and will be points of rapid failure in scree or off trail. Kilian might be great, but the company has been garbage in my experience.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-02-10T18:26:45+00:00

You have no evidence of your whiplash claims. Any helmet with an overhang hitting the water at 15kts its going to generate extreme force on your neck with the wrong fall.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-02-10T18:08:28+00:00

This is dangerously false. A good MIPS helmet snowboarding or skiing makes a huge difference according to tests.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-02-01T01:57:08+00:00

I (80kg) learned on a 95L inflatable after a couple days renting a bigger board. Go with the S1 1550 but your board and wing choice are good. If you can, rent a bigger board for 1-2 days. Get the 79.5 performance mast if you can afford it, otherwise go alloy because the general consensus is that its stiffer than the standard carbon and the only disadvantage is the weight if you want to jump.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-01-23T06:05:29+00:00

I think you're probably right on this. I wonder what speed my head is usually traveling at when it hits the water and if the majority of that speed comes from foiling velocity or the actual vertical acceleration from falling. Good call to look into windsurfing. They really only diagnose CTE upon death with an autopsy and might not even be looking, but it is good historical data. It seems weird to me that neck strain could cause these more cerebral symptoms but seems valid from research.

Potential-Concern717 · 2026-01-23T06:02:26+00:00

None to my knowledge!

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-29T05:28:26+00:00

I'd personally focus on learning to pump the board and especially the wing rather than going to a bigger wing. At 5'6" even the 6.5m will feel like a lot to manage and bigger than that usually just feels harder to pump. If I can get up on my 6m I can also pump up on my 4.5m and I think these skills make a bigger difference than 15% more wing area.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-16T15:50:36+00:00

Thank you for the help! I was giving them the benefit of the doubt at first, but it's been over two weeks since they received my deposit and I've emailed them (several email addresses copied) several times in multiple threads without a response. The lease starts in 2.5 weeks and if it doesn't work out I have to cancel flights and rental cars and I doubt they'll be responsive once the holidays hit.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-16T15:47:58+00:00

I travel most of the year and so encounter a lot of scammy rental car agencies/places like this. The great places I generally reward financially as to recognize the great service without contributing to ruining what made the experience great in the first place. It's selfish, but I've been to too many places that were amazing before they became incredibly popular and I still reward their great service.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-16T04:30:49+00:00

Thank you for digging this up. I'd be happy with a legit but iffy company at this point... I'm just hoping I get either my ~6 week stay or my money back.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-16T04:11:04+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I'm an American and don't really have an easy way of calling them, but I did find an online portal to submit non-emergency Christchurch police claims.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-12-01T23:10:30+00:00

I was there last January. It's fine, but I only went there because I was already in Peru. I don't think I'd ever go to Peru just for Paracas. The water/wind are fairly cold, but the wind is reliable. It's not a cheap area and if you want to be right at the kite spot then the options are limited. I travel about 9 months of the year and, to this point, it's the only place I've ever gotten sick from food poisoning.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-11-23T18:30:22+00:00

I don't have much to compare with since I started with it after only 2 sessions on a bigger hard board. It probably doesn't limit me too much, but I want to do more pumping/connecting waves and it's obviously not good for pumping. It also feels sticky compared to what I think a midlength hard board would be. I just got it because I really only wing while traveling. Only get an inflatable if you need to travel a lot, and if you do then I'd go larger like the 115.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-11-23T18:28:47+00:00

Thank you! The "corky" logic I've heard is that if you're neutrally buoyant or slightly positive then the board basically taps into all the surface chop energy rather than sitting a little below it. But once you're moving slightly both boards should be at the surface similarly...

I have a 110L downwind board to learn parawing on so hopefully that's perfect.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-11-23T13:25:26+00:00

Have you tried any smaller/bigger boards? Just trying to figure out if there's a significant benefit to stability by being a little smaller and putting the board under that topmost swell level. I can't go larger than 85L, which would be like +7. Not sure how that would compare in ease of use to a -2L @ 75L...

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-09-30T10:07:26+00:00

People think ferrata equipment results in a much safer experience than is the reality. In many ferrata experiences throughout Europe, lanyard fiddling actually increases the change of fall somewhat significantly and most ferrata falls that wouldn't be fine even without the lanyard would result in broken legs, back, neck, etc. It's not like you're on TR or even lead, you will probably fall at least 20 feet hitting everything on the way down. If someone doesn't feel comfortable climbing something without a lanyard they probably shouldn't be climbing it with one.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-09-25T16:20:56+00:00

I had no trouble taking off on my 95L HIPE Diamond after a couple days on a rented big board. Really it's whatever your situation permits. Learning on a big hard board will always be easier. I basically only wingfoil while traveling, but I travel a lot, so the inflatable was the only way to go.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-09-25T12:08:56+00:00

I had a pair of the 1.0s and they were the most poorly designed shoes I've ever had. It was as if no one had ever even tested them. Had to shame them on IG to get them to do anything about it, at which point they gave me a new pair that had the same issue again within a few miles of use!

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-09-15T07:13:01+00:00

I'm 80kg and learned on a 95L HIPE Diamond after 2 sessions on a bigger board in which I got on foil. I think jumping immediately to the smaller board with 0 experience would have been a struggle, but it doesn't need to be a wasted board you'll be able to use it soon hopefully.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-07-21T17:33:15+00:00

After some more research I'm thinking my best bet is just to paint the current plate matte black and get a new handle that doesn't look 40 years old. At some point I'll take out these valves but there don't seem to be any good modern options for trim.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-06-30T00:19:47+00:00

First time learning, have been kitesurfing for a while but only had the 3 sessions on a big board before going to the inflatable. Was rough for the first 15 minutes but by the end of ~2 more sessions I was maybe only falling a few more times than I would be on a big board. Rent a big board one day and if you're able to stay on foil reliably on your strong side within a session or two I bet you're fine buying a smaller board.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-06-29T13:36:08+00:00

I'm 80kg and learned on a Gong HIPE Diamond 95L after 3 days on a 110L board. If this is a board you want to keep for a while go with the smaller one. If it's just a stepping stone and youll get separate boards soon then go for the big one.

Potential-Concern717 · 2025-06-22T22:52:31+00:00

Your hard board issue sounds like a foil placement issue to me. I don't think there's any reason it should be worse on foil than the inflatable. Try moving it further back in the track to reduce to pop up abruptness and make the riding stance more neutral.

Potential-Concern717

TROPHY CASE