I've been looking hard at local used listings and the various starter kits offered by Real, MacKites, Gong, etc.

I'm 78 kg with experience kiteboarding, wakeboarding, snowboarding, but not foiling. Local winds can be 15-20 mph or 20-30 mph depending on season and direction (OBX, NC).

It seems like the Freedom Foil Boards Beginner Wing package is the best value I can find for a non-inflatable board. $2000 for their Wingnut Board, the Halcyon 1030 Foil, and a Session Wing of choice. The wingnut comes in 65 L, 90 L, 120L. I understand that common knowledge would be to go for the 90L at my weight, but then later people move smaller, so I'm waffling between adding more learning pain with the 65L to extend the time I'll want to keep the board.

Looking at local used listings, there's a Cabrinha Code 5' 75 liters (with a couple repairs) with a Lift 200 V2 for sale for 1700. No Wing included, but there are a couple of beat up Airrush V2 wings 3m, 4m, listed for $500. If I get the FFB kit, I could get a 6M or 5M wing and still supplement with the Airrush wings for a full quiver of wind options.

I can't find a lot of discussion of the FFB Wingnut Board or Halcyon 1030, but what I did see seemed positive enough, minus the deck grips delaminating a lot. I also like that the progression foils seem to work well with the FFB box placement if I would move into them later, though I might end up needing to swap the whole board any way.

I've also toyed with the idea of immediately getting a downwind board and progression foil and trying to learn winging on that to skip all the buying and selling in the middle, but I'm not sure if the pain is worth it.

Anyone have any thoughts on these options or potentially another option I haven't found? I'm looking for the best value both in terms of startup costs, but also in terms of how long I'll be able to use / augment the setup before moving on.

Cheers!

I'm sure the board is OK. But you don't want to go cheap on a foil set or a wing. Choose a name brand foil set like Axis, Armstrong, or Fone because you get locked in once you choose a foil. Also get a decent 5m wing like Duotone or Fone. At 78 kg if you have not foiled before, I would suggest a 105L board (25L plus your weight). Learn on that. Then sell it in a few months and get an 80L board

JakeDawg69 said..
I'm sure the board is OK. But you don't want to go cheap on a foil set or a wing. Choose a name brand foil set like Axis, Armstrong, or Fone because you get locked in once you choose a foil. Also get a decent 5m wing like Duotone or Fone. At 78 kg if you have not foiled before, I would suggest a 105L board (25L plus your weight). Learn on that. Then sell it in a few months and get an 80L board

Yes I've been waffling back and forth between trying to start with a foil kit that I can continue with, or just buying a beginner package like the FFD one and then selling the board and foil together. Selling it all would make more sense if I went with the larger sized board 120L as I think I would more quickly outgrow that vs the 90L. If I got the 90L board, there's a chance I'd want to hold onto the board and switch out the foil system. Tough call- thanks for your input!

Some foilers keep the old stuff in the garage and forget all bout it and will be happy to clear some room making few hundred bucks.
I managed to get a friend of mine setup under $1000. All third generation hand me down comprised of a SlingShot Wing Craft 120L, GoFoil Maliko set, and a used duotone slick 6M v1.

You could score good equipment that you might even pass on for couple of hundred less to the next beginner, just need to ask around a bit.

Here in the Gorge my buddy got a Takuma 130lter with 2nd Gen Takuma LOL1600 foil for $650 it was a great starter pack...