My Kite foil travel setup for family trips

My Kite foil travel setup for family trips

Recently I was on a family trip to France. The goal of the trip wasn’t kiting, but we were staying near the ocean, and there was definitely wind on occasion. The last trip had been a pain. I’d taken a split board travel setup, but it ultimately required two bags full of kite gear—and those bags weren’t particularly mobile.

This trip was all about refactoring my setup to pack lighter and move faster—especially through airports and train stations with a toddler in tow.

The Old Setup

Here’s an outline of the previous travel setup that I’d taken on at least 3 larger kite trips.

Bags:

Nobile Check-in bag
– Ortlieb RS 110 duffleContents:
– Nobile Infinity Split surfboard / foil– Slingshot Hoverglide Foil - Apollo 60 Wing– Mystic Majestic X Harness– 12m Xlite– 9m NexusPros:
The main benefit of this setup is that both bags are standard check-in size, so no oversize bag fees. The other benefit of this is that when you are taking taxis, or renting smaller European cars, the bags have no problems fitting in the trunk.
The other benefit is that the Nobile infinity split doubles as a surfboard. It’s not the best surfboard, but it's a decent flat water light wind directional, and it can be fun in smaller waves. The only real issue here is that my 12m single strut xlite isn’t powerful enough to get me going in waves, I’d really need to bring a 3 strut Nexus which takes more space.
Cons:
The biggest con is that both of these bags are unstructured. They don’t have a full rolling suitcase frame, so they don’t roll well—and, more importantly, they don’t stand upright on their own. This is a huge challenge when
you are juggling multiple suitcases, chasing your 3 year old at the airport, or hauling your gear across cobblestones or sand. The worst is waiting in line at check-in, taking a step forward, putting your bag down on the ground and then having to pick it up 20 seconds later to take another step forward.
The next big con is that the Nobile infinity board is heavy, long, and pretty thick so it takes up a bunch of space in the bag. This weight adds up over time as you carry bags up stairs, and load them into cars.
The Setup
Let’s get into the new setup. My top priority? A suitcase that actually rolls well. Big floppy suitcases like golf bags don’t carry weight that well, and they sag and they are hard to transport. The two bags above both have soft handles and no structure, and neither really stand upright on their own.
Suitcase
My goal was to get everything in one suitcase that had a structured rolling system and could stand upright. It needed to be over 90cm/36 inches long to fit a board, which really limits the options. The contenders included the Osprey Transporter 130L, the Osprey Sojourn, North Face Rolling Thunder, the Eagle Creek ORV Trunk,

I went with the Osprey Transporter 130L because it was a little lighter and it would let me pack more gear in it without going over the weight limit. It was also $100 cheaper than the Sojourn. It also had great reviews in scuba forums, which is another sport that needs to lug a ton of heavy gear.

For gear that couldn’t fit into my osprey, I had an Eagle Creek Expand 30. This could take all the gear that wouldn’t fit into the first suitcase. That typically ends up being my helmet and harness, or an impact vest.

Kite Board
To fit in that suitcase, I needed a sub 94cm board. That meant that my Slingshot Dwarfcraft 120cm was out of the picture. I loved the slingshot boards, so it made the 90cm Slingshot Travel Craft a good choice, especially since it was on sale for $500. It’s a much much shorter board, but it’s quite wide and has a bit of volume to it, so it barely fits through the opening on the Osprey.

The other board I use is the Nobile NHP split boardtwintip , which is 77cm x 42 when split in half, which easily fits in the Osprey’s dimensions of 94H X 47W X 39D CM. For this trip, I decided to just foil to keep everything as small and compact as possible, while having the highest chances of being able to kite, even if the wind was light.

Kites
Given the restrictions around only bringing a foil board, I figured on this trip I could bring smaller more foil-specific kites. 5 strut kites and 3 strut kites take up a decent amount of space in the bag, but they’re good if you want to twin tip. The 12m xlite from core has been a really good lightweight option in my quiver, so it made sense to add an 8m and a 6m xlite to the setup for when the wind picks up. The two smaller xlites take up less space because they have less struts and are made of lighter material, so they were only slightly bigger than my Nexus 9m ( a 3 strut kite).

Performance
So how’d it all perform on the trip? Honestly—great.

I put the travel set up to the test by flying to Paris, spending a week there, then taking a train down to Bordeaux. The real test came from catching the train. We had to fit everything in the taxi to the train station. Then when the boarding stated, we had to fight the masses past the gates and down the platform with 3 large suitcases, 2 carry on bags, and a stroller. The crux of the experience was getting up to the upper deck of the train through the small curved staircase, and then back down again against the crowds to get the rest of the bags.

Then we had to get from the train station to the rental counter, which was a long walk across the train station and down the street. Then cram everything into a smaller than average SUV rental car.

All in all I am thrilled with how the Osprey performed. It is incredibly easy to roll. For those that want a packing light, here’s what I brought:

- Slingshot Travel Craft 90cm foil board
– Core Xlite 12m, 8m, 6m single strut kites– Core Foil Bar– Mystic X Harness– Mystic Helmet– Ion Booster Impact Vest– Ride Engine Micro PumpPro Tip - Backpack straps
The one major missing feature on the Osprey is backpack straps. The previous bags, the Ortlieb and the Nobile had built in straps. This is key for situations like going up the stairs on a train or going up the stairs to get to an Airbnb.

The answer to this problem is this set of Protec backpack straps on Amazon. They are very quick and easy to attach to just about any bag, and the straps themselves are surprisingly comfortable. You simply pass the top clip of the straps through the grab handle at the top of the bag.

Then you pass the bottom of the left and right strap through the grab handles on the side in the middle of the bag, and then clip them shut.
The Osprey also has a top compartment near the handle—perfect for storing the straps when not in use.
Conclusion
So there you have it. I shrunk my setup from two bags, down to one and 1/4 bags. Both of these new bags roll much more easily than the previous setup. The primary advantage of this setup is rolling them through airports and train stations. As the chief luggage carrier of the family, all that weight falls on me, and this new setup makes things much much easier.
In fact, I love the osprey bag so much, I bought a second, and I’ll use the extra space for my child’s clothes. In the future, I’m going to try to make some changes to my kite setup so that everything can pack down into one osprey bag. I’m thinking of trying Slingshot UFO kites, which have zero struts, and pack down even smaller than my xlite. I’d also like to get a soft shell helmet and a soft shell harness that bend and more easily fit into a kite bag.

If you’re thinking about a light foil setup, then I’d highly recommend the osprey. I’ve taken it on 6+ flights at this point, and I think its worth every penny.