Description
This is the full story of how the Step Bottom (patented) came about: Needs demand change, and in the summer of 2020, Kai came to Keith needing three things. 1. more control of his foil 2. less catch when touching down from radical maneuvers and 3. even less swing weight.
This has always presented a catch-22. Stretch a board out in length so that its thinner and therefore a closer connection to the foil, and the setup becomes much less agile. Go with a compact shape, add cutouts where possible, and you have a more agile board but less connection to the foil, and also more bulk. But Keith already had an idea in mind.
Elliot Leboe, longtime waterman and pioneer windsurfer, kiteboarder, and now foiler, is one of the top videographers on Maui and a KT R&D rider. He’s accumulated more footage of foilers across multiple disciplines than probably anyone. After watching hours of foiling footage for various projects, Elliot noticed that most of the time when people nosedive, it’s not because the board is short, but that when the board touches down, the rear section ‘holds’ the board, and so then with the momentum, the rider goes flying over the front.
His footage validated Keith’s initial idea of removing the rear bottom section, and confirmed the need to add sharper rails on the bottom beveled section, so that like a race board, the rails would immediately release from the water, making it possible to take off with as little friction as possible.
The idea was born. Keith immediately created prototypes in the 25/35/80/110 L sizes. The testing team of Keith, Kai, Elliot and Casey proceeded to run through the range, hunting locations across Maui where no one could see them, sometimes bringing board bags into the water, or if someone passed by on a downwinder, coming off foil and sinking the board, so no one could see the bottom. Stealth mission.
We were all mind-blown. Kai right away started pulling combos with more speed and flow than ever before. Keith and Elliot couldn’t believe how responsive the foil was now becoming. And Casey, winging the bigger sizes, wouldn’t stop saying how much faster these boards took off.
Features
- Ultra Carbon Monocoque Construction
- Hyper Skin HD
- Patented, US No. 11,027,796, EU No. 22020001-8
Package Includes
- Board
- The latest generation MFC footstraps X 3
