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KT’s Wing Drifter is a foilboard designed to be a light, forgiving, and extremely stable board that’ll get you going with minimal effort and minimal input. It is reactive, and as we discovered, provides a truly next level winging experience.
The range comes in thirteen sizes from 4'4 (34L) to 6'4 (160 L) – one of the largest quivers any brand has ever provided for a wing board. For this test we took out the 5’0/72 liter board. I’m 186cm, and 85kgs.
The Wing Drifter is built in an ultralight, super rigid EPS/carbon sandwich construction with a reinforced carbon exoskeleton. The board feels amazingly light and balanced in your hands. The volume distribution, outline, deep-bevel rails, concaves and recessed deck leaves you with no doubt: in your hands you have a state-of-the-art, computer-designed high-end piece of research and development.
The shape is a rounded outline designed to be as comfortable and as compact as possible, with a recessed deck and a lot of volume on the tail to push the board up into flight with the slightest input. The ultra-lightweight construction gives the board plenty of response and acceleration and a very comfortable, no-lag foiling experience.
On the water, the concave recessed deck fits perfectly under your knees and brings you to a natural position on top of the water. It is extremely stable and doesn’t require any specific handling to get going. The volume distribution is perfect, and staying on your knees is very easy even in the worst conditions. For 85kgs, the 72 liters felt very buoyant and I wasn’t struggling at all. Once up on your feet, the board remains ultra-stable, even when sunk, and that’s a standout feature you’ll find with the KT Drifter boards. The volume distribution matches the outline perfectly, and keeping the board underwater while waiting for the release is very comfortable.
The recessed deck allows you to naturally position yourself in the sweet spot of the board and the deep-beveled rails help the board to drift sideways and be forgiving on take-off. You’ll feel like you’re controlling the foil instinctively and the board is doing exactly what you want it to do. As soon as it takes off the ride becomes unbelievably smooth. The very rigid and light construction provides instant feedback from the foil and feels like you are riding a much smaller board.
On flight, it feels so naturally comfortable that you can handle high speed really well and it gives you the confidence to push deeper into your carves. Anytime it hits the water it is highly forgiving and smooth. On a breach and nosedive, the nose bounces on the water without bucking you off the board, and brings the board gently parallel to the surface without losing any speed.
Featuring a 3D MFC pad and three MFC footstraps (that genuinely feel like you are wearing slippers – lush!) the Wing Drifter provides a truly unique wingfoiling experience. We loved it. AB
