Nobile Kiteboarding NHP Split Foil 139 x 41.5cm 2021
Reviews / Twin Tips
39,091
At A Glance
Nobile Kiteboarding is renowned for its innovative ideas to combat the extortionate travel costs that come with transporting kite kit when going abroad. Using technology and expertise from snowboard split boards, they have become THE split board specialists in the kitesurfing industry.
The newest innovation is the NHP Split Foil board, which is a twin-tip/foil split board. A very interesting concept and the idea behind this design is once again travel (one board for both disciplines) and also saving consumer costs. Furthermore, if the wind drops when you are twin-tipping on the board, you can just change it to “foil mode” and go out hydro-foiling.
The NHP Split Foil is a one-of-a-kind board. No other kite brand in the industry has got this feature in their catalogue of boards. You may be thinking, how does it work? Well, the board has been reinforced on areas of high load, which in this case is the foil mounting position. Other than that, the board looks like just a normal twin tip. The only other thing different is the extra screw holes it has for foot straps, and on the base, it has four mounting holes. From a distance, it looks like a standard twin tip kiteboard.
The construction of the board consists of a full wood core and a double concave underfoot. It also has an aggressive rocker incorporated into the design. The board feels a bit stiffer than some of the other boards made by Nobile, but this is due to the extra reinforcement around the foil connection point. The board is also slightly asymmetrical. Nobile says that this has been added to the board to give more grip on the heel side edge and less on the toe side for smoother turns.
The board is super easy to assemble and split in half. Just flick the two levers on the board, and the board is split; it really is as simple as that. The fins, foot straps, and bindings all come with the click and go screws that require no tools and are easy to set up.
The NHP Split Foil board comes with the standard G10 40mm fins and wave straps for foiling from Nobile. IFS GEN 2-foot straps are bought separately to go twin-tipping. The NHP Split Foil comes with the 4th generation Split W-Connection and splits in half, measuring at 76.3 x 41.5 cm and slots into the travelling case that comes standard with the board for stress-free travel!
Size: 139 x 41.5cm
On The Water
When I took the board on the water, I was a bit concerned to see how well the board would perform for twin-tipping due to the extra reinforcements for the foil, making it stiff and slightly on the heavy side. However, I can say that it feels like other Nobile Boards. Once you hit the water, you forget that this board is also a foil board as well. The aggressive rocker line meant that popping the board felt comfortable, and the stiffness of the board meant a lot of energy could be stored and then released. Moreover, the channels gave loads of grip to send it upwind.
The board felt extremely smooth underfoot and cut through the chop very cleanly. This can be attributed to the Complete Anti-Vibration Technology that Nobile incorporates into all their boards.
In terms of foiling, the NHP performs adequately. The board has a bit of a disadvantage compared with traditional foil boards or surf/foil crossovers due to the rocker needed for a twin-tip. The rocker hampered the flight of the board and occasionally got stuck to the water. However, once up on the foil, the board behaves like a normal board. The board does not have a deck pad and can be slippery, so if you are using it for foiling frequently, I would suggest adding some wax on top or traction pads for that extra grip.
Overall
The NHP Split Foil board is a great twin-tip board with loads of pop, offering excellent feedback underfoot. Beyond requiring a little extra work to get up on foil due to the twin-tip rocker, once up, it perhaps just as you would expect a wood core foil board to. The practicality this dual-purpose board offers makes it the BEST travel companion out there. For those who wish to travel light, this could really be the ideal one board quiver!
Videos
This review was in Issue 89 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit Nobile KiteboardingRelated
By Liam Dredge
Liam fell in love with all Watersports after completing numerous seasons aboard, he then picked up kiting whilst in the warm tropics of the Carribean and has been obsessed ever since! Anyone that knows him would say it's near the only thing he talks about (which drives some crazy), and he loves to keep up to date with all the latest news, equipment and events that kiting has to offer. Liam also runs his own Watersports Centre along the south coast of the UK, LOOP Watersports, which is where our IKSURFMAG Test Centre is located!
