KT Drifter 4 - 5"2 - 56 liter 2024/25 review and comparison to the Wing Drifter board

KT stands for the initials from shaper Keith Teboul who has a big career of shaping boards on Maui. In the windsurfworld he is known from the brand Quattroboards. Now With KT he's making his mark in the foilboard industry with great designs.
In this review I will talk about the KT Drifter 4, 56 liters. And also compare it to the previous model, the KT Wing Drifter. Of which the 56l board has been my go-to and favorite board for almost 2 years. Because this board was longer than most in this size, it was much easier to get on foil. Now with the new shape I was very curious how it would compare.
My dimensions are 1.94cm tall and I weigh about 83kg.
We have the KT Drifter 4 available on our site, check;
English: wingsurfer.shop/product/kt-dr...
Dutch: wingsurfer.shop/product/kt-dr...
(stock arrives half of July 2024)

[@ozoneflysurfer9491]

Excellent review🙏

[@Jeroensurf]

Mooie vergelijking Kris :)
Ik hou het nog ff bij het de nu overjarige 5.4, maar wie weet in de toekomst. :)

[@WingsurferNL]

Dankje Jeroen. Hopelijk gaat het niet teveel kriebelen ;) De 'oude' 5.4 is natuurlijk gewoon een heerlijk board!

[@nikita.gazarov]

Thank you for the video! I'm just looking at buying the 2022/2023 Wing Drifter 56L at my local shop. Do you know of anyone using it with Armstrong foils? You mentioned that the board has short mast tracks, and Armstrong masts do like to sit forward in the tracks, so I worry about compatibility...

[@WingsurferNL]

The new one has long mast tracks, far forward aswell. Should be good! But yes, the 22/23 model wouldn't be a good match for Armtstrong. Then again, I dont know all models from Armstrong. I do know someone just got one, that is using Armstrong. If you can, look at the new model. A much safer bet.

[@nikita.gazarov]

@@WingsurferNL Thanks. Unfortunately the latest model is out of my budget for now.
I'm a bit confused though, the new model has longer tracks, yes, but when you're holding both the new and old boards in the video at 6:30, it kinda looks like in the new model, the tracks are expanded to add track length on the rear, not on the front, you know what I mean? It's puzzling to me why this change moves the ideal mast position backwards in the tracks, when the front of the tracks remains in the same location, more or less. Perhaps it's the new board's shape that changed this, somehow...
On the 22/23 model, did you want to put the mast more forward just to be able to make sharp turns / tricks with strong rear foot pressure, or was it bad enough to be a problem even during normal casual use as well? Basically, how does it feel / how do you know, when you have this problem? Is it only a problem when using footstraps, because the position of your feet are locked?

[@WingsurferNL]

​@@nikita.gazarov It is in combination with the footstraps. Suppose without them you have some more room to move around. Looking at a photo, it seems straps have gone more to the rear on the new model. On the old model I could use a Advance fuselage from Axis foils almost al the way to the front. Advance+ (20mm closer to frontwing) I ran out of track space. F-one all the way to the front was possible. Armstrong i have not tried.

[@nikita.gazarov]

@@WingsurferNL Thank you for elaborating, that makes sense. I'll ask around locally if anyone is using Armstrong in combination with this board.

[@Alfonso_111]

Good review, thanks. Have you considered the new KT Ginxu?

[@WingsurferNL]

Not really. Alltough the new Ginxu 2 model is longer, for the conditions we get I think it will be more difficult to get up on a similar size.
The Ginxu Super K is a different story. The 92 gets going faster then fast.
Now gone compare the Drifter 80 and super k 80.

[@vigolivenca]

You could have compared how the two bords handle foil drive, not just the new board. Thanks

[@WingsurferNL]

Big difference. As mentioned there is a gap between the FD and the 56l Wing Drifter. So much more rocker and it costs a lot of effort to get on to a smaller foil. Think I had about 10 sessions untill I got a dedicated FD board (Axis) which almost has no rocker. Where with the Wing drifter I almost ran out of 17sec boost time on a Axis foils Spitfire 900, I almost dont need boost on the dedicated board. And for the new Drifter 4.. I only tried one time so far. But I think it sits in between, so much easier.

[@stevenhamerlinck6832]

Raad je dit board aan voor intermediate winger met Spitfire 960/780 en 72kg ? ik vaar nu met North Sleek 75ltr.

[@WingsurferNL]

Ja, het model zo ie zo. De maat hangt natuurlijk ook af van je gewicht.