Wingfoiling
Gong HIPE honest review. Pros: great for worry free travel, stiff, good volume to length ratio. Cons: it is what it is, and you get what you pay for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bltu008Uqw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bltu008Uqw
I'm curious to see if the listed weight really is way under what the actual is. Also I got hit with a full 13% tax bill which definitely add onto the rather steep shipping.
The Naish inflatable with the solid foil box seems like another decent option but no footstraps. I'll be curious to see what F-One comes out with, their inital run of inflatables were not well received.
The Naish inflatable with the solid foil box seems like another decent option but no footstraps. I'll be curious to see what F-One comes out with, their inital run of inflatables were not well received.
I just received the 5'3" as a newbie winger with windsurfing and windfoiling experience.
Initial thoughts are I bought a board too small. I wish the 5'5" was available in a 5" thickness because the 6" thickness adds a whole lot more volume and weight. I would have liked the extra width of the bigger board.
Because of the high volume to surface area ratio this board is extremely "corky" and quite a struggle in chop. I spent my second session on complerely flat water trying to get my starts better figured out with lots of success.
I'm unsure why they didn't include a rear footstrap mount. I'm currently strapless but I'll want it eventually (windsurfing background).
They could have easily made a small ledge on each side of the foil plate to use as a handle but honestly coming from windfoiling this thing seems very easy to carry around.
Also they could have made a cleaner release/rail on the back using the plate. I think this would have fixed a lot of the stickiness he reported (and I also noticed as a not very good pumper).
All that said it IS very rigid, it does pack down fairly small and the bag is big enough to also carry two wings with a squeeze.
Initial thoughts are I bought a board too small. I wish the 5'5" was available in a 5" thickness because the 6" thickness adds a whole lot more volume and weight. I would have liked the extra width of the bigger board.
Because of the high volume to surface area ratio this board is extremely "corky" and quite a struggle in chop. I spent my second session on complerely flat water trying to get my starts better figured out with lots of success.
I'm unsure why they didn't include a rear footstrap mount. I'm currently strapless but I'll want it eventually (windsurfing background).
They could have easily made a small ledge on each side of the foil plate to use as a handle but honestly coming from windfoiling this thing seems very easy to carry around.
Also they could have made a cleaner release/rail on the back using the plate. I think this would have fixed a lot of the stickiness he reported (and I also noticed as a not very good pumper).
All that said it IS very rigid, it does pack down fairly small and the bag is big enough to also carry two wings with a squeeze.
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nanmoo
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Give it time. A friend (160 lbs) with zero foil experience learned to ride a 90L in 3 reaches and then went straight to a 70L sinker with no issues, maybe an hour total TOW. The key was having someone show him where to put his feet to get the foil balanced (this is soooo critical) and plenty of wind. Both of these were complete Franken boards too, surf SUPs cut down and reassembled. I'm also not convinced a lot of the brands of wings on the market are doing anyone favors, some are just shapeless floppy hunks of shit hastly thrown together and put on the market to capitalize on being there first.
Don't forget to bring a towel!
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redbaron
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It all begun here at the 2:35 mark....nanmoo wrote:Give it time. A friend (160 lbs) with zero foil experience learned to ride a 90L in 3 reaches and then went straight to a 70L sinker with no issues, maybe an hour total TOW. The key was having someone show him where to put his feet to get the foil balanced (this is soooo critical) and plenty of wind. Both of these were complete Franken boards too, surf SUPs cut down and reassembled. I'm also not convinced a lot of the brands of wings on the market are doing anyone favors, some are just shapeless floppy hunks of shit hastly thrown together and put on the market to capitalize on being there first.
https://youtu.be/uNWXYf10TsU
Flat water let me figure out quite a lot in terms of how to balance etc. I'm honestly not sure how I'll translate that to short period chop though.
Biggest takeaway was that I'm way better with one foot flat on the board than on both knees. I also do well using the wing as a crutch and rolling it upright with one tip on the water then standing immediately. I can do that in much less wind than I think I can waterstart and it might be more stable than uphauling.
I don't see how these will ever be as easy to deal with in waves as windsurfing gear though.
Biggest takeaway was that I'm way better with one foot flat on the board than on both knees. I also do well using the wing as a crutch and rolling it upright with one tip on the water then standing immediately. I can do that in much less wind than I think I can waterstart and it might be more stable than uphauling.
I don't see how these will ever be as easy to deal with in waves as windsurfing gear though.
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nanmoo
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...Or a kite that is well clear of the chop and partially holding your weight out of it. The answer probably is - they won't. It's the nature of a free floating sail not attached to anything and a board with a large foil that wants to peace out downwind on you.grantmac wrote:I don't see how these will ever be as easy to deal with in chop as windsurfing gear though.
Don't forget to bring a towel!
Nothing wind powered is ever going to be as easy as kiting. I think that's part of the issue with kiting: people are easily lead into a false sense of security regarding their skills and the conditions. Kites have a ton of range but get really ugly when way overpowered, they also easily get through shore breaks until something goes wrong and you're being dragged out of control.
Winging has the benefit of pretty simple self rescue and very easy depower. People seemingly use them in places with pretty unforgiving conditions.
I know I've been rolled more times than I can count learning to waterstart in onshore chop.
Winging has the benefit of pretty simple self rescue and very easy depower. People seemingly use them in places with pretty unforgiving conditions.
I know I've been rolled more times than I can count learning to waterstart in onshore chop.
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juandesooka
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TOW
From my experience, what I've seen with friends, and what I've read online, there's a lot of variability in time needed to achieve basic competency winging. Seems to vary between 0.5 and 50 hours, with variables including wrong gear, not enough wind, choppy conditions, waves, previous experience with wind/waves/foils/sups, attitude, and base athleticism.
Nanmoo and windoc stayed upwind in literally their first tries. For me, it was 10 sessions until I could stay upwind....after many walks of shame and mega frustration, it clicked. It'll come for everyone, with enough TOW as long as you're willing to taste your share of humble pie. Later, you'll laugh when you look back at these early days, worrying about chop or getting on board or foot placement. Like G Lopez said about surfing Pipeline, "it's easy when you know how".
Finally, there's a small but vocal group of minimizers online who say things like: "I learned to do this in 4.7 minutes, what's your problem?". These are best ignored, just like that doofus in the front row of class bragging about how easy calculus is. We can all get there eventually, some just take a longer and wider route. Respect to all who put it out there and try!
Nanmoo and windoc stayed upwind in literally their first tries. For me, it was 10 sessions until I could stay upwind....after many walks of shame and mega frustration, it clicked. It'll come for everyone, with enough TOW as long as you're willing to taste your share of humble pie. Later, you'll laugh when you look back at these early days, worrying about chop or getting on board or foot placement. Like G Lopez said about surfing Pipeline, "it's easy when you know how".
Finally, there's a small but vocal group of minimizers online who say things like: "I learned to do this in 4.7 minutes, what's your problem?". These are best ignored, just like that doofus in the front row of class bragging about how easy calculus is. We can all get there eventually, some just take a longer and wider route. Respect to all who put it out there and try!
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Atomic-Chomik
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MartyD
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Just gotta put your time in. I have this dialed now as long as I have 20kn or more. I got it going first time I took it out in good wind. Surprisingly it gybes just as easily as the 100L board and rides like a dream. Just sucks when you fall and get in a lull 😕
Sick day on the water yesterday playing in the swell with TK!
39.6L Alien Air Kitefoil Board - LP 1300cm2 Foil - 4m OZone Wasp V1 windspeed 18-23kn I am about 80kg
https://youtu.be/WrgC8tavNHw
Sick day on the water yesterday playing in the swell with TK!
39.6L Alien Air Kitefoil Board - LP 1300cm2 Foil - 4m OZone Wasp V1 windspeed 18-23kn I am about 80kg
https://youtu.be/WrgC8tavNHw
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more force 4
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Yes, I noticed how soon you tired and cut your session shortsuperdave wrote:I'm with nanmoo, give it time grantmac. I was out with you that day and I struggled getting off the beach in that chop. Even my super stable Armstrong 6'6" was challenging to get up and going close to shore. Next time I'll prone paddle farther out.
So how do you transition from being powered upwind to heading downwind? It seems like when I release the back handle it becomes a rodeo because I have nothing to balance with (my balance is crap) and the wing starts flogging up and down.
This is in pretty well powered up conditions because I'm inefficient as hell still so staying sheeted in and bearing away has been an instant crash as well.
I worked my way into gybes on the windfoil through lots of up and down wind carves but on this thing I've only got one stable point of sail: upwind.
This is in pretty well powered up conditions because I'm inefficient as hell still so staying sheeted in and bearing away has been an instant crash as well.
I worked my way into gybes on the windfoil through lots of up and down wind carves but on this thing I've only got one stable point of sail: upwind.
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juandesooka
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my very limited experience windsurfing, I recall it was much the same....was easiest to lock it in, sheet in hard, and aim upwind....I think because at the early stages, you are still trying to exert your will on the wind by out-muscling it. Turning downwind requires some balance and finesse, which comes once you can let go of the death-clench a little. Kind of like learning to dance, when you're a robot made of steel staring at your feet ... have to look up, bend the joints, unclench the muscles, feel the flow.
I'd start with bearing off a little, still powered 90%, wing high, but holding you up and pulling you. Only on your dominant surf stance (you can learn to bear off with non dominant stance later if you wish, though many/most surfers never do, myself included). You can gradually release more power and feel more glide from the foil, then as you lose power and start to drop, re-engage wing power to come back up. Eventually you get into swells that can propel the foil without wing power at all....you let go of the wing handles, grab the front strap and just surf ... there is a really interesting moment of transition there, really noticable how your weight distribution changes on the board between wing power and wave power.
I believe that sailing it straight downwind is the key to learning both gybes and toeside riding. You find yourself just kinda standing there going downwind, so why not try turning ... it all happens in slo-mo, feels natural and easy ... vs the fast motion coordinated dance moves of trying a full speed gybe, a lot going on in those 2-3 seconds, with board turn, feet moving, wing changing hands, etc.
I'd start with bearing off a little, still powered 90%, wing high, but holding you up and pulling you. Only on your dominant surf stance (you can learn to bear off with non dominant stance later if you wish, though many/most surfers never do, myself included). You can gradually release more power and feel more glide from the foil, then as you lose power and start to drop, re-engage wing power to come back up. Eventually you get into swells that can propel the foil without wing power at all....you let go of the wing handles, grab the front strap and just surf ... there is a really interesting moment of transition there, really noticable how your weight distribution changes on the board between wing power and wave power.
I believe that sailing it straight downwind is the key to learning both gybes and toeside riding. You find yourself just kinda standing there going downwind, so why not try turning ... it all happens in slo-mo, feels natural and easy ... vs the fast motion coordinated dance moves of trying a full speed gybe, a lot going on in those 2-3 seconds, with board turn, feet moving, wing changing hands, etc.
