Standup Zone Forum
The Foil Zone => Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP => Topic started by: PonoBill on June 09, 2021, 05:56:45 PM
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I got the new three-strut strike 6.0 today. Big Winds was doing a demo day so I went down to the hook to try it. The Hook is actually a shitty place to wing foil, there's a big dead spot from Wells Island, it's shallow in spots (sediment gook) and when you clear the dead spots the wind swirls in every direction. Other than that, perfect.
At first, I thought the wing was kind of hard to handle, but ten minutes in I started McLovin' the thing. Tons of power, and so controllable. There were som big swells and I was going to flag it to ride them, but instead I one-handed the thing in the middle of my fake boom and rocketed downwind, like a monster spinnaker. Silly fun, though I overfoiled and shot right into the middle of the thing. No damage, but as I was flying into the canopy I thought "oh great, I'm going to blow this thing apart the first day I have it.
It goes upwind like all the strikes--you've got to whip it. But when I did I went from the hook to the downriver side of the hatchery in one mega-close hauled swoop. I was hiked out as far as I could with the 76cm mast, I'm pretty sure I had a wingtip out of the water.
I made a few jibes, which is always a surprise, but the best one was a super-tight 180 that I did by basically hanging on the fake boom and whipping the board under me. I have to work on the one, it felt really great and it seemed easy.
For a first day with a new wing in whacked conditions this was all pretty epic.
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Sounds intriguing! I swore to myself I would go surfing or bowling or watch a movie rather than going bigger than 5.0 but you make it sound enjoyable...
Weight? Wingtip clearance? Balance? Power? Compared to Strike 5.0?
What pressure does it take?
Enquiring minds want to know.
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Same width as the 5.0. The additional struts let them extend the canopy without adding to the strut length or the width. I hear they're going to do a 7.0 the same way. Really, it may not be necessary--I got up in zero, nada, nothing today. It's a fun wing, which is not what I'd expect to say about bigass wings.
Eight pounds recommended. It felt a little wonky at 8 so I did nine and it was much better
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Thanks for the review, Pono -- I have been really curious about how these CWC wings would work -- my previous experience with 6-meter wings (original Swing and BRM W1) have not been positive even though I really like smaller versions of both wings. Any additional information on light wind performance would be much appreciated -- especially on how much wind it needs to support its own weight rather than be manhandled into position in light winds. Please keep this review thread going if you get on any light wind in the Gorge.
Andy
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We had every flavor of wind when I tested it at the Hook, since there's a few hundred yards in deep wind shadow. I haven't weighed this thing yet, but in the super light, swirly wind it behaved itself, making it easy to one hand the wing in the middle of the fake boom and just slowly spinnaker out to the real wind.
Once I got into enough wind--I'd guess a gusty 10mph--I had no trouble getting up. the deep canopy makes it easy to torque the wing and shove my feet forward, which pops the board off the water a little. That lets me build a little speed for the next pump, which gains a little more, then just bouncing up and down while I pump hard and we're off.
I know they're making a 7M and 8M version of this wing, but unless I lived on a lake or someplace with consistent sub 10mph wind, I'd never get one. I have a 7M Duotone echo, and as good as it is, I think the 6M CWC covers all the territory the 7M echo does, and a bit more. I think my 5M Strike is redundant. I can't imagine pumping it up if the 4.2 isn't enough--I'd go straight to the 6M. I didn't feel that way about the Swing 6M, though it was a good wing. The 6M CWC handles just like the 5M and works really well overpowered. I'm tempted to say it works better than the 5M within the range the 5M is good for, but I don't have enough time on it to say for sure.
I'm looking forward to hearing what other people say about this wing. I think it's the equivalent of the Axis 1150 foil wing--a lot of unexpected versatility.
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I hope this design trickles into making 3 meter width wings with 5 meter power.
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Beautiful Wing. Feels very light in your hands. 5LBS 9oz. 45 Seconds to pump for the recommended 8PSI. Can't wait to put it to good use.
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Pono, how would you compare the light wind power of the new 6M 3-Strut to the V1 6M Swing? Is it similar in power or does it feel like it would take less wind to get up on foil?
And how does the weight feel in your hands compared to the 6M Swing?
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does anyone know the weight of a 6 m Swing?
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does anyone know the weight of a 6 m Swing?
My 6M Swing weighs in at 5.2lbs on my luggage scale. My 5M Swing weighs in at 4.0lbs for reference.
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Pono, how would you compare the light wind power of the new 6M 3-Strut to the V1 6M Swing? Is it similar in power or does it feel like it would take less wind to get up on foil?
And how does the weight feel in your hands compared to the 6M Swing?
I can't compare the new 6 CWC to the old swing 6 but the new swing V2 5 meter has replaced my older 6 swing. The swing V2 is stiffer and gets me going easily in the same winds as the 6 did.
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Pono, how would you compare the light wind power of the new 6M 3-Strut to the V1 6M Swing? Is it similar in power or does it feel like it would take less wind to get up on foil?
And how does the weight feel in your hands compared to the 6M Swing?
It has a lot more power and is torquier than the 6M swing. I'd guess the weight is about the same. It's bogus to say something like this since it's been months since I dove through my 6M swing and turned it into a tarp, but I think this CWC 6 luffs better than the original 6M Swing. My recollection is that when I was overpowered on the 6m Swing there wasn't much I could do about it. This CWC sheds power even when it's just overhead. I didn't need to flag it low to go downwind.