Messages

1

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: New Cabrinha Mantis V3 and Vision

« on: March 02, 2023, 01:21:48 AM »

I haven,t seen the Vision IRL but ride a 4+5m Mantis V3. Before I had the V2 in 4+5+6m without windows.

The V3 feels a bit more compact and slightly softer/more damped, I guess this is because of the windows. I,m 188cm tall and have no problems with wingtip catching so far, but was quite rare with the V2 5m as well (more often with the 6).

Upwind seems to be slightly better but for most of all I,m very much in love with how it surfs  and the handles.
Last week it was 2C here with water of 5C and even with a full hooded suit and 6mm boots your hands become so cold you need gloves.
With the V2 I had a lot of armpump when wearing gloves, with the new handles I can wing 2h straight without a problem.

Mantis vs Vision.
I love to ride waves so personally I,m not a big fan of wings with more pronounced dehidral as they seem to flag less stable as the flatter profiles wings. But I can imagine that when you are a lot shorter or ride bigger wings it is a necessity.

 

2

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 2023 New Wings Thread

« on: February 05, 2023, 11:03:21 AM »

O.K. You like to wing foil race against other racers at your local yacht club on weekends.  You and Paul usually place in the top 3 or 4 racers out of 15 in every race.  One day Paul turns up to race with the new Ensis wing and he now dominates each and every race.  His new wing (he has three) costs several thousand dollars each.  He's rich and you aren't.  Your enthusiasm to race now begins to wane along with the other racers. 

In this video the rep won't say what the limited edition costs, only that the lesser model is between 1,500 and 2,000 Euros.

I have seen the Ensis 2weeks ago at Fuerteventua (Canary Islands). It was drag racing overthere with a fancy race foil and the good news: it isnt that fast afterall.
I,m not a racer, I ride strapless with an Cabrinha H1000 (nice surf foil, but not the fastest) but with an 5.5 North Mode I borrowed to demo I was faster on almost every course except slightly downwind full speed, but I think that with straps it was beatable.

I still think that skills are waaaaay more important as gear and can compensate a lot.

3

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 2022 New Wings Thread

« on: August 09, 2022, 02:33:46 PM »

I never seen an OR in the flesh but tried the Dlab and Unit.
Compared to a lot of other wings they feel very direct and close to nervous. That feel got extragated by the stiff handles. I guess some like it and some (like me) don,t.
Personally I was big fan of the Smik V2 wings; light, comfortable well balanced and as quickly going as the Dlabs. That was till I tried the Mantis V2. With windows its imo too heavy but without its a very wel build and still light wing. 2.7kg for an 6m with leash is pretty okay imo and it has the best handling in the waves of all the wings I tried so far.
It has stiff handles, but because of how they designed them, they have some flex and that ads comfort. I prefer that comfortable slightly more flexy handle over the very stiff ones. In the surf the biggest difference with most wings is that it has an wide but very stiff front handle.
When flagged you need to twist your wrist to compensate on the floppy handles, with this stiff one you have way more control.
It isn't a game changer, but is something that I would love to see on more wings. I have no affiliations with Cabrinha, but liked it soo much that I ordered a 4+5 as well while my Smiks are still in very good condition. It really feels like a next gen wing.

 



 

4

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: List of pitch neutral hand wings

« on: July 06, 2022, 06:43:42 AM »

Mantis V2 is so far surfing with at the front handle at the most neutral wing I have ridden. Part of that is the very rigid front handle making it easier to correct it when needed
No Duotone, Naish, Slingshot comes close.
My current wings: Smik does come close but are more nervous/less stable when wave riding riding dead down wind, so ordered a COUPLE OF Mantis V2 wings (6+5+4).


 

5

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Cabrinha Code boards

« on: July 06, 2022, 06:33:21 AM »

Don,t own one but demoed the 5.2 88l version.
I,m between the 100-95kg  ride an AK5.8 x 90l myself.
Being a (former ) wavesailor, no Kite background and no fan of Pryde windsurf gear I ignored Cabrinha wich is from the same company quite a while till I demoed it a bit by coincidence. I have to see that was my bad because there gear is excellent!

On the website the Codes look imo a bit dull but IRL the board look gorgeous with a nice shape.
Being 5.2 it planes a bit later as my 5.8AK wich is insanely quick on the foil, but still pretty good. Once flying it feels very solid and precise.
Riding style is very much from the back, people who like Fanatic boards will love this one too as the riding style is very similar.

I prefer my AK5.8 that has the boxxes more forward, has a tiny bit more length and are very light, but I liked the Code more as the Fanatics or Similar Sized Naish boards.

btw:
I,m no teamrider 48y old pretty joe average, ride stapless and besides mowing the lawn I love to ride waves with my wing gear.



 

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Which is the best low end 5m to 5.2m wing for shorter people?

« on: March 02, 2022, 11:01:26 AM »

The score 5.2 feels and handles IMO as big or even bigger as an duotone slick 6m.

7

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Which is the best low end 5m to 5.2m wing for shorter people?

« on: March 02, 2022, 08:52:01 AM »

The Takoon V2 and Smik V2 are light, compact and have an pretty good low end (imo a lot better as the DT Slick that I own in 5m too) handling from both is great.

8

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: What foil? Go foil GL/NL quiver or change everything and buy brand.....

« on: May 31, 2021, 01:19:32 PM »

Due Covid lots of stuff was unavailable and ended up with buying an Moses/SAB quiver with the 1100+950 wing. Used it 8 sessions in 12 days and i,n super happy with it.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Big Echos

« on: April 16, 2021, 10:06:50 PM »

I sold my 6m echo because I didnt get used of the sinking tail and the big V shape that makes it a handfull when riding swell.
Lately I had a few runs with the new slick and suggerst you try that one, imo it is just the better wing.
More stable, easier to pump and better handeling due its compact shape and it feels like it has more useable low end power.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: What foil? Go foil GL/NL quiver or change everything and buy brand.....

« on: February 11, 2021, 09:51:32 AM »

 
Thanx
The good news is that if I have ordered the GL210/NL160/backwing/pedestral set my creditcard us useless anyway so can use if for shimming

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: What foil? Go foil GL/NL quiver or change everything and buy brand.....

« on: February 11, 2021, 08:14:19 AM »

Thanx Beasho!
I try the Neilprydes HP, but they have to damn good otherwise I get the GL210/NL160 combo you advice.
What backwing do you use?
Luckily its iceskating time right now, so that gives me a bit of a thinking period

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: What foil? Go foil GL/NL quiver or change everything and buy brand.....

« on: February 11, 2021, 04:48:31 AM »

@Juan,
Thanks for the info! Whats your weight and from your buddy as that has influence on the wingsize too.
Shipping from Canada to Europe is insane expensive due the additional taxes (tried that before with a mountainbike) otherwise I bould buy them straight away
I must say an 210GL and 160 NL looks very tempting.

Out of the blue I heard today that the new Neilpryde probably arrive in a week and when its a bit warmer I can demo those.
The first ones felt really solid and the HP look very good/make sense size wise so that is an option too (and not to expensive too) I want to try first before buying GF.

@Solentfoiler: I tried gong and although I like the look of the foils but they feel rather stiff/solid to me and all the interesting parts like the Veloce are constantly sold out as well.
I have no problem with spending on good kit, but just don,t want to buy the complete wrong kit

13

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / What foil? Go foil GL/NL quiver or change everything and buy brand.....

« on: February 10, 2021, 12:14:23 PM »

Hi,
I started with wing dinging in oct, in the Netherlands that autumn and around 10C and going down ,today the lakes were frozen but last week when the air was +1 and the water probably too I as still 2h out on the lake because it was too onshore with a big beach break, shallow sandbanks etc.
I,m 95/97kg use a Fanatic 5.8 and 2th hand Go-foil 29.5mast, M200+IWA with a 4-5-6m wing. I wing most of the time at sea where we have slow windwaves that get steep from knee to 2-3m high.
I started with this for the days that wave sailing is boring but i,m so hooked that I only wave sail when it is solid 4.7 weather or more, otherwise i,m rather riding the swell and waves with my wing...dry jibing is still a lot of splashes.
The Maliko200 was awesome to learn on and fine when the swell is rather flat, but the wing is simply not fast enough to keep up with the waves or creates soo much lifts out.
The IWA doesnt have that problem, its just fast enough, but it need a steeper part of the wave.

Because i,m soo hooked i,m considering buying a set of new GF wings. Because there is no dealer in the Netherlands i have to order without trying and in Europe they are pretty expensive so you don,t want to buy the wrong size.
So far i found that the GL210 would be a bit like the M200 for light wind but faster and with less the tendency to foil out so that seems something to fit me.
But i,m looking for a smaller wing for when its bigger/windier as well. As i like a challenge I was thinking about an NL wing. Probably need to grow into it, but what size would complement the GL210? an NL190 or 160??
Or are you guys saying forget the NL and get a smaller GL?

When i,m splashing a lot of cash anyway another option is to sell the GF set and buy a whole new quiver from another brand.
Suggestions (I,m considering a Armstrong 1850+ an?? or an Axis quiver where i have really no clue wat to buy for wiggling on a wave with the wing that I won,t outgrow in 3 months.

14

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Sky Wing 5’8’ vs. Quatro Wing Drifter Pro 5’8’

« on: February 10, 2021, 11:19:36 AM »

95/97kg and learned wing-dinging on the Fanatic 5.8. Its a nice pretty tough board but a 500gr more heavy as the Naish and Quatro.
I don,t know about the pricing, buit the Quatro was in Europe 450/500,-/almost a third more expensive as the Fanatic.
As the sport evolves quickly I think the resale value will be pretty low so i,m not up to spend a lot of extra $$$ on a board that I probably outgrow in months.

15

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Forearm cramps in cold weather

« on: January 16, 2021, 02:02:27 PM »

Usually I read most of the time, but do wave sail and sup for decades each winter in +10C till -2C a lot.
Since this autumn also winging I have some experience with this 
There can be a couple of things:
1) the gloves are loose and your grip slips all the time so you need to adjust and grip harder wich is way more tiring as just putting your hands on the bar. What to do about it: wear open palm gloves and if the opening is too small cut it wider. they only need to cover the tips of your fingers to work.

2) when you prefer full gloves: the surf ones often aren't grippy enough! get windsurf gloves, they have more of sticky material on the inside that prevent slipping that helps a lot!.

3) too tight around the wrists, this puit extra tension on the tendons and muscles, sometimes even partly cuts of the circulation: loosen the straps and/or try to make them wider around the wrists.

Any decent surf suit nowadays is flexy enough around the wrists, but in the rare occasion it is still too tight for you stretch it up by putting 1.5l softdrink bottles in it too pre stretch it, or get it cut slightly wider at your local repair shop.

I don,t like the cold but when everything comes together, going out in zub-zero celcius is no big deal as long as the water stays liquid