Messages

1

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Need a new Impact Vest

« on: April 23, 2024, 07:26:43 PM »

I think it depends on how bad you intend to fall

99% of the time I would argue the cheap one does everything you'd want it to do. However, I did, once, in my 300ish sessions, taco backwards onto my foil. The foil cut straight through my neoprene and across my spine. No real injury other than bad bruising/blood blistering. The more expensive one will not be cut down. It has thin plates of plastic "armor" in it.

So, the cheaper one will be equivalent to anything else on the market for protection. The more expensive one is for folks who ride with reckless abandon!

2

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Need a new Impact Vest

« on: April 23, 2024, 06:56:28 PM »

One of these will be my next:
https://www.forward-wip.com/produit/wing-neo-vest-50n/
https://www.forward-wip.com/produit/wing-impact-vest-50n/

I currently ride this:
https://www.forward-wip.com/produit/impact-vest-50n/
I love it, phenomenal, but it doesn't have the nice wing related details included.

I like it a lot because it doesn't hold water, the pocket in the front and water bladder pouch is nice on big days. Great actual protection, not just extra neoprene. Only thing I dislike is the size zip which is a bit awkward for me.

3

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Ocean Rodeo Glide-Allula

« on: April 23, 2024, 04:22:52 PM »

It might be similar, but it's been a long time since I rode the slick big boom.

How many sessions did you get out of your SLS? That would be worth looking at.

I'd also check span, when wings get bigger, span becomes more important to me. You might be bummed if you ordered the Glide and the span was wider. However, you might be thrilled if you ordered and the span was shorter.

4

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Ocean Rodeo Glide-Allula

« on: April 23, 2024, 02:59:32 PM »

Someone told me the draft moved (forward or back, I forgot) between the 2021 release and newer ones. The newer ones have the same graphics, but the yellow is a different shade.

The drawback, per my friends who upgraded to the carbon handles and booms, is the massively fat grip on the boom. The handles have a skinnier grip. But both are hard on the hands because they are just sprayed with non-skid clear traction. One friend covered his with hockey tape.

They are lighter than the Duotones. Probably because they went extreme, like the lack of EVA grip on the booms.

Maybe they will fix the booms and go skinner. Right now it’s ridiculous how fat the boom is.

I agree with this, I checked out the boom and the handles at the shop and the boom was a no for me based on the thickness. The handles haven't bothered my hands as far as I can tell though.

5

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Ocean Rodeo Glide-Allula

« on: April 23, 2024, 01:24:35 PM »

Just heard from him, he did, in fact, test the d lab.

6

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Ocean Rodeo Glide-Allula

« on: April 23, 2024, 12:58:46 PM »

My buddy is riding the 5m glide A. 75 sessions in he said he still prefers it over a new unit. Not sure if he got to try the dlab tho. I have the 2.5m and like it a lot.

7

Gear Talk / Re: SUP Longboard

« on: April 16, 2024, 11:10:15 PM »

I just ordered the Revolution. 9'x28" 115l with 5 futures fin boxes. Vapor construction. Won't see it for a few months but hoping its a perfect upgrade coming from my 9'2"x30" 126l kalama. The kalamas come as quad plus 1 setups (mine was 5 fcs 2 boxes) and I hated that board as a thruster, but as a quad, I've loved it and insisted in having quads moving forward.

8

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Garmin Instinct GPS watch speed readings?

« on: April 04, 2024, 10:51:02 AM »

Hey Caribsurf,

I recently got the watch and run it in kitesurf mode. Slightly different readouts than windsurf mode but I get the same glitch. I can't see it on the garmin website, but when I load up my session on my phone the graph shows what has happened.

Here you see the speed spike right before it goes to zero. I assume this is my body ragdolling across the water and accelerating the watch for a split second giving the false reading. A bit unfortunate that they track split second speed spikes, I'd like something that shows top speed held for 1-2 seconds for better accuracy. Other than that though, love the watch, especially the ability to track miles on my sails.

9

Random / Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?

« on: April 02, 2024, 09:25:56 AM »

Jokingly, I feel like I retired at 18 but have occasionally worked the odd job for a little extra cash from time to time.

Seriously, I’m 39 and would argue we’re semi retired right now. I’m in the water 150 days a year and could easily work more, play less, to retire sooner, but I like the balance of a little of both and intend to build for as long as I can.

10

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: The state of SUP surfing?

« on: March 28, 2024, 04:42:26 PM »

I took a year off to focus on getting my foil skills up. After 150 sessions on foil I wondered "will I still enjoy sup surfing?"

All it took was one wave to feel the magic again.

Foiling is great, I live near the Columbia River Gorge so being able to make turns 30 minutes from home (vs 2 hours to the coast) is awesome. However, there's nothing quite like actually feeling the wave. None of my SUP buddies stopped while I was getting my foils skills up, so not a big change here.

11

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Durable Hand Wing Material

« on: March 27, 2024, 09:48:36 AM »

Alula is light and strong, but not particularly durable. I've seen a few Allula wings that appear to be delaminating. I don't know if that's the right word for what is going on, but it doesn't look good. The newer fabrics have a lot of promise but designers don't seem to be able to get the best out of them yet. I bought a new 4.5 F-One V3 when my V2 F-one disappeared. The new wing has some nice design features and lots of high-tech fabrics. But the center of effort is far forward that the wing can barely be depowered. I might push through and learn to use it, but I found my V2 4.5 and I'm back to using that so it isn't getting much of a chance.

The delam issue did happen with some of the original Aluula wings. I haven't heard as many issues with the newer ones. The biggest thing with aluula is that they cannot be packed up wet. That's a disaster for them. However, if properly dried and repacked they seem to be incredibly long lasting from all reports that I've heard. I just bought the 3m and 4m Ocean Rodeo Glide AA so I'll keep detailed wear notes on them and report back in a year!

I tried the small v3 strikes. 2m and 3m. The 2m was okay, needs a minimum of 35 knots to ride but is nice at that speed. The 3m though, least favorite wing I've tried. Incredibly twitchy with a narrow wind range.

12

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 85l Sunova Carver: Gorge Review

« on: March 25, 2024, 11:01:42 AM »

Do what you gotta do to stay mobile!

I dedicated all my efforts to getting the best turns out of my foil. Never messed with tacks, jumps, or other wing tricks. I gybe, switch feet, and make the best turns possible all day long. Wave rider at heart.

13

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Durable Hand Wing Material

« on: March 25, 2024, 10:59:41 AM »

I wouldn't trust any material vs a foil.

However:

The superfabrics are all harder to cut and most of them don't propagate tears/cuts so you can finish your session before doing the repair with no fear of the sail ripping to shreds.

Ocean Rodeo says the new Glide AA is extremely tear resistant for both leading edge and canopy I believe.

14

Gear Talk / Re: surf SUP volume

« on: March 22, 2024, 01:50:39 PM »

I think everyones objective of what and how they want to ride is a little different and I've found that using as many numbers/data points as possible really helps me to get some basic evaluations on boards. I would agree with your assessment of shorter but same volume assessment, something has to get fatter somewhere...

I learned on a Starboard Blend Element, 9'8"x30" 147l

Next picked up a Quatro Carve Pro 8'2"x29" 120l. While I LOVED this board on perfect glassy days I found that I disliked feeling unsure about which board to grab. I just want a single board and when it was rough out I couldn't manage this board in wind and chop due to the shape change.

Next was my Kalama, which is my current, 9'2"x30" 126l which helped me realize that while all my friends are chasing shorter boards, that's not what I desire. I want to hog ALL the waves. I want to catch everything from knee high to slightly overhead. This shape does it for me.

I demo'd a bunch of boards since I got the Kalama, including the smaller kalama, and the NSP DC Super X caught my attention on a demo day. Domed deck and 28" wide made for a very fun experience on the wave. I also had less issue balancing on it than expected. However, I've never actually seen it for sale anywhere. It's always sold out.

So, now I'm looking at the Sunova Casey Revolution. 9'x28" 115l. Domed deck and apparently aggressively shaped rails since they built this board off of an actual surf longboard. I'm a bit concerned about the stability on it since I have heard it floats a bit different with the narrow rails and I can't get a demo for it. However, I think I'll splurge on it with fingers crossed that it all works out.

You're right, first world problems!

15

Gear Talk / Re: surf SUP volume

« on: March 21, 2024, 07:30:35 PM »

Your guild factor will drop from 1.55 to 1.34 which is nice for getting the rail into the wave. Your board aspect ratio will drop from 3.75 to 3.68 meaning a minor decrease in paddling efficiency for the shape.

In my experience the volume matters less than the shape changes for stability (within reason). Your volume reduction and length/width reduction should give you less efficient paddling and wave catching but you will enjoy the on wave feel since it's the same shape. I'd say that since you are keeping the same shape, just slightly shrunken, you're looking at a really good next step in your progression.


In contrast to what I'm about to experience:
I'm on a 9'2"x30"126l which is a 1.43 guild factor. My new board is planned to be the same shape, but 9'x28" and 115l which is a 1.31 guild factor for better on wave performance. My aspect ratio will increase from 3.67 to 3.86 meaning slightly better paddling efficiency for the shape. I expect to have excellent on wave performance but will be sacrificing some stability by going 2 inches narrower.