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Messages - Oahuwaterwalker

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You can expect some fierce current in April and May, and most of that water was snow and ice a day before, so yeah, it's cold, but fun, and the wind can nuke. One of the craziest days last year was in May. My fat ass was overpowered with a 2.8. A good 3/4 wetsuit with an inner poly shirt is adequate for winging if you don't fall a lot. I find that I fall a LOT less in the Gorge than in Maui. Still, dress for the swim, not the best outcome. I'd say bring your winging gear, but bring the bike too.

Thanks, I'll be open to whatever the weather brings me. If it's really nuking, I'll likely rent windsurfing gear. I'm in Kailua so Wingfoil wind is plenty, but nuking windsurfing... maybe 1 or 2 times a year.

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Figure on a 5/4 wetsuit and hood until June. July is typically the most consistent strong wind but plenty of West wind days in April through June. If you're willing to drive East a bit it's often better. Depending on the snowpack there can be a couple of weeks of very strong current around mid to late May but that affects paddling more than winging.

The Mt. biking is also great into June then starts to get dusty. Hope that helps a little :)

Thanks, this helps. I've ridden post canyon before, sounds like that would be a good plan for these trips as well.

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Maybe I'll go mountain biking instead  8)

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Hello All,

I'm doing some work in the gorge during the first week of April and then again in May. For those of you who spend some time there, what's the typical wind and water temp I'm looking at? I googled this and it seems like you have to sort through a million advertisement ridden sites to find something that actually answers the question.

Thanks

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Interesting... Having ridden the Reedin X Wing for a bit now, I would think the most benefit comes from having the X ply along the leading edge, but maybe the trailing edge is more prone to getting blown out?

I'll add this, after riding with X ply, I can't imagine going back to a canopy that doesn't have the same properties.

6
I'm two sessions in with the 925 and 195 and one session with the 725 and 195. Here's what I'm noticing:

1. Easier to get on foil with lower stall speed on both front wings: At 165lbs, I was getting onto foil with the 925, 4.2 Reedin Xwing, 69L board in barely 12knots of wind and staying on foil when the lulls almost made the water glassy.
2. More glide and easier to pump
3. Both front wings are WAY more pitch stable with the 195
4. The 925 is much more surfy (aka easy to turn) with the Flying V, but not horrible with the 195
5. With the 725 the 195 is golden and really unleashes the performance from that wing because of the pitch stability and lower stall speed
6. It's definitely faster than the V but not by a massive margin

Shim wise, I find both the 925 and 725 work well on the A+ system with the plus .5 shim which makes the set up -0.5. With the V, I was riding with a -0.5 making the set up -1.5. I don't think that's necessary with the 195.

Anytime I'm riding the 725, I'll be using the 195. In super light conditions the same will be true for the 925, however when a little more powered up, I'll likely still use the V with the 925.

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Great job! My prediction is that after riding the 232, the 300 will be retired from your quiver 😎

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https://youtu.be/Z4QZAfsY27Y

Curious to hear some first hand experience on this one. I’m hoping it will be a really good partner for the HA725

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 30, 2021, 05:28:44 PM »
During my last two session I was trying to be more conscious of the front hand pull that was mentioned earlier so that I could have a more informed position when commenting here. First, the SWX definitely has more front hand pull. Second, it never stood out to me as any sort of an issue because, from a windsurfing background, the feel is very familiar and actually a big part of what I like about this wing. For those who are primarily kiters or winging is their first wind sport I can see how this would be a different feel that some may like and others not. I know that as I'm getting more comfortable with the SWX, its getting more manageable on the upper end (higher wind) and part of what I'm doing is using a slightly narrower grip between my two hands.

 

10
Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 27, 2021, 09:00:31 PM »
I watched my lifeguard friend, Randy, use his Reedin 4.7 yesterday, and it was pretty amazing. The acceleration he was getting coming out of tacks and jibes was startling. He's about five days into using his and he's starting to like it. I'm still surprised to see this much learning curve, I've used wings I flat out hated that were more usable initially, but at least I can see that there's a point to hanging on and pushing through the grim part.

There were times during my first 3 sessions where I was wondering if I should just stick with the SW version 1. Now, I'm wondering if I'm still going to like my other wing...

Today and yesterday in Kailua we had ESE winds and a NE swell so the wave/wind was lining up more like riding on the north shore in terms of orientation. The SWX was so smooth, powerful, and exciting to ride on the waves that I came off the water all grins.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 27, 2021, 04:34:43 PM »
One other comment about pumping onto foil: the last time I did so before the holidays and on my third session I think, I randomly tried just board pumping. I think because of the sail’s forward drive, it really took advantage of every reduction in friction, so after just a couple of unweightings, I was off. If there was enough pressure to take off like a plane I wouldn’t have noticed it. It was a puff, but not a huge one and I was using the 3.6.  I’m pretty sure it was a new phenomenon for me.


Thanks for sharing this 🤙

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 27, 2021, 07:02:06 AM »
A trusted source has told me, draft can move “forward” (not back as expected) during an over powering gust in some new stuff coming for next season. It has happened in the smaller sizes.

That could explain front hand pressure.

There is definitely some similarities in response to being overpowered between the SWX and windsurfing sails. Specifically, when you get overpowered, the front can become overloaded and even push back at you. This tends to happen when you can no longer sheet in the back hand because the power is too much. This results in the pull, or when really overpowered the "push," to hit your front hand. When windsurfing, if you find your front hand close to the mast on the boom and can't work it back and manage the sheeting, it's time for a smaller sail. What you're describing leads me to think that new wings are trending more toward the "sail" end of the sail/kite design continuum. As a life-long windsurfer that makes sense as to why I prefer this kind of design to something that feels more "kite" oriented (I also kited for 10+ years but don't anymore).

There are certainly times where the front part of the handle feels right and others, especially toe side, where the back of the front handle helps with body and wing position. Generally speaking, I'm finding that moving your hands around, depending on point of sail (especially on the front handle), will have a big impact.

It's pretty challenging to capture some of these things in writing, but I'll do my best to try and clarify as this thread and my experience with the SWX evolve.



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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 26, 2021, 06:22:34 PM »
watch from  1:10 to 1:35 , guy surfing with the SWX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb906VhBqw8

One thing I notice here is that the SWX is teetering a bit while he's riding. I've noticed this when heading into the wind and flagging this way which is why I suggested the other way of flagging. That said, you can reduce the amount of "teeter" by using your thumb and flagging lower to your hip.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 26, 2021, 04:22:39 PM »

I struggled with the wing for the entire session. I might come to love this thing, there's not question that it's the fastest, most powerful 5M wing I've tried. But there's going to be an ugly learning curve.


This is what I have also found to be true, there's a learning curve. After 6 sessions now in a range of conditions with a 4.7 (first session) and 4.2 on all other sessions, I have moved from "I'm not sure about this wing" to "this is amazing." It is clearly something different and, again, I urge new riders to get at least 3-4 sessions and to try different ways of doing things before drawing conclusions. To me, the change needed in technique is not a negative, it's a step forward.

If you find a heavy front hand pull, try moving your hand back on the front handle further away from the leading edge. It opens up the leading edge a bit and balances the pull with the back hand more.

Pumping to foil is much more technical than any other wing I've tried, but once up, the wing is amazing. Also, I disagree with the video review from St. Maarten that this wing doesn't work in surf. What I and a few others have found is that you have to use a flagging technique more similar to what a lot of guys do who use booms. Instead of flagging from leading edge, you flag from front boom handle with assistance as needed from your other hand on the leading edge. With this, I've been riding waves from shoulder to near double over head downwind no problem.

Today, conditions were very marginal and most people were on 5-6m wings. I was able to get on foil with the 4.2 (riding HA925 and V tail) and was fully powered once up. All this said, I do not think this is a beginner friendly wing. The pump to foil really takes some good understanding of technique to make it happen.

Though heavier than my previous Armstrong 4.5, its more powerful and floats better so the weight is far less of an issue UNLESS you are in dead to very light wind.

Like Velasco (aloha!) I'm 100% convinced that a wing with an aluula frame with xply canopy would be mind-blowing.

15
Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Reedin Super wing
« on: December 22, 2021, 07:38:22 AM »

First impressions here. The good: once you are on foil it’s like a muscle car, lots of power and torque...
Thanks for the update. I guess that also applied to low end grunt too? Good drive to get you up and foiling?

With enough wind, yes, it's quick to pump on foil. On my last session with the 4.2 when the wind was a steady 15-18 I was able to get on foil quickly. When the winds are marginal for the size, things change and you have to pump differently than other wings to get on foil. I'm still figuring out what specifically that change is. Some of the other SWX owners I know have experienced the same thing. So far the consensus is that you have to put more back hand into your pumping than you do on other wings. This makes sense to me as I found myself moving my hands wider apart when trying to pump up in lighter winds. What's crazy, is even when I've had the marginal moments, once on foil, I'm lit by the power even if it was a struggle to get up. As with any wing, getting up on foil running with the chop or swell direction will always give you an advantage over trying to get on foil into the swell (unless its longer period).

Edit: Tip from another SWX owner: For lighter wind starts with SWX try slow pumping overhead to get initial momentum before switching to traditional pumping.

All this said, at 165-170lbs, I was able to get on foil on a 69L board with HA925 and chopped V with the 4.7 in 12-15mph and the 4.2 on a day that was 15-18mph.

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