Author Topic: Wing Size???  (Read 8635 times)

Quickbeam

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Wing Size???
« on: February 22, 2020, 01:29:05 PM »
I’m looking for some advice on what size Wing I should get. I’m an avid paddle boarder, but have never done any kind of wind sport. So this is all new to me. I’m seriously looking at getting one of the new Naish S25 Wings, but am not sure what size to get.

I’m thinking of either the 4.6 or the 5.3. I’m thinking as a beginner the 4.6 would be smaller and hopefully easier to handle and to learn on. But given my conditions, I’m wondering if the 5.3 might be better?

As for my conditions, I’m on a small lake and in spring / summer, the wind comes up most afternoons. The wind on my lake however, would probably be light in comparison to what some of you are used to. I’m not a good judge, but I’ve been told our wind averages between 15 km. per hour and 20 km. per hour, which would roughly translate to 9 mph to 12 mph.

Should also add that I’m 5’ 8” tall and weigh approx. 150 pounds. I’m 66 years old and in decent shape.

The lighter wind makes me think the 5.3 might be better, but given my smaller size I'm wondering if I could get away with the 4.6?

So any thoughts on the 4.6 vs. the 5.3 Wing?

I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

PonoBill

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2020, 02:13:16 PM »
With that kind of wind a 5.3 will barely be enough.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

supkailua

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2020, 03:56:34 PM »
You will need the 6 minimum. The 7.2 might be even better but it is not available yet.

If you go too small you will not have much fun. You will be going slowly downwind only and sometimes you will feel like you are holding up the wing.

The 6 Swing will get you going in a gust of 14 mph, maybe even 13 mph with some pumping on flat water.

Quickbeam

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2020, 04:18:31 PM »
O.K., thanks to you both for the responses. Is the 6 meter too big to learn on?

But then I suppose if that’s the only way it’s what I’ll have to do.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

surfwingsteve

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2020, 04:39:09 PM »
From someone who has wingsupped quite a bit while working towards getting up on my foil:

1)  You will have a really hard time getting and staying upwind unless you have a windsurf board with a centerboard, have really downturned sharp rails on your SUP or HAVE A FOIL.
2) You will get bored with a smaller wing and 15kt winds.  Too Slow for SUPping.
3) YOU WILL NEED A BIGGER KITE. With a 6 You wont get overpowered, you just luft the wing/hold that leading edge and let it flop when it gets gusty.  The larger wings, if not up on a foil, I think will drag in the water and pull you off your board quite a bit.

You will just need a bailout spot where you can walk back or do a dedicated downwinder with no intent of returning to point A while kiting.

Seattle-Wind

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2020, 04:40:06 PM »
You'll need a 6M, big front foil wing, and some finesse/experience to pop up to the foil in those light winds. The good news you can certainly fly in those conditions, which I never thought would be possible until I did it myself with my 6M F-One and Gong XXL Pro foil wing. I don't think the 6M F-One would be too big to learn on. A piece of advice, go somewhere that has more wind than 8 - 12mph when you're learning, having more wind will help you when learning to get up on the foil. Trying to learn in super light winds would be really frustrating.

Regarding the upcoming 7.2M Naish, I would caution you to try before you buy. The big wings get really heavy, at least the one 7M that I tried out and it was a bear to use. It had plenty of torque, but it was so hard on the harms and heavy. It'd pop you right up on the foil but then I would get tired super fast and spent most of the time overpowered. I genuinely think you'll have a lot more fun with the super light 6M Swing and a big foil.

supkailua

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2020, 04:44:04 PM »
I think the opposite is true. The smaller wings will be impossible to learn on when your wind is light. The 6 will allow you to learn because you will have enough wind in the wing.

When I started only the 4 Slingwing was available and the wind was light. That was not fun at all. It was not much more than floating downwind.

MLB

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2020, 07:20:21 PM »
You will need the 6 minimum. The 7.2 might be even better but it is not available yet.

If you go too small you will not have much fun. You will be going slowly downwind only and sometimes you will feel like you are holding up the wing.

The 6 Swing will get you going in a gust of 14 mph, maybe even 13 mph with some pumping on flat water.

This!  I am also inland lake (northern Indiana) with comparable VERY light wind conditions. I"m 210lbs. and i have and tried the SlingWing 4.2 that I excitedly purchased in the first wave of these.  Used it with my inflatable (RedPadCo 13.2) with the "downwind only" and totally holding the (heavy) wing up was tough on my 60 y/o (but fit) shoulders.  Only a couple of times was the wind enough to load the wing and take it off my arms.  Of course I knew NOTHING of sailing or how/where to hold the sail, so it was the blind on blind thing.
Between the super light wind, my 200+lbs and my 6" thick board it was a depressingly slow slog across the lake. 
I've since realized I'll need to foil to have much fun in our winds.  Now it's just whether to get a bigger wing or get the windsurf setup that started to look so appealing (boom and mast versus hand held) with it's bigger sails.   ???

PonoBill

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2020, 08:36:38 PM »
I went to Ka'a this afternoon for a late session. the wind was light by Maui standards, 18 to 20 with gusts to 24. I blew up my 5M, then watched a guy with a 4.2 struggle to get out, deflated the 5 and took the 6M. Swapped foils from the 101/440/short fuse combo to the 1020/500/long fuse combo. I had a blast.

The torque and lift of the 6M F-one makes it easy to get up on the foil even in lulls. It's very wide, so I need to keep it over my head a bit, but it's also light, so it just kind of floats up there. I've tried other 6M wings and they are heavy bastards. The F-One isn't, but it's clumsy. The first day I used it I thought I'd screwed up buying the thing, but I'm used to its sneaky tricks now. It wants to dip a wingtip and flip over, so you have to watch that. Easier to prevent it if you're up on the foil.

It was light enough wind that I had to pump like a maniac sometimes, and the 6M doesn't like the usual pump--I have to kind of swoop it like you do with a kite. But the combination of pumping the board and one good swoop and I'm up and foiling.

I didn't think I'd use this wing much when I bought it, but I find I've slid a little up the scale of what wings I like. The 6 and 5 are the goto. I tend to stick with the 5 even when it's grossly overpowered, and then skip over the 4.2 to the 3.5. It's kind of weird to do that, I'm certain if I spent some time with the 4.2 that I'd like it more, but right now I'd rather be on the five if the 4.2 will work.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

supkailua

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2020, 08:51:39 PM »
MLB, I know your pain first hand as I had the same experience with the Slingwing.

Have you windsurfed before? The learning curve is a lot steeper than learning the Wing.

If you are planning on Wind Foiling, the sail sizes for me were the same as my wing line up. I used a 4,5, & 6.

I suggest checking out the size 6 Swing Wing. Having the right size wing for light wind makes a huge difference. Also, the Swing Wing is feather light. One finger to hold it up assuming there is the right wind for the size. This includes even their largest size the 6.

Once you have enough wind in the wing you can practice on land which is nice, something you can't do with Wind Surfing. You can really learn a lot of wing control just standing at the shore and grabbing the wind from there.

If you can get a board with a dagger board that will be better for your first runs on the water. If not the largest SUP Foil Board you can get would work well too.

Any questions just let me know. I went through the learning curve and am loving Wing Foiling now.

PonoBill

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2020, 09:01:35 PM »
I suggest checking out the size 6 Swing Wing. Having the right size wing for light wind makes a huge difference. Also, the Swing Wing is feather light. One finger to hold it up assuming there is the right wind for the size. This includes even their largest size the 6.

The names are so close this might be confusing. Just to clarify, the Swing Wing is the F-One. The same wing I was posting about above. supkailua and my experience are exactly the same. The Swing is a light and easy wing to use, even in the largest size.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Quickbeam

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2020, 10:47:49 PM »
Wow, thanks so much guys. I really do appreciate it. This is the second time I’ve come close to pulling the trigger on a Wing. I know it would have been a mistake the first time, and now it looks like it will probably be a mistake this time.

My story is much like MLB’s. Only difference is I didn’t buy. But I almost did. And like MLB, I was going to get the SlingWing when they first came out. Glad now I didn’t.

A couple of things have become abundantly clear to me from all your posts. First of all, given my conditions and lighter wind, I’m going to need a larger Wing than I originally thought. I had hoped my smaller size and lighter weight might allow me to go smaller, but it doesn’t look like this is the case. And then with needing a bigger Wing, the weight of the Wing will become an issue.

You have all given me some things to think about, so once again I think I’ll hold off for a bit longer. One way or the other I’m determined to try this out, but I’d rather wait a bit longer and get the right equipment than rush in and get equipment that takes the enjoyment out of it.

Thanks again.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

supkailua

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2020, 12:01:03 AM »
I agree with everything you are saying other than the weight of the big wing.

I find the big wing a pleasure to foil with. It is light as a feather when the wind is in it, and even when the wind drops where nothing will go, the big wing will get you upwind and back to shore where the small wings won't.

For me the big wing opened up a whole new level of fun in Wing Foiling because of the ability to go in very light wind when the water is very flat and clear.

None of the Swing Wings are heavy, even with no wind, and with wind, they float like a paper airplane or feather.

When I started the 5 and 6 were not available, so yes, it was probably too early, but I believe you can easily get a hold of a 6 Swing Wing now.

Admin

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2020, 02:59:21 AM »
I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.

Hi Quick,

You are going to have an amazing time with this and it is certainly doable with your wind conditions.  If your goal is to foil, I would skip the SUP.  That is not is positive experience for most who try it and it can be very discouraging.  Get yourself a stable SUP style foilboard, an easy lift foil setup and get started.  You can do all of your surface cruising, directional learning, etc on that kit.  When it comes time to foil you will already be tuned in to your gear. 

At 150 lbs you will be a light wind Marvel with my big kit.  Commit and you will be foiling away this summer.   

Dwight (DW)

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Re: Wing Size???
« Reply #14 on: February 23, 2020, 04:50:43 AM »
The whole industry did a terrible disservice to middle America putting out 4m wings only, when most of the country needs 5 and 6 meters.

 


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