Author Topic: Never thought I would ask this kind of question about which wing but....  (Read 3159 times)

John65

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From my reading here and in Seabreeze I came to the conclusion that a 5m Fone Swing was what would work for me.  Then, the other day I was talking to some of the very experienced foil people on the beach and they are saying that 5m is too big for me.  NoI do not have any foiling experience yet.

Me: Age 74, 130lbs, 5’5.5” tall. Pretty good shape.
Experience: 9 years kiting plus windsurfing and SUP paddling/surfing. 
Area where I will be flying:  Okanagan/Penticton-generally lighter winds
Vancouver-English Bay.  I am pretty much a fair weather water sports person at this point and will not be out in the cold or in very high winds.  In the summer and fall the winds are generally quite light in English Bay which is why I was considering the 5m over a 4m. 

Any thoughts on this sizing issue would be greatly appreciated. 
Just to stir the soup a little more which would be a better wing for this the FOne Swing or the Ozone Wasp for these conditions?
Thanks.

styleito

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I'm a similar height and weight as you.
If you want to ride in lighter winds, then you probably do need a 5m.
However, I don't think I would recommend a large sized F-one to someone our height.
By all accounts they are great wings but, they have long wingspans. You might struggle to keep the wingtip out of the water. Look for more squared off wingtips. more of a wider/shorter rather than taller/skinnier wing.

I'm using Duotone wings. Partially because I like the boom but, also, because they have more v-shape than other wings. I assumed that would make it easier to keep the wingtip out of the water. Whether that's true in pratice, I couldn't honestly say.

Good luck and enjoy.

Phils

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It depends on what wind numbers you are thinking but in general,  learning with a 4 meter will require a lot of wind.

PonoBill

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The only way to know for sure is to jump in. If your budget is restricted then the 5M F-one is a fine quiver of one--but when the wind picks up above 20mph you're likely to find it too much. If you fall in love with the sport (most do) you'll inevitably have more than one wing. Starting with a 5M give you a nice jump to 3.5M which will cover most everything else unless you spend time in high wind areas. If you start with a 4M the 3.5 will be a small jump and dropping to 2.8 will probably be too far into the high wind realm given your location. I'm reasonably familiar with the area, my daughter Elizabeth used to live in Tonasket and I downwinded (SUP) with her on Okanagan Lake. I recall the wind being in the 10-15mph range and that fine for a 5M at your weight.

I still consider the F-one to be the best-behaved wing, it's easy to manage. You'll learn to keep the wingtips out of the water.
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.

surfcowboy

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Thx for asking this one. I wondered at my weight about this. I’ve been trying to pay attention to see how many days we get over 10 mph to see if I’ll get any value out of a wing here. If a lightweight can do 11 mph on a 5 meter that’s promising.

SimonP

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I'm about 5'6" 155 lbs (I think in cm and kg) and initially bought a 4.2 F-One Swing but found it too small for light winds (< 16 knots). So i ended up trading it to a 5.0 and a 3.5 and now added a 4.0 Switch Wing for 20 knot days.
You will get used to the bigger wing. I touch the wingtip occasionally in the water but I almost think I could go a 5.5 now (if one existed).

Admin

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Hey John,

130 lbs is very light.  For the F-One Swing, 4.2 is going to be your most used wing by a lot.  I am 175 lbs right now and 5.0 is my light wind mainstay.  I have the 6.0 but there is so much overlap that I don't really need it.   Chan is 115 lbs and her light wind wing is 4.2 (or 3.5).  She has only used our 5.0 3 or 4 times.

Your 130 lbs is 26% less than my 175 lbs.  A 4.2 has 16% less area than a 5.0.  4.2 is going to be larger for you than 5.0 is for me. 

Bill, Chan and I are all using the Swings.  We are never on the same sizes.

I have had the opportunity to try a few of the new 2nd generation wings and I feel like they haven't yet reached what F-One did in their first round.  Superfluous handles, poorly placed handles, weight without advantage, odd draft placement, etc.  There are a few more that I really want to try. 

« Last Edit: July 01, 2020, 01:38:01 AM by Admin »

Dwight (DW)

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There are a few more that I really want to try.

Have you tried the Echo or Airush?

Admin

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There are a few more that I really want to try.

Have you tried the Echo or Airush?

I haven't.  A friend here has the Airush and he loves them.  Another has the Echos and he is stoked with those.  It is pretty clear that there is a lot of preference and familiarity involved.  The wings that go with a relatively low aspect don't agree with me.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2020, 05:53:06 AM by Admin »

PonoBill

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The next wing I buy is going to have a boom, or I'm just not doing it. The handles are stupid. My fake boom works OK on the F-One, but it's still not as good as a firmly attached boom would be, though the F-one is stable enough for it to be tolerable. Since I suck at getting around to selling stuff I suspect my new 2.8 Naish my be undergoing surgery soon. For me and my 220 pounds, 2.8 means 35+ wind, and you can't screw around with a wing flopping all over the place in that kind of wind. The alternative is to sell the Naish and order a Duotone Echo 2.6. If I do that the wind will immediately calm down and I'll never take it out of the packaging.
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.

VB_Foil

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The one thing missing from your inquiry is your planned foil size. I’m 15lbs heavier and 5’9” riding a 5m Swing predominantly (3.5m also in the quiver). The other day I went from 2400 to 1550, to 1050 wings in the same session with winds less than 20 mph. All three size foils worked well, I just sized down for more top end speed and agility.   I say go for the 5m unless you are going with a giant foil. Even then, you can size down foils and keep with the 5m under 20 mph winds.

My one complaint with the swing is the hardness of the handles. I’ve been getting some sore Finger joints so I just wrapped my handles in pipe insulation and duck tape wrapped them. Felt much more comfy on my knobby fingers!
I’m a 5’9” 65kg rider:

Boards:
   4' 27L Armstrong FG Wing/Surf
   4’5” 34L Armstrong FG Wing/Surf
   4'11" 60L Armstrong Wing/Sup
  
  

Foils: Armstrong HA525, HS625, HA725, HA925, HS1050, HA1125, HS1250, HA1325
Wings: BRM 2M & 3M, FreeWing Nitro 4M, OR 5M & 7M Glide

 


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