Author Topic: Best light wind wing  (Read 6963 times)

WingFoiling!

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Best light wind wing
« on: May 26, 2022, 12:45:39 AM »
What is currently the best light wing wing? I’m talking about 5-6m sizes. I have no interest in buying anything bigger than a 6m.

It sounds like a lot of people like the F-One CWC, but I’m wondering if some of the newer wings like the Duotone Unit Dlab are better, given the CWC doesn’t have rigid handles and is now a design that is about a year old. 

And does anyone know how Aluula fairs after some use? It’s hard to spend so much money on Aluula without knowing how well the material will last.


Dwight (DW)

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2022, 03:54:39 AM »
Rigid handles do make a difference in light wind. That is undeniable.

A local rider just had his Aluula OR delaminate. They say it’s just a bad batch of material. It’s still a red flag in my mind, seeing “laminated” materials. We’ve all been there, done that, in windsurfing years ago. Laminated materials can be susceptible to delaminating due to different stretch rates of the materials bonded. Lots of windsurf sails delaminated back in the day. Different materials back then, but still….yikes! You need great bonding and no flaws “ever” to make this work.

Meanwhile, the dacron Duotone Unit’s are really stiff and powerful pumping in light air with the rigid handles.

I owned every size of the OR’s in Aluula, then switched to Duotones for the rigid handles. More efficient pumping. The OR carbon handle just landed on their youtube channel. I also own one 6.5m D/Lab Unit. I’m happy with the dacron Unit’s and don’t see myself switching to all D/Labs.

WingFoiling!

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2022, 10:05:12 AM »
Rigid handles do make a difference in light wind. That is undeniable.

I feel the same way about handles.  Curious to hear what others think...

Meanwhile, the dacron Duotone Unit’s are really stiff and powerful pumping in light air with the rigid handles.

My only concern about the Units is the center strut issues that have surfaced online.  Maybe they were isolated issues.  Can any Unit owners comment on how much abuse they have put on their wings and how they are handling?

Thank you!

MikeLima

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2022, 09:33:26 AM »
I just took a look at my Dacron 5m unit while packing it up yesterday and didn’t see anything I didn’t like. I’ve used my 6m dlab once in very variable conditions and thought it handled everything well. That said, for me too 6 m is my limit, since I feel like pumping gets awkward even at 6. With a given board/foil/skill, it seems like one needs a given pressure in the handles to get up. Is that pressure from a better wing, or a stronger wind? It would be interesting to integrate an anemometer that keeps a record to compare with a video or even a track on a very light day.  That’s seems like the best way to really see which is best.
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burchas

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2022, 10:28:49 AM »
Rigid handles certainly makes big difference but so is the weight.
The other day we had really crapy conditions - 8knots steady and very sticky water with backwash chop and under currents.
The only foil that was up for the task was the GF GT2200.

Had 4 wings on hand, DuoTone Unit 6.5, Ocean Rodeo Glide HL 6M, F-one Strike 6M CWC and F-one Strike V2 5.5M.
Ferocious wing pumping required to generate speed. The wing that stood out was the 5.5, at 5 pounds it got the job done easier than the closest second 6CWC.

I did not get on foil with either the Unit 6.5 nor the Glide HL 6. The OR just didn't have enough grunt for the job and the Unit was so heavy that I would ran out gas trying to pump it as needed.
I don't claim to have good technic and I'm sure folks with skills could make all these wings work but I think it should be a good indication for wingers with average skills.
in progress...

PonoBill

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2022, 01:00:37 PM »
I've noticed a substantial difference in how the 6M CWC and the 5M Strike pump onto foil (I don't have a 5.5). The Standard Strike pumps best for me with a pull on both hands, the CWC pumps best emphasizing the back hand. Both hands at once on the 6 or 7M is largely ineffective. Pulling hard with the back hand yanks me up onto foil with one or at most two pumps.
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.

supmmmm

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2022, 01:22:36 PM »
My 6M BRM v1 fits the bill- if the mondo leading edge doesn’t scare ya 😀 I’m not kidding, turned upside down it’s tall enough to pass for one of them inflatable pool chairs with a nice backrest.
And the weight is not bad - I don’t really feel it in my shoulders like I did with my v1 Fone swing of the same size.

juandesooka

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Re: Best light wind wing
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2022, 02:03:05 PM »
I started with Gong v1 7m ... replaced it with the ozone wasp 6m, which had more power than the butterfly wing flapping Gong (I hear they are better now).
I got a Duotone Unit 6m too.  Both it and ozone are beasts if the wind picks up, at 18-20kt hard for me (mid size guy) to hold down without a harness. 
Now have OR 6m aluula.  Really happy with it, the lightness is great, but what I like best is the smaller leading edge ... the ozone and duotone were probably twice the diameter.
I find the OR top end is a little more manageable.

Light wind performance: I'd say all 3 were pretty close....roughly 10kt or so is my bottom limit. 

Durability: too early to tell, but the OR still seems stiff.  My ozone handles got really thin, were more like webbing straps to hang off of than something to grab -- which was actually a positive in super cold weather, with gloves, when grip fatigue becomes a problem.

 


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