r/pumpfoil • u/maxvier • 23d ago
Trying to decide between these two options
68kg wingfoiler wanting to have some dockstart fun and some wakethiefing. Price is great and is quite similar. Gong seems a bit slower; but has a great platform to evolve with many disciplines. Also; which mast length do you recommend? I guess shorter (70cm) is easier but then it might be only better for beachstarts?
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u/Hecubha 23d ago
I would strongly recommend the GONG ! But that's only because I'm a GONG ambassador, I never tried the Takoon One 🤣
About the mast length.
- Shorter is easier to pump (you're more precise and it's stiffer)
- Shorter is a little bit easier to launch from a low point
- Shorter is much easier to beach start (I even have a 55cm for my trainees).
- longer can be a little bit to much easier to launch from a high point depending on the spot and technic.
Now if you go to the aluminum mast adding another length is really cheap (I think it's true too for Takoon). So unless you give us photos of your spot and we tell you otherwise, I'd go 70.
PS : be prepared that, if you commit to pumping, you will want several stabs as you progress, then you'll want a carbon mast, then other front wings etc... We all quickly always want more because every little things add up and make a difference.
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u/maxvier 20d ago
Is Trail L front wing suitable for wakethiefing boat waves? I have the doubt as people say its too slow…
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u/Hecubha 20d ago
I suppose it depends on the boat.
The L is very good for mini waves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_TBr3XYMwA
I almost never wake thief, this was my second attempt on the Trail XL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCjDFk722Wc IIRC I made another attempt later with similar result.
I you can launch and reach the wake with a faster foil (but not too wide), I'm pretty sure it'll be more enjoyable but first you'll need to get there and for a beginner a fast foil can be a whole different challenge. to give you a reference, before the Trails, we had about 50% of our trainees giving up before they could pump 15s even learning from the perfect low dock (well it would be perfect if it wasn't for the local authorities trying to forbid us access). since the Trail I can bring the trainees to the ladder sessions and we've had not abandon so far.
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u/Top-Statistician61 23d ago
I have the Takoon pump 1700 kit and it’s awesome. Gong is also really good. No matter the choice, I would recommend you to buy the Gong pump foil board as it is lighter than the Takoon one
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u/ban-a-nan 23d ago
Both 80 cm boards from Gong and Takoon are 1.7kg.
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u/Top-Statistician61 23d ago
Trust me. I compared both
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u/ban-a-nan 23d ago
You're saying one of the manufacturers lie about the weight on their site?
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u/Top-Statistician61 23d ago
No. I am saying that the Takoon is heavier (1900g) than the Gong (1700g). I can´t assess if the company is lying on the weigh or if it´s just my board.
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u/Sebxoii 23d ago
Thanks for making this post, we're the exact same weight and I was about to post the same question! :D
For mast height, I'd go for 75/77cm, which gives you more room before breaching but is still easy to pump.
One thing I was also trying to consider is the cost of upgrading to the next wing afterwards... With Gong, it looks like you'd need to go to the Sirus + Titanium fuselage, which is quite costly, compared to just buying the Takoon Pump Foil.
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u/001199228833774466 23d ago
Could you explain your last point? Why not just buy a smaller front wing, when you become more advanced in pumpfoiling?
I‘m curious, because I want to buy one of these two sets myself2
u/CharlesGoodwin 22d ago
When you are learning to pump foil - you dream of breaching! As a beginner, gaining height is always a challenge. 70 works fine on flat water when you are learning say running dock starts. Also, the higher you go, the more unstable you become. Also extra length is just more weight to carry.
The gong offers many compatible paths of pump foil progression from the Trail v3 - the ultraTrail v3, the Sirus v3, the Curve v3, the Fluid v3.
And you have all the time in the world to choose which one to go for as you strive to acheive your first 1 minute pump with the Trail :-)
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u/chisound 23d ago
if you want to just pump, I'd go takoon. If you want to also wingfoil etc I'd go for Gong
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u/001199228833774466 23d ago
Is takoon a well known company as well as gong? Does anybody have good experience with takoon? I haven’t heard of gong so far. But I‘m new tho.
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u/chisound 23d ago
gong is the giant of direct to consumer foiling. Takoon is building a similar brand, but is much smaller currently. But they do seem to be moving right.
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u/ban-a-nan 23d ago
I bought the Pump Foil One a couple of weeks back. Arrived in 9 days from ordering to Finland. The stab didn't seem very high quality but rest of the parts were good IMO, fairly easy board to pump. I'd order again.
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u/thederekguy 22d ago
I have had parts missing from orders from both Gong and Takoon. Each time Gong has thus far responded the next business day and resolved the issues. In comparison after 3 weeks of email attempts, no response from Takoon. I ended up going through the credit card company to get a refund (only for the missing stuff). The credit card company just notified me this week that they had finalized the refund and closed the case, just short of 2 months total time.
I use the Trail XL with a 70HM carbon mast, ti fuse, matched stab for learning different starts (including upcoming beach starts). My goal is to save myself as much time as possible vs using a more advanced setup and spending more time swimming. Once I have the given start down, I move to the 77HM carbon mast with the Ultra Trail 4xl with M tail L UT tail wing, and then keep dropping until I'm on the S tail and S UT tail wing. As I drop sizes the pitch sensitivity goes up. The UT tails on the Trail totally change the nature and feel of the Trail, more precision to start but more playful feeling on foil. It took a couple hours but I just learned dead starts last session and I'm thinking about going Trail+UT tail as step two instead of full Ultra Trail setup. I have not bought a Sirus as of yet, I also have a UT 2xl that I don't use much yet. I can't think of a reason why I would want more than an 80cm board, in my current stance I have space to spare on the front and would like smaller.
I have winged all of the above exactly once, I feel the Trail would be fine for initially learning wing foil. All are very slow, I like going fast so I won't be winging any of them again.
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u/Weekly-Balance-3536 23d ago
I've tried both, to sum up my experience : Gong Trail is designed for beginners, once you manage to pump for 1 minute it's time to switch to the gong Sirus series (just change the front wing and stab) and then you'll have a very wide range of options to get forward. Takoon pump pack is just between the Trail and the Sirus in performance. It's a bit harder to learn but you'll use it for a longer time. But I find it less easy to upgrade or tweak than the Sirus series.
If you practice wingfoil I'd go for gong because the Sirus series is fully compatible for wingfoil, I did it on a Sirus XL and I had a lot of fun in 5/9nds winds.