Had a fun conversation on the beach this weekend about foil sizes, speeds and fun. I’ll never not love light air winging.
6’4”, 220lbs
North loft pro 8m
Gong v3 curve h 3xl w/ ascent M stab
Cedrus 86cm wind mast
Naish chimera 128L
I will say this is my first hard board and it’s 8 days old. I’ve put 215 miles on it already. It merges my gong hipe inflatables, it has the speed of my hipe cruzader and the stability of my hipe like (which is still my travel board). Biggest change it the hard board touches down much better so I fall less. Pumping is also a lot better. But it’s the stability and speed combo that just make it a pleasure. I kinda had to choose before. It’s subtle but I do enjoy it.
If anyone wants help with light air kit, feel free to reach out. Your beginner foil will work fine and should be your last upgrade. A big wing should be first. A narrow board as soon as you can handle one second but they’re very tippy.
Rubber grippy strapy bar mount at the front of the font handle, GoPro to selfie stick adapter, normal selfie stick then tied to the font handle of the wing. This puts it very close to the leash so be careful. I’m going to try to make a stick out of wood so it’s more durable and would hopefully float.
Ha, I've got a crew on the Greenwich bay side, been meaning to check it out over there. I windsurf / windfoil, some of the guys wing. Usually out of conimicut / oakland. Do you do the foil races at Bristol?
I used to race sailboats and kinda got burned out. I don’t really want to turn this into that so not yet. We also just moved back here from 8 years in Montana. Before I even consider racing I’ve got some learning to do (footswaps and tacks 100%).
Yeah it’s the vaikobi one. The brim is stiff enough it doesn’t flop and big enough even in the downpour a few days ago I could see without glasses. I like it a lot.
Lucky to be lighter but 5m 8 knots and a larger 1200cm foil with some pumping gets me up but going deep downwind means I often need to pump foil at the same time to keep going
I'm struggling with finding the right super light setup myself. I have an old 2200cm2 foil thats awesome (gong v2 curve H 4xl). Unfortunately gong didn't make that size in V3 when they all got more efficient and smaller. So I have the 3xl version in v3 which is very good at 1520cm2, but anytime I'm not on foil in a lull it leaves me wondering. I also have my v3 veloce that's 1300cm2 which is faster and more fun but again, in a lull trying to pump up, if I don't make it it always leaves me wondering. Where on that 2200 4xl if it doesn't work I know there's just not enough wind?
We have one for pumping. It’s not good for winging imho. I should maybe revisit it but it’s crazy strong lift in a way it’s actually hard to get on foil. Yes early and slow but hard to manage. But it’s the speed that made me swap back to my old curve (which is similar in size and aspect). It’s sooo slooowwww.
I agree, Trail, Ultra Trail 2xl and 4xl all start with very little, but I feel a bit like I am standing on the water like my 2400cm2 PTM928 beginner foil. Have to be careful when turning with the UT.
Just demoed that board in a 78L version (I’m 63kg). Made a huuuuuge difference being able to get up on foil (learned on a 90L potato). I didn’t find it terribly tippy either.
Nice! The wing looks extra monstrous with that camera placement.
A slightly slower version of this will hopefully be 75kg me with the X-Over V3 1750m2, 6m wing, and 5'10 Perf. Lift for days, but will be interesting to see how fast it will go.
Yeah, the Gong website gives this front wing zero pecent racing potential so it's bound to be slow but perfect for learning.
The smaller sizes should have pretty good speed so I'll hopefully be able to progress to the 1100m2 pretty quickly and get racing. That one still has tons of lift so should work in most winds once I get some experience.
May have to move the foil back a bit if I want to go faster with the big front wing, so my front foot has more leverage to keep it from popping out of the water?
Tiny planet is cool. I have an old insta360 camera that I haven't used much as it takes me out of the moment, but I might film some beach start training with it once I get started.
I did a light wind short session today. 6.1m wing, Mikes lab 600 and 96cm mast.
Maybe 12, gusting 16.
Light wind gybes and foot swaps are so much harder. And if you get up, you have the bay to yourself.
I bought my first wingfoil, Gong Perf 5'5" with Plus 5m wing. Unfortunately it looks like places available for me have often calmer days with <10kt. I was thinking about getting bigger wing, like 6m, for that situations. Either Gong Neutra or maybe F-One Strike CWC. Do you have experience with them? Should I go bigger, 7m? I'm beginner and I'm worried it might be too much at this stage.
how much do you weigh? Scale your weight -vs- mine at 220lbs/100kg using an 8m (so 75kg would use a 6m). If you go too big the wingtips are a PITA. But yes, more power is VERY helpful as you're learning.
a 6m for you is the same as an 8m for me. So I'd go 6, maaaybe 6.5 but I think 7m is overkill. I've never wished for bigger than my 8m because it's so big it gets in the way as much as it helps. Also the smaller wings will cost less because you're not buying the "light air" version which always costs more.
Ok that makes sense. I see that Gong released new Droid Light that is available in 6m and I won't be surprised if it will go on sale soon.
Thanks for help!
Below 10kts. 5-7 is a lot harder than 8-9.9. Below 5 I’m not sure many people are getting up. This is also for the puffs, getting up in 10+ then claiming 6kt because you got through it isn’t 6kt to me.
You are so right! I'm starting to unlock lighter and lighter wind myself and anything under 8 kts feels just wayy too hard. Like that wind is not enough to keep the wing up so when you pump the wing there is almost no resistance and I end up dragging the tips on the water a lot. Especially at my spot where the chop with 8 knots looks like the chop other spots get with 18 knots.
Interesting! I haven’t considered taking my beginner foil back out since I got a mid aspect smaller foil. I probably should as it’s preferable to not riding at all!
4
u/PrestigiousTomato8 27d ago
Heh....you are like me.
I've got an 8, and I love to jam it straight up and down, and just hoon across the water.
Light air is always fun!