If you think this is going to be an easy way for beginners to foil or windsurf/kite I think you've never tried something like this.
This sport/idea isn't easy to do, requires quite a bit of strength, a limited wind/condition range and would feel pretty awkward to most people (more so than Windsurfing IMO, which is already too hard or awkward for most kiters and certainly for casual users).

If this thing is popular in large numbers I'll eat my kite.

Probably by now many have seen the 1982 pic of Pete Cabrinha trying the Jim Drake designed "kitewing".
I like how it seems so important for the big companies to try and claim the "if it wasn't for us " high ground in bringing to market what is really an attempt at bringing a new product for the sake of it and not for the need of it.
But with reports of even the biggest kitewing needing about 25kts
Saying a beginner will take out a floater board with a foil and kitewing in 25kts and learn this sport is a fetch.

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RAL INN said..
Probably by now many have seen the 1982 pic of Pete Cabrinha trying the Jim Drake designed "kitewing".
I like how it seems so important for the big companies to try and claim the "if it wasn't for us " high ground in bringing to market what is really an attempt at bringing a new product for the sake of it and not for the need of it.
But with reports of even the biggest kitewing needing about 25kts
Saying a beginner will take out a floater board with a foil and kitewing in 25kts and learn this sport is a fetch.

100% man. Move along, just claiming as usual, nothing to see here.

No.
Just say No.....

Looks even cooler than street SUP

A fool and his money are soon parted ...

... which would be fine, except that all the fashion-driven poorly thought out gear (in terms of inadequate r&d) and foolish purchase decisions are a big waste of resources in their manufacture and distribution, and, when they break and/or are never used, a big bunch of landfill, with no real yield of thorough use and enjoyment to compensate.

^^^^Sounds about the same as some of the kites some big brands have bought out and sold us, you know the ones.

blog.slingshotsports.com/top-5-questions-answered-about-wingsurfing-and-the-slingwing-2019/

There is a thread about the slingwing in the sup foiling forum

Some of the main points from the link above are:

The main reason for the re-surgence of kitewings is to be used sup foiling

It needs a sup board big enough to float the user ( I am guessing a small board and water starts are nearly impossible)

They believe it's easier to learn than kiting or windsurfing, also simpler and safer

The performance is not as good as kiting or windsurfing ( wow it must be really bad if it's actually worse than windsurfing )

Can be used from around 12knots upwards. This I do believe if it's used by a skilled rider on a sup foil. There are some sup foilers that can get flying under their own paddling/pump power in flat water so they wouldn't need much wind power to get going.

I also don't think they would have any trouble going upwind on a sup foil board. On a conventional sup board i imagine upwind would be terrible but with a big sup wing they would probably go upwind quite well.

It's obvious that the reason kitewings have not yet taken off despite having been around a long time is that they kind of suck for using with a conventional planing board. The recent rise of sup/surf foils has now opened up a niche for their use.

Slingshot also seem pretty open about the fact if you already kite or windsurf you will probably never bother using a kitewing.

One other thing I had been wondering about is that if there are no lines or bridle to hold the wing tips solid to the wind then what holds the sail in shape?

Surely if the sail is only supported by a inflated leading edge then it can fold pretty easily and there would be a lot of wing tip flapping

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Youngbreezy said..
One other thing I had been wondering about is that if there are no lines or bridle to hold the wing tips solid to the wind then what holds the sail in shape?

Surely if the sail is only supported by a inflated leading edge then it can fold pretty easily and there would be a lot of wing tip flapping

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Youngbreezy said..
One other thing I had been wondering about is that if there are no lines or bridle to hold the wing tips solid to the wind then what holds the sail in shape?

Surely if the sail is only supported by a inflated leading edge then it can fold pretty easily and there would be a lot of wing tip flapping

Doesn't look like to much flapping here

It looks like the second kookiest thing on the planet

Transkiting.

That slingy vid really shows how much it impinges on your field of vision - big flappy plastic right in your face, even more than windsurfing. One of the many things I love about kiting is the uninterrupted view of the sky and ocean.

This is obviously not for everyone. There is a market for people who do not want to kite or windsurf, this could be just the thing for them. There is lots of movement about this product on social media. I have seen girls riding them with SUP's etc. It may just get some more people into kiting and windsurfing which is good in my eye's.

Too many haters online these days. Pretty funny to see posts from some people who are hella kooks on a kite claiming this is gay!

I think it's great that all these companies came out with the same April fools joke at the same time, but it's too late in April.

Watched an in-depth explanation from Robby Naish on his FB page last night, went for about 5mins with him answering a lot of commonly asked questions. Everything pretty much lined up with Younogbreezy's points above, with the exception that he reckons going upwind on normal SUP board is fine. Confirmed you need a floating board, can't waterstart. Claims minimal effort required, could do it "for hours" on a foil. Worth a watch. Given he's someone who's pretty much done it all, for him to be saying he's excited by it for SUP foiling, I guess there must be something there.

Having said that, none of that "something there" appeals to me - what I enjoy about kiting is powered carving and boosting, so really adds nothing to that.

Here's the clip from Robby's FB post. Pretty crappy quality on my part (screen recording), but It does help answer a few of the Q's out there.

It's so funny when a "new" sport (using the term very loosely) comes along. I remember when Kiting started. Apparently it will never catch on, it's gay, no one will do it. People will die just watching it. LOL. Enjoy to the Re/Evolution people

Enjoy,


Ride Safe.

JB

Kiting is a little overwhelming for me. I never really considered to do it. All the gear, looks expensive, little scary in some sence, and looks like it would take some time and good coaching to get the hang of it. It just seems like a serious commitment. An intense wind sport

The wing seems like the opposite to me. Looks simple, minimal gear, easy- er-ish, far less intimidating, and less money. And it doesn't seem to need a expert to teach me how to do it. (If you all ready foil or sup) a more chill wind sport.

Maybe it's my old age, but it diffenitly has my interest.

I'm sure for some it could will be a gateway into the kiting world...

Ha ha so funny hearing people who kite trying to defend why it's cooler than windsurfing or the wind wing! Do what ever makes you happy but if you think what you do is more extreme and cool then your a tosser! Plenty of room on the water for all....

good workout for the arms

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Scrubes said..
good workout for the arms

It's not.

Here's my missus on our honeymoon in Hawaii trying the inflatable windsurf thing.

I tried the original WindWeapon in the early eighties and it was hard work! The concept works, but has been around for awhile.
www.pbkiteboarding.com/Kiteboarding-Snowkiting-Equipment/2010_Kitewing_Kite_Wing_Canada.html

Cabrinha appears to be joining the party.

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RAL INN said..
Cabrinha appears to be joining the party.

And Duotone......

**Quickly registers/trademarks "Wingpower Australia" **

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Kitepower Australia said..
**Quickly registers/trademarks "Wingpower Australia" **

So Kitepower is registered as Wingpower Australia?

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LeighMajor said..

Kitepower Australia said..
**Quickly registers/trademarks "Wingpower Australia" **

So Kitepower is registered as Wingpower Australia?

I think that will take off.

Moti Levi is offering to convert old kites to wind wing for from $180

After a few sessions now, I am pretty stoked on what the Wing-Surfer can do. It is a great compliment to our existing arsenal of ocean riding equipment. There is definitely instances were the Wing_Surfer will be superior to Kites and Windsurfing but also some times when our trusty existing gear will be the choice for the most giggles.
To further answer a few Q's;
The wing is not heavy and definitely not heavy to use, it pretty much floats its own weight, and you do not come in because your arms are sore. The first few times you will be little sore, mainly around your shoulder blades and latts, but this is mainly because you're using new muscles in many cases and holding your arms up for longer than you're used to.
Yes it is relatively easy. Way easier than Windsurfing and Kiteboarding. But it is also non intimidating, easy to depower ("100% ) and easy to ditch with no wild outcomes.
There is a learning curve on the Foil. I am a competent foiler and can Prone Foil, SUP Foil, Wind Foil and Kite Foil at reasonable levels, it still took be a few laps to get super comfortable on the wing, particularly on my switch tack. This said though, far less than learning the others from scratch.
Controlling the wing is pretty cool, and not that dissimilar to kiting. The easiest way I found is to allow your front are to just relax and hang straight and use your back arm more for sheeting and pitch control. Lowering your back arm allows the wing to sail up above you and raising your rear arm brings the wing down to a vertical plane. While you are riding these are really the only movements you want to concentrate on, in and out for sheeting and up and down for trim, mainly all done with your rear/back arm/hand.
Yes you can go upwind, and very easily. Even on a SUP non planning. On the foil you will smoke up wind, and find yourself baring away more often than not.

Here is my very first on the foil with the wing. I have bogged around for a few tacks getting comfortable, then this was my first real run.

Here's the GPS of that run.

Here's my tacking upwind earlier that day on a 10' x 27" 125ltr SUP.

Here is some laps on Pittwater during a nasty gusty westerly over the weekend. There was one guy trying to kite at the same time who's kite was falling out of the sky every 2 minutes, it didn't look fun on a kite. The Wing-Surfer easily glides between gusts when you're up and foiling and even runs at amazingly low speeds. Next pic down you'll see the lengths of ride I was getting,

Anyone who's ridden Pittwater in a westerly knows how gusty it is from the west. It was WNW up at the Joey, then WSW, SW then finally SSW as I approached Sandy Point. You can see the yellow spots as I foiled between the shifts in super light lulls.

This is Andy, I shot this from the beach on that same first foil session. This is one of Andy's first glides. He picked it up really quickly.

This is gliding on the Naish ONE 12'6" iSUP (inflatable) in
And this is riding a 10' Malibu. Yes a surfboard in super light wind. Just cruising around having fun being on the water.


I know there is a lot of people trying to dump on the wing, and slag it as not being a thing, or it wont take off and so on. To tell you truth I have heard this many times before, once was when Kiteboarding started, then I heard it again as SUP came along, the resurge of Foiling just a few years ago it came about many times. Each time, these were not inventions of a new sport, as they had been done previously to some point in the past, but technology and the ability to build and mass produce at reasonable costs brought them back into "fashion".

The wing will not be for everyone, but it will suit a lot of you. And you will find it more fun than you are possibly expecting. I will always travel with one now and am more likely to Wing Foil than to Kite Foil, mainly because of the crap conditions I have in my area plus the amazing free feeling the Wing-Surfer brings to your glide. But I also always travel with a Kite and Windsurf Foil too. I am lucky and yes do have lots of toys, but this in turn also shows which work best in a lot of real world scenarios as to what I gravitate to more often knowing that I have the choice to ride anything I want.

Looking forward to getting some more content and images to share this exciting aspect of water sports as soon as my GoPro is fixed

Anyway, look forward to seeing you enjoying your Wing-Surfing soon

Ride safe,

JB