Hi,thinking of buying a wing,whats your opinion of a solid boom (duo tone etc) or inflatable (Naish).
Can the solid booms bend ???
What are the advantages and disadvantages of either
thx

The boom allows you to slide your hand rather than move your hand from strap to strap. It also gives the wing a bit more rigidity and allows some tuning. Downside is pack down size and something solid to hit on your board and yourself.

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BrisKites said..
The boom allows you to slide your hand rather than move your hand from strap to strap. It also gives the wing a bit more rigidity and allows some tuning. Downside is pack down size and something solid to hit on your board and yourself.

And heavier

Re the weight of the boom if you swap out on the water you notice a lot but if you own one you don't . It's bugger all really . The boom is so strong you'll never bend it . Tacking and jibbing the handles give you a good location but when you are loaded up it's so easy to shift your hands on the boom rather than release and make a grab on the handles The Duotone definitely has more grunt and that's not from the boom but the actually wing shape and V'ed leading edge . It rag dolls like a bitch out on the water when you crash and re start . The other flatter wings just sit there. The Duotone is a great wing but so are some of the others . It's just personal preference.you can also shorten the boom to bag out the wing for even more power or lengthen it to make stiffer to point up wind more.

I'm not a fan of the boom..

It doesn't just sit there and float depowered when holding by the front handle like when getting going.. and it doesn't follow you without swooping left and right in sometimes a very violent motion.

Watch this vid from about 1.50 to see what I mean.



See how in this pic the Naish follows without the swooping.

I was a hard core boom fan because of my windsurf background. This was before I actually rode any wing dings. Then I tried most of the top brands and quickly realized what was truly important.....how the wing flies.

With all wings being version 1.......there are huge differences in handling, wind range, gust handling capability, smoothness, weight, etc. All that maters more.

Demo, you will see and it will open your eyes to what REALLY maters. Not boom versus handles.

Hi,
From a windsurfing background, I've been using the F-one swing (3 handles) for about 30 sessions.
Had the opportunity to switch gear with a mate using the duotone, both wings 4m.
First thing I noticed is the feeling when pumping the wing : with the F-one the whole wing is deforming. Whereas the boom of the Duotone being stiff makes the canopy feel real soft by contrast. Hard to say this homogeneous feel of the Fone makes it more powerfull but it's smoother.
Performance wise, the thing I liked most with the boom is the "one hand handling" :
It's usefull when you wan't to keep a little pull from the wing for riding downwind. I can't really do that with the Fone but maybe more handles would help.
Another advantage, when jibing, it allows you to speed up the handling of the wing by rotating or rolling you wrist for instance. Where handles will just ... flex.
As mentioned, the main drawback is the instability of the Duotone when surfing holding just the front handle.
Weight didn't strike me as an issue when riding.
Hope this helps.

Thank you everyone for your advice,just ordered the 5m Duotone.
Got a really good deal from Oceanaddicts ,black Friday/cyber Monday.
DJ glad to see your back,hope all is good?? Miss the vids and the good music.
Piros keep the vids coming,I'm gunna need them,the missus reckons I've developed a foot fetish.
I apparently keep looking at foil vids and say "look where his feet are"

Haha yeah don't copy my feet , it's a topic of many discussions.

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Fitzsup said..
the missus reckons I've developed a foot fetish.
I apparently keep looking at foil vids and say "look where his feet are"

I was watching a wind wing vid and my missus looked over my shoulder just as the rider was pumping like mad trying to waterstart on a small board. My missus said " is that guy trying to f**k his kite? What sort of an video are you watching??"

Hilarious

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Pierre74 said..
Hi,
From a windsurfing background, I've been using the F-one swing (3 handles) for about 30 sessions.
Had the opportunity to switch gear with a mate using the duotone, both wings 4m.
First thing I noticed is the feeling when pumping the wing : with the F-one the whole wing is deforming. Whereas the boom of the Duotone being stiff makes the canopy feel real soft by contrast. Hard to say this homogeneous feel of the Fone makes it more powerfull but it's smoother.
Performance wise, the thing I liked most with the boom is the "one hand handling" :
It's usefull when you wan't to keep a little pull from the wing for riding downwind. I can't really do that with the Fone but maybe more handles would help.
Another advantage, when jibing, it allows you to speed up the handling of the wing by rotating or rolling you wrist for instance. Where handles will just ... flex.
As mentioned, the main drawback is the instability of the Duotone when surfing holding just the front handle.
Weight didn't strike me as an issue when riding.
Hope this helps.

I'm hoping that someone here with experience using a number of different wings will give them an unbiased rating for -- power, ease of handling (gybing) , speed, durability, etc.

My local shop carries Cabrinha and SlingShot (Sling Wing). The pricing is the same. Maybe I'll get a chance to demo them and provide some feedback here.

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dejavu said..

Pierre74 said..
Hi,
From a windsurfing background, I've been using the F-one swing (3 handles) for about 30 sessions.
Had the opportunity to switch gear with a mate using the duotone, both wings 4m.
First thing I noticed is the feeling when pumping the wing : with the F-one the whole wing is deforming. Whereas the boom of the Duotone being stiff makes the canopy feel real soft by contrast. Hard to say this homogeneous feel of the Fone makes it more powerfull but it's smoother.
Performance wise, the thing I liked most with the boom is the "one hand handling" :
It's usefull when you wan't to keep a little pull from the wing for riding downwind. I can't really do that with the Fone but maybe more handles would help.
Another advantage, when jibing, it allows you to speed up the handling of the wing by rotating or rolling you wrist for instance. Where handles will just ... flex.
As mentioned, the main drawback is the instability of the Duotone when surfing holding just the front handle.
Weight didn't strike me as an issue when riding.
Hope this helps.

I'm hoping that someone here with experience using a number of different wings will give them an unbiased rating for -- power, ease of handling (gybing) , speed, durability, etc.

My local shop carries Cabrinha and SlingShot (Sling Wing). The pricing is the same. Maybe I'll get a chance to demo them and provide some feedback here.

Here is my opinion, and my weight does impact the result (105kg). I am riding a 125 Litres Naish SUP and AXIS 102 foil wing.

Owned/Own: 4m Naish, 7m Gong, 3m/4m/5m Duotone

Static handling (one hand holding the wing):

4m Naish and 7m Gong are benign and easy to manage.
Duotone swings left/right and like to flip over (you soon learn how to hold the kite to minimise the movement and save yourself a sprained wrist).

Dynamic Handling (actively flying the kite):

All the kites fly well under power, But under serious wind pressure the Gong and Niash will start to flex whereas the Duotone will not.
For the blow up strut wings, lots of air pressure is advantageous in reducing the flexing.

Because the Duotones do not flex (struts and booms), delivery of power when pumping up onto the foil is consistent and predictable.
Because the Gong (and to a lesser extent the Naish) flex, then delivery of power when pumping feels like you are attached to a rubber band.

In my opinion, the Duotones fly better than the Naish or Gong but I spend most of my time on the 7m Gong or 5m duotone due to the wind strength where I live and I enjoy flying both of them. THey are both easy to handle on tacks or gybes, but I prefer the boom over the loops for ease of changing my hand grip or hand position.

But my preference is to fly the Duotones simply because of the ease of handling and delivery of power.

I have not seen a Cab wing and only seen one slingwing. Nearly everybody in our local area fly either a Niash or Duotone.

Thx bigtone667,I needed to hear that as I was concerned that I had made a rushed ill thought out blunder.We have had howling nor-Easter's for months,now I've brought a wing they will probably stop

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bigtone667 said..

dejavu said..

Pierre74 said..
Hi,
From a windsurfing background, I've been using the F-one swing (3 handles) for about 30 sessions.
Had the opportunity to switch gear with a mate using the duotone, both wings 4m.
First thing I noticed is the feeling when pumping the wing : with the F-one the whole wing is deforming. Whereas the boom of the Duotone being stiff makes the canopy feel real soft by contrast. Hard to say this homogeneous feel of the Fone makes it more powerfull but it's smoother.
Performance wise, the thing I liked most with the boom is the "one hand handling" :
It's usefull when you wan't to keep a little pull from the wing for riding downwind. I can't really do that with the Fone but maybe more handles would help.
Another advantage, when jibing, it allows you to speed up the handling of the wing by rotating or rolling you wrist for instance. Where handles will just ... flex.
As mentioned, the main drawback is the instability of the Duotone when surfing holding just the front handle.
Weight didn't strike me as an issue when riding.
Hope this helps.

I'm hoping that someone here with experience using a number of different wings will give them an unbiased rating for -- power, ease of handling (gybing) , speed, durability, etc.

My local shop carries Cabrinha and SlingShot (Sling Wing). The pricing is the same. Maybe I'll get a chance to demo them and provide some feedback here.

Here is my opinion, and my weight does impact the result (105kg). I am riding a 125 Litres Naish SUP and AXIS 102 foil wing.

Owned/Own: 4m Naish, 7m Gong, 3m/4m/5m Duotone

Static handling (one hand holding the wing):

4m Naish and 7m Gong are benign and easy to manage.
Duotone swings left/right and like to flip over (you soon learn how to hold the kite to minimise the movement and save yourself a sprained wrist).

Dynamic Handling (actively flying the kite):

All the kites fly well under power, But under serious wind pressure the Gong and Niash will start to flex whereas the Duotone will not.
For the blow up strut wings, lots of air pressure is advantageous in reducing the flexing.

Because the Duotones do not flex (struts and booms), delivery of power when pumping up onto the foil is consistent and predictable.
Because the Gong (and to a lesser extent the Naish) flex, then delivery of power when pumping feels like you are attached to a rubber band.

In my opinion, the Duotones fly better than the Naish or Gong but I spend most of my time on the 7m Gong or 5m duotone due to the wind strength where I live and I enjoy flying both of them. THey are both easy to handle on tacks or gybes, but I prefer the boom over the loops for ease of changing my hand grip or hand position.

But my preference is to fly the Duotones simply because of the ease of handling and delivery of power.

I have not seen a Cab wing and only seen one slingwing. Nearly everybody in our local area fly either a Niash or Duotone.

Everyone is different. I got the Duotone due to windsurfing background. But had a few issues - did not like the size it was when packed down, the hard boom hitting the board and how unstable it is when not in hand. It flaps around like a banshee Also lots of puncture issues due to lightly built leading edge to offset the weight of the boom.
Tried the Ozone - great build quality, well behaved when not in hand, more grunt than the Duotone (pumped really hard), packs down to a tiny bag, no punctures and I got used to the handles (they are an aquired taste but the boom feels weird now). Improvements they could make would be a bigger connecting tube to the strut to speed up inflation/deflation and maybe a mini-boom at the front for one-handed flight control. They are both great fun.
Wish I could use one like this www.instagram.com/p/B5igjyMn-BG/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

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DavidJohn said..
I'm not a fan of the boom..

It doesn't just sit there and float depowered when holding by the front handle like when getting going.. and it doesn't follow you without swooping left and right in sometimes a very violent motion.

Watch this vid from about 1.50 to see what I mean.

See how in this pic the Naish follows without the swooping.

I think they all do that. My SlingWing does too. There are moments when it doesn't, but it will. Holding it one handle/strap back of that dead middle grip seems to help quite a bit.

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MLB007 said..I think they all do that. My SlingWing does too.

Ozone Wasp doesn't. Really stable holding with one hand or just letting go (seen a few vids of this have to look for them)

Here is one an FOne I think

Can't do that with a duotone.

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I think they all do that. My SlingWing does too.

SlingWing is as bad as Duotone for doing that. Lots of other brands don't do that.

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DWF said..

I think they all do that. My SlingWing does too.

SlingWing is as bad as Duotone for doing that. Lots of other brands don't do that.

I am happy to have the difficult un-powered handling for the excellent power delivery and flying capabilities of the "Tone".
I always ride two handed because I use the wing to help anchor me as I pivot/carve harder on waves.

With the Naish wing I sometimes hold between the handles. That is two fingers in each. Still feels comfortable.
A mate of mine has used the Naish, Duotone & Slingwing.
Said the Naish is good. The Duotone wavers too much & the Slingwing is good but reckons its overdone with all the added material used.
He has two that has been custom made. The second being an improvement on his first. So I am looking forward to seeing that one.

Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

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Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Nice work. Totally agree with your points as we get great wind over here so handling is super important.

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Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Can barely see you through the smoke!

I guess it depends on what you want to use it for,I just want to play in the river and flat water,when the nor'easters blow.Tack up and down the river mouth,foil and generally goof off.
Im Impressed with guys that downwind with them,love watching the vids,but that's not me.
So after reading all the comments it's what your personal choice is,the conditions your using it in,and your background,eg windsurf,kite or surfing.
Once again thx for all the imput and advice.

Thanks for all the feedback! Much appreciated.

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Fitzsup said..
I guess it depends on what you want to use it for,I just want to play in the river and flat water,when the nor'easters blow.Tack up and down the river mouth,foil and generally goof off.
Im Impressed with guys that downwind with them,love watching the vids,but that's not me.
So after reading all the comments it's what your personal choice is,the conditions your using it in,and your background,eg windsurf,kite or surfing.
Once again thx for all the imput and advice.

To a degree, but some wings just seem to cover a lot more useful features than others

Main thing is it puts smile on your dial - repeatedly

Ride safe,

JB

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Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Your mad! There is no way I would go out in that! I haven't even got enough hair on my head as it is!

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Seajuice said..

Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Your mad! There is no way I would go out in that! I haven't even got enough hair on my head as it is!

It was incredibly fun. So fun in fact, that I went back and did it again straight after. Wish I did a 3rd run now in hind sight. It is hard to see, but I was wearing floatation, a Helmet and leashes .

JB

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Windgenuity said..

Seajuice said..

Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Your mad! There is no way I would go out in that! I haven't even got enough hair on my head as it is!

It was incredibly fun. So fun in fact, that I went back and did it again straight after. Wish I did a 3rd run now in hind sight. It is hard to see, but I was wearing floatation, a Helmet and leashes .

JB

Well done. Good to hear you thought safety in that.

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Seajuice said..

Windgenuity said..

Seajuice said..

Windgenuity said..
Here's a couple of screen grabs from an awesome DW'er I did a few weeks back. This wind is nuking (well over 30kn gusts into the 40's). Swells was pumping also. It's times like this that the behaviour of your wing is very important.

First shot is riding toeside free-winging at considerable speed.
Second shot is smoking on a swell in full free-wing - Wing just sitting there being good

In these conditions a wing dancing around like a wild cat is not an option! yYou have enough on as it is riding over 30km/h and taking huge drops.





Ride safe,

Regards,

JB

Your mad! There is no way I would go out in that! I haven't even got enough hair on my head as it is!

It was incredibly fun. So fun in fact, that I went back and did it again straight after. Wish I did a 3rd run now in hind sight. It is hard to see, but I was wearing floatation, a Helmet and leashes .

JB

Well done. Good to hear you thought safety in that.

Safer than kitesurfing in that wind which lots do, including myself. You would not like to watch this coast with hundreds of kiters downwinding with no safety gear every day. Yes, they go out deep, lots are close to shore, however. Not condoning a lack of safety gear just pointing out it is not unusual. Pretty big floaty devices you are tethered to. Make sure you have the ability to swim in no matter where you go.