I received my much frothed over Gong Inflatable HIPE 5'3" 110L. It was delivered to my door 6 days after Gong received shipment to France. $833US delivered. I have had 2 sessions on it thus far. I have my Slingshot I84 with 48" stab and 29" mast in "b"position. Both sessions were on the lighter side. Bottom line- STOKED!!!! It is only 10 L less than my previous main ride the Outwit 6'6" but it is 16" shorter. The weight is roughly the same around 16lbs. Here is the big difference- swing weight. The HIPE carries her main weight in the carbon foil mount area. The rest of the board feels really light. The swing weight is considerably lower. It is really easy to initiate the yah on turns. The touchdowns don't seem to be a problem which is interesting because this board doesn't have any of the fancy shapes of other wing boards; chines, double concave, weird tail chit. It is basically just a short, fat SUP with a touch of rocker. It is easier to get up to foil in light wind than my Outwit. I am still strapless on it but am keen to put on the front strap.

One gripe is that the deck pad seems slippery to bare feet. I wander if they designed it for booty riding.
I left it inflated to the recommended 15-20 psi in the truck in hottish weather for a couple of days and no problem. I was worried about this being the buzzkill of dealing with inflatables.
Oh, and it has crashed into me a couple of times and it just bounced off and I chuckled. I am really stoked to be done with ding repair.
I highly recommend this board to anyone for winging. Haven't had it for a sup foil yet but bet it will crush it.
I am stoked on Gong and their customer service and their products. I know there is a lot of chit talk on the Zone but I have only had good interactions.

Send It!!!!!!

Very Impressive,How does it feel to pump ?

Board looks good!! Definitely the best looking blow up board available right now.
Interesting about the pad. I'd try giving it a scrub with soapy water to wash of any manufacturing residue and then wash thoroughly. When you get a new wing the handles are very slippery but this goes away after a few salt water washes.

Nice review. I have a question about the foil. I've been learning to wing on an i84 with a longer fuse and smaller stab (wind foiling set up). I can see you have the shorter fuse and larger stab, have you ever tried the longer fuse? Do you know if it brings the shorter fuse brings the centre of lift further back?

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broVan said..
I received my much frothed over Gong Inflatable HIPE 5'3" 110L. It was delivered to my door 6 days after Gong received shipment to France. $833US delivered. I have had 2 sessions on it thus far. I have my Slingshot I84 with 48" stab and 29" mast in "b"position. Both sessions were on the lighter side. Bottom line- STOKED!!!! It is only 10 L less than my previous main ride the Outwit 6'6" but it is 16" shorter. The weight is roughly the same around 16lbs. Here is the big difference- swing weight. The HIPE carries her main weight in the carbon foil mount area. The rest of the board feels really light. The swing weight is considerably lower. It is really easy to initiate the yah on turns. The touchdowns don't seem to be a problem which is interesting because this board doesn't have any of the fancy shapes of other wing boards; chines, double concave, weird tail chit. It is basically just a short, fat SUP with a touch of rocker. It is easier to get up to foil in light wind than my Outwit. I am still strapless on it but am keen to put on the front strap.

One gripe is that the deck pad seems slippery to bare feet. I wander if they designed it for booty riding.
I left it inflated to the recommended 15-20 psi in the truck in hottish weather for a couple of days and no problem. I was worried about this being the buzzkill of dealing with inflatables.
Oh, and it has crashed into me a couple of times and it just bounced off and I chuckled. I am really stoked to be done with ding repair.
I highly recommend this board to anyone for winging. Haven't had it for a sup foil yet but bet it will crush it.
I am stoked on Gong and their customer service and their products. I know there is a lot of chit talk on the Zone but I have only had good interactions.

Send It!!!!!!

Cheers for the frothing review.
How many kgs are you.?
Just interested in regards to the 5'3"110 ltrs
I have a Hipe 5'5" 125ltrs due soon.
Thought it may suit my 103kgs

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kobo said..
Very Impressive,How does it feel to pump ?

pumping is way easier. closer feel to my mini Dwarfcraft.

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LeighMajor said..

broVan said..
I received my much frothed over Gong Inflatable HIPE 5'3" 110L. It was delivered to my door 6 days after Gong received shipment to France. $833US delivered. I have had 2 sessions on it thus far. I have my Slingshot I84 with 48" stab and 29" mast in "b"position. Both sessions were on the lighter side. Bottom line- STOKED!!!! It is only 10 L less than my previous main ride the Outwit 6'6" but it is 16" shorter. The weight is roughly the same around 16lbs. Here is the big difference- swing weight. The HIPE carries her main weight in the carbon foil mount area. The rest of the board feels really light. The swing weight is considerably lower. It is really easy to initiate the yah on turns. The touchdowns don't seem to be a problem which is interesting because this board doesn't have any of the fancy shapes of other wing boards; chines, double concave, weird tail chit. It is basically just a short, fat SUP with a touch of rocker. It is easier to get up to foil in light wind than my Outwit. I am still strapless on it but am keen to put on the front strap.

One gripe is that the deck pad seems slippery to bare feet. I wander if they designed it for booty riding.
I left it inflated to the recommended 15-20 psi in the truck in hottish weather for a couple of days and no problem. I was worried about this being the buzzkill of dealing with inflatables.
Oh, and it has crashed into me a couple of times and it just bounced off and I chuckled. I am really stoked to be done with ding repair.
I highly recommend this board to anyone for winging. Haven't had it for a sup foil yet but bet it will crush it.
I am stoked on Gong and their customer service and their products. I know there is a lot of chit talk on the Zone but I have only had good interactions.

Send It!!!!!!

Cheers for the frothing review.
How many kgs are you.?
Just interested in regards to the 5'3"110 ltrs
I have a Hipe 5'5" 125ltrs due soon.
Thought it may suit my 103kgs

I am 80kgs

Select to expand quote

r0d said..
Nice review. I have a question about the foil. I've been learning to wing on an i84 with a longer fuse and smaller stab (wind foiling set up). I can see you have the shorter fuse and larger stab, have you ever tried the longer fuse? Do you know if it brings the shorter fuse brings the centre of lift further back?

Never tried longer fuse. I prefer the smaller 42cm stab with the I84. I just have two complete foils set up, this one and an I76 with small stab. I have been trying to get out on the 76 more. This board is going to rip with the 76.

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baldy123 said..
Board looks good!! Definitely the best looking blow up board available right now.
Interesting about the pad. I'd try giving it a scrub with soapy water to wash of any manufacturing residue and then wash thoroughly. When you get a new wing the handles are very slippery but this goes away after a few salt water washes.

Thanks Baldy, I will give it a wash. The inflatable part was a bit slippery while climbing back up on it. No big deal, I just need to stop falling.

Select to expand quote

broVan said..
I received my much frothed over Gong Inflatable HIPE 5'3" 110L. It was delivered to my door 6 days after Gong received shipment to France. $833US delivered. I have had 2 sessions on it thus far. I have my Slingshot I84 with 48" stab and 29" mast in "b"position. Both sessions were on the lighter side. Bottom line- STOKED!!!! It is only 10 L less than my previous main ride the Outwit 6'6" but it is 16" shorter. The weight is roughly the same around 16lbs. Here is the big difference- swing weight. The HIPE carries her main weight in the carbon foil mount area. The rest of the board feels really light. The swing weight is considerably lower. It is really easy to initiate the yah on turns. The touchdowns don't seem to be a problem which is interesting because this board doesn't have any of the fancy shapes of other wing boards; chines, double concave, weird tail chit. It is basically just a short, fat SUP with a touch of rocker. It is easier to get up to foil in light wind than my Outwit. I am still strapless on it but am keen to put on the front strap.

One gripe is that the deck pad seems slippery to bare feet. I wander if they designed it for booty riding.
I left it inflated to the recommended 15-20 psi in the truck in hottish weather for a couple of days and no problem. I was worried about this being the buzzkill of dealing with inflatables.
Oh, and it has crashed into me a couple of times and it just bounced off and I chuckled. I am really stoked to be done with ding repair.
I highly recommend this board to anyone for winging. Haven't had it for a sup foil yet but bet it will crush it.
I am stoked on Gong and their customer service and their products. I know there is a lot of chit talk on the Zone but I have only had good interactions.

Send It!!!!!!

Nice review, how did you find going from 6'6 to 5'3 in terms of knee starts and stability? Do you deal with choppy seas or inland protected water?

Select to expand quote

IanInca said..

broVan said..
I received my much frothed over Gong Inflatable HIPE 5'3" 110L. It was delivered to my door 6 days after Gong received shipment to France. $833US delivered. I have had 2 sessions on it thus far. I have my Slingshot I84 with 48" stab and 29" mast in "b"position. Both sessions were on the lighter side. Bottom line- STOKED!!!! It is only 10 L less than my previous main ride the Outwit 6'6" but it is 16" shorter. The weight is roughly the same around 16lbs. Here is the big difference- swing weight. The HIPE carries her main weight in the carbon foil mount area. The rest of the board feels really light. The swing weight is considerably lower. It is really easy to initiate the yah on turns. The touchdowns don't seem to be a problem which is interesting because this board doesn't have any of the fancy shapes of other wing boards; chines, double concave, weird tail chit. It is basically just a short, fat SUP with a touch of rocker. It is easier to get up to foil in light wind than my Outwit. I am still strapless on it but am keen to put on the front strap.

One gripe is that the deck pad seems slippery to bare feet. I wander if they designed it for booty riding.
I left it inflated to the recommended 15-20 psi in the truck in hottish weather for a couple of days and no problem. I was worried about this being the buzzkill of dealing with inflatables.
Oh, and it has crashed into me a couple of times and it just bounced off and I chuckled. I am really stoked to be done with ding repair.
I highly recommend this board to anyone for winging. Haven't had it for a sup foil yet but bet it will crush it.
I am stoked on Gong and their customer service and their products. I know there is a lot of chit talk on the Zone but I have only had good interactions.

Send It!!!!!!

Nice review, how did you find going from 6'6 to 5'3 in terms of knee starts and stability? Do you deal with choppy seas or inland protected water?

I quit knee starting. I just stand up on board and pull the wing up and fly. I was getting all kinds of weird knee tweaks with the knee starts. I foil at an inland semi mountainous lake. Swells are typically ankle to knee high. I believe that having enough liters in a board allows me to start like this. If i go any smaller i will be back to the knee start. Might be worth it if i am up on a 85L board. If you are gonna kneestart, an inflatable is def more comfy than a rigid.

Thanks for posting this. Great to see a review about the Hipe. I am a newbie and considering this board. Like the idea of it being not only less painful to fall on when learning but also that it packs a way smaller (have limited storage and need to travel to access the sea or lakes). I am a 70kg and trying to decide between the 5.5 or the 5.3 (110l). Any thoughts from anyone? Want a board I can learn on but will let me a decent time once I am up and riding!

Unboxing review



Does anyone ride it strapless and is bothered with the raised strap inserts ?

This looks great. One question though. How are people going to carry this around with the wind wing without a top or bottom handle? Thoughts please?

Great unboxing. Can you show "how much more stuff" fits in the case? You mentioned possible wings? what about the pump?

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nesup said..
This looks great. One question though. How are people going to carry this around with the wind wing without a top or bottom handle? Thoughts please?

Lots of foilers carry the wing board with the foil forward on their upwind shoulder and grab the front handle of the wing with their downwind hand.

Take a look at this video at the 2:50 minute mark.

I did a good bit of the shoulder carry today on my beginner walk of shame back upwind. Probably did a mile all in. Easy to do, especially with such a short board. I was carrying a 6'4" and I'm 5'8" but foil was way forward.

But for a short carry into the water you could just grab the foil in upwind hand and put your hand where the handle would be and carry it fine I'll bet. And if you drop it, who cares?!

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dejavu said..

nesup said..
This looks great. One question though. How are people going to carry this around with the wind wing without a top or bottom handle? Thoughts please?

Lots of foilers carry the wing board with the foil forward on their upwind shoulder and grab the front handle of the wing with their downwind hand.

Take a look at this video at the 2:50 minute mark.

Thanks

I've they put a mast track on these I'd buy one in an instant! Tempted to just glue something on.

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Grantmac said..
I've they put a mast track on these I'd buy one in an instant! Tempted to just glue something on.

Wouldn't that be great? I would be in too. I still may need to get one just for winging.

How much does the bag hold? Heaps! I got the 5'3", and it came with the larger of the two bags.

Easily holds board, pump, all included accessories, Pulse 7m wing, drysuit with layers, booties, helmet, and a few leashes!

I weighed it with all that gear just for fun - 22.5kg, whoa! Given the dimensions of the bag, I doubt one could travel by air and not incur oversize luggage charges, the general standard is 62" L+W+H, and this behemoth far exceeds that.

I think the board could be folded more narrowly, and fit into a standard large suitcase, along with the pump and probably the wing.

Between that kit and my foils that fit in a hard shell golf bag (16kg,) I'm loaded down with almost 39kg of gear - whoa!

see photos below

E220 freight to Australia + customs fee (over A$1,000) + gst

Thx Foil Co. It's wild that the size of gear wouldn't be the limiting factor for travel, but the weight. But this is still really cool as extra baggage fees are far less than board fees.

i like the idea of foils and board in a suitcase. My wife will totally understand fitting her clothes around my gear. ;)

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Windbot said..

Grantmac said..
I've they put a mast track on these I'd buy one in an instant! Tempted to just glue something on.

Wouldn't that be great? I would be in too. I still may need to get one just for winging.

They put a US box on the bottom of the larger ones in about the right spot, all they'd need to do is put it on the top!

Any updates on quality? Be careful with folding that you don't damage the box (glued areas). I know a few of inflatable SUP's that were not folded correctly and to much stress is put on the glued areas and damaged the box. Anyway to glue a rear strap? Since these are coming from China, I would be interested in the long term reliability. Keep us updated.

Patrice answered yesterday on the lack of a rear footstrap:

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the Hipe is a board to progress in the sport. We have not planned a "Pro" version to date.

Only a few % of wingers use the rear strap. Imposing a price increase on the 95% who will never use it seems unnecessary to me currently.

On the other hand, I have Hipes with a rear strap for my personal use and to push the reliability tests of the gluing and the carbon plate. So if this becomes a major demand, I will be able to switch to a production version without delay.

Original French text:

Select to expand quote

la Hipe est une planche pour apprivoiser le sport. Nous n'avons pas pr?vu de version "Pro" ? ce jour.

Seulement quelques % des wingers utilisent le strap arri?re. Imposer une hausse de prix aux 95% qui ne s'en serviront jamais me semble inutile ? ce jour.

J'ai en revanche des Hipe avec strap arri?re pour ma consommation personnelle et pour pousser les tests de fiabilit? des collages et de la structure rigide. Donc si cela devient une demande majeure, je pourrai en basculer une version de s?rie sans d?lai.

Select to expand quote

colas said..
Patrice answered yesterday on the lack of a rear footstrap:

the Hipe is a board to progress in the sport. We have not planned a "Pro" version to date.

Only a few % of wingers use the rear strap. Imposing a price increase on the 95% who will never use it seems unnecessary to me currently.

On the other hand, I have Hipes with a rear strap for my personal use and to push the reliability tests of the gluing and the carbon plate. So if this becomes a major demand, I will be able to switch to a production version without delay.

Original French text:

la Hipe est une planche pour apprivoiser le sport. Nous n'avons pas pr?vu de version "Pro" ? ce jour.

Seulement quelques % des wingers utilisent le strap arri?re. Imposer une hausse de prix aux 95% qui ne s'en serviront jamais me semble inutile ? ce jour.

J'ai en revanche des Hipe avec strap arri?re pour ma consommation personnelle et pour pousser les tests de fiabilit? des collages et de la structure rigide. Donc si cela devient une demande majeure, je pourrai en basculer une version de s?rie sans d?lai.

Thanks. Makes sense. What are the shipping fees to USA (Washington) for a 6.5 & XXL Allvator Foil? Interested in potential buying.

You have to contact them by email. International delivery options changes daily, as shipping companies are still a bit in disarray, and small companies (compared to Amazon, that is) are not their priority.

Select to expand quote

colas said..
Patrice answered yesterday on the lack of a rear footstrap:

the Hipe is a board to progress in the sport. We have not planned a "Pro" version to date.

Only a few % of wingers use the rear strap. Imposing a price increase on the 95% who will never use it seems unnecessary to me currently.

On the other hand, I have Hipes with a rear strap for my personal use and to push the reliability tests of the gluing and the carbon plate. So if this becomes a major demand, I will be able to switch to a production version without delay.

Original French text:

la Hipe est une planche pour apprivoiser le sport. Nous n'avons pas pr?vu de version "Pro" ? ce jour.

Seulement quelques % des wingers utilisent le strap arri?re. Imposer une hausse de prix aux 95% qui ne s'en serviront jamais me semble inutile ? ce jour.

J'ai en revanche des Hipe avec strap arri?re pour ma consommation personnelle et pour pousser les tests de fiabilit? des collages et de la structure rigide. Donc si cela devient une demande majeure, je pourrai en basculer une version de s?rie sans d?lai.

Doesn't make sense to me.
Can you imagine windsurfing with only a front footstrap?
Gong probably just saves 5$ on production cost...

Select to expand quote

colas said..
You have to contact them by email. International delivery options changes daily, as shipping companies are still a bit in disarray, and small companies (compared to Amazon, that is) are not their priority.

Thanks. Did a few days ago, with no response. I might wait to see some real feedback on this company.

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Camarillo said..
Doesn't make sense to me.
Can you imagine windsurfing with only a front footstrap?

This is Wing foiling, not Windsurfing, nor SUP foiling.

Most people, based on the feedback on the Gong forum (and others), find it easier to wing without the rear strap. Often people struggling with the rear strap (on hard boards) suddenly progress when removing it.

Even for SUP foiling, using only the front strap is easier, especially for pumping.

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ZeroVix said..
Thanks. Did a few days ago, with no response. I might wait to see some real feedback on this company.

Some advice:
- check your spam folder (no kidding...)
- give as much info as possible in your request, notably your exact address and the exact gear you plan top buy. Less precise requests need more time to process and tend to get farther on the queue.

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colas said..

ZeroVix said..
Thanks. Did a few days ago, with no response. I might wait to see some real feedback on this company.

Some advice:
- check your spam folder (no kidding...)
- give as much info as possible in your request, notably your exact address and the exact gear you plan top buy. Less precise requests need more time to process and tend to get farther on the queue.

No spam. Getting newsletter already. You should work for them and fill orders. Influencing and marketing is great so far. Thanks.

Select to expand quote

ZeroVix said..

colas said..
Patrice answered yesterday on the lack of a rear footstrap:

the Hipe is a board to progress in the sport. We have not planned a "Pro" version to date.

Only a few % of wingers use the rear strap. Imposing a price increase on the 95% who will never use it seems unnecessary to me currently.

On the other hand, I have Hipes with a rear strap for my personal use and to push the reliability tests of the gluing and the carbon plate. So if this becomes a major demand, I will be able to switch to a production version without delay.

Original French text:

la Hipe est une planche pour apprivoiser le sport. Nous n'avons pas pr?vu de version "Pro" ? ce jour.

Seulement quelques % des wingers utilisent le strap arri?re. Imposer une hausse de prix aux 95% qui ne s'en serviront jamais me semble inutile ? ce jour.

J'ai en revanche des Hipe avec strap arri?re pour ma consommation personnelle et pour pousser les tests de fiabilit? des collages et de la structure rigide. Donc si cela devient une demande majeure, je pourrai en basculer une version de s?rie sans d?lai.

Thanks. Makes sense. What are the shipping fees to USA (Washington) for a 6.5 & XXL Allvator Foil? Interested in potential buying.

My recent similar purchase, also shipped to Washington, was 275 Euro.

I'm in the camp that they should have put on rear strap inserts. However I think NSI stick on ones should work.