I've been using a 5 and a 3.6 F.one wing for a while now and yesterday got to demo a 5.3 Naish S25.
For the weight weenies-
F.one 5 - 2.05kg
S25 5.3 - 2.9kg
Initial impression was the Naish is harder to handle and has less low down power for the takeoff than the F one. I thought the shorter wingspan would help keep the wing tips clear of the water, but the wider chord at the tips makes them catch again while pumping onto the foil. Just needed to change my technique a bit.
Once on the foil the S25 has quite a punchy power delivery which resulted in good speed and upwind performance for what was pretty light conditions (approx 10-15kts)
The F one has a softer power delivery and seems to have a lower top speed and not be able to point as high upwind (purely subjective, no hard evidence. Just the vibe).
Only had a couple of depowered rides. The S25 seemed to behave ok, but when you matched the wind speed and had to fully support the wing, the increased weight was noticeable. This is where I really appreciate the F ones lightness.
Here's a few photos to show the differences in design.








So will I get a new Naish?
Still deciding, the difference between them wasn't enough to make it a must do. Will see when I drop the wing back to the shop.
Thanks to Kite Addiction for the demo, much appreciated.

The windows do add weight but they are well worth it and once you have wind in the wing the extra weight isn't really noticeable. Thanks for the pics.

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Stingersup said..
I've been using a 5 and a 3.6 F.one wing for a while now and yesterday got to demo a 5.3 Naish S25.
For the weight weenies-
F.one 5 - 2.05kg
S25 5.3 - 2.9kg
Initial impression was the Naish is harder to handle and has less low down power for the takeoff than the F one. I thought the shorter wingspan would help keep the wing tips clear of the water, but the wider chord at the tips makes them catch again while pumping onto the foil. Just needed to change my technique a bit.
Once on the foil the S25 has quite a punchy power delivery which resulted in good speed and upwind performance for what was pretty light conditions (approx 10-15kts)
The F one has a softer power delivery and seems to have a lower top speed and not be able to point as high upwind (purely subjective, no hard evidence. Just the vibe).
Only had a couple of depowered rides. The S25 seemed to behave ok, but when you matched the wind speed and had to fully support the wing, the increased weight was noticeable. This is where I really appreciate the F ones lightness.
Here's a few photos to show the differences in design.








So will I get a new Naish?
Still deciding, the difference between them wasn't enough to make it a must do. Will see when I drop the wing back to the shop.
Thanks to Kite Addiction for the demo, much appreciated.

I am a complete newbie and am just in the process of trying to decide which Wing to get. I have narrowed it down to either the 6m FOne or the 6m Naish G25. So your comparison is right on point for me.

A couple of things that are drawing me to the Naish are the windows and also what looks like a sturdier construction. What is making me question the Naish is the extra weight.

I'm not a large guy. I'm 5'8" tall and weigh about 150 pounds so the lighter weight of the FOne may be important. But I'm also on a small lake with a lot of boat traffic, so the windows on the Naish are also important.

I take DJ's point about the extra weight not being noticeable once in wind, but I've also heard from others who say the weight of a wing does make a difference, and they can't stay out as long with a heavier wing.

I guess I need to decide which is more important. That being, do I want the windows and sturdier construction of the Naish or the lighter weight of the FOne?

Any thoughts to help this newbie make a final decision would be appreciated. Thank you.

I don't think you could go wrong with either of these wings.
If speed is your main goal I'd go the Naish.
I find the F one slightly more user friendly.
Windows are nice, but I found when foiling you still had to move the wing around to see through them as the boom is right in your eyeline. Maybe before getting on the foil you can get easier situational awareness. With the F one I just raise the wing and have a quick glance around.
If I was starting out again I would stick with the F one for the 5 and up sizes. In the conditions where these wings really shine, getting up onto the foil is the biggest hurdle. The F one has the low down power to help here. In these lighter conditions it is also likely that you will find yourself off foil and waiting for the next gust. In this case the lighter weight of the F one does make a difference. While waiting for the wind to do its job again you are fully supporting the wings weight and the difference is noticeable. Once powered there is no difference.
I'm more than likely going to get a 2.8 or 3.6 Naish for those days where you want to get upwind as quick as possible so you can enjoy those sweet downwind rides.
Hope this helps.

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Stingersup said..
I don't think you could go wrong with either of these wings.
If speed is your main goal I'd go the Naish.
I find the F one slightly more user friendly.
Windows are nice, but I found when foiling you still had to move the wing around to see through them as the boom is right in your eyeline. Maybe before getting on the foil you can get easier situational awareness. With the F one I just raise the wing and have a quick glance around.
If I was starting out again I would stick with the F one for the 5 and up sizes. In the conditions where these wings really shine, getting up onto the foil is the biggest hurdle. The F one has the low down power to help here. In these lighter conditions it is also likely that you will find yourself off foil and waiting for the next gust. In this case the lighter weight of the F one does make a difference. While waiting for the wind to do its job again you are fully supporting the wings weight and the difference is noticeable. Once powered there is no difference.
I'm more than likely going to get a 2.8 or 3.6 Naish for those days where you want to get upwind as quick as possible so you can enjoy those sweet downwind rides.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Stingersup, for taking the time to reply. And yes it does help. Your pictures of the two Wings laid on top of each other was also very informative.
I've been looking at Wings for some time now and for the longest time would only consider Wings that had windows. I came to realize however that I was going to be giving up a lot of performance as there didn't seem to be any Wings with windows that could match the performance of the FOne, and arguably the Ozone as well. So I decided I didn't want to sacrifice the performance just for the sake of windows.
Now however, with the introduction of the new Naish S25, and the reviews it's getting that say its' performance is at least equal to the FOne, and some reviews put it ahead of the FOne, then this really has me thinking.
If I was on open ocean or a large body of water, maybe windows wouldn't matter as much. But being on a small body of water with boat traffic, not having windows really does concern me. And if I'm not giving up much if anything in the way of performance, then the windows may well be the deciding factor.
I actually had a line on a new FOne that I could get at a pretty decent price sometime next week. I was all set to go for it until some of these reviews on the new Naish S25 started appearing. I can still get the FOne, but just today found a dealer with the 6m Naish S25 and they one left in the colour I would prefer. They've got it on hold for me until tomorrow morning.
So I'm going to take tonight and sleep on it. I'm leaning towards the Naish but will see how I feel in the morning. One way or the other I should have a Wing on order very shortly.
Thanks so much again for taking the time to respond. It is much appreciated.

Hey quickbeam,
You're not getting married to the wing, get what ever you can get your hands on and get out there in the water. Riders have different styles and conditions so there is no perfect wing for everyone. Once you learn then you'll start trying different stuff and figure out what you like. You can always sell or trade your wing off. The more people you ask, the more confused you'll be on what to get.

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flkiter said..
Hey quickbeam,
You're not getting married to the wing, get what ever you can get your hands on and get out there in the water. Riders have different styles and conditions so there is no perfect wing for everyone. Once you learn then you'll start trying different stuff and figure out what you like. You can always sell or trade your wing off. The more people you ask, the more confused you'll be on what to get.

Too funny! And yes, I suppose you are correct. Time to make a decision and pull the trigger. Thanks to all for your suggestions!