I thought I'd share my experience on the new toy which I think alot of SUPers will love.

I had a demo on the Duotone 4m foil wing yesterday. We used my friend's Whopper and took the wing out in choppy onshore 15 knots. I had a blast, loved it and have placed a pre-order. I would have ordered any of the brands but Duotone are in stock quicker. I'm not a kite surfer, wind surfer and I don't foil. I sup surf and do the odd sup race. I was with a friend who is a good wind surfer (non-foiler) and his wind knowledge meant he picked it up quicker than me but I still managed to go UPWIND! For me I will practice with a normal Sup for a month or 2 and then learn to foil sup it without waves then take it in some surf. I hadn't really intended to learn sup foiling but the bonus of ctuising around as well as waves makes the learning a foil less onerous Some experienced foil kiters jumped on it (one is a well known European champ) and they loved it - I think that tells you alot. Having tried kite surfing and found it all a bit too much equipment and a bit unnatural compared to surfing this is very intuitive. The demo shop literally gave me the wing and said we will be back in an hour! - ended up being 2hrs...! You kind of find what feels right by instinct, crucially I never felt out of control. It is a bit of a workout which I don't mind and probably this was partly due to me learning.

Sometimes whether it in a serious surf lineup, popular kite spot or competitive race it can seem a bit serious. I'm definetely more chilled in the water and love sharing the Stoke. I think this toy will get people smiling and having fun together, we didn't stop laughing! It's going to appeal to alot of people, go demo one..

Thanks for the feedback. Have been deciding if and which wing i would go with between yours and the Naish. I like you aren't on a foil board ut have plenty of SUPs in my quiver so all systems are go now and will worry about the foil for later.

Cheers for passing on the stoke.

The naish van is in town today. I have the day off work so I'm going to give one a crack. I don't foil so will be interesting on a normal sup.

No need for a foil..

I must say that looks really average to me

Recon a pole might make it work.

What's not to love? He's in some boring tropical resort with nothing fun to do. There's not much wind and non-breaking small swell. He's cruising about fairly comfortably and getting a half decent glide on the swells on the way in. Add in another foot of swell and a little bit of reef or a sandbar and some serious fun would be had.

I'm still on the fence but that video almost exactly shows what I think a wind thing would be good for.

Nope, that vid doesn't sell anything to me. Just use a windsurf..if you want to windsurf.

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Gorgo said..
What's not to love?

You clearly never windsurfed. I guess all the windsurfers will cringe at this video, I couldn't stand to watch it to the end.

Slogging along while windsurfing was fun when learning but become a chore fast. No windsurfer will want to relive the experience. It would much more fun to just grab a paddle and have some exercise to "deserve" your fresh beers :-)

If you never windsurfed, you will enjoy it I guess. But for how long?

Its not brilliant fun in light winds to be honest. The wing doesnt really hold up by itself and because there is no mast and boom you cant really rest your weight on the rig while potting along. You can rest the bottom tip of the wing on the deck of your board but its kind of awkward. It really comes into its own in winds above 12 knots. Got to remember most of them are around 4 meters. It aint huge...

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Gorgo said..
What's not to love? He's in some boring tropical resort with nothing fun to do. There's not much wind and non-breaking small swell. He's cruising about fairly comfortably and getting a half decent glide on the swells on the way in. Add in another foot of swell and a little bit of reef or a sandbar and some serious fun would be had.

I'm still on the fence but that video almost exactly shows what I think a wind thing would be good for.

Yep agree. But if I had a shed full of sails, masts and booms I would be pissed off you could have more fun on something that was a fraction of the cost of my gear

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colas said..

...


You clearly never windsurfed. I guess all the windsurfers will cringe at this video, I couldn't stand to watch it to the end.

....
If you never windsurfed, you will enjoy it I guess. But for how long?

I windsurfed fairly obsessively for nearly 20 years. I've been kiting and lately foiling for 20 years. I am a Gedi at amusing myself with wind and waves.

How long would I enjoy pottering around on a SUP with a wing thing? Don't know. Haven't tried it yet. Waiting to see how it pans out.

You underestimate my ability to be amused by simple things. I still love to surf 2' waves. I still love a good light wind foiling session. The fun of getting something to move with some wind and a bit of cloth never seems to get tired.

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Gorgo said..
I still love to surf 2' waves.

I must say I even put up with slogging along on a sailboard to get my reward of sail-surfing even 1' waves, so I will never get tired of any wave of any size, as long as it is glassy...

In a way it is quite fortunate that we can be so different, hail to diversity!

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Gorgo said..

colas said..

...


You clearly never windsurfed. I guess all the windsurfers will cringe at this video, I couldn't stand to watch it to the end.

....
If you never windsurfed, you will enjoy it I guess. But for how long?

I windsurfed fairly obsessively for nearly 20 years. I've been kiting and lately foiling for 20 years. I am a Gedi at amusing myself with wind and waves.

How long would I enjoy pottering around on a SUP with a wing thing? Don't know. Haven't tried it yet. Waiting to see how it pans out.

You underestimate my ability to be amused by simple things. I still love to surf 2' waves. I still love a good light wind foiling session. The fun of getting something to move with some wind and a bit of cloth never seems to get tired.

Looks fun
Those smaller waves and wind sessions are a ZEN
Even bracing your paddle on yourself up in the air as a sail in offshore wind can get some extra pace up with tuning
I'm sure the slower, in the moment, pace to feel and tickle what you can out of the smallest conditions challenges, translates to better response surfing in prime conditions.
Better to earn a beer

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colas said..

Gorgo said..
What's not to love?

You clearly never windsurfed. I guess all the windsurfers will cringe at this video, I couldn't stand to watch it to the end.

Slogging along while windsurfing was fun when learning but become a chore fast. No windsurfer will want to relive the experience. It would much more fun to just grab a paddle and have some exercise to "deserve" your fresh beers :-)

If you never windsurfed, you will enjoy it I guess. But for how long?

Watch the Surfingsports video of Wardog wind-supping and compare.

With medium size waves or larger, slogging a windsurfer can be great, though not that easy in some side-on surf to get out past the break. Almost a different sport.

For very small and slow waves, a wind-sup is better with side-off wind. Paddling somewhat into the wind, makes catching waves early almost impossible; whereas, with no wind, it becomes easy.