Hey,

First post!!

I am stoked with my 5m F-One wing. A great all rounder for my 90kg. I love how light it is, but I still struggle a bit in less than 12 knots. Certainly a lot of that will be down to skill, but the f-one does have a fair bit of flex in it too...

There is a a new generation of wings that supposedly give more power without compromising weight and balance, like the A-Wing, Ensis, PPC Wing...

Anyone tried them?

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flyingcarpet said..
Hey,

First post!!

I am stoked with my 5m F-One wing. A great all rounder for my 90kg. I love how light it is, but I still struggle a bit in less than 12 knots. Certainly a lot of that will be down to skill, but the f-one does have a fair bit of flex in it too...

There is a a new generation of wings that supposedly give more power without compromising weight and balance, like the A-Wing, Ensis, PPC Wing...

Anyone tried them?

I'm about 90kg suited up for winging and while I'm inefficient, I wouldn't dream of expecting to get 12 knots out of any 5m wing, especially with the 6" chop at my local spot. This is of course unless it was gusting to about 15-16 knots and I could link them for jibes. For me I would consider a 7m for these conditions or better yet a 7m windfoil sail which I know would have no problem. I know now that I've said this there will now probably be like 4 posts below me from people saying they use 5m wings in 12 knots all the time at 120kgs, but this hasn't been my experience at all.

Cheers Wingbot. Skill certainly has a lot to do with it. I traded wings with a fellow wing surfer one day when I was struggling with my 5m and he got up on my wing on a foil have the size and made it look effortless. He was probably 85kg.

Maybe one day... :)

So I guess my question then is, are there 5m wings that perform better in low wind? If you are going to get a big wing for low wind days where the main goal is to get and stay up on foil?

Speaking of flex, I was out in the 5m f-one yesterday in 25kts and it certainly did bend under the pressure.

The Ensis is getting some very positive reviews from wingers who have owned several other wings. Check out the end of the thread noted below for hands on reviews.

www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,36014.0.html

Re the 5mtr F-One Swing. You have to pump those suckers up hard or they flex heaps. and lose a lot of power.

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tightlines said..
Re the 5mtr F-One Swing. You have to pump those suckers up hard or they flex heaps. and lose a lot of power.

as in more than the recommended pressure? I currently do +1 on the recommendation already.

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flyingcarpet said..

tightlines said..
Re the 5mtr F-One Swing. You have to pump those suckers up hard or they flex heaps. and lose a lot of power.

as in more than the recommended pressure? I currently do +1 on the recommendation already.

I don't suppose I should advise you to go above the recommended pressure.
However, I have never used a gauge but I do the same as I have always done with my kites and pump them up hard.
I'm guessing they are way above the recommended pressure but they gain a lot of low end grunt that way.
Whilst I still like the F-Ones and they are very forgiving in gusts, my next wing will be something much more solid.
I do have something in mind and hope to try it soon.

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Whilst I still like the F-Ones and they are very forgiving in gusts....

True. That's probably why I can be out in 25-25 with a 5m and not be totally overpowered. Good point!

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dejavu said..
The Ensis is getting some very positive reviews from wingers who have owned several other wings. Check out the end of the thread noted below for hands on reviews.

www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,36014.0.html

Just received my Ensis 5'2 after having the Naish 5'3 for a while.
I've had one session on it so a bit early for a full review. Things I like are the lightness, stability, resistant to backwinding in gusts, low end power. The stability can be a negative too in transitions as you have to man-handle the wing a bit more when tacking. No doubt the Duotone Echos are by far the easiest wings to tack with their exaggerated dihedral shape.

My pet peeve for all wings is the valve systems - four different systems and counting. Of the 3 types that I have used (Naish, Duotone, Ensis), the Naish is by far the best with its spring loaded valve.