Hi guys,

I'm a newbie to winging, I have had about 5 sessions out on a SUP with a gen 1 4m Naish wing.
No previous experience in wind sports, but a surfer of 25 years. I'm figuring out the wing, getting a little way back upwind and starting to play around with turning. I'm absolutely loving it and I'm ready to get some gear.

The plan is to start with the wing and then get the board and foil as subsequent paychecks arrive.

I'm 38 years old 93kg and 190cm tall.
I'll mostly be using the gear on the river in Perth, with a goal to get out in the waves when/if I get good enough.

I've been looking at the Naish 5.3m S26 wing. Does that seem like a good place to start?

I feel I could use more wing than the Naish 4m I've been using, but also recognise that the performance of the newer gen wings is superior to the gen 1 I've used.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

At 93kg and in Perth maybe a 4m would be ok but I always think being a little overpowered is better than being underpowered when it comes to wing foiling, I feel a 5m would be better even in Perth for 93kg.
Definitely look for something newer than Gen 1 as maybe at the time Gen 1 wings were ok but now they are really pretty s**t compared to the Gen 2 and 3 wings. There are a 1000 different wings on the market these days and most will do a pretty good job so if budget is a big issue then maybe look at the wings that do direct selling or a package deal as there are some pretty good deals out there if you look hard enough. The newer Naish's look fine but have never flown one as they don't really exist where we are these days just look for newer than Gen 1

Wing really should cost no more than $1000 give or take a few bucks for a new one or even look on here for a used one if a $1000 is to much.

Get at least a 6 to start. I have a 4 and 6 and at 85kg I've used the 6 much more than I expected to. It gives you options, very handy when the forecast doesn't quite come true.

And yeah, don't go gen one.

Wingrookie, awesome that you're into it! It's a buzz hey?
Depends on your local conditions to some degree. How much wind do you normally get over there? And what conditions do you want to regularly wing in? If sub 15 knots, I'd tentatively say go big for wing size. I started with a 4m and needed at least 15 knots to get going. My 5m Echo will get me going in 10-12 (which we regularly get in Tas). My limiting factor is if I go bigger, the width of the wing means I touch the tips on the water too often. Tried a 6m Naish and it was a mess - catching lots. I'm only 175cm -(5'10"). You're heaps taller than me so tip touchdowns should be less of a problem.
Also, I love the Echos and Slicks for their booms. I felt the handles let the wing wobble about too much esp when wind was light so the 6m Naish kept touching down as a result of that too. Prob poor technique on my part?
The other thing you'll have to work out is what size board & foil to get. And the perfect combo will be different with everyone.
With wingdinging being in its early days, I suspect if you get a learning-orientated foil you can master it and then progress and prob won't have too many issues on-selling. I think the foils have improved so much in the last few years that the new 'learner-orientated' foils still allow lots of progression before you are done with them anyway.

Thanks for all the advice guys. Really appreciate the guidance.

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wingrookie said..
Thanks for all the advice guys. Really appreciate the guidance.

I'm your weight and 185cm and I'm in Perth. Up until a month ago I was using Duotone Echos (4,5 and 6m). I used the 6m about 80% of the time, the 5m almost all the rest of the time and the 4m only about 3 times. Then again it wasn't a super windy summer.

I'm now on Duotone Slicks and the 5.5. is my everyday wing, below about 13 knots I switch to a 6.5

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Pacey said..

wingrookie said..
Thanks for all the advice guys. Really appreciate the guidance.

I'm your weight and 185cm and I'm in Perth. Up until a month ago I was using Duotone Echos (4,5 and 6m). I used the 6m about 80% of the time, the 5m almost all the rest of the time and the 4m only about 3 times. Then again it wasn't a super windy summer.

I'm now on Duotone Slicks and the 5.5. is my everyday wing, below about 13 knots I switch to a 6.5

I'm just starting out at 90 Kilos, so far I find the bigger wings to have some good range. I'm on the SlingWing v2 6.4 and handles 20knt gusts fine while giving me some nice low end power. Again, I've got all of 5 sessions under my belt so far so take what I say with a grain of salt.

DC