Hi All,
Does anyone have experience with the Armstrong A Wing? I'm just about to give this sport a go and am looking to buy my first wing. I see Armstrong (and some reviewers) say this has some of the best low end power around and you can go down a size.

Was hoping to get away with just one wing for as long as I can and was thinking of getting the 4.5m (published wind range looks excellent).

Is this just marketing hype and should I go for something bigger in another brand? They are expensive.
I'm 85 kgs and am going to start on a floaty board with a big foil. Going sail on the Sunshine Coast which is not known for constant high wind.

Cheers
Drew

Welcome to the sport ! It would help to know what wind range in Knots you are targeting.
Generally it is good to have a 2 wing quiver to cover a larger wind range.
For example a 4m + 6m is a good quiver.

Thanks Alysum. Probably targeting bt 12-18knts.

Select to expand quote

DrewBrown said..
Thanks Alysum. Probably targeting bt 12-18knts.

I'm thinking a 5 or 6m wing would be best at your weight for that wind range.. A 4m wing might be ok if you had very good foiling skills.

Yep 6m is the go.

Select to expand quote

DrewBrown said..
Hi All,
Does anyone have experience with the Armstrong A Wing? I'm just about to give this sport a go and am looking to buy my first wing. I see Armstrong (and some reviewers) say this has some of the best low end power around and you can go down a size.

Was hoping to get away with just one wing for as long as I can and was thinking of getting the 4.5m (published wind range looks excellent).

Is this just marketing hype and should I go for something bigger in another brand? They are expensive.
I'm 85 kgs and am going to start on a floaty board with a big foil. Going sail on the Sunshine Coast which is not known for constant high wind.

Cheers
Drew

the 4.5 would be ok as it is quite powerful @ 85kg it will get you up in 15 knots. Exceptionally good wings I believe like Ozone Wasps but more refined and grunty.

The A Wings are "bigger" than the sizing. There are pictures online of the 5.5 against a 6 meter wing and the 5.5 looks bigger.

Be careful of listening to folks with years of experience! They forget how bloody hard it is! But in this case pretty solid advice, I would go 5m and 6m depending on budget. My experience was running over your wing pop bladders...

A 4m would work but give yourself 40 sessions unless you are a freaky athlete.

Drew, I am your weight and I use the A-wing 5.5 in the conditions you are mentioning.

Thanks everyone for your advice! Much appreciated.

I just got a 3.5 A-Wing this weekend. Wow! The power thing is real! I've used other 4M wings, but I had to keep depowering the Armstrong because in the same 15kts it felt like I was using a much larger wing.

Depowering a 3.5m in 15kt?
What do you weight and what front foil size were you riding?

Select to expand quote

AndyShwartz said..
Be careful of listening to folks with years of experience! They forget how bloody hard it is! But in this case pretty solid advice, I would go 5m and 6m depending on budget. My experience was running over your wing pop bladders...

A 4m would work but give yourself 40 sessions unless you are a freaky athlete.

You can say that again !!!

ive had two sessions on the a-wing and the first was a complete disaster. Rubber burns all over my toes and knees. Sore elbows and biceps from wrestling the god damned wing I kept managing to run over....

second session involved standing and a few short runs on foil both goofy and switch but still kept running over the wing and ended up with a 2km walk of shame which included oyster shells on a rock groin that cut the **** out of my feet.
session 3 tomorrow.....

To avoid a long walk of shame I would walk a good distance upwind before mounting the board and when I got back to where I started from I'd head on foot upwind again and then launch.

I started with a six foot 120 litre board. I can now use a 5' 4" 95 litre board. I might go down to a 90 litre but that's about it. I'm between 75 and 80 kilos. If you can find one I'd think about buying a short wide board with lots of volume as a nice compromise.

Select to expand quote

emmafoils said..
The A Wings are "bigger" than the sizing. There are pictures online of the 5.5 against a 6 meter wing and the 5.5 looks bigger.

The 5.5 A wing underneath the 5 Wasp. I made sure the LE lined up as close as possible.

Select to expand quote

dejavu said..
To avoid a long walk of shame I would walk a good distance upwind before mounting the board and when I got back to where I started from I'd head on foot upwind again and then launch.

I started with a six foot 120 litre board. I can now use a 5' 4" 95 litre board. I might go down to a 90 litre but that's about it. I'm between 75 and 80 kilos. If you can find one I'd think about buying a short wide board with lots of volume as a nice compromise.

I started with a 7'5 130 litre board.
I now have two x 3'7 65 litre boards.

Wait what? I didn't know that was possible. What happened?

That sure is some tail kick

Select to expand quote

crashflow said..
Wait what? I didn't know that was possible. What happened?

At a guess he drove into the garage. Armstrong 1 board 0

Select to expand quote

stroppo said..
That sure is some tail kick

Way too much rocker

Select to expand quote

hilly said..

crashflow said..
Wait what? I didn't know that was possible. What happened?

At a guess he drove into the garage. Armstrong 1 board 0

I reckon the garage might have been the winner in that scenario, with the Armstrong coming a close second....

On the phone completely distracted. Drove into the garage at speed and the foil hit the crossbeam of the garage. Board snapped completely through with only deck grip holding it together. No damage to foil whatsoever !

Board was only used 3x. Went and bought an Armstrong 5'11 the next day and realised how easy it is to wing on a short board. Thank god i broke that big board !!!

Select to expand quote

Main said..

AndyShwartz said..
Be careful of listening to folks with years of experience! They forget how bloody hard it is! But in this case pretty solid advice, I would go 5m and 6m depending on budget. My experience was running over your wing pop bladders...

A 4m would work but give yourself 40 sessions unless you are a freaky athlete.

You can say that again !!!

ive had two sessions on the a-wing and the first was a complete disaster. Rubber burns all over my toes and knees. Sore elbows and biceps from wrestling the god damned wing I kept managing to run over....

second session involved standing and a few short runs on foil both goofy and switch but still kept running over the wing and ended up with a 2km walk of shame which included oyster shells on a rock groin that cut the **** out of my feet.
session 3 tomorrow.....

Sounds like one of my standard sessions...
I feel your pain!!