Hi Guys just after some feedback on the pro,s and con,s of the skinny verse progression stabilisers for winging up wind ability and trade offs cheers thanks in advance Rich
Hi Rich,
I've used a bunch of progressives from 450 to 325. Obviously bigger is slower but more stable than the smaller.
The skinnys are a level up (I've used the 2 biggest skinnys). Much less stability, but faster compared to progs. As for upwind ability, I'm not sure there's much difference - I haven't noticed it so I'd say if there was an ability to point higher, it's not significant. Others may have a different feeling? You would get a bit more speed out of the setup with a skinny. So going to windward might be quicker because of a speed increase, but not necessarily due to being able to point higher.
Thanks for the feedback is the speed difference worth it ??
The speed 420 and 380 have the best characteristics of both.
Went progressive to skinny and then back to progressive for winging. I found the progressives so much better for turning, especially on waves. Progressive has more drag therefore slower but I prefer to flag and ride the bumps than to go faster.
I use the skinny on my downwind board only now.
I interchange between the 325 progressive and 362x50 skinny for wing and sup. Use the progressive more for proper waves and sup and skinny more for wind swells/bumps and winging. Progressives have better turning, better control, slower stall speed but more drag. Nice in good waves where you really want to surf the waves. The skinnies still have good turning but not the kind of back foot grip in turns that the progressives have. The skinnies really unlock the speed and glide of a given front wing. I really prefer them in downwind bumps where efficiency is key. Definitely prefer the skinnies overall for winging as they are more efficient, faster, glidier. I don't feel any noticeable difference in upwind ability between the two.