Watch nothing but Robs hand work on this downwinder. If you love downwinders, debate over.

More interested in how they flag out on a wave. So no not solved. Light is good for me. Heavy booms kill the joy.

from that video...I'm convinced the boom is not for me yet. Hopefully one day...would be nice to be able to grab everywhere.

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hilly said..
More interested in how they flag out on a wave. So no not solved. Light is good for me. Heavy booms kill the joy.

The 2024 Unit has longer handles, can't be much difference in weight between a lightweight carbon boom and handles anymore, especially with the extra reinforcements required around the handle mounts.

Outdated info there bud.

Today booms are carbon.

Handles are aluminum.

Wing weights are same.

The long front handle on the unit is carbon, although as airsail says, all the associated handle reinforcements no doubt makes any weight differences pretty negligible to a boomed wing, if not heavier. The choice of whether to go boom or handles comes down to factors other than weight.

Eh, why debate unless you're selling something? Try as many out as you can, ride what you like / meets your need. With so many styles of riding, conditions and size riders, there is not a "one".

I like the much simpler strut design of the handles. Not sure if the complex boom strut designs fails more or have other issues, but simpler is often better imho

Just wanted to show how booms improve the downwind experience. It's something I discovered last winter. Rob's video shows it perfectly.

The thread title is click bait.

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DWF said..
Just wanted to show how booms improve the downwind experience. It's something I discovered last winter. Rob's video shows it perfectly.

The thread title is click bait.

I agree btw, for my taste/use. I've got a 3.0 slick SLS and also a few units- like them all. The boom is super easy, intuitive. Transitions are easy, DW find myself one hand on it much more than front handle. My only issue with the slick is it's range on the top end- gets pretty squirrely- doesn't tolerate gusts/being overpowered.

The above video was pretty windy so more 2 hands on the boom , this video it was lighter wind and the one hand on the boom above my head parking the wing just works so well , I'm a 100% boom guy but have tried to make the switch a few times but always come back to it . The second video is the same above the head parking on a North Mode , great wing but missed the boom . ?feature=shared

?feature=shared

I can see the appeal of the boom. I end up with my hand even further into the corner of handles to try get them onto the balance point when DW winging. But I prefer fully flagged, and the better I get (faster, better at reading bumps), the less I fly with it in this one hand position.

I am pretty brainwashed to the benefits of booms having only had Duotone Echo and then Slick wings. Anytime I get out on a borrowed handle wing it feels very restrictive. I have observed with interest the development of other brands boom wings after reading all of the negative comments on booms from a few years ago when there were not many around.
Now every brand seems to have one and many of the team riders especially in freestyle seem to be moving to booms, like the Gong crew.
The last wing I bought was an 8m Duotone Ventis with long carbon handles. It balances fine in one hand but is for sure not as easy to just grab in transitions, I always have to glance at the back handle.
So, No I think the boom v handle debate is far from dead and will probably never die. The boring truth is probably that each has its own advantages in speciality branches of the same sport.
It very cool to have been winging for a few years now and to have seen all of the development in the sport. Not so much the amount of money I have spent though!

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FarNorthSurfer said..
[boom wings]...
Now every brand seems to have one...

?????

I recently bought a unit after using slicks for a couple of years. Two advantages so far for fixed handles, you can't leave your fixed handles at home so one less thing to forget. And faster setup, no need to fit the boom before you pump up the wing.
Otherwise I'd rather be on a slick, but the unit was dirt cheap so will do me for this season.

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SpokeyDoke said..

FarNorthSurfer said..
[boom wings]...
Now every brand seems to have one...

?????

for sure I can edit it to lots of them?

Luckily never gone to the beach with out my boom but have deliberately left one at my daughters place so I don't have to fly with it.
Agree with faster set up but I think I can pack a Slick away way faster than the Ventis, could just be that its 8m huge.

I guess it all depends on your goals.

If you goal is to free wing on the bumps then one handed boom riding is limiting your ability to learn a lot, sort of like training wheels. I learnt to read the bumps better when I decided I was going to fall or stall rather than cheat and grab a little wing power. I wish I had adopted this philosophy a season earlier.

if you want to perform wing powered carves on ocean chop and swell then maybe the boom or long handles will be better.

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AnyBoard said..
I guess it all depends on your goals.

If you goal is to free wing on the bumps then one handed boom riding is limiting your ability to learn a lot, sort of like training wheels. I learnt to read the bumps better when I decided I was going to fall or stall rather than cheat and grab a little wing power. I wish I had adopted this philosophy a season earlier.

if you want to perform wing powered carves on ocean chop and swell then maybe the boom or long handles will be better.

Yep, I've been waiting for the "cheat" comment regarding grabbing some power while flagged out on the boom versus the front handle.

Kinda the same as cheating by having a hand wing at all versus a paddle, and a paddle versus no paddle, or those lazy cheating tow-in foilers. And we won't get into how those Foil Drive users are cheating beyond all compare. Oh the horror of it all! (have fun, smile a lot, rinse, repeat)

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Dspace said..

AnyBoard said..
I guess it all depends on your goals.

If you goal is to free wing on the bumps then one handed boom riding is limiting your ability to learn a lot, sort of like training wheels. I learnt to read the bumps better when I decided I was going to fall or stall rather than cheat and grab a little wing power. I wish I had adopted this philosophy a season earlier.

if you want to perform wing powered carves on ocean chop and swell then maybe the boom or long handles will be better.

Yep, I've been waiting for the "cheat" comment regarding grabbing some power while flagged out on the boom versus the front handle.

Kinda the same as cheating by having a hand wing at all versus a paddle, and a paddle versus no paddle, or those lazy cheating tow-in foilers. And we won't get into how those Foil Drive users are cheating beyond all compare. Oh the horror of it all! (have fun, smile a lot, rinse, repeat)

Your reply has nothing to do with what I said. I don't care how you ride your foil but if your goal is to learn downwind there is a point in the curve where the crutch must be left behind. Otherwise you get on your sup with a paddle and quickly realise you are running out of puff because you didn't evolve some of the finer points of bump ridding when you had the wing. Even poor foil choice for the conditions is masked with this crutch.

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AnyBoard said..

Dspace said..

AnyBoard said..
I guess it all depends on your goals.

If you goal is to free wing on the bumps then one handed boom riding is limiting your ability to learn a lot, sort of like training wheels. I learnt to read the bumps better when I decided I was going to fall or stall rather than cheat and grab a little wing power. I wish I had adopted this philosophy a season earlier.

if you want to perform wing powered carves on ocean chop and swell then maybe the boom or long handles will be better.

Yep, I've been waiting for the "cheat" comment regarding grabbing some power while flagged out on the boom versus the front handle.

Kinda the same as cheating by having a hand wing at all versus a paddle, and a paddle versus no paddle, or those lazy cheating tow-in foilers. And we won't get into how those Foil Drive users are cheating beyond all compare. Oh the horror of it all! (have fun, smile a lot, rinse, repeat)

Your reply has nothing to do with what I said. I don't care how you ride your foil but if your goal is to learn downwind there is a point in the curve where the crutch must be left behind. Otherwise you get on your sup with a paddle and quickly realise you are running out of puff because you didn't evolve some of the finer points of bump ridding when you had the wing. Even poor foil choice for the conditions is masked with this crutch.

Why make things harder than they need to be? It takes slightly longer to grab a bit of power if needed when using handles rather than a boom, and sometimes it is just needed as you have hit a dead end and the only choice is to go over the top.

It's like the old argument of using a legrope or not on a malibu, some type of purist bullsh!t putting others at risk and making things harder. Then there was the soft versus hard handle debate, the manufacturers put that to bed, is it possible to buy a soft handle wing anymore?

Handles are getting longer to try and be booms, people are even adding pieces in between the handles to fill the gap. Ride what you want, enjoy life, and if crutches help, do it.

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airsail said..

AnyBoard said..

Dspace said..

AnyBoard said..
I guess it all depends on your goals.

If you goal is to free wing on the bumps then one handed boom riding is limiting your ability to learn a lot, sort of like training wheels. I learnt to read the bumps better when I decided I was going to fall or stall rather than cheat and grab a little wing power. I wish I had adopted this philosophy a season earlier.

if you want to perform wing powered carves on ocean chop and swell then maybe the boom or long handles will be better.

Yep, I've been waiting for the "cheat" comment regarding grabbing some power while flagged out on the boom versus the front handle.

Kinda the same as cheating by having a hand wing at all versus a paddle, and a paddle versus no paddle, or those lazy cheating tow-in foilers. And we won't get into how those Foil Drive users are cheating beyond all compare. Oh the horror of it all! (have fun, smile a lot, rinse, repeat)

Your reply has nothing to do with what I said. I don't care how you ride your foil but if your goal is to learn downwind there is a point in the curve where the crutch must be left behind. Otherwise you get on your sup with a paddle and quickly realise you are running out of puff because you didn't evolve some of the finer points of bump ridding when you had the wing. Even poor foil choice for the conditions is masked with this crutch.

Why make things harder than they need to be? It takes slightly longer to grab a bit of power if needed when using handles rather than a boom, and sometimes it is just needed as you have hit a dead end and the only choice is to go over the top.

It's like the old argument of using a legrope or not on a malibu, some type of purist bullsh!t putting others at risk and making things harder. Then there was the soft versus hard handle debate, the manufacturers put that to bed, is it possible to buy a soft handle wing anymore?

Handles are getting longer to try and be booms, people are even adding pieces in between the handles to fill the gap. Ride what you want, enjoy life, and if crutches help, do it.

We mostly do these sports for the satisfaction that comes with learning and progression. The satisfaction that comes from riding downwind for 30 minutes without the wing is immense. That's simply why.
the easy way is never the most satisfying or how we learn the most in life.

goose comment about leg ropes. This is about learning for a particular result. If you don't want the result that's ok but don't discourage others with this crap.

No right or wrong way to play- getting on the water is 99% of the battle. Get your medicine in whatever way that you can.

Totally get the point about flagging. I'd like to SUP DW and see DW winging as fun unto itself as well as as a great gateway. I'm early in the game- at the stage where I cheat a fair amount. But- there's definitely a difference in feeling between riding swell using only the power of the wave and being powered up by the wing- even if it's just a little bit. Way more connected, aware of the foil, energy in the water- feels more like rail to rail surfing. Both are fun, but I prefer surfing the foil rather than being pulled through my arms/powered by the wind, leveraging turns. Working to build the skill to do that indefinitely- free surf open ocean.

This was never a 'sailing' sport for me, wing is just a way to get upwind.

I also like getting two or even three smaller wings in in one pack. Not gonna work with hard handles

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Thatspec said..
This was never a 'sailing' sport for me, wing is just a way to get upwind.

I also like getting two or even three smaller wings in in one pack. Not gonna work with hard handles

...except removable handles like the Ocean Rodeo (which also offer the boom option). TBH the Duotone boom is a nicer diameter for my small hands but their ridiculous pump adapter turns me off to the brand.