Looking to replace my Slicks with some new Strikes
Currently have Slicks in 5,6 and 7 and getting Strikes in 4.5, 5.5 and the mighty 8 CWC
My concern is around the 5.5 being grunty enough as my go to/most conditions wing
I had a Slick 5.5 and just recently swapped it for the 6 Slick so don't want to have that "not quite enough" feeling with the Strike 5.5
So to the question.how does a brand new 5.5 Strike compare to a used Slick 5,5.5 or 6 ?
I have a Kalama DW 6'1" x 23" which gets up and going pretty easy otherwise I water start/stinkbug a 70l wing board
im 80kg and just progressed from novice/beginner to being able to water start my 32 l prone board on the weekend (didn't stay up that long as I was totally overpowered in very gusty conditions)

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camerongraham said..
Looking to replace my Slicks with some new Strikes
Currently have Slicks in 5,6 and 7 and getting Strikes in 4.5, 5.5 and the mighty 8 CWC
My concern is around the 5.5 being grunty enough as my go to/most conditions wing
I had a Slick 5.5 and just recently swapped it for the 6 Slick so don't want to have that "not quite enough" feeling with the Strike 5.5
So to the question.how does a brand new 5.5 Strike compare to a used Slick 5,5.5 or 6 ?
I have a Kalama DW 6'1" x 23" which gets up and going pretty easy otherwise I water start/stinkbug a 70l wing board
im 80kg and just progressed from novice/beginner to being able to water start my 32 l prone board on the weekend (didn't stay up that long as I was totally overpowered in very gusty conditions)

This time last year I was impatiently waiting for the Strike v2 to be released so that I could buy a "decent wind" wing as I already have/had the Strike 6m CWC for light winds. I had been leaning towards a 4m but after reaching out to anyone and everyone who had experience with the Strike v2 and Unit v2, I was told that the Strike v2 4.5m had the same power as the Unit v2 4m. With no release date and store credit at a local shop, I went with the Unit v2 4m. Besides the poor inflation valve (I've gotten used to it), the Unit v2 been an amazing wing. When it came time to replace my 6m CWC, I didn't hesitate and went straight for a Unit v3 5.5m.

Do you mean you are buying V2 Strikes now? Why not wait and get the V3s? The release is just around the corner. Although you can get fairly good deals on V2 Strikes now.

What generation Slick are you upgrading from? I wouldn't compare across years (i.e. V1 Slick to V2 Strike). Generally, these two wings are not compared directly as one is boom and the other has soft handles. A comparison between Unit and Strikes is more commonly made.

Regarding a quiver, I moved from a V1 6 CWC to a V2 5.5 Strike as my biggest wing last season. Never missed the 6. The 5.5 was more than enough (but in marginal conditions, e.g. 10 - 12 knots, I would compensate with a slightly larger foil).

The 8 is enormous. I find the wind range recommendation from F-One really accurate. The 6's range is 10-22 knots and the 8, 6-15 knots. So unless you plan on regulatory being out in well under 10 knots, I am not sure you need an 8.

Just yesterday, I was out on the 5.5 for the first time in ages and it felt quite cumbersome compared to the 4.5 and 3.5 V2 Strikes I spend most of my time on. So much so that I am considering a V3 quiver of 3, 4 and 5m2 this year. Although that is also a result of a general improvement in skill after plenty of time on the water this summer.

Arthur

This all started with a "too good to refuse" deal on a new 8M CWC as I don't mind light wind winging, especially as I have a FoilDrive to pop me up and it's just a matter of keeping whatever wind is available in the sail and/or pumping through the lulls. It's all time on foil in my eyes.
I'm getting a really, really good deal on the runout V2 Strikes so i can justify the spend to have brand new wings (for the first time)

The Slicks are V2s and they were all used when I bought them, so I'm not sure if they are representative of how they should perform as I've never flown or even held a new wing (of any brand) before. I do like the boom on the Slicks so going to the (oft criticised) soft loop handles of the Strikes is of some concern, but hey, I just need to drink a mug of "harden the f@ck up" and get out there. If I find the new V2 Strike 5.5 is not enough for my general Sydney inshore foiling, then I'll just sell another dirtbike and buy another wing, more foils, more boards, more FoilDrive batteries etc as I'm not riding the motos much anymore and I have been culling the collection quite savagely over the past year.

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

Strikes V2 are great but bag out faster than many. CWCs look like they stay in shape longer.

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camerongraham said..
Arthur

This all started with a "too good to refuse" deal on a new 8M CWC as I don't mind light wind winging, especially as I have a FoilDrive to pop me up and it's just a matter of keeping whatever wind is available in the sail and/or pumping through the lulls. It's all time on foil in my eyes.
I'm getting a really, really good deal on the runout V2 Strikes so i can justify the spend to have brand new wings (for the first time)

The Slicks are V2s and they were all used when I bought them, so I'm not sure if they are representative of how they should perform as I've never flown or even held a new wing (of any brand) before. I do like the boom on the Slicks so going to the (oft criticised) soft loop handles of the Strikes is of some concern, but hey, I just need to drink a mug of "harden the f@ck up" and get out there. If I find the new V2 Strike 5.5 is not enough for my general Sydney inshore foiling, then I'll just sell another dirtbike and buy another wing, more foils, more boards, more FoilDrive batteries etc as I'm not riding the motos much anymore and I have been culling the collection quite savagely over the past year.

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

My journey to using Strikes started when I was looking for a good light wind wing and that led me to buy a 6 CWC. I liked it so much compared to the other brand I was using (I will not say what it was) that I sold the other brand and bought into a whole Strike quiver. I am now on my second Strike quiver and will soon be on a third.

Strikes are not common in Australia (higher cost than elsewhere in the world is often used as a reason for that), but overseas they are very popular.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Strikes online forums (like this one) and you can see evidence of that in this thread already.

Enjoy the journey and the stoke, If you have never used a new wing, these V2s will blow your mind.

I swapped to strike v2 (3.5 and 4.5 and swing v2 2.8 and 2.4) from slick 3/4/5/6 and eleveight 3/4/5.
I'm 60 kg and the 4.5 is my low wind days wing (from 10 knots...)
F-one are much more lighter and more enjoyable overall. Your biggest trouble will be to switch from boom to handles.... But as you get used, no way to go back to heavier wings.

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ArthurAlston said..

camerongraham said..
Arthur

This all started with a "too good to refuse" deal on a new 8M CWC as I don't mind light wind winging, especially as I have a FoilDrive to pop me up and it's just a matter of keeping whatever wind is available in the sail and/or pumping through the lulls. It's all time on foil in my eyes.
I'm getting a really, really good deal on the runout V2 Strikes so i can justify the spend to have brand new wings (for the first time)

The Slicks are V2s and they were all used when I bought them, so I'm not sure if they are representative of how they should perform as I've never flown or even held a new wing (of any brand) before. I do like the boom on the Slicks so going to the (oft criticised) soft loop handles of the Strikes is of some concern, but hey, I just need to drink a mug of "harden the f@ck up" and get out there. If I find the new V2 Strike 5.5 is not enough for my general Sydney inshore foiling, then I'll just sell another dirtbike and buy another wing, more foils, more boards, more FoilDrive batteries etc as I'm not riding the motos much anymore and I have been culling the collection quite savagely over the past year.

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

My journey to using Strikes started when I was looking for a good light wind wing and that led me to buy a 6 CWC. I liked it so much compared to the other brand I was using (I will not say what it was) that I sold the other brand and bought into a whole Strike quiver. I am now on my second Strike quiver and will soon be on a third.

Strikes are not common in Australia (higher cost than elsewhere in the world is often used as a reason for that), but overseas they are very popular.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Strikes online forums (like this one) and you can see evidence of that in this thread already.

Enjoy the journey and the stoke, If you have never used a new wing, these V2s will blow your mind.

Can you expand on misconceptions on Strikes?
BTW they are expensive in UK too, though popular.

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patronus said..

Can you expand on misconceptions on Strikes?
BTW they are expensive in UK too, though popular.

You provided one: "they bag out faster than many." No evidence was provided, no comparison to what wings, just a broad generalisation. Not a balanced or fair statement.

The other relates to the handles. Again, the hard handle and boom aficionados will make broad generalisations about the Strike handles.

Etc.

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ArthurAlston said..

patronus said..

Can you expand on misconceptions on Strikes?
BTW they are expensive in UK too, though popular.

You provided one: "they bag out faster than many." No evidence was provided, no comparison to what wings, just a broad generalisation. Not a balanced or fair statement.

The other relates to the handles. Again, the hard handle and boom aficionados will make broad generalisations about the Strike handles.

Etc.

Ok, fair enough.
For comparison, my F One V2 looked a little baggy and leach fluttered at top end after 20 uses. AFS (30) and Naish (29) don't yet, Ensis started at 40.

AFS and Naish Matador have firmer fabric handles. Hyde had worse. Not a deal breaker.

Four other F One users find same, though would all buy again as still great to use.

a lot of local riders where i am in Wales UK use F-one - both strike and swing....they seem to be the preference for riding swell and waves as they are so light, when you are flagging out etc....I have 3 x Strikes, and my 5m bagged out especially fast (im 90kg + winter suit/boots etc) but thats becuase i like to rude powered up and used it when i could have been on 4m maybe.

Im "hard handle curious" but will await to see the new F-one releases. if i could i probably try a Smik V3 5.0 but none in UK at the mo...might be able to buy direct or from Aus but there is the stupid import hassle (brexit) to consider.

Also the North mode looks really well designed but i dont think the 5,5m low end would match the CWC 6m i have....so im not sure how to add that to my quiver

Duotone units seem really popular in the UK....but never seen one locally (well, apart from the v1 i had a few years back). I have read a LOT of reports and they seem like a great all round wing but i have misgivings over (i) stability when flagged out (ii) top end.
personally despite being a windsurfer for 35+ yrs, i dont want a boom....i tried one but felt heavy riding waves to me