Does anyone have experience with the 7m Gong Pulse? I currently have a 1st gen Naish 4m, hoping the big gong will have a lot more pull for the predominantly light winds I encounter.

thanks!

I had an initial release Gong 5m, sold it and got a 7m. Within months of release it got replaced by the "Pro" version, which was billed for advanced riders who want more power (and I believe was in answer to the early reviews that the wing didn't have as much low-end grunt as other brands with stiffer frames). In the 10 or so months since then, I now see Plus, Pulse, and Superpower on their site. I have lost the thread on which is which. I think Colas is the local expert, can maybe advise?

My 7m is probably now obsolete, so not sure my experience is valid, but i am not finding it is not really a magic ingredient for light winds. Definitely has a lower range than my wasp 4m, but I really struggle to stay upwind in light winds. I suspect with more practice and more efficiency, a tighter frame and smaller wing could generate the same lift as my floppy 7m. Maybe the newer Gong models offer this.

If I was being brutally honest and pros and cons of my experience with Gong:
-- they have the cheapest entry price other than Alibaba, so doesn't break the bank to get started
-- the low price is because you are effectively buying a prototype, as was pointed out here last year, they may already have modified a product release before it's even out of the shipping container (which is both good and bad)
-- the gear does work and they are making the best surf-oriented videos I've yet seen!
-- I really do like their attitude, in eliminating middle-people, gear direct from designer to consumer

I only have the 7m and 5m version 1 of gong's wing. I also had the 4m version 1 Naish wing too. I have ridden both on the armstrong 2400. I would consider myself an advanced beginner at 190lbs. I ended up selling the naish because it was such an effort to get up on. I needed 20-25mph to fly on that one. It was so much easier to grab one of the gongs to fly. I put in the -2 shim with the 2400 and 7m and was able to fly down to 12 mph. Granted, as I have improved my technique, the naish to me was still a pain in the azz compared to my gongs. I dont get to go regularly but I just had more fun going with the gongs. So if the newer gongs have improved over my older one, it should be good to go. I am holding out to see what all the companies come out with for their version 2's before upgrading. Also waiting to see more reviews on the newer wings before spending all that money. Gong definitely makes it easier to upgrade in that sense. Some are getting better reviews at having better low end grunt. Dont know what foils you are riding. The shim adjustments on my foil made a big improvement for getting up in the lighter winds for me. Or getting a more light wind friendly foil.

I don't have the Pulse, but I've had a 6m Superpower for a few weeks now...only 6 sessions or so under my belt. I have done the bulk of my winging on a 4m Wasp.

it was a toss up between that and the pulse 6 for me, and I was targeting lighter winds and fickle conditions. The Wasp is really not fun for me until 20kts.

Superpower is super grunty at the low end being fairly low aspect with a very thick leading edge. It's downside is that it isn't particularly fast but that is the price you pay for the low end.

I think the Pulse will serve you well, but the Superpower would be a contender and the lower wingspan is a plus in my book.

for the record it's easy money in 15kts and I think I've had it down around 10 when up and flying. My Wasp sucks balls at 15kts.

Select to expand quote

Clamsmasha said.Wasp sucks balls at 15kts.

Would be interesting to compare a 6m wasp with the gong rather than a 4. Apples and oranges.

Select to expand quote

juandesooka said..
I think Colas is the local expert, can maybe advise?

I do not wing, so I can only offer you a digest of what I read.
Basically:
- the plus is softer, more forgiving, to ease the learning phase, and also does not requires a harness for long sessions
- the pulse is stiffer, more efficient, but more demanding and tiring
- the superpower is all about low end power, but it is less nimble and more limited in top speed.
- Pilot technique, especially pumping the foil, is the mandatory ingredient for lowering the take off threshold, adapted gear will help but it wont be sufficient.

But do not hesitate to ask your specific questions on the gong forum.

Gong has always made his models evolve constantly. Hard SUP boards could slightly change by millimeters constantly (every 2 months). Since Gong has a very active community, Patrice can adapt the designs to the expertise and needs of the majority of people, and they evolve quite fast in new sports.
In my opinion, you cannot design something for years by yourself and magically come up with the ultimate design. I work in software, and we say that "no design survives the encounter with an actual user". People will use your work in ways that you didn't anticipate, you will have to adapt the designs to the real users.

Select to expand quote

hilly said..

Clamsmasha said.Wasp sucks balls at 15kts.

Would be interesting to compare a 6m wasp with the gong rather than a 4. Apples and oranges.

I had the original 7m Gong and a 6m WASP and due solely to my weight (105kg), I found the WASP was better in light wind when pumping. My weight caused too much flexing in the Gong wing whereas the WASP was completely rigid.

I think weight plays a big part in wing selection for the larger individual ......... I am looking forward to trying the 7m duotone with the boom.

Thanks to all for the great input. Order is in for a GONG 7m Pulse. We shall see how long it takes to make it to the USA, fingers crossed.

Select to expand quote

FoilColorado said..
Thanks to all for the great input. Order is in for a GONG 7m Pulse. We shall see how long it takes to make it to the USA, fingers crossed.

Extract from Gong news letter last Friday

I was the guinea pig for shipments to US last week. I received a bladder set for my 7M. took 2 weeks. Gong's customer service is rad. I am a fan of their whole show. It doesn't hurt watching Patrice rip it up on their products either.

My thoughts on large wings have changed as my skills have improved. I spent a bunch of time on my f-1 5m while my 7M was out of commission and then tried it the other day and it felt cumbersome. I can generate the same traction from my 5 as my 7 now. That's why I am selling the 7m. Things change so fast throughout learning to wing. Next on the chopping block is my Outwit 6'6"........ I really need a job.

Foilcolorado- I wing and kite at 4500' in Reno, NV and have always noticed that kites fly much faster in the thinner air of high altitude. Not sure how this translates to winging yet but my thought is that I can generate more power out of a smaller wing. When I go to sea level everything slows way down.

Send it!!!!

Select to expand quote

broVan said..
I was the guinea pig for shipments to US last week. I received a bladder set for my 7M. took 2 weeks. Gong's customer service is rad. I am a fan of their whole show. It doesn't hurt watching Patrice rip it up on their products either.

My thoughts on large wings have changed as my skills have improved. I spent a bunch of time on my f-1 5m while my 7M was out of commission and then tried it the other day and it felt cumbersome. I can generate the same traction from my 5 as my 7 now. That's why I am selling the 7m. Things change so fast throughout learning to wing. Next on the chopping block is my Outwit 6'6"........ I really need a job.

Foilcolorado- I wing and kite at 4500' in Reno, NV and have always noticed that kites fly much faster in the thinner air of high altitude. Not sure how this translates to winging yet but my thought is that I can generate more power out of a smaller wing. When I go to sea level everything slows way down.

Send it!!!!

Are you are comparing a Gen1 Gong 7m and an F-One 5m? If so, I don't think you're talking apples to apples. I have that 7m gong and it is way more "floppy" and less stiff than my Ozone 4m. People on the beach have commented on much it flaps when pumping (and that is pumped up to 10PSI). I will be experimenting soon once my buddy's Ozone 6m arrives, but I am betting its low-end will be much better than the initial Gong 7m. It sounds like the newer Gong's are improved.

Select to expand quote

juandesooka said..

broVan said..
I was the guinea pig for shipments to US last week. I received a bladder set for my 7M. took 2 weeks. Gong's customer service is rad. I am a fan of their whole show. It doesn't hurt watching Patrice rip it up on their products either.

My thoughts on large wings have changed as my skills have improved. I spent a bunch of time on my f-1 5m while my 7M was out of commission and then tried it the other day and it felt cumbersome. I can generate the same traction from my 5 as my 7 now. That's why I am selling the 7m. Things change so fast throughout learning to wing. Next on the chopping block is my Outwit 6'6"........ I really need a job.

Foilcolorado- I wing and kite at 4500' in Reno, NV and have always noticed that kites fly much faster in the thinner air of high altitude. Not sure how this translates to winging yet but my thought is that I can generate more power out of a smaller wing. When I go to sea level everything slows way down.

Send it!!!!

Are you are comparing a Gen1 Gong 7m and an F-One 5m? If so, I don't think you're talking apples to apples. I have that 7m gong and it is way more "floppy" and less stiff than my Ozone 4m. People on the beach have commented on much it flaps when pumping (and that is pumped up to 10PSI). I will be experimenting soon once my buddy's Ozone 6m arrives, but I am betting its low-end will be much better than the initial Gong 7m. It sounds like the newer Gong's are improved.

6m Ozone has better lowend than the 7m gong for my weight.

Sort of comparing them, only because they are what I have flown. Technically, the f-one is V1 too but the difference being that Raphael nailed it on the first go. I had a Slingwing for a few months and never really got my groove on with it aside from a few good skatewing sessions. The F-one 5m is a very fine beast that has been well documented on various forums. I am on the pre order list for some V2 Slingwings which ironically are square shaped like the Gong Wing. They look like a hot F-One mama shagged an unrefined Gong and crapped out a Slingwing V2. I sold my Gong this morning. Someone will get some first rides on it, be stoked and then pass it on to another newb.

Select to expand quote

broVan said..
Sort of comparing them, only because they are what I have flown. Technically, the f-one is V1 too but the difference being that Raphael nailed it on the first go. I had a Slingwing for a few months and never really got my groove on with it aside from a few good skatewing sessions. The F-one 5m is a very fine beast that has been well documented on various forums. I am on the pre order list for some V2 Slingwings which ironically are square shaped like the Gong Wing. They look like a hot F-One mama shagged an unrefined Gong and crapped out a Slingwing V2. I sold my Gong this morning. Someone will get some first rides on it, be stoked and then pass it on to another newb.

LOL!
Your Gong plan....I think that's where I am leaning too. I need to try buddy's Ozone 6m....if it gives me that happy feeling, I may buck up. Life's too short to waste sessions on gear that isn't working for me. :-)

Interesting thoughts regarding air density at altitude. I am winging at 7000' - 10,000' above sea level, I suppose I am working with up to a 20% reduction in air molecules, reducing power. Also the foil is in fresh (less dense) water, so that's also working against flight.

GONG order has been in and paid for for over 10 days, items in stock, no response from emails, no indication of order being processed, starting to get a bit worried

I had a delivery of 3 wings (4 and 5m Pulse and 6 Superpower) from Gong to the UK last week, so can confirm they're still delivering. I've already got a 4 and 5m Plus Ltd (now discontinued) which I've really enjoyed using but was curious to see what the Pulse and Superpower had to offer (and winging is my midlife crisis!)

Only had a quick 30 mins on the 5m Pulse in dying breeze so far and first impressions are consistent with what's already been said, that it's much stiffer wing. It's windy this weekend so will get some time on the 4m but I've been off the water for 8 weeks so hardly up to speed...

Select to expand quote

SolentFoiler said..
I had a delivery of 3 wings (4 and 5m Pulse and 6 Superpower) from Gong to the UK last week, so can confirm they're still delivering.

I have a team member told me (working yesterday, at 21h on a national holiday...) that they are deluged with orders, it is so insane they have to work overtime. They beat their weekly sales amount record last week, and they ship 1500 products per week (mostly wings, foils, boards) on average now. They had to hire 5 more people recently to cope with the ever-increasing activity.
Winging is taking off like crazy here in Europe, their Lemon and Flint foil boards are backordered till mid-July...
Containers of 600 wings are 95% pre-sold when they arrive... The superpower is their best selling model.

International shipments can be delayed randomly however, with no visibility. For instance Quobba shipped me a set of fins, they left Thailand end of march, and I just had the notice they entered France customs ... 3 days ago, so at least (they are not there yet) a 6 week delay.

Select to expand quote

colas said..

SolentFoiler said..
I had a delivery of 3 wings (4 and 5m Pulse and 6 Superpower) from Gong to the UK last week, so can confirm they're still delivering.

I have a team member told me (working yesterday, at 21h on a national holiday...) that they are deluged with orders, it is so insane they have to work overtime. They beat their weekly sales amount record last week, and they ship 1500 products per week (mostly wings, foils, boards) on average now. They had to hire 5 more people recently to cope with the ever-increasing activity.
Winging is taking off like crazy here in Europe, their Lemon and Flint foil boards are backordered till mid-July...
Containers of 600 wings are 95% pre-sold when they arrive... The superpower is their best selling model.

International shipments can be delayed randomly however, with no visibility. For instance Quobba shipped me a set of fins, they left Thailand end of march, and I just had the notice they entered France customs ... 3 days ago, so at least (they are not there yet) a 6 week delay.

I believe this Colas, as Gong's prices are unbeatable. Their customer service is amazing, there quality is top notch and Patrice and Beryl are crushing it on the foils. There business model of shaper to surfer seems to be working. Or should we call it foiler to foiler? I have an order in for a Lemon Pro 4'10" and a Superpower 6m myself. Oh Snap!!!! If I can just keep from breaking my current gear until mid summer when they will ship........

Seems like they are the only ones designing and building for heavier folks. Thank goodness!!!

I just got a shipping quote for a Veloce XL front foil wing and Veloce stabilizer for 200 euro to North Carolina. I've ordered Gong foil sets in the past and never had a shipping quote over 90 euro. This is for an item that won't officially be released till later next month (6/22). I figured a higher price under the current circumstances, but this really surprised me. Has anyone else been paying much higher Gong shipping costs recently?

Select to expand quote

Dspace said..
I just got a shipping quote for a Veloce XL front foil wing and Veloce stabilizer for 200 euro to North Carolina. I've ordered Gong foil sets in the past and never had a shipping quote over 90 euro. This is for an item that won't officially be released till later next month (6/22). I figured a higher price under the current circumstances, but this really surprised me. Has anyone else been paying much higher Gong shipping costs recently?

I'm thinking that's an error somehow. You might want to double check that price with JR. I got a quote form another company in France for a package bigger than your wings, to Georgia for half your quote

My Gong orders usually took about 7 days after they leave the Gong warehouse. Tracking was kind of pointless with customs

International shipments are a mess currently. They have people performing other people jobs, like secretaries handling tracking numbers via system they are not used to, from home. So some companies have very limited capacity and you must find others.

JR told me (I replaced the colorful language by something tamer :-) ):
"[some customers] don't realize that there is practically no one in the offices at the shipping services to send tracking numbers immediately. They are so used to Amazon [pandering to their whims]"

Select to expand quote

colas said..
International shipments are a mess currently. They have people performing other people jobs, like secretaries handling tracking numbers via system they are not used to, from home. So some companies have very limited capacity and you must find others.

JR told me (I replaced the colorful language by something tamer :-) ):
"[some customers] don't realize that there is practically no one in the offices at the shipping services to send tracking numbers immediately. They are so used to Amazon [pandering to their whims]"

Rates here in the US have gone up by ~25% due to Covid. I've also recently ordered other items from the UK, and while it's taken longer with some price increase, it never went up by such an extreme amount. Shipping on my XL pro last fall was 80 euro. Now 200 euro for a 258 euro Veloce XL. I would agree with you Colas, that's not an increase, that's an out of control mess! I'll contact Gong and see what's up. At worst I'll just hold off since the Veloce wings won't be released for another month anyway. Maybe things will calm down a bit......





Shipping expense from last Oct

Select to expand quote

Dspace said..
I just got a shipping quote for a Veloce XL front foil wing and Veloce stabilizer for 200 euro to North Carolina. I've ordered Gong foil sets in the past and never had a shipping quote over 90 euro. This is for an item that won't officially be released till later next month (6/22). I figured a higher price under the current circumstances, but this really surprised me. Has anyone else been paying much higher Gong shipping costs recently?

120 euro to Australia.
I think Australia is not an important or necessary market for Gong.
However after consistently following them up got a 40 euro credit but lost 15 euro in foreign fees etc.

Select to expand quote

warwickl said..

Dspace said..
I just got a shipping quote for a Veloce XL front foil wing and Veloce stabilizer for 200 euro to North Carolina. I've ordered Gong foil sets in the past and never had a shipping quote over 90 euro. This is for an item that won't officially be released till later next month (6/22). I figured a higher price under the current circumstances, but this really surprised me. Has anyone else been paying much higher Gong shipping costs recently?

120 euro to Australia.
I think Australia is not an important or necessary market for Gong.
However after consistently following them up got a 40 euro credit but lost 15 euro in foreign fees etc.

Good to know! I'll see what they say.

I'll go with the explanation Colas provided about international shippers in France being a bit out of control at the moment, and not so much a priority of which market is most important. Why that would justify a 150% increase in shipping fees, I'm not sure, but hopefully it will sort itself out soon enough....FWIW, I love my Gong XL Pro for winging, and I'm really looking forward to trying the Veloce XL.

Select to expand quote

Dspace said..
I'll go with the explanation Colas provided about international shippers in France being a bit out of control at the moment, and not so much a priority of which market is most important. Why that would justify a 150% increase in shipping fees, I'm not sure, but hopefully it will sort itself out soon enough....FWIW, I love my Gong XL Pro for winging, and I'm really looking forward to trying the Veloce XL.

Well, it is not only in France. A parcel often switches companies many times before reaching the customer.

A wild guess on the possible causes:
- companies raise their prices because the demand / capacity ratio becomes huge. It can be sublter than a price increase, such as introducing a new "premium" fee to ensure the parcel will be handled in priority.
- the cheap companies are overwhelmed and refuse non-essential parcels (it was the case for at least a month) and Gong has to switch to expensive ones, if the customer does not want to wait. But Gong normally always quote the customer and wait for his/her agreement to send it.

Some side remarks:

- there are often may sides to a story. Some US customer for instance is now ranting on another forum about availability, but what he omits to say is that he actually never pre-ordered, he doesn't understand that if you do not actually (pre-)order, other people can buy the wings in the meantime... and the availability date thus change.

- Gong seems now big enough to have scammers target them. A French customer just received a fake email from Gong telling him his order was stuck in transit, and he should pay an additional fee, to the scammers of course. He kept emailing them (for 2 weeks!) and grew mad that "Gong" (the fake email) was not replying to his emails, as he was just replying to the message and not trying to contact the official Gong email. He finally vented on the Gong Facebook group, so it is how the scam was discovered.
But I do not think scammers will target non-French customers yet.

Select to expand quote

Dspace said..
I just got a shipping quote for a Veloce XL front foil wing and Veloce stabilizer for 200 euro to North Carolina. I've ordered Gong foil sets in the past and never had a shipping quote over 90 euro. This is for an item that won't officially be released till later next month (6/22). I figured a higher price under the current circumstances, but this really surprised me. Has anyone else been paying much higher Gong shipping costs recently?

Exact same thing happened to me... same wing, to Australia. first quote was 240 euro. second quote was 200 Last year paid 70 euro for a bigger package

I queried and was told that that was the price they got from the shipping company.

Im gonna put in another order in a week or two... hopefully it will come down again.

Dont mind paying a bit extra at this time, but triple is not gonna happen..

Let me know if normal shipping comes on line again

Apparently, they (Gong) found the issue. Their email provider was losing emails for one week...

My translation of Patrice message on the Gong forum:

Our mail hoster has had a problem for a week.

1/ Some messages to info at gongsup dot com never reached us.

2 / Most of the automatic messages informing customers of the processing status of their order have not been sent

3 / Some of our responses have not arrived.

I am very sorry for this concern which is resolved now. This generated dissatisfaction while on our side everything was clean (emails processed within 24 hours, orders dispatched ...). In short, what could have been trivial in January was a major hurdle in May

Thanks for your understanding.

Wish we could get those Gong lemon pros in Oz!

Select to expand quote

LouD said..
Wish we could get those Gong lemon pros in Oz!

A lot of people in the US say the same thing. I was always told that they have more board business than they can handle in Europe alone. Boards are a PITA to ship anywhere so I get it.

I went and placed the order for the Veloce XL despite the 200 euro shipping cost to the US. Even at that cost it's a decent deal compared to any new high aspect foil wing alternatives (since I already have a Gong fuselage modified for Axis masts and several masts). Eventually this craziness will sort itself out.

I still like "The Bear" and the biz model they offer despite the flaws, and the pro XL still remains my favorite winging foil.

Select to expand quote

Dspace said..

LouD said..
Wish we could get those Gong lemon pros in Oz!

A lot of people in the US say the same thing. I was always told that they have more board business than they can handle in Europe alone. Boards are a PITA to ship anywhere so I get it.

I went and placed the order for the Veloce XL despite the 200 euro shipping cost to the US. Even at that cost it's a decent deal compared to any new high aspect foil wing alternatives (since I already have a Gong fuselage modified for Axis masts and several masts). Eventually this craziness will sort itself out.

I still like "The Bear" and the biz model they offer despite the flaws, and the pro XL still remains my favorite winging foil.

Dspace, How difficult was it to find a machine shop to work your fusalage to accept the 19mm Axis mast?
I think that's a great idea I just hesitate doing that myself because I'm not sure what a machine shop would charge.