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Fishbone80 said..
I'm thinking about buying a hipe crusader. Mainly as a travel option (holidays in europe, flat water, small waves). And maybe double as a lightwind board at home. Do you find the cruzader good enough as a allround freeride board (also in 15-25 knots?)? Would it be a plus to my 95 liter hardboard in light winds? Because I had a normal hipe in 6.0 and that was actually a great board, also popped up quite fast in lightwind because you can bounce it off the water somehow. But it did have a large/beginner vibe once in the air. So i'm thinking crusader Hipe (holiday/lightwind) or get a 'beater' old hipe second had for just the holidays. Any thoughts on this?

Hi Fishbone,

I have a the 7'6" and a 5'1" Hipe Pro, both are great boards. Since getting my Cruzader back in August I've had a dozen sessions mostly in moderate winds with some winds as high as 25kts and each and every time I've reached for the Cruzader. It's a great all-around board in my opinion for my conditions and riding style. I ride a flatwater spot and basically cruise around strapless hunting for any swell I can find, but mostly it's just back and forth. The Cruzader will likely be way better than your short 95L hard board in light winds. I'd say get the Cruzader then figure out if you still need the hardboard. Here are my thoughts on my Cruzader:

Nice video Fishbone. I tend to agree with you.

It looks like new ones are on the horizon. I was trying to think how they might improve it because it's pretty good as is.
Maybe 5" thick instead of 6" (16% less volume) a little lighter could be good too.

Thanks Windbot, just the answers I was looking for in your video. It looks like the cruzader is a lot more versitale than I thought. Seems like a good investment in extra winging time

Thinner would be nice if they can keep the stiffness. Likewise I wonder what a hard release edge on the back would do?
Hopefully we'll see more shaping ability come from dropstitch construction.

Gong have hard release edge on their inflatable surf boards.

www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/gong-surf-inflatable-shortboard-3/

I think I read somewhere, that with foil, it doesn't matter, as you would be up on foil before the hard release edge will make a difference. Comparing to regular surfing, where you more or less put the board on step/planing.

Just received a hipe cruzader strapped 7'6, but it's ice everywhere

Hi, need some advice.
I have been interested in lightwind to increase time on the lake. The 7'6" Hipe Cruzader sounds a real game changer. I wonder how many knots I can expect to get if i get the cruzader?
I am 73 kg , have 7 m2 duotone slick, 95 liter fanatic sky wing today and a 1085cm2 glide foil, I guess my take-off at around 10-12 knots.
Regarding the foil i use today, do I really need to or should buy a bigger high aspect downwind glide foil to optimise take off further or is an investment for a 1305 or 1595cm2 glide foil not such improvement? Can anyone suggest how much that will improve?
Thanks

Hey Surfmad, that Cruzader will definitely get you flying earlier with your current foil, than the 95L board. If I were you I would get the board, test its low end with your existing foil, you may be happy with it or you may want to go even lower with a bigger foil. I always like to change one thing at a time so I can tell the effect it has on its own. In the video I posted I mention I have a high AR 1150cm? foil and a ~1850cm? med aspect foil, I lean towards the smaller foil whenever possible for the glide and speed despite it taking more to get going, that said if my big foil had a higher AR I might favor it more. As for wind speeds it's hard for me to make any promises, but I guarantee you will be delighted by how much sooner this board alone will get you flying.

Thanks Windbot! Great thoughts you shared.

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Windbot said..
Hey Surfmad, that Cruzader will definitely get you flying earlier with your current foil, than the 95L board. If I were you I would get the board, test its low end with your existing foil, you may be happy with it or you may want to go even lower with a bigger foil. I always like to change one thing at a time so I can tell the effect it has on its own. In the video I posted I mention I have a high AR 1150cm? foil and a ~1850cm? med aspect foil, I lean towards the smaller foil whenever possible for the glide and speed despite it taking more to get going, that said if my big foil had a higher AR I might favor it more. As for wind speeds it's hard for me to make any promises, but I guarantee you will be delighted by how much sooner this board alone will get you flying.

Good info. What's the length of base carbon length, the minimum I need to in my bag, please?

Can someone provide the bag dimensions? Curious what size foils i can fit. Many thanks in advance!

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omg said..

Windbot said..
Hey Surfmad, that Cruzader will definitely get you flying earlier with your current foil, than the 95L board. If I were you I would get the board, test its low end with your existing foil, you may be happy with it or you may want to go even lower with a bigger foil. I always like to change one thing at a time so I can tell the effect it has on its own. In the video I posted I mention I have a high AR 1150cm? foil and a ~1850cm? med aspect foil, I lean towards the smaller foil whenever possible for the glide and speed despite it taking more to get going, that said if my big foil had a higher AR I might favor it more. As for wind speeds it's hard for me to make any promises, but I guarantee you will be delighted by how much sooner this board alone will get you flying.

Good info. What's the length of base carbon length, the minimum I need to in my bag, please?

Folded as small as I can it 38". The base is just a little smaller then that.

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YertleTheTurtle said..
Can someone provide the bag dimensions? Curious what size foils i can fit. Many thanks in advance!

My bag for my 7'11" is 43"x 27"x 9".

I don't know if smaller size boards come with smaller bags?

I've been keeping my Cruzader with my Hipe First in the smaller First bag (38"x 30"x 7")

Thanks Fishdude!! Curious if anyone with a smaller board can comment for comparison.

I will try to get the 7'6" bag's dimensions in the next few hours. I have it somewhere buried in the back of a storage closet. I can also measure the carbon plate's length.

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Windbot said..

Fishbone80 said..
I'm thinking about buying a hipe crusader. Mainly as a travel option (holidays in europe, flat water, small waves). And maybe double as a lightwind board at home. Do you find the cruzader good enough as a allround freeride board (also in 15-25 knots?)? Would it be a plus to my 95 liter hardboard in light winds? Because I had a normal hipe in 6.0 and that was actually a great board, also popped up quite fast in lightwind because you can bounce it off the water somehow. But it did have a large/beginner vibe once in the air. So i'm thinking crusader Hipe (holiday/lightwind) or get a 'beater' old hipe second had for just the holidays. Any thoughts on this?

Hi Fishbone,

I have a the 7'6" and a 5'1" Hipe Pro, both are great boards. Since getting my Cruzader back in August I've had a dozen sessions mostly in moderate winds with some winds as high as 25kts and each and every time I've reached for the Cruzader. It's a great all-around board in my opinion for my conditions and riding style. I ride a flatwater spot and basically cruise around strapless hunting for any swell I can find, but mostly it's just back and forth. The Cruzader will likely be way better than your short 95L hard board in light winds. I'd say get the Cruzader then figure out if you still need the hardboard. Here are my thoughts on my Cruzader:

Very useful, many thanks . I'm a big fan of gong boards and am heading out to the East Coast of Aus next March , I've now got a hipe crusader on the way , hoping it will give me a few sessions in lighter winds , any suggestions for good flattish locations most welcome, cheers bud

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windseekerz said..

Windbot said..

Fishbone80 said..
I'm thinking about buying a hipe crusader. Mainly as a travel option (holidays in europe, flat water, small waves). And maybe double as a lightwind board at home. Do you find the cruzader good enough as a allround freeride board (also in 15-25 knots?)? Would it be a plus to my 95 liter hardboard in light winds? Because I had a normal hipe in 6.0 and that was actually a great board, also popped up quite fast in lightwind because you can bounce it off the water somehow. But it did have a large/beginner vibe once in the air. So i'm thinking crusader Hipe (holiday/lightwind) or get a 'beater' old hipe second had for just the holidays. Any thoughts on this?

Hi Fishbone,

I have a the 7'6" and a 5'1" Hipe Pro, both are great boards. Since getting my Cruzader back in August I've had a dozen sessions mostly in moderate winds with some winds as high as 25kts and each and every time I've reached for the Cruzader. It's a great all-around board in my opinion for my conditions and riding style. I ride a flatwater spot and basically cruise around strapless hunting for any swell I can find, but mostly it's just back and forth. The Cruzader will likely be way better than your short 95L hard board in light winds. I'd say get the Cruzader then figure out if you still need the hardboard. Here are my thoughts on my Cruzader:

Very useful, many thanks . I'm a big fan of gong boards and am heading out to the East Coast of Aus next March , I've now got a hipe crusader on the way , hoping it will give me a few sessions in lighter winds , any suggestions for good flattish locations most welcome, cheers bud

No problem. I live in Vancouver B.C. where there's about a foot of snow on the ground right now, so the Cruzader is on standby for the next few weeks. I haven't been to Oz since 2000, but I expect there are a ton of fun spots. I remember thinking Coffs Harbour looked like magic when I was there with tons of wind, and relatively flat water, though probably the last person who should be commenting on East Coast wing spots, lol.

Okay I dug up the bag unrolled and measured it, it's 40" tall, 27" wide and 6" thick. Please note it wasn't full when I measured it, though I measured it from edge to edge as if it were. I'll update this post with the length of the carbon plate later.

Okay I measured the carbon block it's 38" long including the seam of the material that fastens it to the bottom of the board.

Thanks for the dimensions of the bag Windbot!!
Then I know the bag cannot fit a duotone boom of 129 cm inside.

Does anyone know if the gong pump included for hipe cruzader has adapter for duotone wing?

It's a simple sup pump, no adaptor included

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Surfmad said..
Does anyone know if the gong pump included for hipe cruzader has adapter for duotone wing?

Duotone adapter is one of a kind.

A stand alone purchase

Thanks for your replies!

Just bought Hipe Cruzade 7' and have one question: Are bolts and plastic washers included for mounting footstraps? I did not find any. There are 2 sets of bolts for hydrofoil but any bolts for footstraps. Is it normal or I just got lucky.

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Gencion said..
Just bought Hipe Cruzade 7' and have one question: Are bolts and plastic washers included for mounting footstraps? I did not find any. There are 2 sets of bolts for hydrofoil but any bolts for footstraps. Is it normal or I just got lucky.

You should have 2 sets of 4 screw for foils, 25mm and 30mm and 10 bolts for footstraps with Phillips heads. If you don't find them on the orange box or in the plastic bag with the strap send them a message www.gong-galaxy.com/en/help-contact/

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Heflav said..

Gencion said..
Just bought Hipe Cruzade 7' and have one question: Are bolts and plastic washers included for mounting footstraps? I did not find any. There are 2 sets of bolts for hydrofoil but any bolts for footstraps. Is it normal or I just got lucky.

You should have 2 sets of 4 screw for foils, 25mm and 30mm and 10 bolts for footstraps with Phillips heads. If you don't find them on the orange box or in the plastic bag with the strap send them a message www.gong-galaxy.com/en/help-contact/

Thank you. I checked everything except the orange box. If I will not find them in the box, I will try to contact the support.

That 7'6" unstrapped HIPE Cruzader would be ~$685 usd shipped to my doorstep in North Carolina. Pretty tempting price. I doubt I'd use it much for light wind winging since my home spot (OBX) always gets decent winds days to ride with. However I think it might make a great platform for my FDA+ despite the no-strap insert issue for the battery box (figure I can get around it). Easier for small ocean wave riding and no-wing downwinding. I've never had the desire to spend serious $ on a hard downwinding board. Also sounds like the Cruzader reliability is reasonable (so far) from what you guys are saying. Right now I use my 2 yr oLH Cabrihna Code (4'11"/78l) for all my winging and FDA+ sessions (I'm 75 kg). Decisions..

Just want to say a big thanks to all of you on this discussion for helping make my decision to buy one of these boards to hopefully get more time on the water. Living in Vancouver the wind can be fickle at times.Ideally I would have picked up a hardtop rather than inflatable but the current price and your reviews made it an easy choice.

Not sure if you have seen video of mine on the Crusader . Works well in light wind , you do feel a little flex in the plate in the larger wings but no big deal . I did flat water paddle this up but wasn't easy . Would be fun in small clean waves but pretty hard trying to do a DW in the ocean , it's pretty unstable in the chop but very doeable in clean conditions. If you watch the video closely I stick the nose a couple of times and it comes back really well which was surprising. ?feature=shared

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MrChaud said..
Just want to say a big thanks to all of you on this discussion for helping make my decision to buy one of these boards to hopefully get more time on the water. Living in Vancouver the wind can be fickle at times.Ideally I would have picked up a hardtop rather than inflatable but the current price and your reviews made it an easy choice.

Nice, it's been the only board I've been using in Vancouver since it came out in the summer. Just curious, what foil are you going to be using it with?