playing devils advocate here, but keep your expectation low..
the inflatable definitely not the light wind board they are marketing about.
With the Crusader Hipe you (or at least I) need 10kt to have fun and get it going with relative ease.
Anything less than that it will be v hard unless you also get these massive HA foils.

Instead a well designed hard board (such as the KT, Duotone or Armstrong) will get going in 8kt.
The difference is remarkable.

The HIPE is priced right but they cannot be compared to the rigid in terms of efficiency.

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Windbot said..

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?

Will be using the HPS 1050.

I'm very happy with the hipe cruz 7'6, definitely big difference from "normal" wing boards with regards to get going early. Are there better hard board in this regard? I'm sure, even gong have their diamond cruz now.

But for the price, the convenience of inflatable (no need to be careful with the board, it packs very small etc) I think it excellent.

I'm done with solid boards for now, the inflatable with big carbon plate and cross stitched high pressure (20 psi) structure works really well for me.

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MrChaud said..

Windbot said..

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?

Will be using the HPS 1050.

That should be a fun setup!

I am also interested in an hipe crusader and wondering if anyone tried the smaller sizes 6'6 or 7'0 do thy lose a lot of low end or are they so much more unstable? Im asking because im 1.82 by 80 kg and my wife is 1.60 by 52kg an we want to share the cruzader and wondering wich would be the best size, since the 7'6 or 7'11 is probably to big for my wife. Any recommendations on that?

cheers

I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. Touchdown is effortless. You should be happy with 7 especially if you will use it on a flat water. Trying to find low end now but I think I need smaller wing because it's hard to pump 7m wing. Ideally should be 6m with good low end. My hard board is 88 liters so I think 100-105 liters can be perfect for winging only.

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ganeshka said..


I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. ....

That's exactly what turned me away from the Cruz Hipe, plus the quite unstable slogging behaviour in choppy conditions.
I first had a 7'6 and changed that for a 7'11 because of paddle stability for my 93 kg.
The 6'8 x 23 midlength i have now is night and day in these regards for winging.
I just kept the 7'11 for some more paddle attempts this coming summer but hope the next gen Cruz Hipe will be availlable in some 8+ sizes for easier paddling and more stability.

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AlexF said..

ganeshka said..


I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. ....

That's exactly what turned me away from the Cruz Hipe, plus the quite unstable slogging behaviour in choppy conditions.
I first had a 7'6 and changed that for a 7'11 because of paddle stability for my 93 kg.
The 6'8 x 23 midlength i have now is night and day in these regards for winging.
I just kept the 7'11 for some more paddle attempts this coming summer but hope the next gen Cruz Hipe will be availlable in some 8+ sizes for easier paddling and more stability.

I absolutely love my 7'6" for winging, and in the coming weeks I'll be trying to learn SUP downwinding on it. I'm 87kg and plan to wing upwind deflate the wing and SUP it back down. It's definitely a challenge to stand on, when I've paddled it in flatwater, but didn't seem any worse than a comparable hard board. I'll give it a go and if I can't paddle it up in swell I'll likely be in the market for a comparably spec'ed hard board that releases more easily. I would love to stay with the inflatable though.

Advice requested: should I get mine with straps or strapless? I keep thinking I want to use straps to help my progression but have yet to try on any of my past boards.
Use case:
-99.9% emphasis on winging, although I am DW/flatwater SUP curious since with this board I'd have all the required equipment.
-85 kg rider, likely going with 7'-0" or 7'-6"
-Intermediate, can jibe with ~90% success, currently working on foot switches
-I like to cruise, work on progression, ride the local small/wind-driven waves. No interest in jumping any time soon.
Watching footage of folks like Patrice Guenole ride with straps just looks fun and locked in, but perhaps there is no good reason at my skill I should consider them for another couple years, and therefore should just get the strapless version? Or would my progression benefit from front straps? For a narrow board like this that limits stance width, are straps more advisable? Looking for advice. Thanks!

I've had a hate/love relationship with this board (7'6" hipe cruz) It's moving towards love the more I've used it but man was it a rough learning curve so far. Rounded rails just make it so tippy

i got the strapped version bc it's what was available when I ordered. I've never used straps prior, and haven't with the cruz yet either. Maybe it will be great, we will see! What I will note, that I wish I'd known, is that the screw ins for the straps are quite raised up from the deck. I've found this very annoying, especially in boots, since my feet haven't ended up in the "right" spots. So it's like standing with a small rock under your foot frequently. Maybe it will help with positioning eventually, but for now it's just been a constant need to shuffle foot position. Doing it again, I'd have gone unstrapped. At least that's what I feel right now.

I am 78 kg and bought 7' Hipe Cruzader with straps just for winging. In one French forum someone complained that the pad is quite slippery. I unfortunately still did not have a chance to try the board and have to wait till April.
But if you touch the pad it does not feel grippy and when it becomes wet, I think it should be slippery. So straps will give more grip.

The pad is not slippery at all in my opinion. Where it is slippy are of course the parts the the pad doesn't cover. It can happen that you step on there accidentally (e.g. when switching feet) and then you slip, but you've got it figured out very fast where to put your feet.

I do have the board in 7,6 without straps. I intentionally purchased it without because I also do own another inflatable board with strap inserts and these inserts are annoying as hell to step on (frankly no straps installed). I would not see anyone jumping with this kind of board, so I don't see the need for straps for winging. It's just unfortunate that the smallest size without straps is 7,6 but I rather have a slightly bigger board than constant pain with the inserts.

Pad is not slippery.

If the pad is not slippery than it is really good news. But still I will be able to check this after two months.
I myself 2 years was riding without footstraps. Now for another 2 years I ride with front straps. Rear strap is needed for jumping. But front footstraps give better control in turns, you can more easily manage strong touchdowns and they help to pump the board as while lifting foot in the footstrap you more easily can lift front of the board. You feel more locked in. I make my footstraps as wide as possible that I can change foot position according to the needs. My footstraps are fixed in one place but I ride different foils with different positions in the foil track.

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AlexF said..

ganeshka said..


I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. ....

That's exactly what turned me away from the Cruz Hipe, plus the quite unstable slogging behaviour in choppy conditions.
I first had a 7'6 and changed that for a 7'11 because of paddle stability for my 93 kg.
The 6'8 x 23 midlength i have now is night and day in these regards for winging.
I just kept the 7'11 for some more paddle attempts this coming summer but hope the next gen Cruz Hipe will be availlable in some 8+ sizes for easier paddling and more stability.

Alex what make and volume is your 6'8 x 23?

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capster said..
Pad is not slippery.

Agreed, I have never slipped on the pad either barefoot or with booties on. I am not sure why anyone would complain about this.

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MilesH said..

AlexF said..

ganeshka said..


I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. ....

That's exactly what turned me away from the Cruz Hipe, plus the quite unstable slogging behaviour in choppy conditions.
I first had a 7'6 and changed that for a 7'11 because of paddle stability for my 93 kg.
The 6'8 x 23 midlength i have now is night and day in these regards for winging.
I just kept the 7'11 for some more paddle attempts this coming summer but hope the next gen Cruz Hipe will be availlable in some 8+ sizes for easier paddling and more stability.

Alex what make and volume is your 6'8 x 23?

It's a custom board, The shape is a lot like the AFS Whitebird 6'8, 114 litres.
Build in XPS/Carbon, it's 6,5 kg.

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AlexF said..

MilesH said..

AlexF said..

ganeshka said..


I'm 80kg and just bought 7.0 if you want to witg only I think you can go smaller. You get used to the length. The only one downside is rounded rails, when wave hit you from the side you likely will fall, same if you hit wave with the nose. ....

That's exactly what turned me away from the Cruz Hipe, plus the quite unstable slogging behaviour in choppy conditions.
I first had a 7'6 and changed that for a 7'11 because of paddle stability for my 93 kg.
The 6'8 x 23 midlength i have now is night and day in these regards for winging.
I just kept the 7'11 for some more paddle attempts this coming summer but hope the next gen Cruz Hipe will be availlable in some 8+ sizes for easier paddling and more stability.

Alex what make and volume is your 6'8 x 23?

It's a custom board, The shape is a lot like the AFS Whitebird 6'8, 114 litres.
Build in XPS/Carbon, it's 6,5 kg.

Thanks Alex

Thought I would share a quick update following my first session for anyone considering buying this board. Pro -
On a day with marginal conditions (10-15kts) at best that I would have struggled to get foiling on my existing gear(110L Hover/7m CWC) and wouldn't have bothered going out I was able to get going with minimal effort. Board accelerated easy and popped on foil quickly. The board nose also recovered well from accidental pearling due to poor pumping and failed take offs. The board packs up quickly and easily fits in the back of my VW Sportswagen.
Cons - The board is not stable until it gets moving. It also requires a bit of skill to manage heel/toe weight due to its width likely due to the thickness. Will be challenging to stand on in decent swell. Likely takes a bit more wind than a hard top version to get going but that was expected.Overall I am happy with the purchase and think I will be able to unlock a bit more low end once I get more comfortable balancing and pumping the board. Looking forward to using this in the summer on average days.

Rider info - 75-80kg. Mid 40s. Novice rider about a year in just figuring out jibing.

I saw you out there, you were doing great. I was on the blue and green Superpower. Did you notice all three of us were on Cruzader's? I will come and say hi next time. Those were challenging conditions, very up and down, wait a few weeks til we start getting steady westerlies. ????

That was me with the big orange wing. I did notice we were all on Cruzaders. I thought that might be you as I knew the other guy.

Can't wait for the summer thermals that will be more than enough to get going. In the interim I will be taking the new board to NZ in early March instead of my hard top. See you out there and I will definitely say hi next time.

I am interested if anyone tried to use smaller front foil wings with Gong Hype Cruzader.
In Gong page is written:
"Another huge advantage of the Cruzader: you can undersize the foil. In wing foiling you can put a foil that you would usually have trouble getting going with. In three pumping strokes on the board you fly and then you have all the advantages of a mini foil."

On Youtube there are some videos but everyone using front wings which span is at least 1150mm.

Has anyone tried to use something like 950mm or narrower front wings, like Sabfoil Razer series or others?

We still have ice on the lakes so I cannot test it.