My favourite 4.5 wing exploded after approximately 50 sessions (120 hours) of use. The leading edge fabric broke near the valve and the bladder exploded.
I sent it to a repair shop where they patched the fabric and replaced the bladder.
After some additional 20 sessions (50 hours) the central part of the leading edge fabric was torn again and the bladder "escaped", it seems, without damage.

Both times, this happened in the middle of the ride, I was just holding the wing, not even pumping.

Where I wing, there are seldom waves and almost never big waves that could trash my wing after failing. Of course, I can fall and the wing hits the water every now and then.

I do hope that the issue is caused by the fact that this is a first-generation wing that was not manufactured to the hopefully higher standards of today. It makes me wonder if it pays off to repair this wing one more time...

I wonder if the lifespan of wings is so short that after some hundred hours of use they can be expected to fail and do any of you have similar experiences?

I have only one wing explode, with zero hours.First inflation on the beach and it went bang.Money returned by manufacturer...teething problems on a new product.

My current Takoons (V1 and V2) have had no problems whatsoever, and they have more than 100hours.

Kvek you didnt state the brand, I have a used and abused starboard airush still going, but it must have had allready 2 years use when I got it, the fabric does weaken with exposure to the sun and salt water and little scratches from the foil blade on occasional wipe outs, but I have seen lots of the guys at my spot get bladder failure and tears - all makes and brands

I've been winging 18months and never had a wing explode. one guy had the strut go near leading edge, apparently bladder can dislodge on go bang. my issue is bagging out.

The FOne CWC 8m exploded on it's 12th use while under inflated by .5 psi while sitting on a the beach for under 5 minutes in Florida in 90 degree weather. FOne denied the warranty claim even thought the edge was completely frayed, saying there must have been an "invisible" cut. Disappointed in FOne's garbage warranty but have had the wing repaired by Airtime and looking forward to trying it again.

My 5.5m Duotone unit v2 started tearing at the handle seam whilst out dinging. Whilst there was no explosion, it slowly opened up until enough bladder was able to escape and pop/deflate. Probably had 40-50 sessions on it. Replaced under warranty. Appears to be a known problem with the larger units.

I lost a GA Poison on a gentle fall after 20 sessions. I went 15 years and barely got a pinhole in a kite. In the last two months I wrecked the Poison and tore canopies of two other wings. Expensive sport!

This month marks 3 years of winging for me. Two original Duotone wings, 4 Echo's, 4 Slicks and 3 SLS Slicks. My Echo 3.3m developed a leaky main valve and my 4m Slick had the infamous boom pocket spacing issue. I consider that a pretty decent track record.

Ocean Rodeo strut popped while pumping up on foil. Mojo Flysurfer popped while deflating! Duotone Unit V2 just popped during inflation. So yep, they're pretty much overpriced pool toys.

Thanks for all answers.

My exploded wing is a 2020 Ensis 4.5 wing. I remember that I read somewhere that these (the first generation Ensis wings) had too high PSI value declared on the wing (9-11 PSI) so I inflated it to 7 PSI. Maybe, if I repair it again, I will inflate it to 6 PSI.

I used a few different wings and I love the Ensis rigidity that enable me to pump on the foil in marginal winds, better than any other I used.
Now I am wondering if it makes sense to repair it and if it makes sense to buy a new 2021 or 2022 Ensis wing fo fear of it exploding :(

2 years winging. 3-4x week almost every week. V1 Doutone Unit 4m, popped while inflating it for the 4th time. They covered it under warranty. Sold it after it was repaired.

Armstrong V1 3.5 & 4.5, no issues
North Nova v1 3.5, 4.2 5.0 no issues

These wings have been used hundreds of times in Maui gusts. North still look new, Armstrong had some neutral handle rippage that was repaired. Only Doutone ever went "boom"

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Dspace said..
This month marks 3 years of winging for me. Two original Duotone wings, 4 Echo's, 4 Slicks and 3 SLS Slicks. My Echo 3.3m developed a leaky main valve and my 4m Slick had the infamous boom pocket spacing issue. I consider that a pretty decent track record.

Dspace - can you please elaborate a bit more?

Did you break so many wings or you used so many wings with only two of them having issues?
If you used 13 wings in 3 years it means each of those was used approximately 3 months?

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kvek said..
Thanks for all answers.

My exploded wing is a 2020 Ensis 4.5 wing. I remember that I read somewhere that these (the first generation Ensis wings) had too high PSI value declared on the wing (9-11 PSI) so I inflated it to 7 PSI. Maybe, if I repair it again, I will inflate it to 6 PSI.

I used a few different wings and I love the Ensis rigidity that enable me to pump on the foil in marginal winds, better than any other I used.
Now I am wondering if it makes sense to repair it and if it makes sense to buy a new 2021 or 2022 Ensis wing fo fear of it exploding :(

Bladders popping isn't anything to be fearful of. You'll be doing more damage to the wing and having worse sessions with under inflation.
Leading edge will be floppy and spill unnecessary power plus that's more load on the frame in places which weren't designed to carry as much. Load patterns are designed under manufacturers recommended PSI - Follow it!

If you blow a bladder it can be replaced! It's okay!

Plus newer generation sails are getting more refined.

Ullman Osprey wing's bladder strut exploaded after 1 season (around 15 sessions) while inflating. Glued it and after assembly done test inflation, errupted valve of the bladder strut. Changed the valve and so far it keeps on. Yesterday had stormy conditions with it and everyfing was ok with the wing.
Wingfoiling only in inland lakes with fresh water, inflating up to 6PSI, sometimes up to 7.

Duotone Wing is working without problems already 2 seasons.

2 years on 3 F-One wings, no issues. Manufacturing defects happen, sure. But a lot is also how you handle them.

I'd bet a lot of people didn't know about not hanging by the handle and other wing care issues when they started. Not blaming those with bad luck and not forgiving bad products but I don't think this is as common as we all thought it would be 2 years ago.

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King Crash said..

kvek said..
Thanks for all answers.

My exploded wing is a 2020 Ensis 4.5 wing. I remember that I read somewhere that these (the first generation Ensis wings) had too high PSI value declared on the wing (9-11 PSI) so I inflated it to 7 PSI. Maybe, if I repair it again, I will inflate it to 6 PSI.

I used a few different wings and I love the Ensis rigidity that enable me to pump on the foil in marginal winds, better than any other I used.
Now I am wondering if it makes sense to repair it and if it makes sense to buy a new 2021 or 2022 Ensis wing fo fear of it exploding :(

Bladders popping isn't anything to be fearful of. You'll be doing more damage to the wing and having worse sessions with under inflation.
Leading edge will be floppy and spill unnecessary power plus that's more load on the frame in places which weren't designed to carry as much. Load patterns are designed under manufacturers recommended PSI - Follow it!

If you blow a bladder it can be replaced! It's okay!

Plus newer generation sails are getting more refined.

I read on some forum that Ensis v1 had issues with too high pressure, wings exploding. That is the reason why I inflated it to 7 PSI. If I repair it again, I will use 6 PSI. Repair shop (dr. Tuba) suggested that if the wing is rigid at 6 PSI, there is no reason to inflate it to a higher pressure.

My Ensis v1 4.5 was more rigid at 6-7 PSI than any other wing I used.

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kvek said..

Dspace said..
This month marks 3 years of winging for me. Two original Duotone wings, 4 Echo's, 4 Slicks and 3 SLS Slicks. My Echo 3.3m developed a leaky main valve and my 4m Slick had the infamous boom pocket spacing issue. I consider that a pretty decent track record.

Dspace - can you please elaborate a bit more?

Did you break so many wings or you used so many wings with only two of them having issues?
If you used 13 wings in 3 years it means each of those was used approximately 3 months?

Only two of them had any specific issues.

So I basically updated my Duotone boom wing quiver with each new model release. For Echo's and Slicks it was 6, 5, 4 and 3 (actually 3.3 for the Echo). For SLS's I have 6, 5 and 4m, and still hung onto my regular 3m Slick.

My 4 and 5m wings get the most use, then the 6m, and the 3m getting the least amount. I would say the average use for the 4 and 5m's was 6 months each. I pump to about 0.5-1.0 psi above recommended pressure. No shorebreak or breaking wave tumbling involved but I do fall into wings often enough trying new moves. Pretty good about not letting them just sit in the sun very long.

It's only been a couple of months on the SLS's but it's easy to see they are definitely holding shape and tension much better than the previous models.

My 6m v1 swing blew after 2 years of abuse, allways pumped at 8 psi for 6 recommended ! did a frankenstein stitch and now works fine ! Super bagged out thow . My gong v1 and v2s pumped hard as hell at 9 psi are fine , no stretched stitching problems what so every and have not bagged out .

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Dspace said..

kvek said..

Dspace said..
This month marks 3 years of winging for me. Two original Duotone wings, 4 Echo's, 4 Slicks and 3 SLS Slicks. My Echo 3.3m developed a leaky main valve and my 4m Slick had the infamous boom pocket spacing issue. I consider that a pretty decent track record.

Dspace - can you please elaborate a bit more?

Did you break so many wings or you used so many wings with only two of them having issues?
If you used 13 wings in 3 years it means each of those was used approximately 3 months?

Only two of them had any specific issues.

So I basically updated my Duotone boom wing quiver with each new model release. For Echo's and Slicks it was 6, 5, 4 and 3 (actually 3.3 for the Echo). For SLS's I have 6, 5 and 4m, and still hung onto my regular 3m Slick.

My 4 and 5m wings get the most use, then the 6m, and the 3m getting the least amount. I would say the average use for the 4 and 5m's was 6 months each. I pump to about 0.5-1.0 psi above recommended pressure. No shorebreak or breaking wave tumbling involved but I do fall into wings often enough trying new moves. Pretty good about not letting them just sit in the sun very long.

It's only been a couple of months on the SLS's but it's easy to see they are definitely holding shape and tension much better than the previous models.

Thanks :)

I guess I will just need to buy some 2nd or 3rd gen wing and hope it will hold better than my 1st gen Ensis. Probably Ensis again - I do love the feeling of the wing.

It seems to me that all companies are still in quite an early stage of the research and development process and that for a few years there will be many changes, hopefully for the better and that a wing lifespan will improve in that process. Until then, I hope I will have better luck with my other wings :)

In some cases it could be have been some quality control issues at the factory.
I had a very good experience with Takoon the company, They found a problem a particular size wing that was shipped out filling backorders. They called me before I even received my wings and told me that one of the sizes of wings shipped to me may have a problem, and how to test it when I get it. And sure enough it did explode. They where right on the spot with a full refund and ready to help with a future purchase. That may have been the best customer service I've ever experienced.

Very bad experience with gong. I read a few reports about exploiting V1 wings but now my V3 Superpower 7.5 also explote.
Gong wrote me that 7 psi is to much. I wonder why the hell they don't print it on the wing and if 3 to 4 psi as they recommended will be enough to fill a wing correctly!? Anyway that was my last gong product. The wing was 6 month old.

It *should be* a kite with no strings. They crash at 60kph into water, from 20m up. Seems some are skimping, or like any new sport the 'jump on board' manufacturers are making an insufficient product. Reading the above, I can't believe the lack of longevity that some people are experiencing.

We have the new RRD wings at work and they are just awesome, lots learned from their wave kites no doubt.

I for one actually like "blown" wings, as I buy them off people, repair them, improve them and then use them for all they are worth - I guess that's the life of a bottom feeder huh

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Mark _australia said..
It *should be* a kite with no strings. They crash at 60kph into water, from 20m up. Seems some are skimping, or like any new sport the 'jump on board' manufacturers are making an insufficient product. Reading the above, I can't believe the lack of longevity that some people are experiencing.

I think the idea that "It *should be* a kite with no strings" is exactly why we see the longevity issues. This assumption seems reasonable, but falls apart when looking more closely. Perhaps the biggest differences with regards to "exploding" is the number and placement of attachment points, and the forces when pumping. With kites, the lines are attached at multiple points over the main strut. With wings, you have just two attachment points on the central strut. During load changes, for example while pumping a wing, that lets the main strut deform much more, creating higher stress on a limited number of points (or at the handle attachment). With material and construction methods for kiting, something will give earlier than expected. It's repetitive stress, similar to what makes an aluminium booms break after a few years.

Comparing windfoiling to kiting (without a foil), I'd assume the forces once flying should be much lower for windfoiling, since the foil is more efficient. But the forces on the wing to get going are larger - sometimes quite large, judging by the effort some wingers have to spend to get going on small wings. So stronger materials and better construction techniques make sense.

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boardsurfr said..

Mark _australia said..
It *should be* a kite with no strings. They crash at 60kph into water, from 20m up. Seems some are skimping, or like any new sport the 'jump on board' manufacturers are making an insufficient product. Reading the above, I can't believe the lack of longevity that some people are experiencing.

I think the idea that "It *should be* a kite with no strings" is exactly why we see the longevity issues. This assumption seems reasonable, but falls apart when looking more closely. Perhaps the biggest differences with regards to "exploding" is the number and placement of attachment points, and the forces when pumping. With kites, the lines are attached at multiple points over the main strut. With wings, you have just two attachment points on the central strut. During load changes, for example while pumping a wing, that lets the main strut deform much more, creating higher stress on a limited number of points (or at the handle attachment). With material and construction methods for kiting, something will give earlier than expected. It's repetitive stress, similar to what makes an aluminium booms break after a few years.

Comparing windfoiling to kiting (without a foil), I'd assume the forces once flying should be much lower for windfoiling, since the foil is more efficient. But the forces on the wing to get going are larger - sometimes quite large, judging by the effort some wingers have to spend to get going on small wings. So stronger materials and better construction techniques make sense.

My 12m kite has 5 struts and weighs 3.8kg, so 1kg more than a wing half the size. In a kite session a lot of rider's weight taken through 4 small bridle attachment point all the time, whilst winging weight goes through 4 handle bigger points only when pumping if needed, thereafter not much. Not seen a wing explode recently so maybe better now (mine'll bang now).

My brand new used for two hours 7m went bang on Friday about an hour after reading this thread!!!!
About to test the quality of the manufacturers warranty
No brand names unless the claims rejected of course

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FarNorthSurfer said..
My brand new used for two hours 7m went bang on Friday about an hour after reading this thread!!!!
About to test the quality of the manufacturers warranty
No brand names unless the claims rejected of course

How did it fail out of interest.
I had a V1 slick with a man fault across leading edge, warranted ok. Did not explode though, but potential to

Sorry to clarify I didn't say it was a kite - poorly worded - I was trying to say if they can get kites right it should not be hard to get wings right. The sport is not in its infancy anymore....

I think that's the problem - wings aren't kites. Most wings are made by kite manufacturers , hence they have been made with the same materials ( Dacron, ripstop ). But the kite manufacturers have finally learnt that you can't just make a wing like a low tech kite , so now you are seeing much more thought going into them eg radial and load line seam shaping , new tech materials. Kite also don't have handles so don't have the heavy point loading that wings get having a human hanging directly off the inflated structure. Since foiling came out for kiting I'd reckon many kites now get a pretty easy life - multi point bridles supporting the LE, multiple struts supporting the canopy, they are used in the lower half of their wind range. Sure, for hard core freestyle they get worked more but my point is the kite structure is a lot more supported generally. By contrast wings get flogged. Rolled in the shorebreak, used well outside their recommended range due to their depower properties being so good, put away wet, jumped, folded in crashes leading to pressure surge in inflated structure, pronged with foils , hung up to dry ( bladder drops/ folds within Dacron structure , then bang) etc etc
Two of the real breakthroughs in construction were doubling up on the Dacron layers at the strut / LE junction to alleviate the excessive taco-ing when pumping the first gen wings, and having strings from the tip of strut bladder to prevent it from slipping down inside the strut when hung up. ** still happens though. I've used around 20 wings since starting to wing 3 years ago and only had one pop for no apparent reason.
Still loving it and enjoying seeing the new developments coming through. There's a long way to go yet, it's still early days whereas kiting is pretty mature now by comparison.