Gong made an interesting post yesterday: they identified the cause of at least half of wings explosions while inflating. And it seems it can happen for any brands, so I guess it deserves its own topic.

In a nutshell: they recommend taking some simple caution when inflating that the bladder is not stuck to the cloth by moisture, like you do when you change a bike air chamber, you inflate it a bit to be sure is does not get stuck between the tire and the rim and explode when inflating...

Patrice Guenole' writes:

it's a real subject that explains a lot of explosions: when you roll a wing, the bladder in the batten or the leading edge can move and that's normal. Except that when the Wing is soaked, the bladder can get stuck by suction at the wrong place in the sheath. It sticks 10cm further than its normal place for example. The next time it is inflated, the bladder is put under tension and may explode as a result of this movement and tension.

This phenomenon has been neglected for a long time because it didn't happen with Kites. No reason to imagine that this problem would happen with Wings.

But a Wing is different from a Kite:

1/ It is always wet. What is rarer in Kite is a constant in Wing. If only to get in and out of the water.
2/ The diameter of the bladders is two to three times bigger, leaving a lot of room for the bladder to move in the sheath when you deflate.

The solutions :

A/ Try to roll your Wings only when they are dry. But this is often impossible.
B/ Unroll your wing completely flat before inflating. Do not inflate them while they are still rolled up.
C/ Gently shake the struts before inflation to remove the bladder from the fabric. Gently.
D/ Make sure that the bladder is not wrinkled during the inflation process: you can see this at half pressure.
E/ At the slightest doubt, deflate and re-inflate. It takes one minute.

The bladders are made custom for each strut and each leading edge of each Wing. Nothing is standard. And we can't lock them in place because they have to be removable and light.
So to this day, only being aware and cautious can protect you from this problem.

Reminder: do not rinse your Wings with chlorinated tap water as this would remove the chemical protection of the fabric, thus its strength and durability.

Be vigilant because it is estimated that one out of every two explosions comes from this concern.

Thank you.

You didn't translate fully what was written, at the end is said " thoose not explainable by a mistake "
So mistake me if i am wrong :
50% due to the cause you just explained
50% mistake
That means there will never be a faulty wing ?
Seems a bit presumptous , but maybe that is gongs policy. You seem To know gong well enough, could you explain how they come to the conclusion ? Not long ago " Patrice" said on his forum that " his team never had a blown wing,never."
Seems funny they know so much about exploding wings when it never happens To them ?
Cheers coolas .

For the record, "stevelebanni" ("Banished Steve") is one of the "Karen" trying to vindicate a perceived grudge I was speaking of recently.
(e.g: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Foiling/Gong-HIPE-5-3--review?page=2#2632416 )

Apparently he created an account here on seabreeze to whine, so welcome "stevelebanni", and may this new year bring you peace and prosperity!

If i may yes i was bannished from the gong forum because i stand up for my rights .Repair of my 3 month old gong not taken in charge by gong ! But that has nothing To do with this forum, I think my thoughts concerning this post are relevant . I Will let the admin and ther users judge . Sorry , I will not and never comment agressive remarks by a gong ambassader on this forum ,I will post only relevant thoughts that all normal members would make . Now let's get back to the first post .

I had a superpower 6 for a few months. After a couple of hours of winging, exiting the water the main strut deflated. I took it for repair and it turns out the bladder wasn't anchored properly up front. It caused a haemorrhoid that popped.

All of the guidelines presented above were followed, always. The guy who repaired it told me it was the second one he'd fixed that week for the same reason. There are very few of these around here so was surprised to hear he'd seen a second with the same manufacturing fault.What does "mistake" mean, Colas?

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Clamsmasha said..
What does "mistake" mean, Colas?

I don't know, I translated the whole post from Patrice, and there was no reference to "mistakes" in it. I cannot post links to Gong sites here, but you can search the subject "Sechage wing et explosion de blader" on the Gong forum.

This guy has been deluging me with 5 direct messages already today with a semicoherent torrent of grievances. I understand he has been mailing Gong relentlessly for months now... Let's say I am glad I do not have a public-facing job :-) (and to be clear, I do not work for Gong, I am a Software Engineer).

Mistake being "erreur" in french meaning by your own fault . So if something ever happens To your wing 50% is the cause explained by coolas which is your fault and 50% by "erreur " which is also your fault ! So it is easy to see who's going to pay the repair bill ! You are warned . Ours a ?crit : ?Hello,

c'est un vrai sujet qui explique beaucoup d'explosions : lorsqu'on roule une wing, le blader dans la latte ou le bord d'attaque peut bouger et c'est normal. Sauf que lorsque la Wing est tremp?e, le blader peut ventouser ? un mauvais endroit dans le fourreau. Il colle 10cm plus loin qu'? sa place normale par exemple. Lors du prochain gonflage, le blader est mis en tension et peut exploser suite ? ce d?placement et cette mise en tension.

On a longtemps n?glig? cette piste car on ne l'avait jamais ?prouv?e en Kite. Aucune raison d'imaginer que ce probl?me arriverait en Wing.

Mais la Wing est diff?rente du Kite :
1/ Elle est toujours mouill?e. Ce qui est plus rare en Kite, c'est une constante en Wing. Ne serait ce que pour rentrer et sortir de l'eau.
2/ Le diam?tre des boudins est deux ? trois fois plus gros, laissant ainsi beaucoup de place au blader pour bouger dans le boudin lorsqu'on d?gonfle.

Les solutions :
A/ Essayer de rouler vos Wings uniquement quand elles sont s?ches. Mais c'est souvent impossible.
B/ D?rouler enti?rement votre wing ? plat avant le gonflage. Ne pas les gonfler encore roul?es.
C/ Secouer doucement les boudins avant gonflage pour d?coller le blader du tissu. Doucement.
D/ Surveiller au gonflage que des gros plis ne se fassent pas dans le blader : ?a se voit ? mi pression.
E/ Au moindre doute, d?gonfler et regonfler. Ca prend une minute chrono.

Les bladers sont faits sur mesure pour chaque latte et chaque bord d'attaque de chaque Wing. Rien n'est standard. Et nous ne pouvons pas les fixer car ils doivent ?tre d?montables et l?gers.
Donc ? ce jour, seul une utilisation ?clair?e et pr?cautionneuse peut vous pr?munir de ce souci.

Rappel : ne pas rincer vos Wings ? l'eau du robinet chlor?e car cela retirerait la protection chimique du tissu, donc sa portance et sa solidit?.

Soyez vigilants car on estime qu'une explosion sur deux vient de ce souci, celles que les clients n'expliquent pas par une erreur.

Here is the post in french as you can see the last two lines were left out ! Now why was that ?

No, the last two lines are there.
I See I missed on the copy a bit of the last phrase that becomes:

"Be vigilant because it is estimated that one out of every two explosions comes from this concern, the ones that clients do not explain by a mistake."
And thus you can see that he is explicitly speaking of the cases that are NOT a customer mistake! The opposite of what you claim.

Exactely what i said ! The explosions Patrice explains are the 50% not due To a customer mistake , but the customers Will still pay for the repair of that 50% not being able to prove it was not their fault , and also the other 50% which was their fault , so in all a 100% of all explosions . That is what i claim .

It is the same as Armstrong posted a couple of months ago.For consumers it an explanation and guide how to properly use the gear, but not a solution when stuf breaks.When stuf still breaks the shop needs at least the first 2y in the EU to proof that it is the consumer fault: europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/faq/index_en.htm
That said, going viral with stuff like this isnt a solution either so please keep it private and in case that doesnt give the results you find acceptable start a legal procedure, but posting on forums doesnt change a thing so please don,t.

Apart from the irrelevant banter, great post and great information. Thanks. I remember back in the day with the 2011 north dyno. 7 strut beast (individual inflation) and the biggest leading edge you've ever seen! It would ruin you pumping by hand.
anyhow, that leading edge was also prone to inflation blow outs. Had to kind of do what was said above. Makes sense. Blow outs are happening with all brands if the above isn't adhered to.... and even then, sometimes ya just bloody unlucky.

Robby Naish published a video about a similar problem.

So I have been rinsing my wings with tap water. That is after a session I get a watering can & rinse both sides then lightly wipe dry with a towel.
I thought salt water would affect material & bladder more? Let alone leash swivels to corrosion.
I see that crystalized salt attracts water & makes material damp.

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Seajuice said..
So I have been rinsing my wings with tap water. That is after a session I get a watering can & rinse both sides then lightly wipe dry with a towel.
I thought salt water would affect material & bladder more? Let alone leash swivels to corrosion.
I see that crystalized salt attracts water & makes material damp.

I had a friend make me some long tubes out of sail material. I leave the centre strut semi inflated, roll the wings to centre strut and stuff them in the tubes. Then I simply stand up the wet wings to drain the excess salt water. I came to the conclusion early on that the wings were always going to be wet.

The only bladder issue I have had in 18 months was with a brand new 7m wing. I ended up with a bladder twist and I needed to get the bladder extracted and reseated.

I hang mine fully open in the shade under the patio, or more recently the very warm garage. They are bone dry in a couple of hours but the handles and leash cuffs etc take longer. They seem to stay crispy for longer when they get a good toasting between sessions.

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bigtone667 said..

Seajuice said..
So I have been rinsing my wings with tap water. That is after a session I get a watering can & rinse both sides then lightly wipe dry with a towel.
I thought salt water would affect material & bladder more? Let alone leash swivels to corrosion.
I see that crystalized salt attracts water & makes material damp.

I had a friend make me some long tubes out of sail material. I leave the centre strut semi inflated, roll the wings to centre strut and stuff them in the tubes. Then I simply stand up the wet wings to drain the excess salt water. I came to the conclusion early on that the wings were always going to be wet.

The only bladder issue I have had in 18 months was with a brand new 7m wing. I ended up with a bladder twist and I needed to get the bladder extracted and reseated.

Hey BT just to clarify with your method ,
leave centre strut semi inflated,
roll the wings to centre,whilst wet?
Then placed inside a suitable size tube.
What are the sizes width of tubes.?
What sort of material are they made off?
Do they dry completely if rolled up in tubes of material?
Sorry about all the questions.
Maybe a photo may explain.
Cheers

I use a surfboard "sock" - they come in a variety of different lengths. The fabric is breathable. I leave the centre strut semi-inflated, and fold each side of the wing towards the centre. The sock is stretch fabric so the wing slides easily in leech first (compared to having to jam it into the bag the wing came with). I remember reading somewhere that folding is safer than rolling - less chance of the bladder twisting inside the sleeve during storage and transport. I try to get the wing as dry as possible before folding it up. When inflating next session, always lay the wing out flat prior to pumping it up. Pump it half way, check for any suspicious wrinkles prior to going to full pressure.

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Jeroensurf said..
When stuf still breaks the shop needs at least the first 2y in the EU to proof that it is the consumer fault

With conditions:

"The legal guarantee covers any defects presumed to have existed at the time of delivery"

Bold face in the original text. Both of the existence of a defect and the timing of discovery. And they even add:
"After 6 months, you can still hold the seller responsible for any defects up to the end of the two-year guarantee period. However, the seller can ask you to prove that the defect existed when your goods were delivered. This is often difficult, and you will may have to involve a technical expert."

PS: This is just a general remark to your general statement. I do not know anything about any customer specific history. and I should not, since it would be illegal for a company to share customer data with other parties (like me) with no legal contract.

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Hey BT just to clarify with your method ,
leave centre strut semi inflated,
roll the wings to centre,whilst wet?
Then placed inside a suitable size tube.
What are the sizes width of tubes.?
What sort of material are they made off?
Do they dry completely if rolled up in tubes of material?
Sorry about all the questions.
Maybe a photo may explain.
Cheers

I treat the wings basically like I do kites. I simply roll the wing tips into the semi-inflated centre strut (or boom). I then put them into nylon bags with a draw string loop to close them. The lengths vary from 2.4m to 1.5m and the diameter is roughly 350mm. They were made by sailmaker. They do leak moisture through the stitching and opening (so they do evaporate some moisture).

They do not completely dry in the tubes, but my wings are always wet.

I do occasionally pull them out when super wet and stand them up so they drain out the draw string end. This mainly to protect my van and not the wing.

I have no issues with gongs, duotones (boom), wasps or clouds using this method.

The primary driver for this was because I got sick of wasting my life waiting for wasp centre struts to deflate and pumping up fat centre struts on a 7m gong and 6m cloud.

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Seajuice said..
So I have been rinsing my wings with tap water. That is after a session I get a watering can & rinse both sides then lightly wipe dry with a towel.
I thought salt water would affect material & bladder more? Let alone leash swivels to corrosion.
I see that crystalized salt attracts water & makes material damp.

Salt is a preserver, it will protect your gear from mold and other "bio-attacks" (fauna, flora, mushrooms,...)

The chlorine in tap water will destroy the "varnish" holding the Dacron/Nylon fiber in place. Same for a lot of swimsuits, actually.

But for some materials, salt can be more dangerous than chlorine: some metals, rubbers (neoprene)... For instance I do not rinse my boards, except a bit of water on the leash cuff & swivels.

A trick, if you must use tap water, is to aerate it, e.g. use it in shower mode with small droplets instead of a compact water jet: the chlorine evaporates quickly enough with the added air contact surface so that shower mode gets rid of a lot of it. It is a trick I use to refill my fish pond for instance.