I record my sessions on my Garmin fitness watch which gives a training intensity rating out of 5.

I am a longtime kite foiler and kite sessions are effortless rating under 2 which is maintaining fitness. I often kite foil if I'm feeling wrecked after a few days wing foiling or the sea state is nasty.

Early wing foiling sessions, particularly those with light wind would rate 4.5-5 overdoing it.

The other day I did a 4km upwind run on the wing followed by a little wave play and a downwinder mostly on waves with wing bursts to bridge gaps. That rated 1 out of 5 - some benefit. The same run the next day with less organised waves ranked 2.4.

Yesterday I spent 80 minutes working on tacks. 26 attempts with about 20 falls. It was fairly easy and relaxed but rated 4.7. I had a nap when I got home but other than that didn't feel overly wrecked.

So, pumping a wing is a killer. Falling off and climbing back on is hard work, but not particularly stressful. Cruising around is effortless.

Wing foiling in 8-12 knots on smaller board can be hard work .......

Garmin watches are notoriously inaccurate for HR measurements unless it's walking/running/biking. That was the main reason I ditched it and went with Apple Watch where the HR accuracy is miles ahead. Yes, You will not get fancy garmin metrics but what is the point of them if they're based off inaccurate readings.

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gzasinets said..
Garmin watches are notoriously inaccurate for HR measurements unless it's walking/running/biking. That was the main reason I ditched it and went with Apple Watch where the HR accuracy is miles ahead. Yes, You will not get fancy garmin metrics but what is the point of them if they're based off inaccurate readings.

I have an Apple watch 6. I've been a bit nervous to wear it winging. Do they have a decent waterproof rating? Are there any useful apps you use for winging?

As I'm new to winging, my heart rate feels like it's through the roof when trying to pump up onto foil in marginal winds. After a few fruitless attempts to get up, I have to sit on my board for a few minutes to recover. I'm sure this will get easier as my wing pumping gets more efficient, but for now, I'm loving 18-23kts and my Forward Wip harness belt.

At our lake a very good kiter/kitefoiler who started winging told me that he is toasted after 15 minutes.
I answered him "Ok mate, really? I do this for two hours without feeling tired --- but i'm a windsurfer"
Winging feels quite less demanding compared to windsurfing

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DukeSilver said..

gzasinets said..
Garmin watches are notoriously inaccurate for HR measurements unless it's walking/running/biking. That was the main reason I ditched it and went with Apple Watch where the HR accuracy is miles ahead. Yes, You will not get fancy garmin metrics but what is the point of them if they're based off inaccurate readings.

I have an Apple watch 6. I've been a bit nervous to wear it winging. Do they have a decent waterproof rating? Are there any useful apps you use for winging?

As I'm new to winging, my heart rate feels like it's through the roof when trying to pump up onto foil in marginal winds. After a few fruitless attempts to get up, I have to sit on my board for a few minutes to recover. I'm sure this will get easier as my wing pumping gets more efficient, but for now, I'm loving 18-23kts and my Forward Wip harness belt.

Yes I wear my Apple Watch in the surf/wing for the past 2-3 years now. No problem whatsoever. Just have a good band preferably no clasps. I like their sport loops. If you're new to winging your HR will be high initially but then it'll start to get better as you become more proficient. We all have been there

I have no real opinion on the accuracy of the Garmin, I haven't really checked it. I'm more interested in the general volume of sessions and a bit of the track logs. The numbers confirm what I intuitively know so I'm happy with that.

I've had three Apple watches that died. One died and was replaced under warranty. One I bumped the screen and it broke and the third just died. I don't think water exposure was a problem, the watch just isn't very robust. I believe Apple are going to bring out a tough version. I suspect the sapphire glass version is a lot tougher but also a lot more expensive.

Battery life is poor and the touch screen is a pain to work with wet hands. I liked having the phone as a tracking device and the possibility of emergency communications. You have to charge the watch every day and one long session will leave the battery flat by the evening.

I had the surf bands but the velcro would catch on the wetsuit sleeve and peel open. It stayed wet and got stained. The normal plastic band was much more secure and dried quickly.

I've had the Garmin for about 7 years. It's indestructible and just works all the time. I can get a couple of days of sessions recorded and it will last for about a month in watch mode.

FWIW i use apple and if you need to touch screen to change function or whatever - often does not work with wet screen

okay to set beforehand and turn off when fisined on shore but if you want to switch screens can be problematic

Been using Waterspeed on my apple watch for about 2 years. Always have the watch under wetsuit sleeve - wet but unlikely to open in action. Havr to start/stop on shore.

Been using the Apple watch 6 since July and has been great. I don't interact with it a lot while in the water as i have it under the suit, but it does play a bit funny when screen is wet. I have the celular option for safety reasons and have installed the waterspeed app which is great to track the sessions.

ps. Sent a note to the waterspeed guys with stats suggestions and they reached out straight away asking for more details.

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AlexF said..
At our lake a very good kiter/kitefoiler who started winging told me that he is toasted after 15 minutes.
I answered him "Ok mate, really? I do this for two hours without feeling tired --- but i'm a windsurfer"
Winging feels quite less demanding compared to windsurfing

Yep I believe that too. I used to windsurf for about 12 years from 1982. Never been in better shape. Kite foiling is so efficient compared to windsurfing there's really very little physical effort needed once you've mastered it. That's a big part of why I've started winging. More fun than the gym.

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Gorgo said..
I have no real opinion on the accuracy of the Garmin, I haven't really checked it. I'm more interested in the general volume of sessions and a bit of the track logs. The numbers confirm what I intuitively know so I'm happy with that.

I've had three Apple watches that died. One died and was replaced under warranty. One I bumped the screen and it broke and the third just died. I don't think water exposure was a problem, the watch just isn't very robust. I believe Apple are going to bring out a tough version. I suspect the sapphire glass version is a lot tougher but also a lot more expensive.

Battery life is poor and the touch screen is a pain to work with wet hands. I liked having the phone as a tracking device and the possibility of emergency communications. You have to charge the watch every day and one long session will leave the battery flat by the evening.

I had the surf bands but the velcro would catch on the wetsuit sleeve and peel open. It stayed wet and got stained. The normal plastic band was much more secure and dried quickly.

I've had the Garmin for about 7 years. It's indestructible and just works all the time. I can get a couple of days of sessions recorded and it will last for about a month in watch mode.

Agree with you on the Garmin watches. My wife and I have had a number of them over the years for tracking running. They are good at what they do. The Apple watches have a very nice user interface though. If only they could combine the best features of both into one watch.

Been 1 year on the Apple watch SE, no issues. Tried waterspeed, but didn't want to tack my walking. Switched to dawn patrol. It tracks my foil time as "waves surfed" so I can keep track of my foil time.

I also have the Apple SE and really like it. Battery life isn't very good when using a tracking app but I can't complain. I have taken phone calls and answered texts and emails in the water. I use the WorkOutDoors app for tracking sessions. Good app.