Interested in people's feedback between the two fins. I understand that the Sting is new and provides alot of drive and stability to current slalom boards.
Also interested if people have sailed them directly by comparison against others on the water and their thoughts.
thanks
Not much i don't see Bob
.
Both have there place depending on the conditions.
The Stings provide more lift, good bottom end and better upwind ability.
Venoms are great when the conditions are rough and ya fully lit.
lots of board control.
hope that helps
I have not used the Stings so can not comment there but agree with Vando on the Venoms. Fully powered, rough conditions the Venoms are great. Upwind ability not fantastic especially in light to medium conditions - I prefer a stiffer fin in that case. Have been using them for the past 2 years and currently use a 42cm venom in my Isonic107.
I run a 42cm Sting and a 42cm Venom on a Carbon Art SL70. I use the Sting in lighter winds with a 7.8 (up to 15 knts). Great fin for getting up onto the plane when it's marginal and fantastic upwind. Very nice balance and trims the board really well. Can be a bit of a work out on the ankles when the wind strengthens and the water gets lumpy, but very rare for it to let go altogether and spin out.
The Venom I use with the 7.8 as the wind starts to strengthen, particularly on a southerly which tends to cause choppier water. I also use the Venom with a 6.6. When I've been maxed on the 6.6 it's felt to me that the sail hits its limits before the fin/board does. Very comfortable underfoot in heavier conditions letting you concentrate on what's ahead, although it can let go in the lulls every now and then when the power comes off it is easy to bring it back when it starts to spin out.
Recommendation to mix these two fins was from the guys at CA/C3 when I wanted a lighter wind fin after getting the Venom first up. Seemed a strange mix to me - I assumed I'd be getting the Sting in a 44, but cant fault how well both fins work. I'd email Boogie at C3 as he's got a view on fin/board mixes across an amazing range.
Have used both fins. Agree what is said in previous posts. Venom is an excellent fin when fully powered and easy to control in rough choppy conditions. Nearly impossible to get spin-outs with a Venom. From the get go you can push the fin. In flatter conditions or not fully powered the Venom is harder to sail, not much lift and board feels sticky. Speedwise acceleration with the Venom is less compared to the Sting's. Same with topspeed, Venom is a quick fin but hard to get real high speeds with big board/sail combo's.
Sting's are powerhouse fins compared to Venom's. Tricky when get going, if pushed to hard they spin out. But once on the plane full control and hard to spin-out. In medium conditions absolute top fin with lot's of control. In flat water high wind one of the fastest fin's around. Clocked 70+ kmh topspeed and 10 sec runs with Sting II 40 cm JP Slalom VII 68 and NP Evo IV 7.8 combo. If you have lots of power in your legs or if you're a heavier 90+ kg sailor the Stings also perform perfect in chop/ rough conditions. With the Sting you can let your board fly over the chop. You do however must have full confidence in your gear to 'skim' the top of the chop.
Too be short Sting is a full on race/ slalom fin with lots of power and excellent performance for the technically better skilled sailor. Venom's are foolproof freerace/slalom fins for the less skilled or lighter sailor.
Recently bought second hand CA63 Freeride with C3 Venom 38 and Sting 34. My first venture into more slalom oriented gear. Have been amazed at how plug and play and forgiving the venom is, never seems to step out of line.
Have only had one decent day to try the Sting, rigged the Venom first with 6.6 no-cam slalom. Venom was again extremely forgiving in some real big gusts - just does it's thing. Found top gear in this session for the first time and it really flies.
Wind was pretty gusty and getting more solid so changed to the Sting 34. Was a bit concerned the fins would be too close together as C3 say Venoms should be 2-3cm longer than other fins - happy to say I think I have a good pair as I don't think the low end for the Sting is near as good as the larger Venom. Once I had nursed the Sting on to the plane though, acceleration just continues through that top gear I found with the Venom and what felt like maxed out by the sail. Tail walked too - in full control though - haven't done that with the Venom even though it's the bigger fin.
Finished the session thinking I might have to get a GPS for the Sting sessions
