Forums > Wing Foiling General

Duotone unit 2022

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Created by willsproule > 9 months ago, 9 Feb 2022
willsproule
NSW, 8 posts
9 Feb 2022 10:30PM
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2022 unit is unreal. Handles are epic and a 5.5 was handling 25 knots no problem.

omg
292 posts
9 Feb 2022 9:58PM
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Tell us some more! How's the lowend and any comparison to previous Unit?

thanks!

CH3MTR4IL5
WA, 903 posts
10 Feb 2022 8:22AM
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Nice.

Whenever i am downwind winging on waves i feel like i have bought a high performance sports car to coast downhill in neutral.

hilly
WA, 7876 posts
10 Feb 2022 8:56AM
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The Smik looked good too
Epic spot

Goofcat
270 posts
10 Feb 2022 3:40PM
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Does it still have the beach ball deflation valves like the first one?

motogon
203 posts
10 Feb 2022 9:57PM
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Goofcat said..
Does it still have the beach ball deflation valves like the first one?


It supposed to have 2 such valves now: one on strat and one on tip of wing so you can roll wing from one side.

johndg
WA, 223 posts
11 Feb 2022 8:57AM
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It has the normal inflation valve used by Duotone. The centre strut has a deflation valve and can be locked off. There is also a another deflation valve on the left wing tip also like their kites. This gives 3 deflation points.

Each kite has a different inflation pressure. More pressure on the smaller wings than the bigger ones.

I have the 3.5 and 5.5ms. Have used both now and have come from Ozones V2. I changed because the soft handles were killing my hands only. I also have a Cabrinha X3 4.5m. Still getting used to them. The Duotone 5.5m is quite powerful for it's size. All wings including the Cab are very stable.

I am hoping that all brands will move to fixed boom handles.

There will be a You Tube video coming out around now will Alan Cadiz going through the Duotone Units in detail. Inflating, using and how he packs them up.

Alysum
NSW, 1030 posts
11 Feb 2022 12:35PM
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All Duotone wings to date have all suffered from the same common issue that put me off their wings: backwinding.
Sold my unit v1 after 3 sessions.

Have they solved it finally with the Unit v2

ArthurAlston
NSW, 245 posts
11 Feb 2022 12:37PM
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johndg said..
It has the normal inflation valve used by Duotone. The centre strut has a deflation valve and can be locked off. There is also a another deflation valve on the left wing tip also like their kites. This gives 3 deflation points.

Each kite has a different inflation pressure. More pressure on the smaller wings than the bigger ones.

I have the 3.5 and 5.5ms. Have used both now and have come from Ozones V2. I changed because the soft handles were killing my hands only. I also have a Cabrinha X3 4.5m. Still getting used to them. The Duotone 5.5m is quite powerful for it's size. All wings including the Cab are very stable.

I am hoping that all brands will move to fixed boom handles.

There will be a You Tube video coming out around now will Alan Cadiz going through the Duotone Units in detail. Inflating, using and how he packs them up.


Alan Cadiz did a nice overview of the wing in his most recent Patreon video.

AA
NSW, 2167 posts
11 Feb 2022 1:52PM
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hilly said..
The Smik looked good too
Epic spot


Home

hilly
WA, 7876 posts
11 Feb 2022 12:13PM
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AA said..

hilly said..
The Smik looked good too
Epic spot



Home


Doing a trip around the island next year will drop in.

warwickl
NSW, 2353 posts
11 Feb 2022 4:04PM
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2 comments in regard to what works for me.

Packing up my Duotone Slick wing, I learnt a technique from a very smart guy in Maui. Fold wing in half inside out, roll from outside leading edge towards the strut - this forces air to the valves as one rolls. During rolling up, as already required, do not cause folds in the windows . Next fold the rolled up wing in half which conveniently is at the bottoms of the windows, so no creasing the windows. The finished packed up wing is a perfect in the bag and in half the time.

Backwinding was an initial issue; however changed technique and experience now no issue

AA
NSW, 2167 posts
11 Feb 2022 6:36PM
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AA said..

hilly said..
The Smik looked good too
Epic spot



Home


Lets play

willsproule
NSW, 8 posts
11 Feb 2022 8:22PM
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omg said..
Tell us some more! How's the lowend and any comparison to previous Unit?

thanks!



Definitely better because the added stitching and more leach tension also trucks upwind like crazy. If you got any more questions hit me up definitely falling in love with it.

willsproule
NSW, 8 posts
11 Feb 2022 8:24PM
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hilly said..
The Smik looked good too
Epic spot


Yea used the smik as well and it feels honestly pretty similar, unit is slightly better because of the handles. The spot is 10 mins from my house and haven't foiled a place much better so epic.

willsproule
NSW, 8 posts
11 Feb 2022 8:25PM
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Goofcat said..
Does it still have the beach ball deflation valves like the first one?


Same valve yea.

willsproule
NSW, 8 posts
11 Feb 2022 8:26PM
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Alysum said..
All Duotone wings to date have all suffered from the same common issue that put me off their wings: backwinding.
Sold my unit v1 after 3 sessions.

Have they solved it finally with the Unit v2


Yea haven't had it backwind on me once after 10 solid sessions.

Ingenuity
41 posts
12 Feb 2022 5:16AM
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Here's the Alan Cadiz Unit V2 review:

Goofcat
270 posts
12 Feb 2022 9:09AM
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I love Alan, he is the teacher for a lot of us through his videos. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his contributions to the sport of Wing Foiling. I am a patreon supporter of his videos.

But his reviews of Duotone gear need to be taken with a grain of salt. First off, he does not ride any other gear, ever! He says this frequently in his videos, so he has no idea how other wings ride. Secondly, he gets free stuff from them, lots of stuff. All the students in his school are using Duotone wings that he got for free or deeply discounted. Thirdly, he gets to ride prototypes months in advance, so he is basically a product developer for Duotone. His reviews are more commercials or "supported content" and not neutral reviews.

sunsetsailboards
520 posts
15 Feb 2022 4:14AM
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got a couple days in on the 4.5. wind was light... no whitecaps or almost no whitecaps. Sky Wing 75l & SABFOIL W1000. Other wingers mostly on 6.5 and 7m (but less experienced). had to pump my a$$ off to get on foil most of the time.

wing feels fantastic. good angles, good speed, good power, good efficiency. neutral handling... better behaved than v1 when luffing, so much so that i accidentally did a luffing/tow 360. feels great. one customer who got the 5.5 just had his first session and is in love.

sunsetsailboards
520 posts
16 Feb 2022 3:19AM
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have ridden it now in high wind and demoed the 4.5 out to a few people. people are really loving the handles, although some still prefer softer, more forging control points/wings. the handles and wing are very direct. one guy noted that he could point a lot higher on the Unit compared to his A-Wing and it is also much lighter and stiffer. He's sold.

My 4.5 was rock solid yesterday is 25mph+ wind... something that really surprised me. Ordinarily I would have been on my 3.3, but I was trying my 45l sinker for the first time and wanted to make sure I had enough power to get going. The new Unit does not get backwinded the way some people had problems with the v1. I could point high OP'd and just climb upwind. The range is impressive.

Steven F
NSW, 70 posts
23 Feb 2022 1:26PM
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Duotone web site has released the 2021 unit with nice videos.

My questions are:
Why do the Dlab wings use 1psi lower pressure than the standard wings?
Is the diameter of the leading edge same for dlab and standard?
Will the Dlab wing last longer before stretching out? (Canopy material same. Do dacron struts stretch?)
Is the Dlab material as durable as the standard.


If strut diameter is same then I suspect sailing performance (speed and upwind pointing) will be similar. Maybe high wind stability will be better with Dlab?
Suspect heavy riders will benefit more from the stiff Dlab material than light riders. Wonder if a improved Slick will be released? Saw a guy on a 2022 unit sailing the other day it looked great.

SeattleKook
10 posts
24 Feb 2022 2:31AM
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Steve, Thanks for pointing out it's finally up their site.
One more question I'd love to know and/or hear from someone who has tried both is how the new 6.5 compares to the CWC for ultimate light air performance for the average height and weight rider. The 2022 unit say longer span for increased stability when luffing which sounds bad for light air pumping but at the same time the extra dihedral might make it drag on the water a little less. I wish they had listed the wing spans.

randomfoiler
108 posts
24 Feb 2022 2:45AM
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SeattleKook said..
Steve, Thanks for pointing out it's finally up their site.
One more question I'd love to know and/or hear from someone who has tried both is how the new 6.5 compares to the CWC for ultimate light air performance for the average height and weight rider. The 2022 unit say longer span for increased stability when luffing which sounds bad for light air pumping but at the same time the extra dihedral might make it drag on the water a little less. I wish they had listed the wing spans.


this covers some of your questions:

omg
292 posts
25 Feb 2022 4:46PM
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randomfoiler said..


SeattleKook said..
Steve, Thanks for pointing out it's finally up their site.
One more question I'd love to know and/or hear from someone who has tried both is how the new 6.5 compares to the CWC for ultimate light air performance for the average height and weight rider. The 2022 unit say longer span for increased stability when luffing which sounds bad for light air pumping but at the same time the extra dihedral might make it drag on the water a little less. I wish they had listed the wing spans.




this covers some of your questions:




I'm a bit confused regarding the low end. In this review and on their youtube comments they state that strike is clearly a winner in the low end, and somehow seems the new unit is more geared towards racing, ie. Strike is better for swell riding (more neutral) etc. and I thought the Unit was duotone's wave and freeride wing??? A bit disappointed if the low end is not that great as they mentioned in several places the pumpability of Unit is bad because it has very flat profile?

leepasty
423 posts
25 Feb 2022 7:01PM
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Not sure on the strike v2 but the new standard unit has way better low end than the strike v1 when you ride both of them in size 5.0.
the unit handles also feel way nicer and I found it behaved better off the front handle when flagged out on the wave in dead onshore wind.
if you can give the new unit a try you will not be disappointed although as with all wings with different handles than you are used to it may take a few runs till you get comfortable tacking and gybing

DWF
707 posts
25 Feb 2022 10:04PM
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SeattleKook said..
I wish they had listed the wing spans.



I've ridden a lot of different wings and one thing that is baffling, is how wing span doesn't tell me whether a wing tip is going to hit when pumping in light air. The overall planform and dihedral seems to be a big part of the equation. I don't trust numbers period. Need to try each brand personally, and allow myself time to adapt to the way each brand likes to be pumped.

DWF
707 posts
25 Feb 2022 10:15PM
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omg said..



A bit disappointed if the low end is not that great as they mentioned in several places the pumpability of Unit is bad because it has very flat profile?


The low end is good. We're getting into territory where your skill level matters. Are you at the kook stage, where you can't get going without a wing that pulls like a tank? Or are you past that, and you have pumping skills? The Unit pumps amazing with the rigid handles. The low end is strong with pumping skill. I'd put the 5.5m Dacron Unit low at the same level as my previous Ocean Rodeo Aluula 6m just because of the handles and similar stiffness when pumping.

omg
292 posts
26 Feb 2022 12:15AM
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Re: low end - thank you guys. I have a dlab 5m coming in 2-3 weeks but got a bit of a hesitation due to these net reports/reviews. It was mentioned that the pumpability was not good due to flat profile, compared to strike v2. I do pump myself in to speed so that's covered Freakin covid, I ordered 2,5 and 3,5 dacron units and 5 dlab in the Oct/Nov in Europe and still waiting for them all. 3,5 probably end of March and 2,5 no idea!

rgmacca
456 posts
26 Feb 2022 1:55AM
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omg said..
Re: low end - thank you guys. I have a dlab 5m coming in 2-3 weeks but got a bit of a hesitation due to these net reports/reviews. It was mentioned that the pumpability was not good due to flat profile, compared to strike v2. I do pump myself in to speed so that's covered Freakin covid, I ordered 2,5 and 3,5 dacron units and 5 dlab in the Oct/Nov in Europe and still waiting for them all. 3,5 probably end of March and 2,5 no idea!

Just seen prices of Dlab on Skymonsters web page (uk)
WOW ! That's some investment in wings, have to let us know how you get on with them. I love the look of them.

sunsetsailboards
520 posts
27 Feb 2022 1:27AM
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i'm finding the low end of the new Unit to be pretty awesome. I can't say if it's the most powerful or more powerful than Brand X. A lot of wings pump and fly differently and take getting used to, so if you're used to a particular wing and you try something that works differently and you don't adapt, it's not going to perform to its potential.

A lot of this is going to depend on rider skill.

I had the opportunity to ride a lot of different wings at the industry trade show in Hood River in September 2021. The D/LAB Unit and its handles were the buzz of the show. I could get going on the smaller Units in wind that other people were on 6-8m. Some of this is my familiarity with the previous Unit and foil know how, but pumping that wing definitely felt awesome. I also thought it flew seamlessly... i never really thought about it while riding. It just did what i expected and I didn't have to make any adjustments.

As a retailer, I was pretty skeptical about the price of ALUULA wings when the OR Glide came out. After riding the D/LABs there was a clear difference. It's not for everybody. Some people drive $100k cars and windsurf with aluminum booms. Others, like me have the gear inside their van worth far more than the van itself.

Going to be interesting to see what the resale value is on these things, though. For me and how much I enjoy my time on the water, I want my main wing to be the best. Hope I don't thrash mine too soon.



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"Duotone unit 2022" started by willsproule