Hello everyone,
I am an experienced kitesurf/foil rider, and was looking to get into wingfoiling. After testing many wings, the Strike really stood out to me. I was almost certainly going to buy it, but then I've heard from one of my friends, that after a few sessions the material gets used up quite a lot and the performance becomes worse. He surprised me, because all of the online reviews said that it's really sturdy and durable.
Can anyone here that owns a Strike with a lot of hours on the water tell me if what my friend told me is true? Thanks!
I have a strike.
Fone wings are some of the best quality wings. The attention to detail is second to none.
+1 to that.
I'm very happy with the build quality - it's outstanding.
And it's performance is too...I know of no other wing that I've flown that has such an incredible top end - it just eats gusty conditions & has never back winded...
I've seen that happen on F1 wings. Built quality good, top end good , but the compromise with lightweight is they loose stiffness at the "boom" - LE junction.
Takuma, Armstrong OR Allula looks like they have taken care of that quite well.
The Dacron cloth used in WIng sails currently has only about 6 months life expectancy with regular use. After this time the resin layer added to hold the threads in place begin to fell apart, and the cloth mechanical properties degrade somewhat (it stretches more, ballooning in gusts). This is the same as for windsurfing or boat sails. This why mylar is so used in windsurfing sails, except for places where a bit of stretch is good (luff panel, typically).
And if you let a wing (any brand) dry in the sun (UV), or worse flap in the wind, the resin can degrade in just a few sessions. As well as rinsing it with tap water, the chlorine in it also degrades the resin.
The wings are still usable, but have lost some of its performance. It may not be a problem, depending on what you expect of your gear.
So when you say, "I've heard from one of my friends, that after a few sessions the material gets used up quite a lot and the performance becomes worse." , I would suspect your friend is the problem, not the wing :-)
PS: I do not know the amount of wear a wing receives when letting it flap in the wind while foiling waves unpowered. It would be interesting to have some studies on it.
Select to expand quotecolas said..
The Dacron cloth used in WIng sails currently has only about 6 months life expectancy with regular use. After this time the resin layer added to hold the threads in place begin to fell apart, and the cloth mechanical properties degrade somewhat (it stretches more, ballooning in gusts). This is the same as for windsurfing or boat sails. This why mylar is so used in windsurfing sails, except for places where a bit of stretch is good (luff panel, typically).
And if you let a wing (any brand) dry in the sun (UV), or worse flap in the wind, the resin can degrade in just a few sessions. As well as rinsing it with tap water, the chlorine in it also degrades the resin.
The wings are still usable, but have lost some of its performance. It may not be a problem, depending on what you expect of your gear.
So when you say, "I've heard from one of my friends, that after a few sessions the material gets used up quite a lot and the performance becomes worse." , I would suspect your friend is the problem, not the wing :-)
PS: I do not know the amount of wear a wing receives when letting it flap in the wind while foiling waves unpowered. It would be interesting to have some studies on it.
Whatever, the material degrades sometimes faster than others. We all know this from kiting, but the loads we put on these wings is siginificantly more in duration and power.
Some companies have longer lasting stiffness due to whatever mechanical material or properties they add to that junction.
Now, if Allula has a longer lifespan than dacron, it may justify the cost eh.
Select to expand quotecolas said..
The Dacron cloth used in WIng sails currently has only about 6 months life expectancy with regular use. After this time the resin layer added to hold the threads in place begin to fell apart, and the cloth mechanical properties degrade somewhat (it stretches more, ballooning in gusts). This is the same as for windsurfing or boat sails. This why mylar is so used in windsurfing sails, except for places where a bit of stretch is good (luff panel, typically).
And if you let a wing (any brand) dry in the sun (UV), or worse flap in the wind, the resin can degrade in just a few sessions. As well as rinsing it with tap water, the chlorine in it also degrades the resin.
The wings are still usable, but have lost some of its performance. It may not be a problem, depending on what you expect of your gear.
So when you say, "I've heard from one of my friends, that after a few sessions the material gets used up quite a lot and the performance becomes worse." , I would suspect your friend is the problem, not the wing :-)
PS: I do not know the amount of wear a wing receives when letting it flap in the wind while foiling waves unpowered. It would be interesting to have some studies on it.
Thanks, this is some very useful info. What would be the best way to wash and increase the wing's life? I've always washed my kites with tap water after trips to places with saltier water (the Baltic sea is like a lake :P) because I've thought that the salt degrades the material a lot. All of my friends always wash their wings after sessions and leave them flapping in the wind on the beach. Maybe that's the reason why he said that the performance dropped.
Select to expand quotepiotrsurf said..
All of my friends always wash their wings after sessions and leave them flapping in the wind on the beach.
Well, that's the worst they can do :-)
Just rinse in salt or fresh (but non chlorinated) water, to remove the sand.
Some towns can have much more chlorinated water than others: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14626901/
You do not need to let dry if rinsed in salt water. With freshwater, you must dry them to avoid mildew and whitening of PVC windows.
If you dry them, try to do it out of direct sunlight (glass windows protect from UVs), and without flapping in the wind.
And be careful if hanging them by the leading edge, as the strut bladder may fall a bit out of place and explode when re-inflated. Just check its placement before re-inflating, or hand by the tail, or keep the center strut horizontal.
If you wash your gear at home, it could be a good idea to have some non-chlorinated water: tap water that has been left aerated for some hours, collected rain water... if you do not have acid rains :-)
One simple quality feature you can SEE in any canopy material, is yarn count. Look closely. You will see heavy duty reinforcing yarns in a crossing pattern. The patterns currently in use in the industry are:
2 x 2
3 x 3
3 x 4
4 x 4
2 x 2 being the lightest, cheapest, and quickest to bag out and lose performance. 1 x 1 is no longer used by anyone to my knowledge.
I recommend 3 x 3 minimum. It really does last longer.
