Forums > Wing Foiling General

Kai Lenny parawings Jaws!

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Created by Youngbreezy 8 months ago, 7 Apr 2025
Youngbreezy
WA, 1207 posts
7 Apr 2025 3:02PM
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www.instagram.com/reel/DIIows6x1bw/?igsh=MXR4Zzc0eHBjcHg4dA==



Amazing to see this at such an early phase in the parawing genre. I think there will be big things to come

hilly
WA, 7903 posts
7 Apr 2025 3:06PM
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Youngbreezy said..
www.instagram.com/reel/DIIows6x1bw/?igsh=MXR4Zzc0eHBjcHg4dA==



Amazing to see this at such an early phase in the parawing genre. I think there will be big things to come




Pretty epic

Mark _australia
WA, 23465 posts
7 Apr 2025 7:47PM
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Oh but wasn't the first foils ridden at Jaws by Laird H?
20 to 30 years ago
far harder to ride

so yeah Kai is a Fkn amazing waterman but a foil with any power source at Jaws is not new

but like the evolution of wing thread, people seem to not realise this is not a thing that suddenly arrived 5 or 10yrs ago

the first foils ridden were impossible and I am in awe of the guys who did so

leepasty
423 posts
8 Apr 2025 2:15AM
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I wonder how he got going on such a small foil and board. I'm thinking he probably got towed up on foil then deployed parawing

CFL Foiler
142 posts
8 Apr 2025 2:26AM
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leepasty said..
I wonder how he got going on such a small foil and board. I'm thinking he probably got towed up on foil then deployed parawing


Agree, he must have had a tow up but would love to be wrong

MidAtlanticFoil
820 posts
8 Apr 2025 3:18AM
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I'm pushing my foils smaller and smaller and just got up pretty easy on a 685 DWP armie foil with a 3M Maliko in 20-35 knts. I'm guessing I could have gone smaller board and foil in the gusts. But for a foil to ride the speed of jaws....i'd be very surprised if that was not ski assisted.

leepasty
423 posts
8 Apr 2025 3:50AM
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MidAtlanticFoil said..
I'm pushing my foils smaller and smaller and just got up pretty easy on a 685 DWP armie foil with a 3M Maliko in 20-35 knts. I'm guessing I could have gone smaller board and foil in the gusts. But for a foil to ride the speed of jaws....i'd be very surprised if that was not ski assisted.


Nice what size board and your weight?

MidAtlanticFoil
820 posts
8 Apr 2025 4:33AM
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leepasty said..

MidAtlanticFoil said..
I'm pushing my foils smaller and smaller and just got up pretty easy on a 685 DWP armie foil with a 3M Maliko in 20-35 knts. I'm guessing I could have gone smaller board and foil in the gusts. But for a foil to ride the speed of jaws....i'd be very surprised if that was not ski assisted.



Nice what size board and your weight?


67kgs (before wetsuit, jacket, and backpack with 2M and 4M pw) and a 55L ML.

JohnnyTsunami
136 posts
8 Apr 2025 6:26AM
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Looks sick. In those winds no problem to get going on a parawing and a tiny board and foil.

You know he ate it once he relaunched it and the video cuts. Hard to remember that these things pull like crazy when they pop open. Need to wait until you slow down a bit.

hilly
WA, 7903 posts
8 Apr 2025 6:35AM
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Mark _australia said..
Oh but wasn't the first foils ridden at Jaws by Laird H?
20 to 30 years ago
far harder to ride

so yeah Kai is a Fkn amazing waterman but a foil with any power source at Jaws is not new

but like the evolution of wing thread, people seem to not realise this is not a thing that suddenly arrived 5 or 10yrs ago

the first foils ridden were impossible and I am in awe of the guys who did so


It was so much better back in the day bla bla

Why not celebrate the fact he rode into solid Jaws with a bit of fabric and string that if wrapped around him in a wipeout would be a major issue. Start a thread celebrating the old boys pioneering with heavy lumps of metal in boots that never took off due to the fact they were crap.

Foiling only really took off after Kai did the 2 for 1 video so he is a pioneer of the sport.

foilthegreats
762 posts
8 Apr 2025 7:27AM
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hilly said..

Mark _australia said..
Oh but wasn't the first foils ridden at Jaws by Laird H?
20 to 30 years ago
far harder to ride

so yeah Kai is a Fkn amazing waterman but a foil with any power source at Jaws is not new

but like the evolution of wing thread, people seem to not realise this is not a thing that suddenly arrived 5 or 10yrs ago

the first foils ridden were impossible and I am in awe of the guys who did so



It was so much better back in the day bla bla

Why not celebrate the fact he rode into solid Jaws with a bit of fabric and string that if wrapped around him in a wipeout would be a major issue. Start a thread celebrating the old boys pioneering with heavy lumps of metal in boots that never took off due to the fact they were crap.

Foiling only really took off after Kai did the 2 for 1 video so he is a pioneer of the sport.


I watched the Kai 2 for 1 in 2018 and the next day ordered a naish setup to prone foil Lake Ontario. Was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Been a fun ride so far!

Mark _australia
WA, 23465 posts
8 Apr 2025 11:46AM
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Hilly I never said it was better back in the day.
i also said Kai is amazing

maxpwr
QLD, 45 posts
8 Apr 2025 3:23PM
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You first paragraph is basically a strawman argument for why this isn't impressive.

You may not have meant it that way but it's how it reads.

Youngbreezy
WA, 1207 posts
8 Apr 2025 2:21PM
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Mark _australia said..
Hilly I never said it was better back in the day.
i also said Kai is amazing


Yeah the old days were legendary with laird and the boys tow foiling jaws. It was a bit too legendary and didn't seem practical or possible for the average person though. It was really Kai's work around 2018 that sparked the big blow up in foiling and helped bring foiling to where it is today.
What is notable about this is it's the first time someone has parawinged into jaws. Yes I am suspicious he might of needed a tow up but the act is still proof of concept. From what I understand we don't see many people winging at jaws (other than the obvious reasons) because the wing creates too much drag meaning they can't out run the wave properly. The parawing being completely collapsible could open up a new realm of self towing that we can't get winging, kiting or windsurfing. I think once we can get them quickly and reliably packed down and locked up we will see them used alot more in solid surf.

Rewind
NSW, 98 posts
8 Apr 2025 7:35PM
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Impressive, as per usual with Kai.

My 3 takeouts:

1. Was he towed up on the foil?
2. He couldn't pack it away quick enough
3. When he relaunched the parawing it launched him so far into the air he stacked.

This looked like a classic 'new product' promo video by a guy who could ride a barn door at Jaws holding a handkerchief.

miamiwngr
85 posts
9 Apr 2025 1:34AM
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Am I missing something here? If he was towed up by a jetski instead of the parawing, what's the point of this at all? (Besides getting money from ozone into his bank account)

Velocicraptor
820 posts
9 Apr 2025 2:18AM
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miamiwngr said..
Am I missing something here? If he was towed up by a jetski instead of the parawing, what's the point of this at all? (Besides getting money from ozone into his bank account)


Is it a bit contrived? Maybe. But its pushing boundaries and testing what is possible. Kai does a lot of that and its why he's pushed so many of these sports forward leaps and bounds. Fast forward a few years and maybe using these as a big wave tow in device becomes the norm in places where you can't use skis. Its baby steps like this that open peoples minds.

Holoholo
248 posts
9 Apr 2025 4:30AM
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Schmedium sized day so Kai showed up to play at Peahi with his full toy box and dropped in on just about everything judging from clips of that day.

kyc
2 posts
9 Apr 2025 5:49AM
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miamiwngr said..
Am I missing something here? If he was towed up by a jetski instead of the parawing, what's the point of this at all? (Besides getting money from ozone into his bank account)


Kai's Instagram reply indicates he got up using the parawing:

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gsturch: Getting on foil parawinging with the tiny foil needed must have been more challenging then actually riding the wave? Lol
kai_lenny: @gsturch very challenging

pp4
31 posts
9 Apr 2025 11:16AM
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Honestly, I more impressed with the performance of the ozone parawing, it looks incredibly stable in this conditions. Yes, he folded fast, but even until this point the parawing is behaving perfectly.

Gorgo
VIC, 5101 posts
9 Apr 2025 1:44PM
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This is a better view with comments and replies. Still heavily edited but it looks like he does a wave assisted pump onto the foil.

www.instagram.com/p/DIJn_t7pzgP/

Mark _australia
WA, 23465 posts
9 Apr 2025 11:52AM
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Youngbreezy said..


Mark _australia said..
Hilly I never said it was better back in the day.
i also said Kai is amazing




Yeah the old days were legendary with laird and the boys tow foiling jaws. It was a bit too legendary and didn't seem practical or possible for the average person though. It was really Kai's work around 2018 that sparked the big blow up in foiling and helped bring foiling to where it is today.
What is notable about this is it's the first time someone has parawinged into jaws. Yes I am suspicious he might of needed a tow up but the act is still proof of concept. From what I understand we don't see many people winging at jaws (other than the obvious reasons) because the wing creates too much drag meaning they can't out run the wave properly. The parawing being completely collapsible could open up a new realm of self towing that we can't get winging, kiting or windsurfing. I think once we can get them quickly and reliably packed down and locked up we will see them used alot more in solid surf.



You raise some very good points
I think you mean winging not foiling
if windfoil was being selected as the Olympic class in 2019 I don't think Kai did for foiling what people are attributing to him. Lot of other players and disciplines. He did for winging though

Now what he's done for parawing is bloody amazing.
I just take issue with some of the threads that ignore pioneers and I was having a grumpy day after the threads about how to put inserts in your board incorrectly.. Hollow boards again .. and how a harness line is so bloody new. I apologise to all



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"Kai Lenny parawings Jaws!" started by Youngbreezy