I need some advice on choosing a single board for both parawinging and winging.
I currently have three boards, but I'm considering selling them and buying a Kalama Gator CP 62L. I'm tired of the hassle of owning several boards.
I know the Gator can be a joy to wing (I've tried it), but would getting up in parawing be too tough?.
I weigh 72 kg (the lowest volume I've parawinged on is my 73L Above).
Would the Gator 62L be too challenging for me?
I'd love to hear what low volumes do you usually use
72 kg, and a 60 litres KT Super K works beautifully for me, both for winging and parawinging, and for reasonably light wind winging too.
At 67kgs dry, I ride a 5'5" 55L board and I'm really pretty happy with it. (55/67 = 80% volume to weight ratio). With a backpack on and wetsuit, I sink to around my upper thigh if the wind completely drops when starting. The Gator would put you at 86%, so you would likely sink less than that. It takes some skill/practice, but if you are able to get from knees to feet quickly using one free hand, you should be fine. If you are older or have mobility issues getting up to your feet reasonably quick, It may be a bit more difficult.
I have tried an 85L and I hated it...too much volume for parawing, harder to balance. You want to be able to sink the tail and aim the board for optimum launch angle and aggressive pump attack.
How was the equal volume you tried? Was it too corky/hard to balance? The reason I ask is I've been eying that Gator as well, but its pretty close to my weight (93%) and I'd hate to be corking off the board too much when getting going in challenging conditions.
It would be helpful if others chimed in with their volume to weight ratios and describe their likes/dislikes.
So many variables and personal preferences.
Keep calculating your BARG factor and looking at what calculation works best for you, personally:
www.wouzel.com/post/calculating-your-barg-factor
At 86kg I really preferred to be at close to neutral volume for winging with a 3.5 or higher BARG factor because I wanted 3m or smaller sails and foils down towards 650 frequently. I was also going out even when the wind was down to 15 knots.
With parawinging, I have leaned towards more forgiving foils and very strong winds. I can sense myself getting to a place where if it's not hitting 30 knots, I just don't want to mess with it anymore. As such, my 77l 3.22 BARG factor (89.5%) board is doing great but I still have my 90l 4.59 BARG factor (105%) lurking in the closet to give me confidence to parawing my Silk 650.
Im still pretty early in my parawing progression, coming from winging, but at 80kg I have been successful parawinging a 62L board. It is 6' and 19.5" wide with an efficient planing hull. I can get up with a 4.3 parawing in around 15knots. I am pretty efficient when pumping up with the wing and found this skill translated to the parawing pretty well.
That said, I also have a 6'4" 21.5" 85L board that is a bit easier to ride at the low end of my range. Nice not having to worry about lulls and gassing myself on the takeoffs.
Bottom line is that the -20 sinker works and is a joy when on foil, but you just have to be ready to work a bit harder. Once I'm totally proficient I forsee myself using the sinker often, but its nice not to have to work quite as hard at this point of my progression when Im still falling a bit.
I travel a lot in the winter and am considering only bringing the 62L this year which I can use with both parawing and wing.
Select to expand quoteMidAtlanticFoil said..
How was the equal volume you tried? Was it too corky/hard to balance?
It was indeed a bit corky, but once up it was quite responsive and I could push on the turns (even though I was riding a strapless prototype).
Guys, you have convinced me. I'm buying the 62L
Select to expand quoteUrgull said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
How was the equal volume you tried? Was it too corky/hard to balance?
It was indeed a bit corky, but once up it was quite responsive and I could push on the turns (even though I was riding a strapless prototype).
Guys, you have convinced me. I'm buying the 62L
Congrats on the choice! I met a guy demoing it yesterday and he said it was awesome. Have fun!
Select to expand quoteUrgull said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
How was the equal volume you tried? Was it too corky/hard to balance?
It was indeed a bit corky, but once up it was quite responsive and I could push on the turns (even though I was riding a strapless prototype).
Guys, you have convinced me. I'm buying the 62L
Awesome! If you decide to sell it, consider me towards the front of the line 
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..Urgull said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
How was the equal volume you tried? Was it too corky/hard to balance?
It was indeed a bit corky, but once up it was quite responsive and I could push on the turns (even though I was riding a strapless prototype).
Guys, you have convinced me. I'm buying the 62L
Congrats on the choice! I met a guy demoing it yesterday and he said it was awesome. Have fun!
Yep, that was me! @Urgull, don't think you'll regret it. I'm 73kg. My normal ride is a 78L Omen Emissary. Love that board too, but this 62L Gator felt SO small when I was up on foil. It's so well balanced it feels like the closest thing to my kitefoil board that I've been on in larger board sizes. I was able to pump easily and I don't think I'm a good pumper. Took about 15 minutes in the beginning of figuring out where the balance points were and then after that, it was pretty easy. The only reason I struggled at all was because there wasn't quite enough wind for my 3m Frigate. I had to get lucky with gusts to get up. But not the board's fault at all and in fact, I was impressed at how easy it was to stand up even in lulls. I'm pretty amazed at the lack of reviews for this board online.
Also, what was interesting to me was that despite technically being a sinker (-11), when I laid on top to paddle it, the board didn't sink at all and yes, my whole body was out of the water. It goes without saying it floats very easily with me straddling it too. Gave me a lot of confidence for in case the wind dies on me while I'm out.
I am a little puzzled by the sizing. The next board after the 62L @5'6" length is 90L @6'4". Then 97L @7'. And then 90L is wider than the 97L. There seems to be a pretty big gap between 62L and 90L but that's fine since the 62L happens to work well for me.
I am about 40 sessions into PW.
I am 65kg and use a pw to ride upwind and surf the bumps back in an ocean environment.
i learnt on a 92l v1 barracuda.
i then swapped between and Armstrong 65l and 75l. I found the 75l ridiculously easier to get up because of its length and volume which allows you to exploit sup dw foil technique to utilize the bumps to get up on the lower end of the wind range. This allows you to be on foil in wind strength that is more likely ideal to go upwind with riding comfort. Very important considerations are front to back stability while waiting for that necessary gust.
if you are happy to ride your pw overpowered and get blown off the water and the bottom end difficulties can be sized out of the equation then you can definitely go smaller. For me the 75 matched well with the bump potential turning possibilities that I don't think the 65 made any better. I don't need my prone in the bumps as a 75l in the bumps felt similar to a prone in waves.
I do think most people will end up with a board from 6' to 6'6 if you need ocean level comfort and safety at getting up in a wider range. Just over your weight in buoyancy.
controversial I know.
78 kg here.Winging - North Vert 4'5"x19" - 30L (38% of my body weight) and I don't need to ride a bigger wing size than the average local winger.
Need about 15 knts with a 4.8mParawinging - North Midi 5'4"x19" - 60L (77% of my body weight) - felt awkward and huge at first when I first tried it winging it (before I using it for pw'ing ) But since pw'ing, it has grown on me and now it feels feels lively and quite enjoyable. This is the board I learned how to pw with. I retried it winging in 10-15 knts with a 4.8m and and it was very easy to get going.
I'm 70 kg (more like 68 kg at the time) and learned on a 60L with 2.5 Frigate... But this was in Maui in 30 knots.
I'm 83kg and mostly on an Armstrong 55 ML. Do need some breeze (or at least a gust) to start it though.
Select to expand quoteTangur said..
78 kg here.Winging - North Vert 4'5"x19" - 30L (38% of my body weight) and I don't need to ride a bigger wing size than the average local winger.
Need about 15 knts with a 4.8mParawinging - North Midi 5'4"x19" - 60L (77% of my body weight) - felt awkward and huge at first when I first tried it winging it (before I using it for pw'ing ) But since pw'ing, it has grown on me and now it feels feels lively and quite enjoyable. This is the board I learned how to pw with. I retried it winging in 10-15 knts with a 4.8m and and it was very easy to get going.
What size foil?
Select to expand quoteFaff said..Tangur said..
78 kg here.Winging - North Vert 4'5"x19" - 30L (38% of my body weight) and I don't need to ride a bigger wing size than the average local winger.
Need about 15 knts with a 4.8mParawinging - North Midi 5'4"x19" - 60L (77% of my body weight) - felt awkward and huge at first when I first tried it winging it (before I using it for pw'ing ) But since pw'ing, it has grown on me and now it feels feels lively and quite enjoyable. This is the board I learned how to pw with. I retried it winging in 10-15 knts with a 4.8m and and it was very easy to get going.
What size foil?
I can get going in around 18 knts with North SF830 AR9 with a PR 3.6m (my biggest PW for the moment).If more powered up I've used SF680, DW690 and even SF530 when lit (but the waves were too small to maintain lift)
I've owned a few kalama boards made in the kinetic factory in Vietnam. I think their real volumes all seem to come out more than quoted. Maybe it's the construction. Special core, full PVC wrap and carbon. I dunno but happy with every board I've had. Super durable and amazing finish. I'd love a little Kalama Gator. I reckon DK should bring a 75Litre model out for the parawing crew.
