My wing foiling journey ramblings

Hi fellow wingers,
As I have been forced to rest with an knee injury I thought it was time to unleash some of my experiences in the hope it is in someway as useful as some of the knowledge I received from this forum and its keen users.

Age 54 Weight 65kgs height 178cm.
Surfer, 30 plus years
Kite Foiler, 5 or more years.
Prone surf foiler, for 3 plus years
Wing Foiler nearly 10 months
Pay for my gear with no ambassador deals.

My first wing was an ozone 4m and I spent the first session on a 105 litre sup with fins to get the hang of the wing. The next 6 or so sessions were on a naish hokua with the nose and tail cut off with foil tracks installed. The board was generously loaned to me by an encouraging friend. It did the job of getting me ready for the smaller board I was to purchase and saved my buying a board that I would have outgrown in a few weeks.

I was able to get foiling from the first session on the Naish with very strong winds of between 8 to 25 knots (NW and Southerly in NSW)but very out of control both natural and goofy. Beyond scary. With my previous foiling experience being on my small prone board the Naish felt like an aircraft carrier. I thought I needed at least 17 knots with my gofoil GL140 to get started. Gybes were happening 50% of the time by my 6 sessions. My arms felt longer and one hour session was the limit for my muscles. Catching the tip of the wing on the water, while on my knees, left me swearing at myself as the energy drained.

I didn't wing through July, August and September due to snowboarding.

Come October I returned the Naish Board and took delivery of my custom Oneocean carbon wing board. 5'2" x24" 69l about 4.2kgs. I was worried I had gone too small but after the first outing you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. What a difference a light compact board makes and it was actually easier to knee start than the tank I learnt on. It left the water much easier and and provided the necessary feedback to refine the board pumping start. I now felt like i was a wing foiler.

Summer,
The NE east wind provides much easier progression. I now make all my gybes and spend my time working upwind to to ride the wind swells downwind without the wing powered. This is just so addictive and was my goal at the start of the journey. I am more than ready to wing surf a few of my local fat waves and am looking forward to learning to wing on my prone board. 2.5 hour sessions are now normal and i don't notice the muscle drain anymore. With my refined pump start I can now get going in 12-13 knots with the ozone 4m. Its hard to know but i think i can get foiling with my armstrong 4.5 wing in as little as a 10 knot gust (nl160). I am very happy where i have got to at my age and I can't wait for my next session to line up some downwind bumps.

What I have learnt as an experienced kite foiler coming to wing foiling.
Learning is a lot of fun so relax and enjoy the journey.
Equipment is key.
Make sure your wing is adequately sized for your winds, weight and foil.
Get a stiff rigid wing.
Make sure your foil is large for your weight but efficient. Not high lift and draggy.
Wing foiling has a very short learning curve with kite foiling experience. I think it is 80% foiling 10% wing 10% wind knowledge.
Lakes are great places for the early part of your learning journey.
65Kgs and 69 litre board is very easy to knee start on and chug home if the wind drops.
When down winding board weight and swing weight is everything. Some of the production wing board weights are embarrassing.
In the beginning a wing size that can get you foiling without pumping skill will be overpowering when foiling.
I tried a borrowed gofoil GL180 once and being a little bigger it made everything easier again.
As learning to wing foil takes a lot of energy, put the kite away and apply yourself totally to winging in the early days of you wing journey.
Even crappy bay type NE wind swells can be ridden downwind and provide endless satisfaction.
Lighter the better for the wings when down winding.
Wing foiling is much more fun than kite foiling. Kite foiling is still a blast but just not very often for me currently.
The wing take less physical strength as your skill improves.
Wing handle ergonomics are important.
Borrow a board about 30-40 litres more than your weight in kgs as you won't need or appreciate it for too long if your goal is to ride small boards.
Your foil is going to put a hole in your wing at some stage.
I think I may be able to get away with a 50l board as my daily wing board.

Product opinions.
Foils
I like my gofoils. I have Kited, prone'd and winged on one mast since the GL100 came out. Only three generations of front wings in 4 years with each one of them game changing and envied by their competitors. As of the last few months I now think most of the major companies have front wings with very good performance yet there are still some significant differences in other areas of the design.
Weight: I am old and weak so i don't wish to carry a tank into and out of the surf.
Simplicity: I don't wish to be checking screws and pulling apart my setup as i am pretty lazy with this stuff.
Flex, Some of the carbon masts are still too flexy for medium to heavy riders.
Breachability: I am amazed at how often my wing tips are out of the water in a turn with no consequence. A couple of other brands have this ability but some major ones still don't.
Durability: I have been banging my wings on with my mallet for years and while surfing i have been running them in to sand banks and cunji/seaweed covered reefs with no breakages. I have never even come in with a loose wing. Yes paint off and gouges a plenty.
Wingspan, If your goal is to be powered by wind swells then you will always need plenty of wing underneath you but for medium to heavy riders the wing spans become too big in some brands.

Wings
It would be great to try lots of wings and i am envious of those here who have had the chance to try a few brands.
The Ozone wing is so light and surfs well. The handles are crap and the canopy could be stiffer but not bad for a V1 from what I can tell.
The Armstong A wing 4.5 rides nice and smooth with less backwinding than the ozone when over powered. The handles are excellent and the wing is also very stable when held by the nose handle. The stiff frame gives great low down pump for starting. It doesn't seem to go upwind any better than the ozone. If I foil with the mast fully up and the wing tips nearly dragging i can nearly see through the window above the strut but not quite. Can't imagine window placement can be useful on any medium to large wings with fat struts. So no windows for me please. Only criticism of the Armstrong is the weight is a pain when downwinding.
We should force manufactures to state weight and wing span.
Next wing I am looking for manageable wingspans, minimal weight, good upwind ability, stable on the front handle and ergonomic handles. The Stiffness of the A wing is a key attribute I will not compromise on when I purchase my next brand wing. Wow that is a long list.

Boards
I took a chance and ordered my wing board when no production wing boards existed and Fone had only just released their version. Oneoceansports delivered a quality product with plenty of performance that obviously comes from their history in designing down winding sups. The board is still much better than anything I have seen yet and did I mention the crazy low weight. I have since purchased their FU Prone board and I can't believe how good it is also.

Understand the ramblings above are from a man in a lot of pain and who has been suffering chronic foil brain for about 5 years.

Happy Wing Foiling.

For your next wing,check out the North Nova. I too am an Armstrong A-wing'er. The north is everything the Armstrong is at nearly half the weight. The windows are further away from the strut and actually useable. Doesn't hurt that their a bit cheaper and comes with a better bag and strap.