Hello,
I am looking for advice for a wing for light wind conditions.
I am intermediate wingfoiler, still struggling with my jibes. I am 83 kg, 183 cm. At the moment for light wing I am using "Korvenn Pro Glider" 4'10" 85L board, GONG WING FOIL ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER XXL foil, and Ullmann Surf Wing OSPREY 6.2m wing.
I am winging on lakes, where no tides. Wind is not steady, very gusty.
Would I feel big difference if I change wing into Duotone Echo 7.0m wing? Or would the difference wouldn't be very big and it does not worth money to spend?
I have added an f-one cwc 8m and with a huge foil of 2500 I was going in 5-12 knts wind yesterday. I need a gust to get going and I need to pump, but for me the 8m is a different beast than my 6m wingsurfer. I weight 85kgs, 110lbs board.
At the beginning I was thinking about Gong 7.5m or 9m but I do not like loose (flapping) rear part of the wing also dimensions are monstrous.
You should demo/borrow if possible. I was not considering the 8m before borrowing at the beach. The cws is really compact for its size, there are lot of youtube videos overlapping it with 6m wings from different manufacturers.
I was touching the tips last time if. not paying attention but it is very doable. For me the hard part in low wing is waiting with the wing up. I can get going in a gust if I am standing but if I need to come up from my knees and then pump I lose too much time and planing opportunities. Standing there and holding the wing up tires my shoulders and then my pumping suffers. Still trying to figure out the right starr sequence:
1. get up with very little wind
2. I tend not to pick up the wing asap, maybe should wait. I hold the strut vertical.
3. some wind is starting to blow, move the wing to horizontal and wait some more - this is the hard part
4. pump, get on the foil and don't fall in the first second because my feet and balance are all wrong due to the long wait
5. enjoy a 1-2 min run until I get to practice my jibes
7. try to not be greedy and jibe in a gust so that I can get back on the foil easy, instead of trying to squeeze more foiling
A lot of the low wind sessions are offshore for me and there is generally swimming involved at the end. I am decent going upwind but I lose a lot of ground pumping and failing/taxing jibes.
I also use the 8 metre Strike in the lowest conditions (3 to 8 or 9 knots). If it's more (6 to 12) then I'm on my 7 metre Slick.
I'm on a 95 litre board with the Kijura 1440 foil. I stay on my knees looking upwind for a gust. When I see one close by I get one leg up and as the gust hits I rise using the wing and give a pump or two, maybe three if necessary, and I'm gone. This has been a great low wind combination of equipment for me -- turns a non-winging day into something worthwhile. I've gotten lazy with the big wings and I'm starting to rely on the harness more and more. Once up I'm pretty desperate to stay up (since it may be a few minutes wait for another gust strong enough to get me on foil) so I find myself pumping a lot through the lulls to the next gust (with the 8 metre it doesn't take much wind to stay on foil it just takes more to get on foil) -- those can be some fairly long pumping sessions!
Hm, I may try that. Takes a lot of energy to stand on the board + holding the wing.
Agree lots of pumping wing and foil :-)
I don't have a 7m, my next size down is a 6 and my most used wing during the season is a 4.7. I find it easy to not have to choose, I can take my 8 to 15-20 knots gusts if needed.
I bought a 7m Slick actually wondering if it would be worthwhile as I have found I can pump the 5m Slick on in about 8-10kts especially if there are slightly stronger gusts to work with.
93kg with Armstrong HS1850 and until recently Armstrong FG 5'11".
Although I have only used the 7m twice in very light variable wind for me the difference is in how much pumping you need to do to get up. I am also intermediate standard and paying down my 1000 falls so I think the 7m will mean I can have a session and not get knackered too fast from pumping on all the time.
As I get better it might get less use. Have not had too much trouble with the size and when it gets apparent wind it's like holding a wall in a good way.
In the region I am winging, I am the only winger, so there is no chance I could borrow another wing or get some advice. So I am trying to find info on the internet and YouTube. From several sources I found advice to use bigger foil wing rather than go for bigger wing. It is more useful and cheaper solution. This is another option I am thinking - to try big surfing foil (2500 cm2 or more). And to improve my pumping technique. As I watch Balz Muller or Oceanbound, I can see that it is possible to fly with 5m wing while others go on 7 or 9m. But you have to be very technical and a lot of cardio.
I got used to use gear which is bigger than you actually need. You feel overpowered but this is not big deal in winging (not like in windsurfing). It helps easier to fly when wind goes down. So my 2 main wings at the moment are 4m and 6.2m. 5m wing I use very rarely.
Select to expand quoteGencion said..
Hello,
I am looking for advice for a wing for light wind conditions.
I am intermediate wingfoiler, still struggling with my jibes. I am 83 kg, 183 cm. At the moment for light wing I am using "Korvenn Pro Glider" 4'10" 85L board, GONG WING FOIL ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER XXL foil, and Ullmann Surf Wing OSPREY 6.2m wing.
I am winging on lakes, where no tides. Wind is not steady, very gusty.
Would I feel big difference if I change wing into Duotone Echo 7.0m wing? Or would the difference wouldn't be very big and it does not worth money to spend?
This is just my opinion, but I find once you are up and foiling it's seems to me a bigger sail is more of a hindrance than a help when nailing transitions.
A few things you could try; tighten up your turns so you maintain apparent wind and don't over run the wing, even better, learn to tack 
If wind strength is variable, dont start your turn until you know you are right in the middle of a gust, as you slow down through the turn that little extra wind helps to power up coming on to the new side.
I guess it's all down to what you like, but I prefer smaller sail and have to pump myself up on foil, once up it's surprising how little area you can get away with and stay up there.
Select to expand quoteGencion said..
In the region I am winging, I am the only winger, so there is no chance I could borrow another wing or get some advice. So I am trying to find info on the internet and YouTube. From several sources I found advice to use bigger foil wing rather than go for bigger wing. It is more useful and cheaper solution. This is another option I am thinking - to try big surfing foil (2500 cm2 or more). And to improve my pumping technique. As I watch Balz Muller or Oceanbound, I can see that it is possible to fly with 5m wing while others go on 7 or 9m. But you have to be very technical and a lot of cardio.
I got used to use gear which is bigger than you actually need. You feel overpowered but this is not big deal in winging (not like in windsurfing). It helps easier to fly when wind goes down. So my 2 main wings at the moment are 4m and 6.2m. 5m wing I use very rarely.
I'm an advocate of having a bigger "high performance" foil wing in the quiver for lighter winds regardless of whether your largest hand wing is 5, 6 or 8m. By high performance foil I mean something that is at least medium aspect and low profile (minimal thickness). In my case that's a Gong Veloce XXL (1900cm2, 1.7 liter volume ==> very thin).
For me it's not just a matter of getting on foil and pulling off some lackluster light wind jibes, but being able to tack both directions consistently on foil, and even glide well enough for some on-foil 360's. I can jibe a 1350cm2 foil with a really big hand wing in light winds with some occasional helping pumps, but there is no way I can pull off consistent on-foil tacks and 360's with a small foil and really big hand wing in those same conditions. That's my simpleton take
(my biggest hand wing is a 6m Slick. I'm 78 kg riding a 75l board)
For mild wind conditions I use ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER in combination with Gong Veloce XXL front wing. Veloce XXL gives very nice glide feeling. But for light wing conditions I was able to pump easier using X-over XXL front wing comparing with Veloce XXL as X-over has 2200cm of surface area. Also for my short board heavy foil gives more stability when I am not foiling and standing on the board. And also I found that the shorter the board, the easier to pump.
Also what do you think about using shorter mast for low wind conditions? For example instead of 85 cm to use 70cm. There would be lower drag from the foil, so easier to start?
This is not a study...with a lot of tracking numbers and a lot of spreadsheets...but based on my feeling and watch. In general...with my watch this is what I found out. If you go with a new compact very good 7m or 8m, you will not need a large front wing. Or yes, you can go with a 5-6m...with a large front wing. I Prefer a lot more a 7m with a thin, higher aspect, low drag front wing and stab and as small as possible for the day...because in lulls and very low wind, all the drag under the water is your enemy and I prefer keeping my speed and glide with a 7m in my case. A 7m can jump, and do tricks...but that is not the goal in super low wind I admit. The advantage is you can still transition in super light lulls with a 7m...need to limit the drag and and position the wing very flat into the wind because you go faster than the wind...but when you find the swee spot...it's effective...and you will cary a lot more speed. On snow, you can really test what a 7m vs 6m vs a 5m does...since it's same condition and you cannot pump the snowboard or ski. If wind is too light for a 6m...the 7 will be faster....the only time the 6 will be faster is if you are mid range of the 6m. So in same wind..where a 6 and a 7m are fine to cruise on snow, it seems there is less drag on a 6....and same thing for a 5m, so smaller hand wing also seems faster on gps. So in very very light wind, square meter is your friend, as soon as you go aver 12-13knts...square meter is your ennemie.(6 vs 7m for example).
Select to expand quoteCh0p said..
... Standing there and holding the wing up tires my shoulders and then my pumping suffers...
This video has some good self rescue tips in very light wind that you can use to save your shoulders from getting tired.. Basically sail while resting the bottom tip of the wing on the water instead of holding it up.
