Select to expand quoteRichJam said..
New Naish looks absolutely killer. Great design and great sizes.
I have demoed both ie me 6m Naish v2 and Wasp.
Will be interesting to see v2 Wasp
I'm really interested in any impressions of the new Naish Wing. I am an avid paddle boarder, but am brand new to "Wing Surfing" and in fact brand new to any wind sport. I'm thinking of the Naish for a couple of reasons. First of all, any "winging" I do will be on a small lake with a lot of boat traffic so I love the large windows. And while learning at least, I thought being able to take a paddle with me and attach it to the Wing would also be a great option.
My plan is to use whatever Wing I buy on my paddle board to start and once I get used to the Wing then try out foiling.
I noticed at least one review on here that was not very complimentary of the Naish, but I think that was on the first generation Naish Wing.
So do you think the new Naish Wing would be a good Wing to learn on? Any other thoughts or impressions would also be appreciated.
Thank you.
Select to expand quoteQuickbeam said..
I'm really interested in any impressions of the new Naish Wing. I am an avid paddle boarder, but am brand new to "Wing Surfing" and in fact brand new to any wind sport. I'm thinking of the Naish for a couple of reasons. First of all, any "winging" I do will be on a small lake with a lot of boat traffic so I love the large windows. And while learning at least, I thought being able to take a paddle with me and attach it to the Wing would also be a great option.
My plan is to use whatever Wing I buy on my paddle board to start and once I get used to the Wing then try out foiling.
I noticed at least one review on here that was not very complimentary of the Naish, but I think that was on the first generation Naish Wing.
So do you think the new Naish Wing would be a good Wing to learn on? Any other thoughts or impressions would also be appreciated.
Thank you.
It will work really well. The windows will be very beneficial.
Select to expand quoteDWF said..
Did you notice any difference in gust handling between the WASP and Naish?
I notice some wings smooth out the wind, while some feel punchy in gusts. Some wings twitch and fight the operator. Some wings act more calm.
How do these compare?
We only had about 5 knots variation on the day, so both were good.
But I have been out in 25 to 35 knots and there were no major issues for me on a 4m WASP or my mate on the 4m mk1 naish.
Thanks bigtone667
I owned the Ozone and Fone. I found the Ozone slightly more punchy in the power delivery. More uncomfortable to ride toe side when really gusty compared to the Fone. There are times the tight leach punchy power of the Ozone is nice. Other times the smoother softer Fone is nice.
I want windows. I'm looking forward to trying the new Naish.
Select to expand quotedejavu said..
Where I am I have the choice between the Wasp, Slingshot and the Cabrinha. At the moment the Wasp has a number of sizes while the other two come in only a 4.2 and 4.0, respectively.
Any comments about the pluses and minuses of these three wings would be much appreciated.
It's much more whether that size suits the conditions you'll use it in. I have the SlingWing 4. and its too small for the very light wind conditions I actually see on my inland midwest US lakes. I'm 210lbs and I'll need a 5-7. if I hope to get/stay up in our winds.
As per my post above, although I'm a paddle boarder, I'm brand new to any type of wind sports, but am seriously considering getting one of the new Naish Wings. My question now is what size I should get?
I'm thinking of either the 4.6 or the 5.3. I'm thinking as a beginner the 4.6 would be smaller and hopefully easier to handle and to learn on. But given my conditions, I'm wondering if the 5.3 might be better.
As for my conditions, I'm on a small lake and in spring / summer, the wind comes up most afternoons. The wind on my lake however, would probably be light in comparison to what some of you are used to. I'm not a good judge, but I've been told our wind averages between 15 km. per hour and 20 km. per hour.
As for me, I'm 5' 8" tall and weigh approximately 150 pounds. Am 66 years old and in decent shape.
So any thoughts on the 4.6 vs. the 5.3 Wing?
I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.
Select to expand quoteCampbell said..
I have tried the Slingwing, F One, Naish, Duotone and the Wasp.
I brought the Slingwing and then sold it as it was too heavy, hard to turn over and wingtips hit the water. The bag it went in was almost 3 times the size of the Naish and Wasp
The Naish has very little power and is like a thin plastic bag that flaps.
Duotone had good power and you could flatten or bag out depending on the strength of the wind. Did not like the battens and weight with the boom. Also they have had problems with the leading edge bladder getting holes.
F Ones 5m, was light and powerful and was easy to use, but only had 3 handles. Also had attachments for a harness line.
The Wasp is stable, powerful and well made. It takes only a few minutes to roll up the strut to push out the air.
I ended up buying the 4m Wasp and are very happy with it and I am going to buy a 6m for light winds.
My list of best to worst Wasp, F One, Duotone all good, don't buy Naish and Slingwing.
Look at which ones are being sold in the Buy and sell section.
Here's an honest review of the Slingshot Sling wing. The reviewer talks about why the Sling wing is harder to learn on as a beginner. He also talks about why it needs a larger bag for storage. Pretty refreshing to hear some honesty from someone promoting a product.
Select to expand quoteQuickbeam said..
As per my post above, although I'm a paddle boarder, I'm brand new to any type of wind sports, but am seriously considering getting one of the new Naish Wings. My question now is what size I should get?
I'm thinking of either the 4.6 or the 5.3. I'm thinking as a beginner the 4.6 would be smaller and hopefully easier to handle and to learn on. But given my conditions, I'm wondering if the 5.3 might be better.
As for my conditions, I'm on a small lake and in spring / summer, the wind comes up most afternoons. The wind on my lake however, would probably be light in comparison to what some of you are used to. I'm not a good judge, but I've been told our wind averages between 15 km. per hour and 20 km. per hour.
As for me, I'm 5' 8" tall and weigh approximately 150 pounds. Am 66 years old and in decent shape.
So any thoughts on the 4.6 vs. the 5.3 Wing?
I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.
At 20km/h you will want a 6m minimum.
Select to expand quotebigtone667 said..Quickbeam said..
As per my post above, although I'm a paddle boarder, I'm brand new to any type of wind sports, but am seriously considering getting one of the new Naish Wings. My question now is what size I should get?
I'm thinking of either the 4.6 or the 5.3. I'm thinking as a beginner the 4.6 would be smaller and hopefully easier to handle and to learn on. But given my conditions, I'm wondering if the 5.3 might be better.
As for my conditions, I'm on a small lake and in spring / summer, the wind comes up most afternoons. The wind on my lake however, would probably be light in comparison to what some of you are used to. I'm not a good judge, but I've been told our wind averages between 15 km. per hour and 20 km. per hour.
As for me, I'm 5' 8" tall and weigh approximately 150 pounds. Am 66 years old and in decent shape.
So any thoughts on the 4.6 vs. the 5.3 Wing?
I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.
At 20km/h you will want a 6m minimum.
Thanks bigtone667. I've now been told the same thing by others. Am now thinking of maybe going in a different direction and getting the FOne 6m. I'm thinking it will be lighter than the Naish and therefore easier to handle. Having said this, I may wait just a bit longer and see what other 2nd generation Wings come out. But I'm definitely thinking 6m is the way to go. Thanks again.
Select to expand quoteQuickbeam said..bigtone667 said..Quickbeam said..
As per my post above, although I'm a paddle boarder, I'm brand new to any type of wind sports, but am seriously considering getting one of the new Naish Wings. My question now is what size I should get?
I'm thinking of either the 4.6 or the 5.3. I'm thinking as a beginner the 4.6 would be smaller and hopefully easier to handle and to learn on. But given my conditions, I'm wondering if the 5.3 might be better.
As for my conditions, I'm on a small lake and in spring / summer, the wind comes up most afternoons. The wind on my lake however, would probably be light in comparison to what some of you are used to. I'm not a good judge, but I've been told our wind averages between 15 km. per hour and 20 km. per hour.
As for me, I'm 5' 8" tall and weigh approximately 150 pounds. Am 66 years old and in decent shape.
So any thoughts on the 4.6 vs. the 5.3 Wing?
I should also add that to start with I won't be trying a foil. I think I'll just use the Wing on my paddle board at first to get used to it. I would like to try foiling, but thought it would be better to get used to the Wing on one of my inflatable boards first.
At 20km/h you will want a 6m minimum.
Thanks bigtone667. I've now been told the same thing by others. Am now thinking of maybe going in a different direction and getting the FOne 6m. I'm thinking it will be lighter than the Naish and therefore easier to handle. Having said this, I may wait just a bit longer and see what other 2nd generation Wings come out. But I'm definitely thinking 6m is the way to go. Thanks again.
If you have 20km/h of wind blowing, the weight of the wing is not such an issue. They will hold themselves up. Niash, F-one, Ozone WASP, Gong will all work fine.
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I managed to get out on the 4.6m yesterday with some nice 10-15kn winds (maybe the odd 18kn gust). Wow this wing is amazing. It is the comparable V2 of the Wing-Surfer V1 (the 4m was actually a 4.6m on the program). Light, fast and very powerful.
Here's a quick video of the session and some stats also. (duplicate post from the other thread 
)
Enjoy.
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I suppose it's both really, although I know that doesn't help much. I'm brand new to the sport and to any wind sport, so I want a Wing I can learn on. But I'll also be learning on wind that goes from about 15 km per hour to 20 km per hour. So no easy answers. But I've heard stories of people being very frustrated trying to learn on smaller Wings with not enough wind to power them, so I suppose that's why I'm leaning towards the larger Wing.
Select to expand quoteQuickbeam said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I suppose it's both really, although I know that doesn't help much. I'm brand new to the sport and to any wind sport, so I want a Wing I can learn on. But I'll also be learning on wind that goes from about 15 km per hour to 20 km per hour. So no easy answers. But I've heard stories of people being very frustrated trying to learn on smaller Wings with not enough wind to power them, so I suppose that's why I'm leaning towards the larger Wing.
Difficult one, but you are dead right about not having enough wind. I really struggled to begin with on an Ozone 4m .....anything less than about 20kts was pretty much a waste of time. It's better now I can fly at maybe 12kts but it isn't much fun till maybe 18kts for me.
I have a 6m on the way to drag the range lower.
Select to expand quoteClamsmasha said..Quickbeam said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I suppose it's both really, although I know that doesn't help much. I'm brand new to the sport and to any wind sport, so I want a Wing I can learn on. But I'll also be learning on wind that goes from about 15 km per hour to 20 km per hour. So no easy answers. But I've heard stories of people being very frustrated trying to learn on smaller Wings with not enough wind to power them, so I suppose that's why I'm leaning towards the larger Wing.
Difficult one, but you are dead right about not having enough wind. I really struggled to begin with on an Ozone 4m .....anything less than about 20kts was pretty much a waste of time. It's better now I can fly at maybe 12kts but it isn't much fun till maybe 18kts for me.
I have a 6m on the way to drag the range lower.
Hey Clamsmasha,
What board,foil and weight are you with the 4m ? I've just bought a 4m wasp and deciding on boards .
Select to expand quotekobo said..Clamsmasha said..Quickbeam said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I suppose it's both really, although I know that doesn't help much. I'm brand new to the sport and to any wind sport, so I want a Wing I can learn on. But I'll also be learning on wind that goes from about 15 km per hour to 20 km per hour. So no easy answers. But I've heard stories of people being very frustrated trying to learn on smaller Wings with not enough wind to power them, so I suppose that's why I'm leaning towards the larger Wing.
Difficult one, but you are dead right about not having enough wind. I really struggled to begin with on an Ozone 4m .....anything less than about 20kts was pretty much a waste of time. It's better now I can fly at maybe 12kts but it isn't much fun till maybe 18kts for me.
I have a 6m on the way to drag the range lower.
Hey Clamsmasha,
What board,foil and weight are you with the 4m ? I've just bought a 4m wasp and deciding on boards .
Hey mate,
I'm 80-85kg, my board is homemade...6'5" and pretty light, based on the Sunova DW boards, maybe 110-115 litres. I've been mostly on Gofoil GL210, a bit of Iwa and a little on the M200.
Ill admit that sticking with the 210 early was a bit of a hurdle as it doesn't have the very low speed lift of the huge low aspect wings, then a gain once up it demands a lot less power from the wing. I went off the old wings on the prone ages ago and I just hate the way they feel now even under a wing.
If I was going to buy a board off the rack, I'd probably look at something like the Fanatic 6'3". They look good to me.
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I have 6m Naish V2 so assume we are talking about the same wing.
I am 5ft 8in and 76kg and 73 yo.
No issues with wing tip hitting the water.
On my second session with the first sub 15kn and second 15 to 20kn wind.
The 6m has the same wing span as 5m Naish and 5m Wasp.
Select to expand quotewarwickl said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I have 6m Naish V2 so assume we are talking about the same wing.
I am 5ft 8in and 76kg and 73 yo.
No issues with wing tip hitting the water.
On my second session with the first sub 15kn and second 15 to 20kn wind.
The 6m has the same wing span as 5m Naish and 5m Wasp.
Hi Warwickl. How are liking the new Naish 6m? I am also 5' 8" but weigh in at about 69 kg. I'm about to turn 67 years old. Would you recommend this new Naish 6m as a first Wing to learn on? I really do like the looks of it, but would love to hear the plus' and minus' from someone like yourself who has used it. Thanks.
Select to expand quoteClamsmasha said..kobo said..Clamsmasha said..Quickbeam said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I suppose it's both really, although I know that doesn't help much. I'm brand new to the sport and to any wind sport, so I want a Wing I can learn on. But I'll also be learning on wind that goes from about 15 km per hour to 20 km per hour. So no easy answers. But I've heard stories of people being very frustrated trying to learn on smaller Wings with not enough wind to power them, so I suppose that's why I'm leaning towards the larger Wing.
Difficult one, but you are dead right about not having enough wind. I really struggled to begin with on an Ozone 4m .....anything less than about 20kts was pretty much a waste of time. It's better now I can fly at maybe 12kts but it isn't much fun till maybe 18kts for me.
I have a 6m on the way to drag the range lower.
Hey Clamsmasha,
What board,foil and weight are you with the 4m ? I've just bought a 4m wasp and deciding on boards .
Hey mate,
I'm 80-85kg, my board is homemade...6'5" and pretty light, based on the Sunova DW boards, maybe 110-115 litres. I've been mostly on Gofoil GL210, a bit of Iwa and a little on the M200.
Ill admit that sticking with the 210 early was a bit of a hurdle as it doesn't have the very low speed lift of the huge low aspect wings, then a gain once up it demands a lot less power from the wing. I went off the old wings on the prone ages ago and I just hate the way they feel now even under a wing.
If I was going to buy a board off the rack, I'd probably look at something like the Fanatic 6'3". They look good to me.
Thanks Clamsmasha, I'm in 80 kg range too and the biggest wing I have atm is the 1550 Armstrong , So I'm planning on a 110-120 ltr board and see how I go. Thanks
Select to expand quotedejavu said..
Here's a video of the Naish and Wasp out together in big winds.
Don't look like 30 Knots, 30 Km maybe.
Select to expand quoteQuickbeam said..warwickl said..DavidJohn said..
Is this question about what is the best size for the wind strength or the best size to learn with.
I've been out the last two days with my new 6m.. I think if it was that that I was learning with instead of my 4m I think I would have given up.. It's a huge wing and once a wing tip touches the water (and it will) it's a full stretch to recover it and I'm 6'4" .
Demo first if you can regardless of brand.
I have 6m Naish V2 so assume we are talking about the same wing.
I am 5ft 8in and 76kg and 73 yo.
No issues with wing tip hitting the water.
On my second session with the first sub 15kn and second 15 to 20kn wind.
The 6m has the same wing span as 5m Naish and 5m Wasp.
Hi Warwickl. How are liking the new Naish 6m? I am also 5' 8" but weigh in at about 69 kg. I'm about to turn 67 years old. Would you recommend this new Naish 6m as a first Wing to learn on? I really do like the looks of it, but would love to hear the plus' and minus' from someone like yourself who has used it. Thanks.
My 3rd session on the 6m Naish.
For me the 6m is excellent as it compensates for my poor pumping particularly in my bad direction.
Today was 15 to 20kn wind and I was up on my 1500 sq cm foil 90% of the time.
My best session to date .
PS no issues with 20kn wind even though a 4m for a skilled person would have been best.
Select to expand quoteRichJam said..
New Naish looks absolutely killer. Great design and great sizes.
Lets hope, they sure got it wrong the first time. ;)
For those that don't know my history, I ride a full quiver of Fone Swings, the gold standard in my opinion, after previously owning Ozone, Gong, and Duotone wings.
My buddy and I tested the new S25 Naish Wing-Surfer in the 4.6m size during the reps demo tour. The iwindsurf sensor was showing 7-23 mph. Our worst, most gusty wind direction, straight off shore to the ocean. The river is our only place to ride in that direction. A bit like inland lake sailing. Violent gusts, then near calm.
First runs, the wind felt steady. This wind direction doesn't "ever" feel steady. Very impressed with that.
Then I began to put a few performance clues together. I felt fast, like really fast. Then each time I jibed and sailed away toe side, I had to pump and milk it, to stay on foil and get up to speed again. Like what the heck, there was no wind coming out of jibes. It was like this most of the day. I eventually figured out what was going on. This wing is making tons of apparent wind. That is why I feel no wind after the jibe. There was no wind! The wing was making it "feel" way winder than it actually was, from apparent wind speed generation. For those without a sailing background, making apparent wind is a good thing. All while no backwinding of the forward section on the canopy. At least no backwinding at the level seen on my Fone. The Naish felt stable and very comfortable rocketing upwind. For sure, the upwind angles are higher and faster than my Fone.
I was ripping so fast, I was weighting more than normal on the boards nose. To the point, I actually pearled the nose at full tilt boogie into the back of some chop.
My buddy Mark (also an Fone owner) came back with the same conclusions after riding the Naish. So darn fast and stable.
Later in the day, I put a windsurf harness line on the wing. Stock windsurf lines worked perfect.
The handling in the jibe was slightly different, caused by the different aspect ratio compared to my Fone wing. No issue, just a few jibes to let the instincts adjust.
The Naish takes high pressure in the leading edge better than my Fone. It doesn't bulge between the circumferential seams like it might pop, when you pump it rock hard. I like that. It gives me confidence to ride it rock hard. Adding to that confidence is Naish using high tensile thread, instead of the lower strength industry standard polyester thread. Naish switched their kites to this new thread about a year ago, allowing their kites to use higher pressures than industry standard. If I remember correctly, they tested kites to some insane pressure, like 60 psi, before the kites exploded. We all want higher pressure, it really does make wings perform better.
The handle comfort and quality, is my favorite of all the wings I have owned. They got the stuffing inside the tubular webbing just right. They feel solid and comfortable.
Naish uses the same inflation valve as my Fone, but they have figured out an improvement on the design. The Velcro cover over the valve has vent holes in it. This allows you to stick the plastic cap and Velcro cover back in place (to protect the canopy and valve cap from damage) then roll it up and air is free to escape. The one pump tube is super sized for quicker deflation and it is routed so it doesn't get kinked all the time like my Fone. Simple changes that make a huge deal in user experience. I love that!
Regarding weight, I didn't feel any difference riding it. Same with my buddy Mark. We know it has to be heavier just looking at it, but it sure doesn't feel like it in-use.
The extra handles actually came in handy and I like it. You can ride narrow arm positions like my Fone, or wider like the Ozone. If you're boosting airs, you'll like the wider hand option. You can even tweak your positions asymmetric (to center of pressure) between toe side riding and heel side riding. It is also possible to over-sheet and drive harder and faster into the wind with the extra handles.
The window saved me already. I was off foil, putt-putting along, waiting on a gust. The gust came, but a channel marker was down wind of me. I could see it through the window. Being able to see it clearly, I was able to pump onto foil and miss it by 15 feet. Without that window, I would have been forced to pass on the gust, and wait until I had slowly drifted past it. I've had issues riding around other windsurfers and kiters who don't understand wingers are riding blind without windows, so they pass way too close for comfort. Regulars to our wing spot know better, but outsiders/tourists don't understand the issue. Issue solved! Being in Florida, I'm surrounded by jet skis and boats. They can't hear me running silent on foil, and I can't see them without windows. Not good! The situation is way worse once you advance to harness use, and extract the wings full potential. This puts the wing into full windsurf mode, locked and loaded to the max, completely blocking your vision without a window.
When viewed from the leading edge looking over the top of the canopy, the Naish appears deeper in draft compared to my Fone. Measured (by eye) bottom of leading edge tube to top of canopy. The max depth is forward on the Naish and back on my Fone. Draft forward, typically translates to better stability in the upper range. Funny thing though, you might think the Fone would be deeper in draft looking at the membrane between the canopy and strut, but it is not, when viewed from the front. Leading edge diameter is similar to Fone.
So I'm sold on them. A 2nd gen product that exceeded my expectations. I ordered every size. My Fone's are going in the classified section. I ride whatever I think is best. I'm old, time is passing too fast. I plan to die with the best toys.
My current ranking on wings I have owned.
Naish S25 (2nd gen) Fone Swing (1st gen) Ozone WASP (1st gen) Gong (1st gen) Duotone (1st gen)
P.S. my 5.3m wing showed up today. It came with a pump and full replacement inflation valve parts. The valve parts are appreciated. Sand does muck up kite valves sometimes and this valve looks fancy (expensive) compared to the older kite valves.
Select to expand quoteDWF said..
For those that don't know my history, I ride a full quiver of Fone Swings, the gold standard in my opinion, after previously owning Ozone, Gong, and Duotone wings.
My buddy and I tested the new S25 Naish Wing-Surfer in the 4.6m size during the reps demo tour. The iwindsurf sensor was showing 7-23 mph. Our worst, most gusty wind direction, straight off shore to the ocean. The river is our only place to ride in that direction. A bit like inland lake sailing. Violent gusts, then near calm.
First runs, the wind felt steady. This wind direction doesn't "ever" feel steady. Very impressed with that.
Then I began to put a few performance clues together. I felt fast, like really fast. Then each time I jibed and sailed away toe side, I had to pump and milk it, to stay on foil and get up to speed again. Like what the heck, there was no wind coming out of jibes. It was like this most of the day. I eventually figured out what was going on. This wing is making tons of apparent wind. That is why I feel no wind after the jibe. There was no wind! The wing was making it "feel" way winder than it actually was, from apparent wind speed generation. For those without a sailing background, making apparent wind is a good thing. All while no backwinding of the forward section on the canopy. At least no backwinding at the level seen on my Fone. The Naish felt stable and very comfortable rocketing upwind. For sure, the upwind angles are higher and faster than my Fone.
I was ripping so fast, I was weighting more than normal on the boards nose. To the point, I actually pearled the nose at full tilt boogie into the back of some chop.
My buddy Mark (also an Fone owner) came back with the same conclusions after riding the Naish. So darn fast and stable.
Later in the day, I put a windsurf harness line on the wing. Stock windsurf lines worked perfect.
The handling in the jibe was slightly different, caused by the different aspect ratio compared to my Fone wing. No issue, just a few jibes to let the instincts adjust.
The Naish takes high pressure in the leading edge better than my Fone. It doesn't bulge between the circumferential seams like it might pop, when you pump it rock hard. I like that. It gives me confidence to ride it rock hard. Adding to that confidence is Naish using high tensile thread, instead of the lower strength industry standard polyester thread. Naish switched their kites to this new thread about a year ago, allowing their kites to use higher pressures than industry standard. If I remember correctly, they tested kites to some insane pressure, like 60 psi, before the kites exploded. We all want higher pressure, it really does make wings perform better.
The handle comfort and quality, is my favorite of all the wings I have owned. They got the stuffing inside the tubular webbing just right. They feel solid and comfortable.
Naish uses the same inflation valve as my Fone, but they have figured out an improvement on the design. The Velcro cover over the valve has vent holes in it. This allows you to stick the plastic cap and Velcro cover back in place (to protect the canopy and valve cap from damage) then roll it up and air is free to escape. The one pump tube is super sized for quicker deflation and it is routed so it doesn't get kinked all the time like my Fone. Simple changes that make a huge deal in user experience. I love that!
Regarding weight, I didn't feel any difference riding it. Same with my buddy Mark. We know it has to be heavier just looking at it, but it sure doesn't feel like it in-use.
The extra handles actually came in handy and I like it. You can ride narrow arm positions like my Fone, or wider like the Ozone. If you're boosting airs, you'll like the wider hand option. You can even tweak your positions asymmetric (to center of pressure) between toe side riding and heel side riding. It is also possible to over-sheet and drive harder and faster into the wind with the extra handles.
The window saved me already. I was off foil, putt-putting along, waiting on a gust. The gust came, but a channel marker was down wind of me. I could see it through the window. Being able to see it clearly, I was able to pump onto foil and miss it by 15 feet. Without that window, I would have been forced to pass on the gust, and wait until I had slowly drifted past it. I've had issues riding around other windsurfers and kiters who don't understand wingers are riding blind without windows, so they pass way too close for comfort. Regulars to our wing spot know better, but outsiders/tourists don't understand the issue. Issue solved! Being in Florida, I'm surrounded by jet skis and boats. They can't hear me running silent on foil, and I can't see them without windows. Not good! The situation is way worse once you advance to harness use, and extract the wings full potential. This puts the wing into full windsurf mode, locked and loaded to the max, completely blocking your vision without a window.
When viewed from the leading edge looking over the top of the canopy, the Naish appears deeper in draft compared to my Fone. Measured (by eye) bottom of leading edge tube to top of canopy. The max depth is forward on the Naish and back on my Fone. Draft forward, typically translates to better stability in the upper range. Funny thing though, you might think the Fone would be deeper in draft looking at the membrane between the canopy and strut, but it is not, when viewed from the front. Leading edge diameter is similar to Fone.
So I'm sold on them. A 2nd gen product that exceeded my expectations. I ordered every size. My Fone's are going in the classified section. I ride whatever I think is best. I'm old, time is passing too fast. I plan to die with the best toys.
My current ranking on wings I have owned.
Naish S25 (2nd gen) Fone Swing (1st gen) Ozone WASP (1st gen) Gong (1st gen) Duotone (1st gen)
P.S. my 5.3m wing showed up today. It came with a pump and full replacement inflation valve parts. The valve parts are appreciated. Sand does muck up kite valves sometimes and this valve looks fancy (expensive) compared to the older kite valves.
Great review .. I'm loving my new S25 Naish WingSurfer.
