I started to wonder this when I looked at the prices of new premium wings and compared them to the prices of parawings. Of course, there will always be a need for wings as the para can't fill the need for every scenario but for myself, someone who's just surfing swell.... I'm starting to wonder if I will be able to continue to justify premium ultralight wings if para's are available for under 1k?
I've only had a couple sessions on the parawing (ozone), but to me they don't go upwind nearly as well as a performance wing. And although they are better riding back down, if i want to do continuous upwind downwind laps, wings seem to be the better option. I also think wings have much greater range, so better when conditions are inconsistent (but maybe that will get better). Parawings seem better suited to midlength style boards where you don't need the low end so can downsize, but I imagine if you have the power to get a sinker board up, then are going to be overpowered when foiling.
Yeah I think there might be some overhype on the parawing upwind ability at the moment but..... I'm mentally preparing myself for where the industry will be in a year or two. As a kiter I was surprised to see winging take over so conclusively and now I look at the parawing and think it's just a matter of time before those things are fully sorted out and killing it. I won't need new wings for years and when I finally do....
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..
Yeah I think there might be some overhype on the parawing upwind ability at the moment but..... I'm mentally preparing myself for where the industry will be in a year or two. As a kiter I was surprised to see winging take over so conclusively and now I look at the parawing and think it's just a matter of time before those things are fully sorted out and killing it. I won't need new wings for years and when I finally do....
I'd hazard to guess, but downwinding is not the majority of the market and probably never will be. But having some downward price pressure on premium wings is a good thing.
I hope it's that aramid and uhmwpe filter down into some parts of regular wings so that they are stiff and longer lasting, while premium wings focus on ultralight weight, double skins and racing performance.
Yeah, I don't care about $1500 wings (I'll never be able to ride one!). Just hope some stuff filters down to poor people wings. I'm not optimistic though - it's in everyone's financial interest to keep these things disposable.
Select to expand quoteFaff said..BWalnut said..
Yeah I think there might be some overhype on the parawing upwind ability at the moment but..... I'm mentally preparing myself for where the industry will be in a year or two. As a kiter I was surprised to see winging take over so conclusively and now I look at the parawing and think it's just a matter of time before those things are fully sorted out and killing it. I won't need new wings for years and when I finally do....
I'd hazard to guess, but downwinding is not the majority of the market and probably never will be. But having some downward price pressure on premium wings is a good thing.
I agree, downwinding isn't the majority but I'd assume swell riding is? No matter how I try to splice it swell riding is better on premium wings but the pricepoint to get something that is ultralight and lasts.... it's going to be hard to justify vs the parawings.
A few weeks back i wrote a post on Parawinging being over hyped but didnt submit it....will summarise some thoughts here
i have to admit Im not sure i "get" the Parawing hype !
i dont think it will take off where i live at all - BUT major caveat i said that about SUPs and Wings when they first emerged!
i get that on paper it opens up Downwinding to the masses, i get that (Paddle ups are not gonna be mainstream as its so hard Vs weekend 50 yr old mom / dad bods who are actually buying wings - me included).
BUT
- in the UK paddle downwinding is super niche....like a handful of people in the country (65m people)....
i dont think we have the coastline and conditions for it (maybe UK south coast and Scottish lochs ?).
Are we the odd one out and globally it is more appropriate?- Regardless downwinding is a logistical nightmare - needing people and lifts etc.
And i dont see many weekend punters going 5miles offshore to get the ocean swells
Putting that aside and thinking what i do and the local wing crew - i just dont see where the parawing fits in - i ride waves (beach breaks) and flat water when there are no waves
- Parawinging doesnt apply to waves?
- No point in Parawinging in flat?
i see a lot of online / insta videos - all of people riding flat water.....not stowing the parawing but simply blasting along.... -
i dont see people riding waves
i fear the industry is playing everyone - Insta etc and all the brands were MASSIVE into Downwinding - but in reality (certainly in UK) its super super niche. i appreciate that in Gorge, Maui and OZ maybe not. But what about on a lake in Germany? Yet all the money is being spent on wings - people learning to tack and gybe. Now its all about Parawinging...
PS
is part of the Parawing froth coming from Wingers who were kiters and excited about a bar back in their hands? !
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..Faff said..BWalnut said..
Yeah I think there might be some overhype on the parawing upwind ability at the moment but..... I'm mentally preparing myself for where the industry will be in a year or two. As a kiter I was surprised to see winging take over so conclusively and now I look at the parawing and think it's just a matter of time before those things are fully sorted out and killing it. I won't need new wings for years and when I finally do....
I'd hazard to guess, but downwinding is not the majority of the market and probably never will be. But having some downward price pressure on premium wings is a good thing.
I agree, downwinding isn't the majority but I'd assume swell riding is? No matter how I try to splice it swell riding is better on premium wings but the pricepoint to get something that is ultralight and lasts.... it's going to be hard to justify vs the parawings.
IIRC, wings used to cost what parawings cost now, and they are made by the same companies. So, there is a non-zero chance the parawing market will "mature" upward in price.
Select to expand quotenorthy1 said..
i see a lot of online / insta videos - all of people riding flat water.....not stowing the parawing but simply blasting along.... -
i dont see people riding waves
Strange, I see people holding their PW, riding swell and then redeploying. I see very little in the way of flat water PW sessions.
Select to expand quotenorthy1 said..
A few weeks back i wrote a post on Parawinging being over hyped but didnt submit it....will summarise some thoughts here
i have to admit Im not sure i "get" the Parawing hype !
i dont think it will take off where i live at all - BUT major caveat i said that about SUPs and Wings when they first emerged!
I'm trying to prepare myself for the shift when parawing tech gets up to speed. I figure it will be a while before it's really there. I was mostly sold on trying the Ozone until I saw that the team riders are all chopping the brand new pocket rocket lines to shorter lengths immediately after the bloody thing was released!? I too was a non-believer in winging but now my froth is full on.
However I have to admit.... I never really felt negatively towards my wings until I started thinking "well, in this exact moment if I didn't have a wing I would make a better turn..." which is admittedly a pretty flawed approach. Lots of benefits to the wing and my style of riding is 100% redeploy based. So, the wing is exceptional for redeploy and upwind. When the para catches up though... I can see a strong benefit in it.
But... my thought is really focused on will premium wings for my style of riding drift away from availability? It seems possible to me. If I can get a para that redeploys fast and goes upwind just as well then why bother with the wing? Why continue to pursue high end small tech when the user group is shrinking?
Parawings are here and here to stay - I recently got one, it's fun and it's addictive. That's all it needs to be.
Select to expand quotenorthy1 said..
PS
is part of the Parawing froth coming from Wingers who were kiters and excited about a bar back in their hands? !
This.
Select to expand quoteMeonAsh said..
Parawings are here and here to stay - I recently got one, it's fun and it's addictive. That's all it needs to be.
I appreciate they might be here to stay
What I am questioning is are they going to become the major foil sport and the next big thing (as all the podcasts, forums and insta would suggest right now) or more of a niche?
Where I live I think the latter...indeed so far in a vox pop I've seen zero interest...maybe we are all laggards or late adopters or maybe (my suspicion) is that 1. parawing doesn't fit here as we don't get access to ocean bumps to ride, but instead decent westerly swell/waves...and 2. that it's over hyped compared to the mass market that is actually spending the money on WINGS (see 8 DW boards for reference).
If they can make the parawing (I mean to ride and stow) "compete" in terms of ease of use, performance and safety and practality with wings I'm all for it! I have no specific love for the wing on the wave...but neither do I see bridles and lines in waves being very attractive...and what's the advantage over a wing if you are not stowing it away?
Back to the original point...I too hope it doesn't mean less investment in wing technology...new Armstrong xps, strikes and flux v2 still got me frothing!
I'm not sure anything is really the king of foil sports, there is kite foiling, wind foiling, winging, parawinging, prone, downwinding, sup foiling, foil driving, e-foiling, foil scootering, pump foiling, wake foiling. They all have something that makes the people who do those sports continue doing it. Different people have different conditions that suit different foil sports.I think the expectation that something will spring out of the woodwork and "takeover" is not really understanding what's going on. All these different applications of the foil have pros and cons and some target certain disciplines or even certain wind or water conditions.
It is that which will drive the purchase of one over another.
Where I ride we get wind blown swell and it isn't particularly great wind blown swell except in very specific wind directions and at over 20 knots - yet we have people parawinging, winging, foil driving, e-foiling and kite foiling.
Personally I don't see parawings as being something I want to be in breaking waves with but on wind blown swell it gives freedom from the constant drag of an inflatable wing. It's also perfectly fun on flat water - I don't see that it is different to any other discipline on flat water.
Double skin parawings will without any doubt be faster than inflatable wings - there are already steps that direction with parawing with a view to racing them.
People who surf waves all the time wonder what people with flat water get out of it - well you make fun with what you have.
Trying to fathom why people do the sport they do is not worthy of contemplation - they do it because they enjoy it.
I'm eyeing Zephyr for new wings down the road. High tech, small brand, lightweight, a few ranges in play now. Wish I could get my hands on a demo!
www.zephyrwing.com/en
I think there are a lot of baked-in assumptions about parawings from folks that havent tried them, or havent really gotten over the hump.
While regular wings have advantages for breaking waves and really right transitions, I've been surprised at just how many stress tests (speed, upwinding, adventure, dw) parawing seems to be passing now that I'm 20+ sessions in.
heres an example 30 mile track on a flow:
Select to expand quoteFOILSLEEVE said..
Can't jump/freestyle a parawing. just sayin' ;-)
Radiculo would like a word with you about that 
I'm settling into the idea that I'll have really nice 2.5m-3.5m wings and then some parawings that are smaller than that and maybe bring the kites back when it's light wind.
Windsurfers sneer at kiters, kiters & windsurfers sneer at wingers, kiters & wingers sneer at Pwers. Wingers & Pwers sneer at flume riders. I think there is a genetic predisposition for most of us to sneer at the latest newfangled fad. Luckily proners & DWers don't share the same space as the rest of us so they get spared the evil eye.
Fortunately, in my experience, 99% of people are just out there having a good time and spreading positive vibes. There will always be a few folks that bum us out and throw fits (here in the gorge everyone has to coexist) but I find it to be a rarity instead of the norm.
As long as there's a market for wings (I.e. the foreseeable future) there's going to be Joe-average wings and premium wings. And, where I ride, the winging market still appears to be growing exponentially and not a single PW. So, I just don't see the PW as a threat. (Windsurfers might be starting to worry about the shrinking size of their market, but fortunately, they've had their gear dialed for quite a while. Perhaps that's when a sport gets old??). What I find encouraging during the growth phase of a sport is that the Joe-average designs inherit the advances made on the dime of the premium buyers, so as long as we stick around we all get to experience the progression.
-S.
