Kite foiling is dying sooo fast

[longwhitecloud]

It's happening at an even higher rate than I expected.

Especially with foiling kiters. Nearly all I know now have swapped to winging.

They say : Cheaper, quicker to set up and pack away, ride in gusty winds or spots unsuitable for kiting, ride more confidently in cross offshore, ride waves with no worries of slack lines, ride waves without needing wing at all - wing out freeride in.

The desperation to get involved with this new industry is super intense right now

Windsurf brands, kite brands, foil only brands, even a surf brand are now creating wings.

I predict that many of the kite foil racing types will switch over too.

It is all very interesting to watch.

[OzBungy]

...ride in gusty winds or spots unsuitable for kiting, ride more confidently in cross offshore, ride waves with no worries of slack lines, ride waves without needing wing at all - wing out freeride in.

...

I am an addicted kite foiler and my wingding skills and experience are growing quickly.

What I quoted above is true. The bits I left out are bollox. There is no way I would give up kite foiling for wingdinging. I have added it to the mix, a) because I can, and b) because there are very real niches that wingdinging can fill. You left out the ability to ride out thunderstorms and squalls with less risk.

Wingdinging is not cheap. Wings are stupidly expensive for what you get and the range of use is not that great. The light wind wingding capability is hugely exaggerated. The huge boards and foils that you need to wingding are very expensive and bulky. My full carbon freeride board and foil costs about the same is a wingding foil setup with a couple of wings, then you add in the board cost.

Setup is not all that quick and easy. The configuration of my kite foiling gear is very quick and easy to assemble. It all fits in the boot of my car. The kite is always dry at the end of a session.

Wingdings are always wet at the end of the session. You can't put a wingding down and expect it to stay there. You have to tie it to something. You can't easily walk to the packing area with a board under one arm and the wing floating upside down.

We are in hard lockdown at the moment. The wingding has been a saviour because I can ride in stupid offshore conditions and not attract too much unwanted attention. The days the wind lines up for kite foiling have been pure magic. So much flow and power and speed. Wingding can never match that.

PS When I go kiting I am always scanning the beach for children, dogs, elderly, people in general. It's quite liberating to just walk onto the beach with the wingding and head on out.

[tkaraszewski]

Being a kitefoiler and trying winging this year, I get both sides. The group of guys who is mostly into foiling slowly on big foil wings and small kites is totally going to go for wings. It’s easier, less scary and the falls hurt less. It’s better for wave riding. It’s worse for speed and jumping, but those guys riding strapless foils with 5m wave kites in 18 knots don’t care about those things anyway.

Kiting is more intense and less laid back than winging. People wanting a more mellow sport that can be a better workout (definitely a better arm workout) but lower impact will choose winging. People who want to fly as high as possible or go as fast as possible will still want to kite.

I think there’s going to be a little bit of a “return to normal” from wings after this season or next. I think that some of the people who jumped on wings this year and had Don because it was new and exciting might get bored and go back to their higher-intensity kites and windsurfers after a season or two.

But I think winging will stick around. It’s great for certain conditions and it’s probably the most accessible foil sport.

[longwhitecloud]

I think one of the key factors is that kite foil progressive with regards to getting air/freestyle (and not just the odd backroll/jump) is pretty much dead to all but a very select few.

Basically because most people dont think it is a great idea to land on the side of a foil from great heights. So that factor doesn't worry most people in the change over.

This discussion really reminds me of when windsurfers were changing over to kiting.

I don't expect many people will be able to afford to do both kiting and wing dinging - they will have to choose.

Wing dings are selling like hotcakes right now, - kites - not so much... Just the way it is.

[cdbxyz]

Is the main problem with the kite winging not that people look like total kooks when kite winging?

[OzBungy]

Is the main problem with the kite winging not that people look like total kooks when kite winging?

I may or may not look like a kook. I sort of cultivate the kook look in terms of sun protection and comfort and all that stuff.

The thing is, I can wingding and you can't, so who's the kook?

[cdbxyz]

It just looks so uncomfortable and awkward. Like a terrible evolution of windsurfing where everyone looks like a beginner in poo stance.

It's just another fringe sport for manufacturers to sell to nostalgic old windsurfers who are too scared to kite.

Does look like a good workout though!

Wingding, is that the real name for it? It's names after a font?

[leeuwen]

They say : Cheaper, quicker to set up and pack away

I don’t own one but the boards look gigantic. Based on the fone site I would need a 180cm board. That’s a pain to get in my car.
Combined with quite a bit of a walk at most spots here it looks like it’s actually more of a chore to get ready then a small kite foil setup.
Especially if you have roomy beaches where it is easy to setup a kite.

[OzBungy]

It just looks so uncomfortable and awkward. Like a terrible evolution of windsurfing where everyone looks like a beginner in poo stance.

It's just another fringe sport for manufacturers to sell to nostalgic old windsurfers who are too scared to kite.

Does look like a good workout though!

Wingding, is that the real name for it? It's names after a font?

Windsurfers will be in for a surprise. It is seriously not windsurfing. It is only vaguely like wind and kite surfing.

Like anything, if it feels hard to do, or looks hard to do, then you're doing it wrong. Do it more and try harder until it becomes easy.

Windinging. 'Dinging. Grabbing the 'ding. Went out for a 'ding. That's what us cool kidz call it. It's easier than choosing between wingfoil and surf foil and wind wing and working out if someone is tyalking about the foil wing or the inflatable wing or whatever the f*** they're talking about.

It's also like gayness. Embrace the name as a badge of pride.

[jkrug]

winging takes more wind. i only see wingers out when i'm on an 8m kite or less. in that sense, it is like windsurfing. and yes, i had the gear and tried it. not for me (had bad shoulders already). i see the point of it in limited/difficult launch spots, but around here on the open ocean, kite foiling is actually ramping up and winging is a fringe. no hate, just observation.