Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

The Duotone Wing

Forum for wing surfers
User avatar
Dan-at-Duotone
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:09 am
Local Beach: The Gorge
Favorite Beaches: Crazy Beaches
Style: Kooky
Gear: Go
Brand Affiliation: Sales/Marketing/Service for Duotone/Ion in North America
Location: Hood River
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 112 times
Contact:

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby Dan-at-Duotone » Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:09 pm

Hahaha. Cat's out of the bag. Lots of speculation here. I haven't ridden one of these things but Ken and Sky have been working on them a lot for a while now. Here are some notes from Ken that might address some of the thoughts on here (also worth noting that he thinks Ronnie's comments are really perceptive)...

(1) Downwinding SUP-foil-style with a kite doesn't work because when you hook into a swell and go 14 knots downwind in a 15 knot lull your kite falls out of the sky. Even when your apparent wind doesn't drop that low, you have to constantly worry about where the kite is and whether your lines are going to go slack. And this observation is from guys like Sky who have credible kite skills.

(2) Downwinding SUP-foil-style with a windsurfing rig doesn't work because you want to constantly turn from heel side to toe side to heel side while working and connecting the swells. Doing that with a windsurfing rig is incredibly difficult and you lose the feel of surfing.

(3) The 5 meter Foil Wing can get an 80kg rider foiling in 8 knots of wind.

Also, Ken, Sky, me, and everyone else here at Duotone are aware that this is not a new concept to put a hand-held wing on something. We know about Wing Weapon, Skimbat, Kitewing, Flash Austin and Slingshot's history here and much more. We aren't saying we invented this idea, but from what I can see and have heard, we've made a fun, new, reasonably easy-to-use toy that is implemented in such a way that it gives most of us a new way to get out and have fun on the water in the wind. No one is saying it's a replacement for kiteboarding or windsurfing or that it's a brand new idea, but it's fun and we all wanted to ride one so we're gonna make em. Isn't that what getting into this industry should be all about?

Again, I haven't even seen one of these things in person but I'm pretty excited to get my hands on one and give it a shot.

You can ask me questions if you want but I probably won't have any answers anytime soon.

-Dan
These users thanked the author Dan-at-Duotone for the post (total 2):
SENDIT! (Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:53 pm) • cglazier (Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:48 pm)
Rating: 6.06%

Jfoil
Rare Poster
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:27 pm
Local Beach: Kanaha
Style: Surfboard waves & foiling
Gear: Surf board & 5,6,8m kites
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby Jfoil » Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:53 pm

I rode the 2,3,4 foilwings on a fanatic 2000 hydrofoil. I first learned to ride it in flat water beam reaches, then advanced to 6-9 mile downwind Maui runs. I absolutely love it, and didn’t want to give it back to Ken Winner, the designer. I feel free like a bird flying. I’m a 125lb female non-pro athlete and have no problem without a harness. Downwind the wind holds it for you basically. I used to SUP downwind (non-competitive) and hurt my shoulder paddling, so for me I am stoked to be able to downwind again. It’s so much easier and more fun than with a paddle. You can luff it and use the waves, and when you wallow, pull in a little on the wing and overcome that. I think it is going to be a success now because it is inflatable, light weight(3lbs), portable, and big surf foils need such little pump to get foiling. I will see if I can post a video. I will always love kiting waves but this is a nice way to get away from crowds and have fun.
These users thanked the author Jfoil for the post (total 2):
ronnie (Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:01 am) • Dwight (Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:48 am)
Rating: 6.06%

User avatar
jumptheshark
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2169
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:36 pm
Local Beach: Shhhhh
Favorite Beaches: Nude
Gear: The good stuff
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 387 times
Been thanked: 707 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby jumptheshark » Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:56 pm

Ok, Its a whole new sport, its hip, its fun, its.......why again?

You take foiling.... the super efficiency gain that has us out in any light wind, ripping upwind at never before thought of angles...effortlessly.. and you dumb it down to what.... windsurfing wave board levels (read: work!) but without the speed and carve because you have to be on a big ol floater board volume wise and your just gonna hold the sail? Oh yeah, its cool, the new hip are doing it. Yah man, forget that paddle, you can just use a little hand held wing.... you know when its nuking, like look at those vids...... 9m kiteboarding weather, 4m Kitefoiling. Then you gotta basically commit to a downwinder to have any fun whatsoever...... yeah, no thanks. Downwinders may be the most fun thing ever, but their like champaign, you pull one off on occasion. Not very viable for anyone with a job to commit to carpooling each time out! Not when you can ride a three foot board, lean back in a harness to get where you wanna go, and repeatedly rip great spots others have a hard time getting to or staying on, then rip back to your car wherever you want. Oh yeah, all with a crazy amount of power on tap, enough to seriously launch you, that you can pretty much shut off, controlled with a 45 cm stick you can hold in one hand.

But right, its a totally dif deal.

Like for people who can't kite?

User avatar
Slappysan
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1453
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:54 am
Kiting since: 2004
Gear: Wave Bandit Performer 4-10
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 44 times
Been thanked: 188 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby Slappysan » Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:26 pm

Dan-at-Duotone wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:09 pm
(1) Downwinding SUP-foil-style with a kite doesn't work because when you hook into a swell and go 14 knots downwind in a 15 knot lull your kite falls out of the sky. Even when your apparent wind doesn't drop that low, you have to constantly worry about where the kite is and whether your lines are going to go slack. And this observation is from guys like Sky who have credible kite skills.
ronnie wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:04 pm
Sky is an expert wave rider, kiter, foiler, so I would expect that they have considered if a kite can do what they were aiming at better than the wing?
No offense to Sky but he's been dealing with 3 strut LEI kites designed to go upwind.

Unconventional kites like the Flysurfer Peak or Gin Shaman would handle these scenarios just fine and you could fly them on short lines and still get back upwind with them.

Or if you wanted a downwind only kite a Nasa Wing would be the obvious choice, with huge power and easy handling. Dealing with a 5m wing and a SUP with a mast and foil would not be fun, but you can roll up a Nasa Wing and stuff it in your boardshorts. The people at Born-Kite.de have been making one of these for street kiting for years:

http://www.venturi-power.de/product_inf ... only-.html


My big question is can you ride upwind with this new wing or is it 100% a downwinding tool?

I think it will be successful marketed towards the SUP crowd, but I don't see kiters going for it.

User avatar
jumptheshark
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2169
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:36 pm
Local Beach: Shhhhh
Favorite Beaches: Nude
Gear: The good stuff
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 387 times
Been thanked: 707 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby jumptheshark » Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:39 pm

Maybe you'll attract the windsurfers ?!

You should post it on their for... oh yeah their endangered now. Those last few are touchy! They might take it personal.

Yeah, more the sea sweepers..... OMG that would be great, how do you get demoted from sea sweeper? Get a bunch of those out there, boom! The NEW rollerbladers of the sea. Invented by N..Duo, wait are you guys gonna stick with that slogan? or just Rebel and Vegas and stuff ?

User avatar
cglazier
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2640
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2002 1:00 am
Gear: Naish, Flysurfer, Alpine, Moses
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 65 times
Been thanked: 119 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby cglazier » Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:01 am

It looks to me like it might be a fun toy to have. I am guessing it will cost much less than a kite.. hopefully.
I'd love to try it. I hope Duotone sends out some demo models to some of their dealers.

Question for Dan: Is it possible to use with a kiteboard hydrofoil setup? Nobody around here has a SUP hydrofoil. But we do have some really big wings for our hydrofoils.

;-) CG

Jfoil
Rare Poster
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:27 pm
Local Beach: Kanaha
Style: Surfboard waves & foiling
Gear: Surf board & 5,6,8m kites
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby Jfoil » Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:45 am

I know I’m not going to stop wave kiting and hydrofoil kiting, but this is another fun way to get fun water time. Why choose... It’s good for upwind too.

drone
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:52 am
Local Beach: Latvia's coast Beaches
Style: Freeride, foil, snow, ice.
Gear: FS, SS, LF, C, N, B.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby drone » Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:35 am

Fone.
Attachments
FB_IMG_1553322696172.jpg
FB_IMG_1553322696172.jpg (13 KiB) Viewed 1091 times
FB_IMG_1553322703002.jpg
FB_IMG_1553322703002.jpg (9.87 KiB) Viewed 1091 times

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby ronnie » Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:12 am

Jfoil wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:53 pm
I rode the 2,3,4 foilwings on a fanatic 2000 hydrofoil. I first learned to ride it in flat water beam reaches, then advanced to 6-9 mile downwind Maui runs. I absolutely love it, and didn’t want to give it back to Ken Winner, the designer. I feel free like a bird flying. I’m a 125lb female non-pro athlete and have no problem without a harness. Downwind the wind holds it for you basically. I used to SUP downwind (non-competitive) and hurt my shoulder paddling, so for me I am stoked to be able to downwind again. It’s so much easier and more fun than with a paddle. You can luff it and use the waves, and when you wallow, pull in a little on the wing and overcome that. I think it is going to be a success now because it is inflatable, light weight(3lbs), portable, and big surf foils need such little pump to get foiling. I will see if I can post a video. I will always love kiting waves but this is a nice way to get away from crowds and have fun.
Thanks for the feedback.

I have been recovering from tennis elbow over the last 4 or 5 months and the Wing does look like it could be a tennis elbow risk if you are gripping it hard and resisting torque from the wing trying to rotate the bar from side to side. Do you grip the bar to resist torque or can you just hook your grip onto it and it has enough stability to let you relax and let it sort itself out?

You mention going upwind on it - can you explain how that works in a bit more detail? How long is the mast? How wide is the board? What foil works, and I guess there is a trade off between what gear rides waves well and what goes upwind well?
These users thanked the author ronnie for the post:
Jfoil (Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:30 pm)
Rating: 3.03%

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: The Duotone wing

Postby ronnie » Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:29 am

Tony Logosz with a Slingshot wing.

Image


Return to “Wingsurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: GregK and 31 guests