Wanted - Carver wing a Zeeko foil

[gwieynk]

Hi Everyone
I have a Zeeko foil that I have been learning on. I am up and running but I tend to go very fast when on the plane so basically jump off or crash. Most people on the beach say my front wing is too small (it is freeride wing 535 cm2) I am not sure if I should persist with the body bashing or change to the carver front wing get comfortable and then start upgrading.

If I do change does anyone have one that I could buy second hand?

Thanks

G

[jla]

I have learned (and still use it, 3 years after) with the zeeko freeride wing,
It is definitely not too small and is a great wing to ride, in light to lediul wind conditions
The carver is nice too but IMO it will not solve your problem,
You just need more practise, it is part of the learning process, be patient
If you feel it goes too fast out of control you can try these:
- keep the kite at 11 or even 12
- go more upwind
- and of course, don’t pull on the bar

[ScoopZ]

I have the same foil, I don't think the carver wing will reduce the overall speed to allow you to learn manoeuvres any easier. The market literally changed a year after the white and green came out and now wing sizes in the surf 1000-1200 seem to be the new standard to increase progression time.

The Zeeko is a great freeride foil but needs possibly 20-30 hours depending on the person. There's a great youtube series by the guy who was learning with it. I'd say stick with it if your are getting good learning conditions.

Im not getting regular wind conditions I need for mine and I'm probably changing to the Neil Pryde surf foil.

[Peter_Frank]

I have the same foil, I don't think the carver wing will reduce the overall speed to allow you to learn manoeuvres any easier. The market literally changed a year after the white and green came out and now wing sizes in the surf 1000-1200 seem to be the new standard to increase progression time.

The Zeeko is a great freeride foil but needs possibly 20-30 hours depending on the person. There's a great youtube series by the guy who was learning with it. I'd say stick with it if your are getting good learning conditions.

Im not getting regular wind conditions I need for mine and I'm probably changing to the Neil Pryde surf foil.

Agree, the Carver wing is a great allround wing for the average weight, if you wanted ONE wing only, for everything, jumping, carving, waves, speed, fun.

But for learning you need a tad more speed on this one, still quite easy but you might learn even faster if a bigger wing. Not that important though, IMO, you will learn with both.

Maneuvers though, are easier on a bigger wing.

And for waves most will use bigger wings.

Carver is 710 cm2 which for todays standards is quite small, eventhough maybe a "medium" size - but less than 2 years ago it was quite big, now it is quite small, how things change

Peter

[jumptheshark]

I found the step up to the carver wing from the freeride wing made a big difference to the ease of learning transitions and foot switches. It was my third season so there was a lot of natural learning curve going on as well, but I immediately felt happy to have a wing I could slow down on and not come off the foil. The top speed is not that different, more that you can get up and stay up at lower speeds. Effectively we all start out transitions and foot switches going a little too slow, or at least coming out of them too slow, so that extra wing surface had me completing things successfully earlier that I would have on the freeride wing. Getting a move without the extra 25-50 falls was well worth it.

Have moved on to an even bigger wing with no regrets.

[Flyboy]

I found the step up to the carver wing from the freeride wing made a big difference to the ease of learning transitions and foot switches. It was my third season so there was a lot of natural learning curve going on as well, but I immediately felt happy to have a wing I could slow down on and not come off the foil. The top speed is not that different, more that you can get up and stay up at lower speeds. Effectively we all start out transitions and foot switches going a little too slow, or at least coming out of them too slow, so that extra wing surface had me completing things successfully earlier that I would have on the freeride wing. Getting a move without the extra 25-50 falls was well worth it.

Have moved on to an even bigger wing with no regrets.

What are you using? Zeeko seems to be lagging behind in the trend to oversized "surf" wings. I'm currently using the Carver wing. I sometimes wonder if it's creating too much lift. Have yet to try the standard Zeeko "free ride" wing - scared to change anything as I go through the learning process.

[jumptheshark]

scared to change anything as I go through the learning process.

I get that. I'm using a Jim Stringfellow aftermarket wing. His larger wing. It's around 1200 square cm and quite different from the carver in a few ways, but the main one is simply down to surface area. Takes very little speed to get up and stay up, but I really liked the carver wing. I wouldn't worry about it being too much lift. It goes plenty fast without seeking up too much. Zeeko stuff is a pretty safe bet. It just works well.

On the subject of change, in going to the carver and now to the stringy, I found both were changes to the easier end of the spectrum. It was no issue to get up and steady first time out and all the stuff I was working on at that time came faster. I bet I would have a harder time going back to the stock freeride wing!

[Flyboy]

scared to change anything as I go through the learning process.

I get that. I'm using a Jim Stringfellow aftermarket wing. His larger wing. It's around 1200 square cm and quite different from the carver in a few ways, but the main one is simply down to surface area. Takes very little speed to get up and stay up, but I really liked the carver wing. I wouldn't worry about it being too much lift. It goes plenty fast without seeking up too much. Zeeko stuff is a pretty safe bet. It just works well.

On the subject of change, in going to the carver and now to the stringy, I found both were changes to the easier end of the spectrum. It was no issue to get up and steady first time out and all the stuff I was working on at that time came faster. I bet I would have a harder time going back to the stock freeride wing!

Did you cut your mast down? The other thing is that I feel a longer mast might result in less breaching & consequent wipeouts. However, I'm still at the point where I'm just riding straight, not successfully jibing the foil, so maneuverability isn't really an issue yet. Might give the free ride wing a shot next time. I also have an LP carbon foil. It has a 720 sq.cm wing which looks similar in size to the Carver, but with a dihedral swoop.

[jumptheshark]

I did cut my mast down a couple inches. Its 32" or 81 cm. Didn't take a whole lot off.

I have a pretty narrow foil experience. Remember trying a race foil in my second season and flailing badly. Eventually got up and going, but no comfort and wanted my foil back immediately.

This year was the most change... new much lighter board, much bigger wing and shorter mast, but in some weird way it's all been pretty easy swap with no big adjustment period required.

[3InletsWindsports]

There is a lot of skill gain to be had by learning on the faster Freeride wings.
Skills that are somewhat lost on the bigger surf wings.
But skills that are valuable in your overall progression.
One is speed control and being confident to roll into a carve at speed and complete a gybe at speed.
Well worth the extra work when learning, especially when you lock onto a sweet swell and get sucked into riding it too far and have yourself boring down a full on wave face.