First impression of Gong M Pro

[tomi3000]

Gong has increased orders 3x compared to last year and has been hiring new people to cope. I suspect that will have some initial rough spots. So far ive gotten good service, even when I changed my mind 3 times on an order and messed up the payments...

Maybe that's the case and the company is experiencing growing pains, hiring new staff, having a ton of different gear to manage, IDK. This whole buying experience resembles to me shopping on aliexpress and the likes when you really not suppose to contact the seller and instead just click and buy hoping that when the product you just bought arrives it will sort of work or you will have to waste another 10+ emails on contacting the seller again. I am now looking at new Moses kits and contemplating getting poor mans 633 alu kit or maybe celebrating surviving half of 2020 and getting myself a carbon mast version instead.

[Windigo1]

You're not being unreasonable. I have found communications with Gong a bit problematic. They reply pretty promptly & courteously, but don't seem to properly address the question asked. On the positive side, they do seem to be gradually expanding their line to include more & more options & already have probably the most comprehensive variety of masts/wings/boards options available.

I did just that I bought the M-Pro combo and asked to swap the mast for an 80cm and they obliged without any issues.

Can you PM me contact email for the sales rep you were dealing with to get this sorted? I might have drawn a short straw when contacting the shop and the rep I am stuck with is not willing to budge.

I just checked there wasn't an ame fpr the employee. I just put a not in the order that I wanted an 80cm mast instead of 90cm and the order got approved and they gave me the shipping quote. The email is info@gongsup.com I did it in french however but that should not matter.

[TomW]

Gong has increased orders 3x compared to last year and has been hiring new people to cope. I suspect that will have some initial rough spots. So far ive gotten good service, even when I changed my mind 3 times on an order and messed up the payments...

Maybe that's the case and the company is experiencing growing pains, hiring new staff, having a ton of different gear to manage, IDK. This whole buying experience resembles to me shopping on aliexpress and the likes when you really not suppose to contact the seller and instead just click and buy hoping that when the product you just bought arrives it will sort of work or you will have to waste another 10+ emails on contacting the seller again. I am now looking at new Moses kits and contemplating getting poor mans 633 alu kit or maybe celebrating surviving half of 2020 and getting myself a carbon mast version instead.

I don't agree with you. I used to ride Moses hydrofoils and the reason I gave up is their wing program is too confusing. I could never figure it out without going to kiteforum. I can either purchase from a dealer 600km from me ( no testing) or order direct from them. It's still online purchase and support.

With Gong they have a forum where there's a lot of information, videos and respond to email if you have a question.
And Gong foil program is fairly easy to understand. 3 surf foil lines: Rise, Curve, Veloce: slowest, medium, fastest. All 3 lines available in M,L,XL,XXL Sizes.
(Yes they have kitefoil line, but there's no reason to buy it, even Gong tells you that. )

[nayy]

Has anyone had any luck ordering foil setup from Gong with mast of different length then specified on the website? They sell alu masts 45, 65, 80, 90 cm. I wanted to order kitefoil setup but instead of alu mast 90 cm to order it with 80 cm but I am getting nowhere when communicating with customer service and they are asking me to build the setup I want from parts instead when I only want them to swap a mast for shorter one before shipping. The thing is some of the items like transport bag are out of stock in their shop and the total cost of single parts is more than when buying it as a set. I know I could buy the standard mast 90 cm and then cut it, tap the holes but would need to order tools for that etc. Frankly don't understand this approach from Gong, maybe someone can let me know if I am being unreasonable and should just get on with it.

You're not being unreasonable. I have found communications with Gong a bit problematic. They reply pretty promptly & courteously, but don't seem to properly address the question asked. On the positive side, they do seem to be gradually expanding their line to include more & more options & already have probably the most comprehensive variety of masts/wings/boards options available.

Strange, I already bought 1 surfboard, 1 kite, 1 kiteboard and some small stuff and every time everything went wel... Also quick communication via mail... (I talk French, but English shouln't be a problem)

nayy

[tomi3000]

Gong has increased orders 3x compared to last year and has been hiring new people to cope. I suspect that will have some initial rough spots. So far ive gotten good service, even when I changed my mind 3 times on an order and messed up the payments...

Maybe that's the case and the company is experiencing growing pains, hiring new staff, having a ton of different gear to manage, IDK. This whole buying experience resembles to me shopping on aliexpress and the likes when you really not suppose to contact the seller and instead just click and buy hoping that when the product you just bought arrives it will sort of work or you will have to waste another 10+ emails on contacting the seller again. I am now looking at new Moses kits and contemplating getting poor mans 633 alu kit or maybe celebrating surviving half of 2020 and getting myself a carbon mast version instead.

I don't agree with you. I used to ride Moses hydrofoils and the reason I gave up is their wing program is too confusing. I could never figure it out without going to kiteforum. I can either purchase from a dealer 600km from me ( no testing) or order direct from them. It's still online purchase and support.

With Gong they have a forum where there's a lot of information, videos and respond to email if you have a question.
And Gong foil program is fairly easy to understand. 3 surf foil lines: Rise, Curve, Veloce: slowest, medium, fastest. All 3 lines available in M,L,XL,XXL Sizes.
(Yes they have kitefoil line, but there's no reason to buy it, even Gong tells you that. )

I am still confused on what is compatible with what. Just to clarify, I wanted a foil to use with kite. When you open GONG FOIL ALLVATOR CARBON PRO MAST 100 page in kitefoil section you can pick one of two types:
Freesurf: only compatible with our foil surf wings
Freeride: only compatible with our kite foil wings.

Do they refer to previous generation of wings or do they have two lines of the same wings but with different attachment points? I tried to spot any differences in the the same type of wings images in different sections kitefoil and surfoil but to me they look identical.

When you mention that kitefoil line is not good what do you mean by that? Do you mean products in this section of website are not good for kite foiling?

[TomW]

Maybe that's the case and the company is experiencing growing pains, hiring new staff, having a ton of different gear to manage, IDK. This whole buying experience resembles to me shopping on aliexpress and the likes when you really not suppose to contact the seller and instead just click and buy hoping that when the product you just bought arrives it will sort of work or you will have to waste another 10+ emails on contacting the seller again. I am now looking at new Moses kits and contemplating getting poor mans 633 alu kit or maybe celebrating surviving half of 2020 and getting myself a carbon mast version instead.

I don't agree with you. I used to ride Moses hydrofoils and the reason I gave up is their wing program is too confusing. I could never figure it out without going to kiteforum. I can either purchase from a dealer 600km from me ( no testing) or order direct from them. It's still online purchase and support.

With Gong they have a forum where there's a lot of information, videos and respond to email if you have a question.
And Gong foil program is fairly easy to understand. 3 surf foil lines: Rise, Curve, Veloce: slowest, medium, fastest. All 3 lines available in M,L,XL,XXL Sizes.
(Yes they have kitefoil line, but there's no reason to buy it, even Gong tells you that. )

I am still confused on what is compatible with what. Just to clarify, I wanted a foil to use with kite. When you open GONG FOIL ALLVATOR CARBON PRO MAST 100 page in kitefoil section you can pick one of two types:
Freesurf: only compatible with our foil surf wings
Freeride: only compatible with our kite foil wings.

Do they refer to previous generation of wings or do they have two lines of the same wings but with different attachment points? I tried to spot any differences in the the same type of wings images in different sections kitefoil and surfoil but to me they look identical.

When you mention that kitefoil line is not good what do you mean by that? Do you mean products in this section of website are not good for kite foiling?

I agree, it's still a bit confusing.
Do not buy the Allvator freeride. It is old, smaller kite only wing. This one wing works with the kite fuselage.
For kiting the best wings are the Allvator Allround (Rise), Allvator Freewave ( Curve) and Allvator Veloce. They all fit the surf fuselage. For kiting the M size is best in all 3 wings.
Get either a 90 cm aluminum mast or 100cm carbon mast.

What's confusing is the naming. They call them all Allavator. Then the names freeride, allround, freewave. In addition they called the freewave M Pro a while and added Pro Clear which is same M Pro wing with carbon weave finish.

Let me summarize:
Freeride = kite only with kite fuselage - don't buy this.
Allround =" Rise"( new name) with surf fuselage. Slow beginner wing. Thick 30mm profile. M size for kiting
Freewave = " Curve" ( new name)with surf fuselage. A bit faster wing. 22mm Medium profile. M size for kiting.
Veloce ( new name) with surf fuselage. A bit faster than curve. 13mm profile thinner profile. M size for kiting.

If you want nice wing for general freeride on kite, max speed 22-24 knots, get the Curve M.
I regularly do 20 knots without pressing 100%. It has very good low end too. As good as moses 633 wing.

This is the full carbon Freewave( Curve) setup for kite:
https://www.gong-galaxy.com/produit/gon ... ll-carbon/

[Flyboy]

Agree with TomW.

When I was buying my Gong foil I bought the Allavator foil combo with the MPro wing (whatever it was called at that time). I wanted to make sure that the wing was the SAME wing as their surf MPro wing, but I could not get a straight answer to that simple question. The answer is "yes" - but they answered a couple of times explaining how the wing that came with the foil was different from their standard surf wing. I got what I needed & I love the foil, but the communication was all a bit odd.

[AndersP]

Tom explained it very good.

All wings except allvator freeride/kite wing fits the same "surf" fuselage.
All stabs fits the both fuselages.
Choose the package you like and it is possible although sometimes not easy to get a different mast length in the package. The alu masts are cheap, if you are a beginner or kite in shallow waters ordering a short and a long mast can be a good idea.

They have/had 2 versions of the surfwings.
One black and one clear coated with visible carbon version. Performance and shape are the same on both.

[tomi3000]

Thanks TomW, thanks for this detailed explanation. I can see now what is what. I am a very casual kiter with no need for the latest and greatest top of the line toys. What I liked about Moses 633 wing is that I heard it makes newbies look good and after years of trying to master zeeko spitfire I thought I would give myself a break and chill out. The concept of good and competitively priced products does appeal to me. Gong team seems very genuine and also like their approach of minimal marketing and focusing on developing new gear.

[Flyboy]

Thanks TomW, thanks for this detailed explanation. I can see now what is what. I am a very casual kiter with no need for the latest and greatest top of the line toys. What I liked about Moses 633 wing is that I heard it makes newbies look good and after years of trying to master zeeko spitfire I thought I would give myself a break and chill out. The concept of good and competitively priced products does appeal to me. Gong team seems very genuine and also like their approach of minimal marketing and focusing on developing new gear.

I can recommend the MPro based on my experience with it. It starts early, is stable, relatively easy to gybe & still quite fast. The variety of options available from Gong is as good as, or better, than any other brand, so adding or upgrading is always possible.