Postby br44 » Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:25 am
I had 5 sessions on the T1 wing so far, all in flat water. My quick conclusion is: yes, this wing is what Triton say it is. I bought the T1 (have no other relationship with Triton) because of the claimed low drag, wide range in speed, and no whistling. And indeed, all those are true.
My first session was pretty weird. The first ~40 min were a struggle. When up on the foil, I was riding almost out of control, leaning left and right, back and forth, at the mercy of the chop, like a rubber duck bobbing in the waves. But after that things got better quickly, and I was able to start enjoying it.
I was surprised that the wing floats with a Slingshot 71cm mast + lightweight base attached. Mounted to a Naish Hover 127 kite board, it floats on the side. If the wing is down it will stay down, unless the board is nudged by a wave from the side.
I did not notice any front foot pressure increase at speed.
What I like best however about the T1 is the turns….. magnificent. You can turn anywhere, anytime, from essentially pivoting in place (just twist your hips a little), to leaning into any carve you want. Beats everything else I have tried. The limiting factor is the kite. In higher winds, with a smaller kite (I used Peaks, mostly 5m and 8m), you can do figure 8 turns in very tight spots.
I don’t know yet how the T1 rides in small waves. I also cannot comment on durability at this point.
What you are obviously losing with the T1 is stability. You trade off some of that in exchange for the others - great bargain, if you ask me. At the same time, while loose, the T1 is a very stable mono wing (if I may say so without having tried any other mono wings) - just because an average rider like me was able to learn and enjoy it quickly.
Kudos to the Triton team. A few years back, watching Horst Sergio’s videos, I was certain that I would never be able to ride a mono wing. How cool is it that you can now buy a custom designed mono wing, and have a blast on it, after a limited learning period? Very very cool, if you ask me.