Inflatable Boards for Winging

[Horst Sergio]

Hi everybody,

I am winging since nearly one year with an inflatable foil board and as I expect the market not just for winging but especialy inflatable wing boards could become huge in the next time, so it could be worth to discuss about it.

Till now I have testet both Manta boards (110 l and 72 l) will try the Indiana in the next days and maybe will also have a look on the new GONG when they will be available and I like the sizes. Just F-one I am actually not interested mainly due to the lack of straps, but maybe anybody else can report about it or about another brand I have not yet on the map.

Here is my blog about it, as a first base for discussion:

https://kj4l.com/?p=261



And Thanks to Toby, I think the new main forum was a good decission, be prepared to save also the url wingforum

[pitbulldoug]

Yep must say those new Gong inflatable might be a big hit I even think at 225 lbs I could ride that thing,nice CF plate they came up with never ever thought I’d consider a inflatable board after close to 20 years inflating kites until I saw the Gong foil inflatable, question is how much and when will they be available? Got to hand it to Patrice and Gong for thinking outside the box nice concept definitely the trailblazers in the winging world hands down

[bragnouff]

I've had some really good wave sessions last year with the Pendleboard SUP (https://pendleboard.com), and I believe the future of inflatables is somewhere in that direction, a hard stiff part where it matters, a solid platform where you stand, with proper shaped rails and fins (or foil mounts), and inflatable bits for the nose and the parts that don't really matter once at speed, or on the wave, or on flight. All while fitting inside a small city car.
And it's probably easier to achieve for a foil board than for a wave SUP, rails and fins don't matter as much, and because the overall length of wingsurfing boards is pretty reasonable, the perceived stiffness can still be very high.
Looks like Gong is somehow heading towards that.
Hopefully that works well, and will allow their boards to be shipped to NZ!

[gmb13]

Yep must say those new Gong inflatable might be a big hit I even think at 225 lbs I could ride that thing,nice CF plate they came up with never ever thought I’d consider a inflatable board after close to 20 years inflating kites until I saw the Gong foil inflatable, question is how much and when will they be available? Got to hand it to Patrice and Gong for thinking outside the box nice concept definitely the trailblazers in the winging world hands down

I would just like to mention that they are not the first brand to come with a composite plate in the inflatable Foilboard. The Indiana Inflatable Kitefoilboards and Wing/SUP Boards have those and have been on the Market for a while now. They won't be able to patent it like they claim. The next generation and also be smaller sizes coming now in 44, 71 and 103L for Winging and Paddling in about a month with some cool features too. So stay tuned for that.







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Gunnar

[pitbulldoug]

Gunnar my mistake or lack of knowledge never heard of The Indiana brand before your reply here very interesting as well where are they out of? The inflatable Foil board definitely something to consider with the newer technology in making them stiffer but what about us heavy guys 225lb you thing they will pass the pump flex test? do they have 2 air chambers so if one gets a hole the other stays afloat?what would you characterize the material pretty durable for punctures totally have no clue about these inflatables sorry for the ignorance!Just kinda hard being a kiter and thinking about pumping up a board let alone a kite after almost 2 decades but I’m game to try it one of the days cautiously optimistic for sure

[gmb13]

Gunnar my mistake or lack of knowledge never heard of The Indiana brand before your reply here very interesting as well where are they out of? The inflatable Foil board definitely something to consider with the newer technology in making them stiffer but what about us heavy guys 225lb you thing they will pass the pump flex test? do they have 2 air chambers so if one gets a hole the other stays afloat?what would you characterize the material pretty durable for punctures totally have no clue about these inflatables sorry for the ignorance!Just kinda hard being a kiter and thinking about pumping up a board let alone a kite after almost 2 decades but I’m game to try it one of the days cautiously optimistic for sure

Yes. Even someone with your weight will not bend the board. The internal CF plate combined with the double dropstich and (on the Indianas) the Solid box laminated to the deck and hull will prevent any bending.

They don't have seperatly inflated chambers. However they are very thick walled. You would have to actually stab it really hard with a very sharp object to get trough the outer skin.

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Gunnar

[Horst Sergio]

I've had some really good wave sessions last year with the Pendleboard SUP (https://pendleboard.com), and I believe the future of inflatables is somewhere in that direction, a hard stiff part where it matters, a solid platform where you stand, with proper shaped rails and fins (or foil mounts), and inflatable bits for the nose and the parts that don't really matter once at speed, or on the wave, or on flight. ...

Thanks for the reminder and I completely agree, but when I have first seen their videos a year ago or so, I remember a prototyp with a foil but now on their a bit confusing webside I don't see anything or did I miss it. Would fit very well for a wingfoil board, if not yet hopefully they will add one.

@Gunnar
Thank you for the announcement of smaller boards. I added them to the graphic which shows that there is already not to much lack of sizes anyway. But would be better to be able to choose inbetween more brands per size and so features, as it is not just about volume and length and width.

Kitejunkie-Inflatable-Wingfoil-Boards.jpg (50.88 KiB) Viewed 2958 times

[bragnouff]

I've had some really good wave sessions last year with the Pendleboard SUP (https://pendleboard.com), and I believe the future of inflatables is somewhere in that direction, a hard stiff part where it matters, a solid platform where you stand, with proper shaped rails and fins (or foil mounts), and inflatable bits for the nose and the parts that don't really matter once at speed, or on the wave, or on flight. ...

Thanks for the reminder and I completely agree, but when I have first seen their videos a year ago or so, I remember a prototyp with a foil but now on their a bit confusing webside I don't see anything or did I miss it. Would fit very well for a wingfoil board, if not yet hopefully they will add one.

I think Pendleboard has partnered with i99 to develop their Duo range of products, and there seems to be one with Foil option seen on https://www.duo-boards.com/duo-wind/
More recently, with Mat Pendle involved in the i99 Wing design, I think it would be reasonable to expect a dedicated Wingfoil board using that Duo technology in a near future.

[pitbulldoug]

Gunnar my mistake or lack of knowledge never heard of The Indiana brand before your reply here very interesting as well where are they out of? The inflatable Foil board definitely something to consider with the newer technology in making them stiffer but what about us heavy guys 225lb you thing they will pass the pump flex test? do they have 2 air chambers so if one gets a hole the other stays afloat?what would you characterize the material pretty durable for punctures totally have no clue about these inflatables sorry for the ignorance!Just kinda hard being a kiter and thinking about pumping up a board let alone a kite after almost 2 decades but I’m game to try it one of the days cautiously optimistic for sure

Yes. Even someone with your weight will not bend the board. The internal CF plate combined with the double dropstich and (on the Indianas) the Solid box laminated to the deck and hull will prevent any bending.

They don't have seperatly inflated chambers. However they are very thick walled. You would have to actually stab it really hard with a very sharp object to get trough the outer skin.

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Gunnar

Gunnar are Indiana Gear available in the states specifically Calif or we get the short end of the stick again? Do you guys have a distributor out here? Like that 6’0” 144L for my 225lb Winging,pretty much same Vol as my current Kalama supfoil board bit on the heavy side 9.3kg for a 6’0”, does the air inflation offset that weight a bit and I’m guessing the ballon effect of the inflatable might help in getting up on foil real a bit easier than usual?

[droffats]

Are any of these boards able to be used as a SUP? Is there a way to block the foil tracks so they don't drag in the water? Or can a fin adapter be put in the track to make some weird narrowly spaced double fin?