If you kite and wing which to do when?

[Dontsink]

Winging was fun to learn but I’m done. Selling gear and back to kitefoil only. Local conditions favor kiting for me. A friend of mine went other way, 100% winging with quiver of foils and wings to match conditions and seems to be working out great for him. Everyone’s different.

One thing to mention. I think I’m more aware of every small movement and positioning on kitefoil now and am better for it after having a learner’s brain for a while on wingfoil. Learning new things is very good for your brain.

I do not kite or kite foil so i cannot compare.I see the kitefoilers riding in nothing wind and they make me jealous,but below 10kt they do not try many maneuvers or venture too far.Dropping the kite or having the wind die sucks on a no volume kitefoil board.
But i understand that if you are proficient at kitefoiling you choose to not wing anymore.We only have so much time,money and room for gear.
Too many options can be stressful at least for me.Pick what makes you happier.
I hardly surf anymore because i prefer to battle it out on the surffoil.Might even sell the surfboards...

I come from windsurfing (very run of the mill shortboarder) and with the conditions here wingfoiling is way more fun.
Shortboard windsurfing requires a lot of wind even with +6m sails, and i do not like big sails.
Wingfoiling gives me more days in the water,easier to learn maneuvers,surfy feel,great upwind and way less physical demand on my achy body.
It looks really kooky and it is slow,but i do not care about either

[OzBungy]

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5. You prefer the safety and the relative slower speed of wingfoiling.

I think the safety of wing foiling is a bit of a myth. I've lost count of the number or micro-injuries I've got from falling on the wing or getting bumped by the board and/or foil. All that bulky, heavy stuff tied to you with leashes and add in waves.

None of the injuries have been severe, but there's a lot of "ouch" going on. A twisted finger caught in a handle. A sore wrist from falling onto the leading edge bladder. A cut finger from the tail in the shore break. Countless bumps from being run over/knocked by a board. I always wear a helmet wing foiling. I never wear a helmet kite foiling.

The "explosions" when you crash kite foiling are bigger, but the nasty stuff is further away, not directly attached to my body, and the board and foil are much lighter and smaller. My kite foils have no pointy tips.

It's amusing that the SUP/windsurf wing foilers think kites are deadly dangerous that will kill you instantly, but wings and foils and stuff are safe.

[leeuwen]

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5. You prefer the safety and the relative slower speed of wingfoiling.

I think the safety of wing foiling is a bit of a myth. I've lost count of the number or micro-injuries I've got

Depends on what you measure as a risk.
If you are only afraid of being hospitalized or death the chances for those injuries are a lot lower on a wing.

For me its somewhat similar with kite twintip vs hydrofoil:
Risks for high-trauma is reduced significantly due to halving kite size but I never had so many bruises after starting to hydrofoil.
Also getting the hydrofoil in your kite lines is a bit tricky. Doesn't happen often (for me the counter is at 2 out of about 100 sessions) but it is a real o-shit moment when that happens.

[bigtone667]

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5. You prefer the safety and the relative slower speed of wingfoiling.

I think the safety of wing foiling is a bit of a myth. I've lost count of the number or micro-injuries I've got from falling on the wing or getting bumped by the board and/or foil. All that bulky, heavy stuff tied to you with leashes and add in waves.

None of the injuries have been severe, but there's a lot of "ouch" going on. A twisted finger caught in a handle. A sore wrist from falling onto the leading edge bladder. A cut finger from the tail in the shore break. Countless bumps from being run over/knocked by a board. I always wear a helmet wing foiling. I never wear a helmet kite foiling.

The "explosions" when you crash kite foiling are bigger, but the nasty stuff is further away, not directly attached to my body, and the board and foil are much lighter and smaller. My kite foils have no pointy tips.

It's amusing that the SUP/windsurf wing foilers think kites are deadly dangerous that will kill you instantly, but wings and foils and stuff are safe.

One of the guys I wing with got a really good bump on the head yesterday during a quite gentle slow crash while doing a jibe. I was behind him and didn't see the board or foil hit him.

He was okay with just a new egg on his head, but immediately decided a helmet was now required. He thinks he got quite lucky in that he was not knocked out.