Wing 3 set, which sizes?

[happywizz]

Hi,

I've just started Winging and I'm addicted. At the moment I have a 5.2 Ensis V2 which I like but I want to add 2 extra wings for stronger/lower wind conditions.
As I'm a newcomer I don't now yet what 1m or 2m will do with the windrange. Im sure it depends the brand, foil and conditions. (With windsurfing sets mostly differ about 0.5m)

But will for example an Ensis set of 4.5, 5.2, 6.0 be of enough difference or is 3.5, 5.2, 6.5/7.0 a better choice?
Weight 75 kg, 95 liter board, SAB 950 foil.

Thanks for your response!

[consumer]

I have a 5m and 6m Duotone Units right now. Love them. I see how challenging it can be since it looks like the gap in sizes between the ensis wings are <1m.

One thing to consider going bigger than a 6m is that it becomes a lot more challenging keeping the tip out of the water when pumping, which is something you'll be doing a lot of in light wind. I can pump to get up on the 6m in ~9-10knots (95kg) on a 85L (200 Lift high aspect foil ~ 1290cm2) so I don't see a reason get a larger wing than 6m. I believe some companies are coming out with wings that have longer widths (e.g. F-one strike CWC and Duotone Slick) that look like they don't have as much of a problem with tip drag. We also don't get that many steady 8-10 knot days. It is usually very windy or nothing at all.

Wings can have a lot of top end - the larger wings just tend to get more tiresome to hold onto because you have to do more muscling.


good luck

[StellaBlu]

It really depends on your conditions but without that knowledge, I would generically recommend something like a 6/4/3 step. The 6/5.2/4.5 is too closely spaced and you will probably want a smaller wing at some point. Similar to kiting your size steps will get smaller on smaller wings, hence the 2m/1m gaps.

I have also found that you can still ride a wing pretty overpowered and choosing the right size isn’t quite as critical as it is on a kite.

[Dontsink]

I would keep it simple and get only one more, a 4m or a 3.5 if you get plenty of +20kt days.
Bigger than a 5.2 at your weight is not going to add much more low end but it will feel like spinnaker IMHO.
And the Ensis has muscle,just get better at pumping up on foil.
I started with 6 and 4.Then exchanged the 6 for a 5, now getting a 3.5 and selling the 4.
I think most people go to smaller wings and foils pretty quickly.

[bigtone667]

I think the gap from 5 to 7 is manageable, but the gap from 3 to 5 is too big.

I ran 3, 4, 6 WASPs and that generally worked. I missed some low end grunt.

I now run 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 ..... The 2 I could probably drop cause we do not get that many 35+ knot days.

So at a minimum for me ... 3, 4, 5, 7

[happywizz]

Thanks all for your information! It was helpful.

Probably I will give my 5.2 to my GF and she can buy another 3.5, so her set will be 5.2-3.5
And I will go for 3,4,6

(To go for 3, 4, 5, 7 is tempting but I'm afraid when I really get the hang of it I will not use the 7 enough. I remember when I started windsurfing xxxx decades ago, only used the biggest sails until 4 weeks after buying. Maybe I should learn from earlier experiences and listen to the above comments.)

Now to choose the right brand from the 60+. I like Ensis a lot but they are on the upper price range. And in general Wings are quite vulnerable when used in rougher conditions. Getting trough a hefty shore break is a pain and my Wing got some hospital time after my first 2 sea sessions. The quality of the Wing doesn't matter the foil always wins, so probably i will invest in the bottom price range like Takoon which also has good reviews.

[Dontsink]

I am waiting for my pre-ordered Takoons...last update said the Wings arrive by train on July 26th.

[OzBungy]

I use Switch wings. They're very cheap and very good. They don't do a 3m but the 4m and 6m are very good. They only come in one colour. I would prefer a black leading edge but it's hard to complain at the price.

You want to make sure you get the free shipping. When shipping to Australia I order things one at a time so it comes in under the tax free limit.

https://switchkites.com/products/drift-surf-wing

If I were you I would hold off buying too many wings at once. The thing about foiling is that you learn stuff and think you know what's going on, then learn more and realise that earlier thing was wrong. A 4m and 6m will cover most conditions you're likely to encounter. I am not yet convinced that small wings give you all that much more strong wind range. I suspect they're more made for light weight riders in moderate winds.

What you should consider is getting a much bigger foil, say 1900-2100cm. You'll find it much easier to get going in lighter winds and you'll get much more glide on flat water and smaller waves. You can use a big foil with a small wing in strong winds to ride wind chop. The key to perfecting gybes and foot swaps is to use the glide of the wing. A bigger wing and a push from a wave helps a lot with that.

To an extent, unless you have decent ocean swells, the wave riding aspect of wing foiling is massively overrated. I've never seen anybody glide for more than 5-10 seconds on wind chop. Wind chop can be great if there's a heap of wind and a long fetch to push up larger waves.

[Dontsink]

Double post

[Dontsink]

To an extent, unless you have decent ocean swells, the wave riding aspect of wing foiling is massively overrated. I've never seen anybody glide for more than 5-10 seconds on wind chop. Wind chop can be great if there's a heap of wind and a long fetch to push up larger waves.

Mmm...i am not good at downwinding at all and i get rides way longer than that.It just takes 17-20 kt and some fetch.Pretty easy to find conditions like this IMHO.