scottnorby wrote: ↑Sun May 26, 2019 5:42 pm
Im surprised how many people are trying to compare an inflatable wing to kiting?
Ya, lots of us that used to windsurf, did the comparison thing between windsurfing and kiting. Lots of pros and cons of both. Kiting wins out because of the extreme capabilities of a kite with a significant wind-window. That property of kiting allows the use of tiny boards with no volume that can simulate anything from wakeboarding to being able to surf a child sized surfboard in small waves. So comparison is very much valid for those of us who did all 3! - Again, I used a kitewing for some time on the snow while at the same time snowkiting. Then I sold my kitewing and went exclusively to kites.
windmaker wrote: ↑Sun May 26, 2019 7:41 pm
Time will tell . Usually if something is too easy to learn, it is not worth learning or you get bored with it real fast, anyway I do.
Kiting, for the vast majority is much easier to learn than windsurfing. But the capabilities of kiting were so expansive that the ease of riding was made up for by allowing things to be done that could never be done on a windsurfer. Almost all of the skilled windsurfers switched over, and essentially never looked back. Even now, the last of the "I windsurf when the wind is 'x' speed, and I kite when the wind is 'y' speed", are disappearing or switching to kiting exclusively.
So the comparison to kiting of the "wingythingy" is very much similar to the comparison of kiting to windsurfing. And honestly, I have got to say that the "wingythingy" is just way too much of a windsurfing sail that is unattached to the board to not be compared in this way. Again, I have some experience with this.
On top of that, look at the forces involved for stress on your back. While I never had back problems while using the Kitewing, I think the potential is there. And when you essentially eliminate the older/injured market from a new sport by this, you wind up with only the hotshots doing a sport that is not conducive to showing off.