The reason to wing. Can't do this with a kite

[airsail]

Problem with wings is that Surfing at higher winds (25Kts +) and straight onshore is not possible to let go the wing behind you - wind will be pushed by the wing Always to your back.
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Thanks kit3surfer, maybe that is why at our local the wings aren’t coming out to where we play. We have a good size wind swell running downwind, you really need to be able to run square off the wind to ride them. Most of us are on light weight single or no strut kites to help with drift with big foil wings. I have suggested that the wing guys come out but they tend to stay in close where the swell wraps around giving a more cross-shore ride but smaller waves.

[TomW]

This whole wing thing only works in quite particular conditions and spots. Its not going to catch on here. Of 100 Days when we can kite foil with ease, there are 5 days when wing foiling is possible. And kiting will still be easier and more fun and free.
I've been early adopter of multiple water sports and cycling ( mtb in 1978) and am always on the lookout for new ways to have fun. This isn't one of them.

[Peter_Frank]

Hmmm, many would say just the opposite, wing more fun and way more spots that can be used, so it might simply be in the eyes of the beholder

Both are fun, and extremely different

Peter

[bragnouff]

(...) wing more fun and way more spots that can be used (...)

Wing definitely opens up some spots (or some wind directions on existing spots) that would be considered way too sketchy for kiting. (wind shadows, rocks, small entry, exit...). Note that shit winds will still make for some shit wing sessions, but not catastrophically so. And maybe it's just 10mn of shit conditions to get access to cleaner winds, then it's good.

On the other hand, there are kiting (kitefoiling), spots that wouldn't work for wings. My main home spot for instance, shallow sloped beach break, with mostly onshore winds. For kitefoiling, it can be challenging as soon as there is more than 2-3ft of swell. Getting upwind to chest deep water for starting on the foil involves extensive body dragging, punching in the waves, sometimes duck diving, while avoiding to be pushed back too much by each wave, undoing all the hard progress, and mostly avoiding slacking the lines too much. Kitefoiling still allows to start with the foil at an angle, and with good timing and some luck, allows to start before being properly at a safe place at the back. Powering the kite for body dragging also helps a lot. I can't really get my head around how I would do that on a wing foil setup. Big buoyant board would be very hard to keep sideways in shallow parts, while punching through waves, while keeping the wing away from waves and from foil. And there would be a need to have deeper water, and for a much longer time than for starting on a kitefoil. Once at the back, it'd be sweet of course.
To be honest, that'd be the same problem for windfoilers, which I have never seen there. But yeah, my point was that some spots that are fine for kiting with a foil, are not necessarily usable for winging.

Different tool, for a different kind of job

[Peter_Frank]

True, windfoil is impossible in that

But amazingly it is often possible to paddle out through the surf on a wingfoil, just having the wing behind you on the leash.

I was pretty amazed by this, as at first I also thought it was not possible.

Peter

[bragnouff]

But amazingly it is often possible to paddle out through the surf on a wingfoil, just having the wing behind you on the leash.

Yes, but you would need to already have sufficient depth to keep the foil from scratching the bottom. It's the worst possible feeling when the water level drops ahead of a wave and leaves you perched on your board ready to take a beating!