6 and 4 m2 ?

[Peter_Frank]

Even though my Echo 6m/4m combo provides sufficient overlap, I’m really glad I added a 5m for our summertime thermals here on the OBX. It’s been hitting the sweet spot for a lot of summer sessions so far. The 6m is a great light wind wing for me (76 kg) but I’ll downsize to the 5 just as soon as the winds allow. Way more fun and nimble. Not a required purchase, but definitely worth it as a splurge purchase

For me, I got an old Duotone V1 5 m2 (not much low end in this model), I will just keep, and now also having a 4 m2 Echo and maybe get a 6 m2 Echo.

Yes I know 5 m2 is a sweetspot size when not that windy, not too big and clumsy, and starts okay early without huge (hydrofoil-)wing.

Peter

[bigtone667]

4m and 6m Echo would be a decent quiver.

I have primarily used either a 6m or 4m WASP for the last 6 months for most everything.

[dave1986]

What is the practical minimum rider height for a 6m F-One Swing? I would imagine that too short means the wingtips drag on the water surface too easily

[bigtone667]

What is the practical minimum rider height for a 6m F-One Swing? I would imagine that too short means the wingtips drag on the water surface too easily

I found that I adjusted the wing angle and my arm position based on the size of the different wings when pumping onto the foil. Once up it became a non issue for the most part (I occasionally scrape the water with a 7m Echo).

When I first started winging, I dragged everything in the water.

[Janus]

And what about 7 & 5 ? and perhaps a 3 for high wind?
Is that a option? what would be the range for the 7 and 5? (&3)

[joekitetime]

I hate to say it, but having the full quiver (for me that means 2.8, 3.5, 4.2, 5 and 6) is night and day better than any combo. On many, many days while I'm out riding I'll switch 1 or 2 times to a different size. If you like to ride lightly powered (which you should) then you will love the quiver.

Never would I go back to 2 wings.

Ug!

[Janus]

Never would I go back to 2 wings.

Ug!

We are not asking you to go back to a 2 wing quiver..

But if you would start Wingfoiling in low wind around 8/10kts a 7 would be needed? Combined with a 5 to extend the range till 20kts?

[juandesooka]

4/6 wasp quiver for me, covers 10-30kt. More or less the equivalent of an 8/12m kite combo.

And yes, when the wind increases on my 6m I wish I had a 5. And when the wind dies a little on my 4m, I wish I had a 5 ...but neither enough to invest in one.

Similarly, if anyone asks me about a single wing quiver, I'll recommend a 5m. Just like for kiting around here, a single kite quiver would usually be 9m or 10m, for the widest range of conditions. But it just means if it is exceptionally windy, you need to stand down and not go out ... and if it's not windy enough, you will be underpowered and paddling/swimming.

Dragging wingtips...not an issue with 6m wasp or my old 7m gong, once past beginner stage.

Big wing power....I find the 6m a powerful beast, sometimes feel like I am going to pull a muscle trying to tame it (the bad one is the lats on the back arm, pulling in for power). I am experimenting with a harness for long reaches, find it way better, especially with the big wing.

[kishtsang]

4/6 wasp quiver for me, covers 10-30kt. More or less the equivalent of an 8/12m kite combo.

And yes, when the wind increases on my 6m I wish I had a 5. And when the wind dies a little on my 4m, I wish I had a 5 ...but neither enough to invest in one.

Similarly, if anyone asks me about a single wing quiver, I'll recommend a 5m. Just like for kiting around here, a single kite quiver would usually be 9m or 10m, for the widest range of conditions. But it just means if it is exceptionally windy, you need to stand down and not go out ... and if it's not windy enough, you will be underpowered and paddling/swimming.

Dragging wingtips...not an issue with 6m wasp or my old 7m gong, once past beginner stage.

Big wing power....I find the 6m a powerful beast, sometimes feel like I am going to pull a muscle trying to tame it (the bad one is the lats on the back arm, pulling in for power). I am experimenting with a harness for long reaches, find it way better, especially with the big wing.

How do you compare the 6 Wasp and the 7m Gong in terms of power? I'm looking to upgrade my quiver, I do have a 4m Wasp already

[juandesooka]

How do you compare the 6 Wasp and the 7m Gong in terms of power? I'm looking to upgrade my quiver, I do have a 4m Wasp already

Preface: my initial goal in winging was to ride light wind days with surf, when the surf gets blown out but not yet fun for kiting. My experience so far is that sub 12kts, winging is just barely doable, but not all that much fun. EG you can get up on fol, but you're working it and you don't have enough power to be effective in downwind maneuverability, meaning you have limited power on-off switch that you want/need in surf, and getting back upwind is a challenge. So to some extent I've given up on light wind dreams -- when it is 10kts, I will either keep surf foiling (since surface conditions don't matter) or I will kite foil. [but the happy surprise: 20kt+ is way more fun winging than expected with the 4m]

But I still have the bigger wing for lighter winds. I find the 4m gets fun in high teens, so the 6m is the go-to if sub-18kt.

I started with Gong 7m, this is original v1/gen1. I found it "floppy", when pumping, the leading edge wouldn't hold its rigidity, so you lose half the potential power. This was visible from the beach, noticed by non-wingers. Answer was to inflate it dangerously hard. I suspect Gong has improved this in subsequent versions.

The wasp 6m was noticably more powerful, I'd call it "grunty" in the same way as a 16m switchblade kite -- tons of bottom end power, maybe more than you can handle! Initial days I experienced pain in lats, in pumping and sheeting in ... worried that maybe I am just not physically strong enough to handle this wing. Since then, have modified technique, the pumping is more up and down vs forward, kind of like hanging off a chin up bar. Get up on foil, then forward ... big floaty foil helps (maliko 200). And for sheeting in, the harness experiments have been really good....can feel the wind power transfer through core into the board, with arms just giving balance/steering.

I don't have any experience with the Gen2 wings from all the brands....I imagine there's been improvements.