Kite foiling set to die almost completely out as wing foiling takes hold

[longwhitecloud]

Instagram is where the push is happening.

Kiteboarding influencers on behalf of their sponsors. Its the kite brand's that have started a wingsurf brand, like all almost all of them!

[PrfctChaos]

What a scoop! I can already see the newspaper headlines:

"Company develops new products and proceeds to advertise and sell it to customers!!!!!"

What a scandel. Quick get the Times on the phone.

[Frankieboy]

Winging is the latest Hula-hoop. My turnoff is the gear is harder to transport and setup besides the weight of the foil and board carrying to the beach. I still love surf style kiteboarding, one attraction to kiteboarding was the light weight and compactness of the gear coming from a windsurfing background. Also the learning curve looks harsh, I have seen many struggle.

Winging is a young sport, you learn using a big board / big foil, then move to smaller gear and end up with a 1000cm2 HA foil on a 4'5 x 40L x 3kg board in 20 knots riding swell and jumping. Of course there is a learning curve to get there (I'm no there yet to be honest)

Same as learning to windsurf in the 80's on a big Windsurfer and ending up riding big waves on a 75L custom board

Same as learing to kitefoil on a 5'5 board and 12m LEI, ending up with a 94cm pocket board and a 3m peak4

Don't judge the sport and fun factor based on beginner's equipment

[windmaker]

Out swell riding on my wing where I normally kitefoil. Straight downwind, carving across swells, but wings can’t cutback like a Kitefoil can, you have to gybe the wing to go back, then gybe it again to to complete the cutback, very clumsy.
On a Kitefoil it is just a flick of the wrist. Maybe a deal breaker.

Changing hands holding the wing is not a jibe, you also have to change feet to call it a jibe otherwise we would be calling a jibe every time you steer the kite .

It is possible to surf with a wing going right and left without changing hands, but doing so opens the body a little more and allows for tighter turns.

[jumptheshark]

There is already a clear separation of strengths so to speak between wing and kite foiling.

Kitefoiling is the obvious light wind option. Working a kite around the window and bigger gear being at lines length instead of in your face. People here throw around ridiculously low numbers like 6 and 7 knots that might be for the uber specialists with specific gear, but they are out there doing it. The average joe can learn to foil down to 10 knots and have a decent time doing it. 12 knots and anyone can get their foil face on, riding powered up with any kit they can cobble together. How many times have I read people saying they foil when its light and jump back on surface gear when the wind gets up over 15 knots?

I have never done it, but so far from the chatter, winging is not the light wind panacea some make it out to be with more work and less play to get going in 10-12 knots with bigger wings. What I keep hearing on here is that they prefer it in high winds, when most places get waves and the wing size comes down to a more fun size.

That pretty clear division seems to suggest that one will not really supplant the other.

[iriejohn]

There is already a clear separation of strengths so to speak between wing and kite foiling.

Kitefoiling is the obvious light wind option. Working a kite around the window and bigger gear being at lines length instead of in your face. People here throw around ridiculously low numbers like 6 and 7 knots that might be for the uber specialists with specific gear, but they are out there doing it. The average joe can learn to foil down to 10 knots and have a decent time doing it. 12 knots and anyone can get their foil face on, riding powered up with any kit they can cobble together. How many times have I read people saying they foil when its light and jump back on surface gear when the wind gets up over 15 knots?

I have never done it, but so far from the chatter, winging is not the light wind panacea some make it out to be with more work and less play to get going in 10-12 knots with bigger wings. What I keep hearing on here is that they prefer it in high winds, when most places get waves and the wing size comes down to a more fun size.

That pretty clear division seems to suggest that one will not really supplant the other.

Agreed.

As I said earlier in this thread ...

New thing comes along and the self appointed pundits make predictions that what was before will be swept away.

Seen it many times before.

Plus ça change.

[airsail]

Out swell riding on my wing where I normally kitefoil. Straight downwind, carving across swells, but wings can’t cutback like a Kitefoil can, you have to gybe the wing to go back, then gybe it again to to complete the cutback, very clumsy.
On a Kitefoil it is just a flick of the wrist. Maybe a deal breaker.

Changing hands holding the wing is not a jibe, you also have to change feet to call it a jibe otherwise we would be calling a jibe every time you steer the kite .

It is possible to surf with a wing going right and left without changing hands, but doing so opens the body a little more and allows for tighter turns.

A lot of beginner kite foilers will be pissed when I tell them a turn 180° to toe side and riding back the other way isn’t a gybe until they change their feet.

[bragnouff]

A lot of beginner kite foilers will be pissed when I tell them a turn 180° to toe side and riding back the other way isn’t a gybe until they change their feet.

You could find lost of heated discussions around here about that. From a sailing point of view, a gybe is anytime you take the wind from the other side, while transitioning downwind. Doesn't matter if the crew swaps side during the maneuver... But those concepts can be hard and fuzzy to apply to sailing crafts like kite surfs or wings... With plenty of odd counter examples that can be pulled to dismiss every attempt of a theory. Like: Is it a bottom turn or a gybe?
At the end of the day, doesn't matter too much. If they are pissed off, then so be it. Use layman's terms like "turns" instead of gybe, and they'll ride happily into the sunset.

[tkaraszewski]

A lot of beginner kite foilers will be pissed when I tell them a turn 180° to toe side and riding back the other way isn’t a gybe until they change their feet.

A lot of sailors would wonder how you can get from one upwind tack to the opposite upwind tack having neither tacked nor gybed.

[windmaker]

A lot of beginner kite foilers will be pissed when I tell them a turn 180° to toe side and riding back the other way isn’t a gybe until they change their feet.

A lot of sailors would wonder how you can get from one upwind tack to the opposite upwind tack having neither tacked nor gybed.

- The concept of" toe side" riding does not exist in sailing.
- Not swapping sides on a small sailboat when manoeuvering usually ends with a capsize.