BWalnut said..
Yeah I agree that hybrids and or better double skins are the way. It became crystal clear for me over the last two sessions. The first I was on the Paia and it was absurd how comfortable the 3.1m was in 40 knots. The only issue was honestly that the packdown size on anything bigger than that tends to get silly.
Yesterday I was back on the 2.4m pt skin while my buddy was on his 3.1m hybrid. I was very focused on controlling it two handed the whole session and got jerked off once or twice in gusts. He, on the other hand, was riding one handed upwind completely relaxed the entire time.
IMO any low end losses are 100% negated by the strong wind management right away. My LTX quiver ships tomorrow and I hope the 2.4 and 3.1 cover me for 99% of my normal sessions. I picked up a 1.9m PRv1 to see if that is a contender for single skin smoke on the water days and to have in the Gear Library. After that though, I don't intend to spend anymore money on single skin tech for the smaller sizes.
Had another super nice session in gusty winds on the PT Hybrid 3.1 early this week. Totally feel they are unmatched. Super keen to hear how you enjoy the LTX. I bought a PRV2 5m for super light wind. I have to say it has amazing stability and low end, but after riding hybrids all winter I hated the feel of the bar. So heavy and my hand was squeezed right to the end of the bar. If I put two hands there, one on top of the other I could depower it ok but all the load had shifted off the harness line and onto my arms. This is far from ideal when needing to edge to keep control. The bar just kept wanting to go back to a single position. On the hybrids you just set the bar angle and it stays in that position. I’m thinking an LTX in a large size now. Have to say that the Ozone was amazing at pumping up on though and in summer when super hot this wing will get me up in nothing.
