Velocicraptor forum posts in last 60 days

Stumbleweed said..
I wing in the Columbia Gorge and have 5-4-3-2.5. I make it work but so often think how much I’d enjoy a 3.5 as I’m riding somewhat overpowered on my 4. Haven’t pulled the trigger (yet).

I wind up using the 3.5 a lot in the Gorge. Probably 30%/50%/20% for 4.5/3.5/3 when Im there.

BWalnut said..

Velocicraptor said..
A couple observations as I’m feeling these foils out (750/950 with 1050 or 1150 coming). Caveat that I’m mixing in some new tails too which is a secondary variable to confuse things.



these foils are far more efficient than the silk v1 and enduro. Once you are on foil they are faster and just feel smoother through the water. Very noticeable difference in feel. This is the biggest improvement - more efficiency than the enduro and similar roll to the silk v1.

the foils do pump with more drive than the v1s. 750 v2 pumps easier than the 850v1 and the 950 v2 pumps easier than the 1050 v1.

I’ve seen discussion saying the low end of these foils is dramatically better than the v1 silks but I’m not sure I agree. I’m not finding the same low end in the 950 v2 as I had in the 1050 v1.


the foils either ride more back footed than the v1 and enduro, or they want to be ridden further forward in the tracks. I’m riding them further forward than the enduro and v1 both of which I rode in a similar position.



overall very happy with these and finding that they have replaced both the v1 and enduro for me.

Good stuff. Can't wait to get on them!

I've heard similar refutations on the low end being boosted so I don't think you are wrong there.

Can you clarify your efficiency comment? Is this winging? Or are you saying that you even think the new Silkv2 will be the go-to downwind/parawing foil from here on out? You were a 700/900 enduro guy right?

I’m wing and parawing and have been doing them both on the v2. I’m coming from v1 850/1050 and enduro9. I think silk v2 is a perfect parawing foil for me. More roll than the enduro with less drag as well. I’m not sure how to characterize the efficiency other than it is faster and makes the v1s feel a bit draggy in comparison. You get on foil and it just accelerates very quickly.



Could just be the learning curve of new gear but i feel like the v1s are a little more forgiving and less technical. I’m all in on the v2s and have sold all my other foils, but for punchy conditions or staying in the pocket I could definitely see the drag on the v1 being a better fit. For parawing and glide type riding I think the v2s are 100% the ticket.

A couple observations as I’m feeling these foils out (750/950 with 1050 or 1150 coming). Caveat that I’m mixing in some new tails too which is a secondary variable to confuse things.



these foils are far more efficient than the silk v1 and enduro. Once you are on foil they are faster and just feel smoother through the water. Very noticeable difference in feel. This is the biggest improvement - more efficiency than the enduro and similar roll to the silk v1.

the foils do pump with more drive than the v1s. 750 v2 pumps easier than the 850v1 and the 950 v2 pumps easier than the 1050 v1.

I’ve seen discussion saying the low end of these foils is dramatically better than the v1 silks but I’m not sure I agree. I’m not finding the same low end in the 950 v2 as I had in the 1050 v1.


the foils either ride more back footed than the v1 and enduro, or they want to be ridden further forward in the tracks. I’m riding them further forward than the enduro and v1 both of which I rode in a similar position.



overall very happy with these and finding that they have replaced both the v1 and enduro for me.

I have the AFS UHM 85 and the Skinny 75. The Skinny 75 is noticeably easier to get onto foil and stay on foil when I'm at the low end of my power range. That said, I do prefer the additional buffer of the 85 length when I'm properly powered. So I choose my mast depending on conditions and what other gear selections I'm making (foil, board and sail).

Not as vintage as some of whats in this thread, but my 115L Quattro wing drifter bathtub of a board, Lift 170 and Cabrinha Mantis V1 were state of the art at the time. The flex in that foil setup compared to what we have now, is crazy to even think about. I went from that to a Takuma aluminum setup (also extremely flexy with TONS of slop in all the connections). I remember eventually going to a Cedrus mast and basically having my mind blown by the stiffness. A stiff mast and solid connections was probably the single biggest step in gear that I've witnessed in this sport - far beyond the evolution, boards, foils or wings.

patronus said..
Might be confusing myself here but AFS say about shims "These shims optimize the ULTRA's performance when used with the standard FUSELINK fuselage, mimicking the feel of the titanium fuselage. On the ULTRA + FUSELINK + U-GLIDE setup, you should shim the stabilizer down by positioning the thick part of the shim under the rear screw." An interview said the forthcoming Titanium fuse was like the Advanced carbon but slimmer, so has different angles than the Standard. They also say "The silk V2 and U-Surf have evolved shim angles compared to the rest of the range. Reduced stabilizer angle + increased SILK angle"
Putting that together sounds like the Advanced fuse gives any stab a shallower angle, and the U-surf has a shallower angle built into it too.

That's all very confusing. Where did you see that? I hope Afs isn't getting into the shim game. That would be a mistake. The gear rides great out of the box and I thankfully haven't had to shim anything (yet).

why wouldn't they just keep the fuses the same and build the shim into the wings and stabilizers rather than having fuses with different angles. Makes no sense.

I just had my first sessions on the 5m quest. I'm coming from the pocket rockets and was looking for something with more low end and easier to stash. Overall I'm very happy with the quest - it definitely accomplishes what I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised with the upwind angles. Seems a little less than the pocket rocket but not huge difference for me and a good tradeoff for the low end. It isn't a "downwind parawing" and it rides upwind just fine for me. Super impressed at how neutral it rides on the front lines and how well it behaves overpowered. I was riding in 14-20 knot winds and it was very comfortable in that range. I think the f one wind ranges are about right although the top end might be slightly exaggerated. I probably wouldn't want to be on the 5 in consistent 20+ knot wind (fone says 21 knots as top end).
the white A lines are crazy in how they kill the power in the wing. As soon as you pull them even a little bit the sail collapses. That situation is new to me and is going to take some getting used to. As soon as I would begin to run them through my hands to collapse the sail, it would fall out of the sky no matter how powered it was. This is nice in how quickly you can get the sail out of the sky (sometimes I would have to fight the pocket rocket as it retained a bit of power while stashing), but it happens so fast on the quest that it can lead to situations where you haven't run your hands all the way to the leading edge but the sail has collapsed and it can start twisting. You need to get your hands to the sail very quickly to avoid this. Curious if anyone else has noticed this and figured it out.
Having a clean bar without B lines is super nice. I had some situations that would have lead to bad tangles on the pocket rocket that were very simple to undo on the quest.
after riding it and feeling the wind range I think I could have gotten by with a 1.5m gap in sizes. Still glad that I got a 5/4 (still have a pocket rocket 3) but I think I could have done 5/3.5.
super nice sail and excited to spend more time on it.

AlexF said..
I ride a custom board for winging with all the described parawing attributes, a 6'1 x 22, 95 liters being 94 kg.
IMO these "para" boards also work perfectly for winging, esp. if you like to ride smaller wingsizes that you have to pump on foil rather than getting pulled on foil by wing power.
Combine that smaller wing preference with gusty, light and/or choppy conditions and you highly appreciate the 22" width and the stabillity the recessed deck is giving.

I agree. I have a 73 liter Frank 6'x20" that I bought as an all around travel board for wing and parawing. It does both extremely well and the compromise for winging is minimal vs my dedicated 5' 60L board. I have dedicated parawing and wing boards, but I can see myself riding the Frank 85% of the time.

WindMode said..
Both boards are fine. I regularly ride a 110L ASC F-One board at the wing school I teach at and its a fine board. Little big in my opinion and no straps is a miss, but fine for progression so definately a step up. The appletree is probably fine too, a little shorter so probably less glide, I always found the F-One board very easy to get up. Regarding the appletree, construction is a +, probably lighter than the F-One, although not necessarily more ding resistant. I own an Appletree Jazz, and while I like the construction and stiff feel, I dont really like the shape. Slow to plane, and the angle of attack feels all wrong without adjusting the foil rake (which brings other negative effects like additional slower planing). In my opinion there should be an incline between the deck and bottom angle (slightly raised frontfoot), and the Appletree designer doesnt share that opinion and goes for 100% parallel deck and bottom. You have to like that feel, I do not. Also depends on what foils you ride, F-One generally pairs well with everything.

Agree that the skin on the Appletrees isn't really ding resistant, but if you do get dings you don't have to worry about them absorbing water like you do on the F-One. Any 4 or 5 year old board has probably gotten a ding somewhere, so this would give me some peace of mind. The tracks on the Appletree are bombproof though, so it really shouldn't have any softening there like you might see on older boards from other manufacturers. Jazz is a pretty sluggish shape in general. I haven't ever had any issues with deck angle on the Appletrees personally, but F-One foils are made to be ridden with the rake on F-One boards, so thats probably what you are feeling.

Ive had the v1, v2 and v3 Appleslice. The v1 is a kind of a weird board. It will probably work fine, and will absolutely be a big upgrade from your inflatable board but I wouldn't call it a "modern design" in today's terms. Quite wide, old school tail design, and truncated length vs more modern options, which are built with a lot more efficiency. The v2 is still a modern and relevant design and the improvement from the v2 to v3 is much smaller than the v1 to v2, which are totally different from one another.

v1 board has more of a skipping takeoff from the water due to the flatter hull and limited length. v2 and v3 build much more speed before takeoff.

I suppose it all comes down to how much it costs and what else is available to you. Yes it will be an upgrade, but is it the best option? Hard to say.

Faff said..

Velocicraptor said..

Fishbone80 said..
Thank you! The chinooks look nice. What size fixed lines do you use on a boom? The parawing ones look good too. Aren't bungee lines too stretchy?

There is a fixed line inside the bungees, so once it is stretched to the length of the fixed line it stops stretching. The bungee retracts when it is unloaded.

Im pretty tall, but I use the 26" chinook. I'd probably go 24" if I bought it again.

So, would a 24" Chinook windsurf monoline be equivalent to a Medium PKS bungee monoline (since 24"/ 2 = 12" or 30 cm)?

Yes, I assume so. I should have one within the next few days and will measure it out. I got a medium and a large.

The weight of the mono harness lines makes a big difference. If they are heavy with a bunch of bells and whistles, they will swing a lot when you are pumping the wing and can clock you in the face. I used a setup from wingman (www.wingman-products.com/the-wingman-loop-system/) that looked perfect on paper but was unusable because it kept whacking me in the face. From my experience the lighter and simpler the better. I currently use one from Chinook that is pretty good, although still overbuilt in my opinion.

I recently saw these bungee mono lines and bought one to experiment with for wing and parawing. Like the bungee feature and minimalist setup.

kiteboarding.com/proddetail.asp?prod=pks-wing-parawing-single-point-bungee-harness-line-v1