I had a 5m with battens from Gong and I arrived to the conclusion that for the high wind range the battens are mandatory to avoid flapping, it really makes the difference.
In the low range I did not notice the difference, and in wave riding / riding in neutral position they were slightly annoying because of the extra weight.

goggo said..

Bought a second hand Gong 7 m. Had a crack in 10 knots with V2 1550 and fanatic 6'7" sky sup. I am 95 kg. Had a bit of fun on flat water was on foil about half of the time. Gong wing flags out well. Was easy to make holes in wind on foil, but was a bit hard to pump up really needed a good gust to get up. Caught wing tips a couple of times.

Too lazy to install battens, how much difference could they make?


Thinking a bigger foil under water with a 5 m wing is a better idea.

Even better idea, wait till it blows properly.

A bigger foil under the water makes a bigger difference than a bigger wing in the air. I would consider 1550cm2 as small in size in light winds for 95kg. Most of the 95kg plus guys at my local are on 1800HA to 2000LA foils.

But having said that, you need some grunt/stiffness in your wing in light winds @ 95kg ..... I had the Gong V1 7m and it got replaced with a 6m WASP, which got replaced with a 7m Echo, which got replaced with a 7m Slick. The V1 Gong was a great wing in early days that was inexpensive and good for it's time.

goggo said..
Thanks, some good points. How much difference would there be in Armstrong 1550 V2 to 1850 in terms of accessing light winds at 95 kgs?

You would start a lot earlier and be able to ride a lot slower without stalling.