Local shop reported a 127cm retract length on the 3.5. If it wasn’t the end of season here that would have me out buying one right away due to that with the reports here. Demo is $90 a day tho, so, probably wait until March.

Chiming in on the low end.

79 kg
Parawing only
Daily drivers - Free Surf 5'9"x18" - 59 L

I had a few quivers since summer 2025 when I started parawinging
Ozone PRv1 - 2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
Ozone PP - 2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
North Rover 2.4/2.9/3.5/4.2/5/6, then
Ozone PrV2 1.9/2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
F-ONE Quests 2/2.5/3.5/4.5/6
I also tried POW v1s, Frigate v1s, Flow v1s, BRM Maliko v1, Ka'a, Kanaha

I just switched to Frigate v2 2.5/3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5 - only rode the 3.5 so far as that's what the wind dictated.
I tried the 3.5 m in 25 knts - with a 52L (SK8 650) and a 59L (Sushi 740)
Freshwater, 5mm wetsuit

Low end of Frigate v2 3.5m vs Quest 3.5m is identical to my eyes.
Only difference is the hand placement - F v2 requires back end on the back end of the bar while Quest requires back hand near the center or center -front of the bar. Holding the F v2 with the back hand too far forward (same position as on the Quest) results in much less line tension / power generation.

A friend of mine was on Quests 3/4m and switched to F v2 3/4m and he also found that the low end felt the same.
We both disagree with the online reviews stating that the F v2 had less power and required to size up 0.5 to 1m.

The F v2 feels like a Quest on steroids - same low end (but different technique to achieve it), way way way better upwind and cruising speed.
Same easy collapse, same no tangle relaunches.
The only small advantage of the Quest vs the F v2 is in its top end where there Quest feels more comfortable, it doesn't pull as hard in the harness as the F v2, not that the F v2 is uncomfortable (like the POW or the F v1 in their upper ranges), but not as comfortable as the Quest.

If you expect the Frigate v2 to just pull you up on foil by sheeting in, that's where you'll be disappointed in it's low end, because you're looking at a passive low end and not an active low end.
I never ride a size of pw which has enough power to just sheet in and go, I always have to actively pump the pw and the board to get up on foil.

DWF said.. It is so smooth. First parawing that felt as lovely as a hand wing.

They are so smooth through gusts 😀

Retina said..

Velocicraptor said..

NordRoi said..

Velocicraptor said..

slashdotdash said..

Gav references the same low end compromise as Tucker. Ive also heard some commentary around how the sail doesn't fly very stable at the low end of its range. Coming from the Quests, I was really considering these, but not loving the sound of this.

I almost did not bought the quest after Gav's review last time. When I tested it agains't a friend who was on a wingfoil, what a surprise!(Low VMG and slow to react)

On my quest 3.5 vs him on a strike 3.5, I was slightly going more upwind than my friend on his 3.5 strike..and I was a small notch faster on upwind reach as well. It also has good grunt.

I agree - a lot of people were overly negative on the upwind-ability on the quest. Upwind angle is good (not great) but VMG is less than good because it doesn't fly far enough to the edge of the window and you go really slow when you are taking a hard angle. I think Gav had this aspect of his Quest review right. I generally see grunt (which requires a position deep in the window) and VMG (which requires a position in the edge of the window) to be tradeoffs in a lot of parawings out there. I was hoping for more of a balance or maybe a breakthrough allowing to accomplish both on the Frigate v2, but it doesn't sound like thats the case. Would love to try one and be proven wrong, but until then I don't see myself buying one sight unseen.

For what its worth, I was particularly interested in trading my large 5m quest for a 5.5m Frigate. Ive been told by a dealer that the design on the 5.5 and 6.5 hasn't even been finalized and these sizes are still a couple months out. Who knows, maybe they will be tweaked for more low end.

Your

hilly said..

AnyBoard said..

eppo said..

AnyBoard said..

eppo said..

hilly said..

eppo said..

hilly said..

Thatspec said..

WindWaterSailAU said..
Low end achievable via a bit of sheeting in on the bar maybe?

C'mon🤣

V1 Frigate is a different beast to get on foil compared to PR. I prefer the Frigate I have PRV2s which I struggle with. No top end compared to v1 Frigates, great low end and better collapse, redeploy is terrible always wants to fly backwards. Hope to getV2 Frigates soon.

Having had many sessions now on the 4.3 and5m PR2 both DW, Dw/up wind and even wave riding - I have to say I completely agree with Hillys observations. Got me stuffed what ozone were thinking dumbing down the V1 - getting my 4.5m frigate soon - so will report back. I’ve got a lot of good things to say about the after burner but will politely decline being a negative nancy on the PR V2. But … wtf. ??

That would be a first 😂

Ah that’s not true I just refuse to let you know I agree with you :)… but you are bang on about the PRV2 … I’m actually really pissed off about it to be frank. The world will work it out eventually. Look it’s ideal for a beginner I suppose or someone who just wants to rip downwind.

Care to elaborate.


In my experience the PRV2 is far superior than the V1 and particularly for intermediate to advance riders but it needs to be harnessed to get the performance. It rips upwind very fast when pushed and faster than any single skin I have encountered yet and that includes the Naish which feels half a size smaller.

Reports seem to indicate the Frigate feels a full size smaller.

what hilly said above AND … they are diabolical packing down in waves. Frigate / quest pack down easy - collapse completely. Even the new PR is still filled with too much air in the cells.


This marketing that the PR V2 is for intrermediate / advanced rider thing… nope.

I feel they have dumbed down the PR so much - where it flies in the window - it would actually make a better beginner / intermediate para. Advanced you want the after burner.

The frigate and even the quest requires more trim adjustment on the fly - because both of them want to sit further around in the window. They in turn have a much better angle upwind. Yes I go upwind far better on the so called numpty quest than the PR v2… and there is no comparison with the new frigate. The frigate however doesn’t burn upwind as well as the after burner in the same hands for sure.

It’s just a fact where they all sit on the spectrum. We’ve had them all here for 3 weeks - every day - three sessions - Wave, upwind down wind - full sends … and the results are conclusive not just opinions.

Now i know you have been around a while and I mean no disrespect but it defies logic that you can't smoke both a frigate v1 and a quest upwind on a PRV2 in both angle and speed. No sense at all. The frigate V1 and the PRv1 both made very good angles that are still a bench mark for single skins but its in a narrow range and much slower. The quest can't even compete with two V1's


Harness?
Switch?
Now if your answer is no to one or both of these then yes I agree with you on the upwind.

This is very relevant to the topic because it gets to the point of why someone might be suited to the frigate and in what circumstances.

Righto, I bought two PRV2s after Gav’s review, which was glowing enough to guide ships into Fremantle Harbour. Coming off the Frigate V1s in 4.3/5, I thought I was in for a religious experience. Instead, I got something resembling a religious experience, except I was the one doing all the suffering. 😂
Underwhelmed doesn’t even come close. They reminded me a lot of the 777 PT Skin I had. Heaps of grunt off the mark, so initially you’re thinking, “Fark me, these things go!” Then you point them upwind and discover they’ve got the windward ability of a shopping trolley with a dodgy wheel. And as soon as the wind picks up, they get overpowered quicker than a bloke in boardies getting caught in a Perth winter squall.
Anyway, just got in from a session on the Frigate V2 4.5m, and holy dooley, it’s chalk and cheese. The upwind performance absolutely smashes the PRV2. Night and day. It actually goes upwind rather than just giving you the emotional support of pretending to.
I’m starting to wonder if Gav was reviewing the same kites, or if he’d accidentally strapped a couple of rocket boosters to his.
Only a couple of gripes with the new Frigate: the bar is long enough to double as a pool cue, and the more HA outline makes getting the tips out of the water on a light-wind relaunch a bit of a circus act. You’re out there flapping around like a stunned mullet, trying to convince the bloody thing that flying is actually its job.
But overall, the Frigate V2 is a massive step up where it matters to me. The PRV2s can go and have a good long think about what they’ve done. 😂

Gav doesn't talk bad about stuff because companies pay him money . I don't trust people getting paid for testing/reviews. They need to get something out of it when spending time making the video.

Possibly but his earlier reviews were spot on the money. The PRV2 was a serious glip.

Tangur said..
Chiming in on the low end.

79 kg
Parawing only
Daily drivers - Free Surf 5'9"x18" - 59 L

I had a few quivers since summer 2025 when I started parawinging
Ozone PRv1 - 2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
Ozone PP - 2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
North Rover 2.4/2.9/3.5/4.2/5/6, then
Ozone PrV2 1.9/2.4/2.9/3.6/4.3/5, then
F-ONE Quests 2/2.5/3.5/4.5/6
I also tried POW v1s, Frigate v1s, Flow v1s, BRM Maliko v1, Ka'a, Kanaha

I just switched to Frigate v2 2.5/3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5 - only rode the 3.5 so far as that's what the wind dictated.
I tried the 3.5 m in 25 knts - with a 52L (SK8 650) and a 59L (Sushi 740)
Freshwater, 5mm wetsuit

Low end of Frigate v2 3.5m vs Quest 3.5m is identical to my eyes.
Only difference is the hand placement - F v2 requires back end on the back end of the bar while Quest requires back hand near the center or center -front of the bar. Holding the F v2 with the back hand too far forward (same position as on the Quest) results in much less line tension / power generation.

A friend of mine was on Quests 3/4m and switched to F v2 3/4m and he also found that the low end felt the same.
We both disagree with the online reviews stating that the F v2 had less power and required to size up 0.5 to 1m.

The F v2 feels like a Quest on steroids - same low end (but different technique to achieve it), way way way better upwind and cruising speed.
Same easy collapse, same no tangle relaunches.
The only small advantage of the Quest vs the F v2 is in its top end where there Quest feels more comfortable, it doesn't pull as hard in the harness as the F v2, not that the F v2 is uncomfortable (like the POW or the F v1 in their upper ranges), but not as comfortable as the Quest.

If you expect the Frigate v2 to just pull you up on foil by sheeting in, that's where you'll be disappointed in it's low end, because you're looking at a passive low end and not an active low end.
I never ride a size of pw which has enough power to just sheet in and go, I always have to actively pump the pw and the board to get up on foil.

Did you really own 27 parawings in the last year?? Thats crazy

I found the trim spot for my hand on the bar to be the same as my old Hatch V2. So it was natural for me to automatically ride farther back on the bar. So happy it’s not riding with the donkey knob between my fingers. That would have been uncomfortable. After only one session, my feeling is riding the donkey knob will be rare. I hope that’s true. I’m good with the donkey knob between my fingers for a rest stop, or brief over powered period, when It’s time to rig smaller. It’s not comfortable with the knob between the fingers for all day riding.

So, from your perspective, MeonAsh and others, does the F-One chart for the 3.5 (18–36 knots) seem accurate?
The low end will always depend on foil size, board type, and your ability to pump both the foil and the parawing. But at the high end, the parawing becomes the bottleneck.
I'm trying to nail down my needs for a 15–35 knot wind range. I was hoping to cover that range with a 3.5 and a 4.5. However, some YouTubers' reports are making me a bit worried, as they don't seem to suggest that the high-end range is significantly improved.
Thanks for the report!

hilly said..

NordRoi said..
So from your perspective MeonAsh and others, the f-one Chart for the 3.5, 18 - 36knts seems accurate? The low end is always subject to foil size, type of board and ability to pump foil and PW, but the high...the parawing is the bottle neck. I'm trying to nail down my needs for 16-35 knts window. Thanks for the report.

Your weight??
At 95kg on 6ft board with 1010 foil I think 18 to 20 is low end for me. 63 year old with Sh!t pump.

I'm 75kg and can get up on foil with my largest foil(900) almost as the f-one chart is proposing with the quest and frigate v1...but to be safe, I need maybe 1 or 2 knots more than the chart is saying in low end and I top the high end...but it's unpleasant....but doable.

It would be great to see some of the frigate v2 riders load some of their gpx file into the foil run app and post some results so we can get a good idea of where this parawing will sit in the Vmg performance stakes.

Played with the 3.5m Frigate v2 on the beach yesterday. Seemed pretty nice to me. In crappy windshadowed zones of the Hatch parking lot I didn't feel like it was lacking in low end at all. Of course, on the water could be different but I was impressed. Verified the lines are definitely short. 127cm vs the 132cm of the BRM s3 3.4m. Retract was easy via the center white lines or all A lines. The only thing I didn't like on land was the way the concertina came together when I pulled all A lines. Not bad, just not as nice as I am used to on the 777 stuff. Definitely looking forward to taking it for a spin sometime.

Velocicraptor said..When u say A lines do you mean white lines or white lines with the wingtip lines? I’ve got a 4.5 coming and looking forward to trying it. Also have a pr v2 ultra x I can try back to back.

White lines with wingtip lines. It's pretty decent, I think the batten loops were maybe just a bit larger than I was used to? I need to use it on the water to see how it feels. I'm pretty adamant that I gather all A lines at once. No central (white) line collapses for me.

Looking forward to hearing your comparison.

eppo said..
Better than the PR - less than the after burner. Theres your VMG … lol.

That PRV2 that you can't get to go upwind well is looking a lot less like a Toyota and more like a Ferrari over on the VMG thread.😛