Gong crusader inflatable

Going to be doing more light wind winging, small wave sup and occasional downwinder.
Anyone tried the gong inflatable crusader?

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goggo said..
Going to be doing more light wind winging, small wave sup and occasional downwinder.
Anyone tried the gong inflatable crusader?

I have the 7'6" /135l one since July when it came out. Have only used it a handful of times as we have had a summer of excellent wind (west coast Ireland). I've used it for light wind winging, bit of prone, and a wing downwinder. Quality is very decent for an inflatable, not sure it will last as long as a solid board but its a third of the price so don't expect it too. Board, bag, pump, etc all decent, no complaints.

I haven't managed to test the low low end of this but I can get a North SF930 (900cm foil) flying in 10knts with a 5m wing. Any bit of pull in wing at all gets board moving and the North has a good low end so it pops up. I used a 4m wing on a patchy dropping wind evening and was shocked by how easy i could get going. Got me out in the residual wind bumps and had heaps of fun.

On foil, its narrow so tricky to get used to but pumps and turns well. Good fun to prone surf too, gets up absurdly early.

Obviously hard board would be sweeter but the Cost to Fun ratio is good for one of these, I recommend

I Got the 7'11" it's 18.2 lbs (8.26kgs) and pretty nice. The track plate is super heavy duty and seems thicker than it needs to be. Most of the weight is in this plate area. I suspect it's this thick to support Gong's ultra big 20:1 high aspect foil. The tracks are about 15" long so I suspect most brand foils should work.

It flys nicer than I thought it would, especially for a long 142L board which was a nice surprise. Touch downs and takes offs seem the same as a hard board.

I'm a 6'4" 195lbs low skilled old guy that struggles a little with balance on my weak side, but I still manage to take off okay in ether direction. I can see myself getting a smaller one with straps at some point, but for now this one is kind of perfect.

I have the 7'6 and just started to use it for winging since we had a lot of wind this summer for my small board.
Two things i dicovered so far:
- On the first session it felt a little nosedown with my Slingshot Phantasm (2 degree rake) so i bought a 2 degree shim plate. Since the board has almost no rocker the 4 degrees i have now free up the nose but don't feel "nose up", just right.
- Big foilwings, uhh. With the original Phantasm PTM 926 frontwing (1230 / 93) the board was easy to wing, but i really feel like a beginner with the Leviathan 1150 (fits on the Phantasm fuse). This combination is hard to ride and control and if i want to jibe it like with my smaller wings it just throws me off. Like a wild donkey. With the big frontwing foil control is an issue and the feel of the thickness of the board makes things even more challenging
I still have to work that out.

But the board itself is really nice and seems good quality.

I have the 7'6", I got it at the start of the month and have put about 200km on it winging. It's an absolute beast in light wind and I'm reaching for it exclusively over my 5'1" Hipe. Typically we have light winds here this time of year but it's been cranking lately with all the weird wildfires as the climate collapses here in BC. The lightest wind I had it in was probably 10kts and I reached for my 6.0 wing, didn't need the 7.5 I normally take with the regular board. I was flying circles around other wingers and windsurfers. The easy rise up avoids that annoying stage in light wind where my smaller board needs to get over its own bow wake instead this board takes off as soon as the foil hits its takeoff speed, sometimes the foil wants to even take off too early and stalls if I can't keep it down. I'm riding it with a Gong Fluid XXLT and a Veloce XLH in higher winds. I've had it out to 30 knots and while it's a bit trickier to balance on in the chop it rides fine once up. If I were debating either getting a big wing for light wind or a Cruzader, I'd pick the Cruzader in a heartbeat, it's way cheaper than a big wing, makes lightwind winging more fun and won't get ripped or bag out like big wing eventually will.. I'm thinking of selling my big wing 7.5 Gong Superpower wing if I don't end up using in the next few weeks, all as a result of this board. The board took me a couple reaches to get used to coming from my smaller board. I'm looking forward to working on flatwater paddle ups with the board too once I get it in glassy conditions, I've tried a couple times already and it's been super challenging. but that's to be expected with the foil I'm using and my age.

Thanks everyone

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sportalcentro said..
Great post!
I am very curious about the inflatable Crusader wanting to fly in 10 knots.
I need to do a choice: big wing or Crusader and I ask your help.
My biggest setup is Duotone Slick 5,5 and Fanatic Foil High Aspect 1750.I want to fly in 10 knots.

In your opinion which is the best choice and which one will make me fly in lower wind?
- buy a big wing (Duotone Ventis or FOne CWC 7 or 8)
- buy an inflatable Crusader and use it with my Slick 5,5

thanks a lot ??

I have both 8m CWC and 7'11" Hipe. I haven't used them much but for me Hipe seems more advantageous in light wind. It also depends some on which Slick you have. I didn't find the SLS model to have much low end grunt but the v1 and the latest 2023. I think I would be good.

Really loving my HIPE cruzader for winging in all conditions - here's a clip of some lightwind action in Colorado

?si=FBoq3Z7jWp69cRxt

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FoilColorado said..
Really loving my HIPE cruzader for winging in all conditions

Cannot beat inflatables for travel transport. But, when changing board/foil roll angle for turns, how flexible is the deck under your feet with this board at full air pressure? Reasons I ask: 1. After getting used to a stiff foil mast, I find that I lose a lot of control and fun going back to any mast that is softer. So going for a compressible board deck might be a huge challenge. 2. I rode a Fanatic inflatable in late 2021 thought turn response was terrible. Hoping they've improved a lot in 2 years.

Do they come with a dual speed pump?

Are the footstraps permanently attached?

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Windbot said..

Cruzaders, just like all Hipes, come with a pump that can be set with to be either one or two-way for inflating. It is a very helpful feature. Footstraps are removable, the boards have stainless inserts built in to the EVA deck pad. They are a solid setup. I can't comment on the Fanatic, but I find the Gongs have plenty of response when inflated to the recommended PSI.

Thanks for your answers. The cost to fun+convenience ratio is very attractive. A test ride is not possible for me, so a few more questions:

Do you occasionally swap between your inflatable and a rigid board to notice the flex difference between feet and mast base?

What is the widest span foil you regularly use?

How stiff is your mast? I've noticed some people ride on noodle-masts and don't really care, because it's what they know.

In what ways does your Hipe Cruz show signs of age and wear? eg. internal or external breakdown.

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Emmett said..

Windbot said..

Cruzaders, just like all Hipes, come with a pump that can be set with to be either one or two-way for inflating. It is a very helpful feature. Footstraps are removable, the boards have stainless inserts built in to the EVA deck pad. They are a solid setup. I can't comment on the Fanatic, but I find the Gongs have plenty of response when inflated to the recommended PSI.

Thanks for your answers. The cost to fun+convenience ratio is very attractive. A test ride is not possible for me, so a few more questions:

Do you occasionally swap between your inflatable and a rigid board to notice the flex difference between feet and mast base?

What is the widest span foil you regularly use?

How stiff is your mast? I've noticed some people ride on noodle-masts and don't really care, because it's what they know.

In what ways does your Hipe Cruz show signs of age and wear? eg. internal or external breakdown.

Hi Emmett,

I don't actually swap between inflatable and rigid, because both of my boards, a 95L Hipe Pro and the Cruzader, are inflatable.

I ride a Fluid XXLT at 105cm and for higher wind a Veloce XLH, also at 105cm. I'm a bit obsessed with the Veloce at the moment I love it. If I were to to much wider my concern would be more with the pro alloy fuselage I have as most riders go to titanium for the big wings

I have a 100cm regular carbon Gong mast that's my go to, it's rock solid stable. That said for DW foiling and because I'm creating a downwind setup I also have an alloy Gong V2 mast at 85cm. It's very stiff for aluminum and is perfectly fine for most riding.

Mine don't show any signs of age. That said, I ride 'em and hide 'em. I keep them inflated too, not necessarily at full pressure, but at enough so they do get wrinkles on their rails like any inflatable SUP tends to do when it's rolled up. I expect to get years of service out of them and consider them more durable than any epoxy for fibreglass boards I've owned. After almost 30 years in wind and surf sports it's nice not having to worry about eggshell boards that I know will always get a ding here or there no matter how vigilant I am.

At 85kg would people recommend the 124L 7ft or 134L 7"6 ? Cheers

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steview said..
At 85kg would people recommend the 124L 7ft or 134L 7"6 ? Cheers

Depends on how you want to use it. For DW I'd get the 7'11. Winging ether is fine, bigger is easier, but you might want the smaller size that come with straps.

What everyone want to know:
What are the cons of the inflatable board compared to the same size rigid one.
Especially comparing performance.

Obviously, the pros are: convenience, size, cost.

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goggo said..
I got Prios's 7'6" inflatable. I sup paddled it on flat water, pretty difficult, don't think I will be able to in the waves.
I tried the wing, less than 8 knots, could only slog around on my knees.
Going to Hawaii in a couple of days, thinking prone and ding.
Rob has some mad skills to flat water paddle up this board.

Bit of practice you will be fine.

I'm thinking about buying a hipe crusader. Mainly as a travel option (holidays in europe, flat water, small waves). And maybe double as a lightwind board at home. Do you find the cruzader good enough as a allround freeride board (also in 15-25 knots?)? Would it be a plus to my 95 liter hardboard in light winds? Because I had a normal hipe in 6.0 and that was actually a great board, also popped up quite fast in lightwind because you can bounce it off the water somehow. But it did have a large/beginner vibe once in the air. So i'm thinking crusader Hipe (holiday/lightwind) or get a 'beater' old hipe second had for just the holidays. Any thoughts on this?