My son and I had a couple of wing foil lessons. Needless to say, we are in .
I surf and he sails...but being naive, I had no idea about the cost of winging gear....didn't do my research.
We got a quote to set both me and my lad up... I was surprised.
I told my wife, she ducked like she was being swooped by a magpie.
I realize we are up for a few $'s but what tips can you give me to minimize risk of outgrowing gear too quickly and possibly reduce entry costs.
Seems I'm suited to a 118L board (new North 5'5"- reduced swing weight? so assume this means I won't out-grow it immediately), my lad something between 77-90L (he's 47 kg and growing - 12 years old).
Any advice is appreciated - thankyou wing warriors.

As a beginner you would be crazy to buy new. The market is saturated with a lot of good 2nd gear, you should be able to get a good board, wing and foil for $2500 to $3000. Don't be too worried about buying wings that have canopy repairs because you will be doing similar damage. Also as a beginner soft handles would be my preference as they cause less damage to the board. Full carbon foil would be my choice (Gofoil, Armstrong and a few others out there).

Thanks to you all, some great insights there. I can see that some inflatable boards are cheaper than your standard. Any thoughts on those? Are they more buoyant and therefore specked out at a smaller size per body weight? Is there anything to look for or be aware of in regards to second hand gear? I presume the wing damage comes from falling on them. Do you usually send the wing to the producer for manufacturers or do states have their own specialists you can engage?
Sorry, lots of questions but I'm a newbie??

I would also recommend to plan ahead and buy stuff so your son's first board would be your's second in the future, wing would be your strong wind wing and foil would be your smaller foil. Especially with foils they should be compatible with each other so you can both use different foils from each other depending of conditions. There is no sense to buy a expensive new board as your first board - you will outgrow it quickly anyways. For second board (which is you son's first) would be more reasonable to invest if you feel need to.

If i were you, i would buy cheap inflatable from Gong for 460AUD and sell it 3-12months later for 350 AUD depending how fast you progress. No big investement and no risk involved. I have had and tested those (different version) in 5 different sizes. They do their job and can withstand lot's of abuse compared to hardboard. I still have one for travel use.
www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/gong-wing-foil-board-inflatable-hipe-first/

Rest of the stuff you could buy used as long as wings & foils are not too old. Progress is quick and 2 year old stuff is pretty outdated. Other option would be to get complete package which includes everything needed: www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/gong-pack-wing-hipe-evo/ or www.gong-galaxy.com/en/category-product/foil-en/wingfoil-foil-en-foil-en/packs-avances-de-wing-foil-en/

I like the advice about getting a good board for your son that you can transition to. For a starter board for you something like a Hipe First inflatable makes sense. It won't cost a fortune and will be easy to resell after a few sessions when you are.ready to step down to your son's board.

baldy123 said..
It's an equipment minefield out there.
For Foils I recommend Axis or GoFoil. Both Big brands. Known for Ease of use. Hold their resale value. You won't outgrow them just upgrade a few parts. Mast Length you want are around 75-85cm depending on water depths at your local spots. I would not recommend Armstrong to a beginner, they makes great foils but suited to experienced users and they don't always match other brands boards and track locations very well. There are a lot of other good foils available, but choice of new wings and compatible spare parts might be harder to source as you progress.

A mid size board from Sunova, One or Fanatic are great choices. North have a weird track box, I don't like it personally even though the boards are good shapes. The position and length of the tracks is critical to what foils you pick.

wings
5m and 4m would be my size recommendation Plenty of lightly used good gear out there. Some shops have brand new last seasons wings for around $700. Probably worth sticking with the same wing for both sizes. That way the feel will be similar and sizing gaps right. I'd say any PPC wing is a good choice in 3.8m or 4.8m. They seem to hold up well to abuse and have a good power.

Thanks Baldy. Any shops you can recommend?

StanFrance said..

baldy123 said..
It's an equipment minefield out there.
For Foils I recommend Axis or GoFoil. Both Big brands. Known for Ease of use. Hold their resale value. You won't outgrow them just upgrade a few parts. Mast Length you want are around 75-85cm depending on water depths at your local spots. I would not recommend Armstrong to a beginner, they makes great foils but suited to experienced users and they don't always match other brands boards and track locations very well. There are a lot of other good foils available, but choice of new wings and compatible spare parts might be harder to source as you progress.

A mid size board from Sunova, One or Fanatic are great choices. North have a weird track box, I don't like it personally even though the boards are good shapes. The position and length of the tracks is critical to what foils you pick.

wings
5m and 4m would be my size recommendation Plenty of lightly used good gear out there. Some shops have brand new last seasons wings for around $700. Probably worth sticking with the same wing for both sizes. That way the feel will be similar and sizing gaps right. I'd say any PPC wing is a good choice in 3.8m or 4.8m. They seem to hold up well to abuse and havece power.

Thanks Baldy. Any shops you can recommend?

Hey StanFrance

We've got great four local shops here in Perth, WA. I'm not sure where you are based. Our local shops are all run by people who use the gear everyday and know their stuff. The shops all stock a three or four of the major brands. There are always a few used bargains hiding in the corner of all the shops. Worth giving them a call once you have an idea with what you think you might need. Websites are hard to keep up to date, but many list some used gear on sea breeze, gumtree or marketplace. I can only vouch for our local shops as I rarely by stuff online or interstate. If I had a problem or warranty issue, and it does happen, I'd rather be able to walk in to a local shop and sort it there and then. Have a look at:
FoilShop - North Freo
Kite Addiction - Myaree
WA surf - Safety Bay
ActionSports WA - Balcatta

If you end up getting the foil bug, then unfortunately it won't stop at winging. I started this sport just towing behind a tinny on a surfboard and tiny slingshot foil. Had heaps of fun long before winging existed. Once you have a good foil and a board it opens up a lot of options for fun. My big board is 100litres and doubles as a sup and wing board. I have a dedicated wing board around 75litres. And then I have a smaller prone surf, tow and advanced wing board at 40litres. I think money is best invested in a good foil setup. Foil do last if looked after and hopefully upgrades will only be new front wings or a few after tails as you progress. Again GoFoil Full carbon masts and GT front wings work great. Very idiot proof and simple to setup. Axis aluminium setup requires a bit more after session care due to corrosion risk, but parts are cheaper and easy to source. There are plenty of buy and sell bargains floating around. Once you have a mast, fuse and tail it is easy to add extra front wings. I picked up my last second hand bargain beginner learner front foils for $200 each, to teach family and friends. Wings will get damaged, it is inevitable. A foil impact to the canopy or leading edge happens to the best of us, and it will damage a wing instantly. Most states have a few kite or sail repair guys that we keep busy. Wings don't go back to the manufacturer unless it's a warranty problem. I have no experience with inflatable foil boards, so won't speculate on here as to how they perform.
Happy Winging!

Hi StanFrance,
I've been through this process and it can be exxy. There are a bunch of factors to consider.
Big caution : if you get gear that's too advanced, you'll slow your learning curve.
Firstly, be sure that if you get second hand gear, the foil will match the board (if you go with different manufacturers). Many manufacturers make gear that's cross compatible, but some can be specific and not flexible to match with other types. So if you get a board that has a box set far back on the board, and a foil with a fuse also set way back on the mast, you may find that you can't get the foil set far enough forwards to be able to use comfortably on the board. This can be massively limiting to your improvement. So talk with people about compatability before you buy.
Board size is a very personal thing and I'd caution going too small while learning, based on your ability, previous experience with similar sports, determination and the conditions that you will be learning in.
As for wings, I'd also go second hand. I've found after a couple of uses, my new wings start to bag out a small amount. And if you're cautious you shouldn't do any damage to your gear. Booms and hard handles are fine if you're careful. I've been using them all my 3 year foiling career and no damage to board from handles. The Konrad is a tough board so that might have helped me?
I've found solid handles and the boom is way better for controlling the wing. The super loose handles I found were a massive step down in terms of performance as the control was nowhere near as good as the harder handles. I've used the Smik and North wings which have stiffer handles that are not solid and they've a big improvement over the real floppy handles.
The other thing that can be difficult to determine is wing size. For me, it's all about wingspan. If the wing is too wide a span, I touch the tips on the water when trying to pump up on foil. Approx 3.2m span is my limit (I'm 175cm tall with not great shoulders). Bigger than that and it becomes too cumbersome. For me a 5m Slick is spot on. 5.5 gets me no advantage. Again, might be hard to do but if you can try a few wings before purchasing, it may give you a better idea?
I'd also try and get a mid aspect foil that's of more modern design. You'll likely find it easier to learn with, more capable and will be something that will take a little more time to outgrow than the earlier designed foils. Don't try and learn with an Axis ART for example.
The sport can be expensive, but it's well worth it. Get your wife into it as well.

Also, is there an issue with mixing wing brands? For example. 3.5m north nova 2021 and ppc surge 5.8m? It do you just use one for quite a while when you are getting started?

StanFrance said..
Also, is there an issue with mixing wing brands? For example. 3.5m north nova 2021 and ppc surge 5.8m? It do you just use one for quite a while when you are getting started?

I currently have 3 different brands, and don't have any issues with adjusting. The good thing about getting a quiver of the same brand as you know they will be consistent between sizes.

The Freewing Go might be a good cheap option to put together a quiver. All sizes are $850AUD, which is a little over half the new price for a 2023 Duotone Unit 5.0. Getting a 3.5, 4.5 & 5.5 would be a good start for you an your son. Whatever wing you are on, your son would be on the next size down.