Hello,

I am looking for advice for a wing for light wind conditions.
I am intermediate wingfoiler, still struggling with my jibes. I am 83 kg, 183 cm. At the moment for light wing I am using "Korvenn Pro Glider" 4'10" 85L board, GONG WING FOIL ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER XXL foil, and Ullmann Surf Wing OSPREY 6.2m wing.
I am winging on lakes, where no tides. Wind is not steady, very gusty.
Would I feel big difference if I change wing into Duotone Echo 7.0m wing? Or would the difference wouldn't be very big and it does not worth money to spend?

At the beginning I was thinking about Gong 7.5m or 9m but I do not like loose (flapping) rear part of the wing also dimensions are monstrous.

I also use the 8 metre Strike in the lowest conditions (3 to 8 or 9 knots). If it's more (6 to 12) then I'm on my 7 metre Slick.

I'm on a 95 litre board with the Kijura 1440 foil. I stay on my knees looking upwind for a gust. When I see one close by I get one leg up and as the gust hits I rise using the wing and give a pump or two, maybe three if necessary, and I'm gone. This has been a great low wind combination of equipment for me -- turns a non-winging day into something worthwhile. I've gotten lazy with the big wings and I'm starting to rely on the harness more and more. Once up I'm pretty desperate to stay up (since it may be a few minutes wait for another gust strong enough to get me on foil) so I find myself pumping a lot through the lulls to the next gust (with the 8 metre it doesn't take much wind to stay on foil it just takes more to get on foil) -- those can be some fairly long pumping sessions!

I bought a 7m Slick actually wondering if it would be worthwhile as I have found I can pump the 5m Slick on in about 8-10kts especially if there are slightly stronger gusts to work with.
93kg with Armstrong HS1850 and until recently Armstrong FG 5'11".
Although I have only used the 7m twice in very light variable wind for me the difference is in how much pumping you need to do to get up. I am also intermediate standard and paying down my 1000 falls so I think the 7m will mean I can have a session and not get knackered too fast from pumping on all the time.
As I get better it might get less use. Have not had too much trouble with the size and when it gets apparent wind it's like holding a wall in a good way.

Gencion said..
Hello,

I am looking for advice for a wing for light wind conditions.
I am intermediate wingfoiler, still struggling with my jibes. I am 83 kg, 183 cm. At the moment for light wing I am using "Korvenn Pro Glider" 4'10" 85L board, GONG WING FOIL ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER XXL foil, and Ullmann Surf Wing OSPREY 6.2m wing.
I am winging on lakes, where no tides. Wind is not steady, very gusty.
Would I feel big difference if I change wing into Duotone Echo 7.0m wing? Or would the difference wouldn't be very big and it does not worth money to spend?

This is just my opinion, but I find once you are up and foiling it's seems to me a bigger sail is more of a hindrance than a help when nailing transitions.

A few things you could try; tighten up your turns so you maintain apparent wind and don't over run the wing, even better, learn to tack

If wind strength is variable, dont start your turn until you know you are right in the middle of a gust, as you slow down through the turn that little extra wind helps to power up coming on to the new side.

I guess it's all down to what you like, but I prefer smaller sail and have to pump myself up on foil, once up it's surprising how little area you can get away with and stay up there.

For mild wind conditions I use ALLVATOR V2 X-OVER in combination with Gong Veloce XXL front wing. Veloce XXL gives very nice glide feeling. But for light wing conditions I was able to pump easier using X-over XXL front wing comparing with Veloce XXL as X-over has 2200cm of surface area. Also for my short board heavy foil gives more stability when I am not foiling and standing on the board. And also I found that the shorter the board, the easier to pump.

This is not a study...with a lot of tracking numbers and a lot of spreadsheets...but based on my feeling and watch. In general...with my watch this is what I found out. If you go with a new compact very good 7m or 8m, you will not need a large front wing. Or yes, you can go with a 5-6m...with a large front wing. I Prefer a lot more a 7m with a thin, higher aspect, low drag front wing and stab and as small as possible for the day...because in lulls and very low wind, all the drag under the water is your enemy and I prefer keeping my speed and glide with a 7m in my case. A 7m can jump, and do tricks...but that is not the goal in super low wind I admit. The advantage is you can still transition in super light lulls with a 7m...need to limit the drag and and position the wing very flat into the wind because you go faster than the wind...but when you find the swee spot...it's effective...and you will cary a lot more speed. On snow, you can really test what a 7m vs 6m vs a 5m does...since it's same condition and you cannot pump the snowboard or ski. If wind is too light for a 6m...the 7 will be faster....the only time the 6 will be faster is if you are mid range of the 6m. So in same wind..where a 6 and a 7m are fine to cruise on snow, it seems there is less drag on a 6....and same thing for a 5m, so smaller hand wing also seems faster on gps. So in very very light wind, square meter is your friend, as soon as you go aver 12-13knts...square meter is your ennemie.(6 vs 7m for example).

Ch0p said..
... Standing there and holding the wing up tires my shoulders and then my pumping suffers...

This video has some good self rescue tips in very light wind that you can use to save your shoulders from getting tired.. Basically sail while resting the bottom tip of the wing on the water instead of holding it up.