I'm 80kg,and need a 6-7m wing which has excellent low end and is nice for flagging. Any recommendations on the wings you have tested (especially if you have ridden wings back to back for comparison)?

Thanks for your views!

Smik or PPC both very good.

King Crash said..
Everyone loves the FONE Strike CWC 6-8.
If you're in the market for it, an 8 would be awesome. I've seen a few guys riding them here in Oz, very expensive but they're having a blast when people are floating.

I second the CWC. I have the 7m CWC and a 6m Mantis and the 7m is better in nearly every respect. The 7m CWC flys much more nimble than the Mantis (more flickable, easier to push through tacks/gybes, don't find myself outrunning it when flying downwind) and also has better range on both the low and high end. Both the CWC and Mantis fly neutral very well but the more compact wingspan of the CWC feels a little bit more manageable and less likely to catch a wingtip. I do prefer the handles on the Mantis, but it isn't a difficult adjustment.

ENSIS Spin flying smooth and pulls like a truck.Going into proper waves with a 7 or 8m could be challenge.

F-One CWC 7 and 8 really do the job well. Best in class I think. We use them in the surf and they hold up. (Yes, even the 8)

I wouldn't say the F-One CWC 6 has "excellent" low end. It sails great. But it's not a low end machine (at my size).

The big sizes in Ensis do pull like a truck, at least 2021 wings. They were fun.

And of course the bigger Armstrongs have lots of early power.

But the F-One CWC 7 really handles like a smaller wing, still has the pull you want, takes a proper beating, and behaves well for it's size while flagged out.

The CWCs are where it's at for this to me.

At your weight I would suggest the 7

moshimoshi said..
My Takoon v2 6m is fantastic for lightwind wavesurfing in 10-15knots.Great low end (8kn in flat water), immediate power, feels like a 5.5 in the hands, super stiff, flags very well and is very easy to get out of the water once you fall.
I tried the F-One Strike 6 CWC once, it felt much bigger and harder to swing around once in the water. Also it does not have this immediate power which I prefer in waves for reactiveness.I am 1.78m and 74 kg

Thanks for the feedback!
Do you find the Takoon smaller in size compared to others? And does it mean it has less power? How do you find the handles, read somewhere that people were criticizing them, due to giving forearm pump for the front hand?

thanks!

Velocicraptor said..

King Crash said..
Everyone loves the FONE Strike CWC 6-8.
If you're in the market for it, an 8 would be awesome. I've seen a few guys riding them here in Oz, very expensive but they're having a blast when people are floating.

I second the CWC. I have the 7m CWC and a 6m Mantis and the 7m is better in nearly every respect. The 7m CWC flys much more nimble than the Mantis (more flickable, easier to push through tacks/gybes, don't find myself outrunning it when flying downwind) and also has better range on both the low and high end. Both the CWC and Mantis fly neutral very well but the more compact wingspan of the CWC feels a little bit more manageable and less likely to catch a wingtip. I do prefer the handles on the Mantis, but it isn't a difficult adjustment.

do you have the Mantis V1 or V2?

randomfoiler said..

Velocicraptor said..

King Crash said..
Everyone loves the FONE Strike CWC 6-8.
If you're in the market for it, an 8 would be awesome. I've seen a few guys riding them here in Oz, very expensive but they're having a blast when people are floating.

I second the CWC. I have the 7m CWC and a 6m Mantis and the 7m is better in nearly every respect. The 7m CWC flys much more nimble than the Mantis (more flickable, easier to push through tacks/gybes, don't find myself outrunning it when flying downwind) and also has better range on both the low and high end. Both the CWC and Mantis fly neutral very well but the more compact wingspan of the CWC feels a little bit more manageable and less likely to catch a wingtip. I do prefer the handles on the Mantis, but it isn't a difficult adjustment.

do you have the Mantis V1 or V2?

Sold the 6m Mantis, but it was a v1. Haven't tried the v2 yet. My experience on the v1 was that the smaller (4m and 3m) sizes were excellent, but the larger sizes were pretty meh.

Still really liking the CWC for light conditions.

omg said..
I'm 80kg,and need a 6-7m wing which has excellent low end and is nice for flagging. Any recommendations on the wings you have tested (especially if you have ridden wings back to back for comparison)?

Thanks for your views!

You don't define by what you mean as low end. I use my 6 CWC from about 12 knots and it's fantastic. Paired with an 1850 cm2 foil. Similar weight to you. It's a sensational feeling gliding along in such light wind. This is all flat water. Not sure about waves, but all the reports are positive and I would happily take it out in waves in similar wind. I see others manage from 8 knots, this is a special skill.

By comparison, I was on a 5.3 m2 from a well-known brand prior to that and the difference is night and day. The 6 did exatly whay I wanted it to do, which was unclock the 12 knots days for me. I never picked the 5.3 up again. The 6 gives you a tremendous amount of confidence too.

The other amazing thing about the 6 CWC is that it also handles wind up to (in my experience) 18/20 knots very well. I will go from the 6 to a 4.2 Strike and on some days a 3.5 m2.

But if need something for sub-12 knots days and it's not going to get much stronger, I would also go with a 7 or 8 like King Crash suggested. I'd love to try one of them at some point.

Has anyone heard anything about the new Takuma RS - comes in a 7.2m and the handles look amazing

Absolutely loving the 8m CWC! I was skeptical on big wings, I thought the difference between a 5m and 8m would be minimal. Turns out it's a game changer for any wind under 12kts. At 6-7 knots, able to start and cruise around on the kujira 1440. At 8kts the wing pulls like a truck, able to start and cruise on the kujira 1095, fully powered up on the harness! In comparison the 5m can probably start at 8-9kts on the 1440 and it's going to be a real battle to not fall because of the lack of power generated.
Basically the power you get from the 8m at 8kts is the same as the 5m at ~12kts, from what I have observed. So it allows you to fly smaller foils in lighter winds, you go faster, upwind angles are better, you can ride more powerful waves, and you can afford to fall and restart without struggling.
I have not tried the 8m in proper waves so can't say how cumbersome it is, to be tested.

I've ridden both the 6M CWC and the 6M Matador LT extensively.
-Power wise, I'd say they are even, but the CWC has a larger sweet spot for pumping.
-Handles, the Matador wins hands down, super comfy and stiff, you can jibe w one hand flick whereas the CWC is kinda noodles and you have to be aggressive.
-Upwind, slight edge to CWC w it's smaller LE, but it's close.
-Downwind, slight edge to Matador as it pulls like a train
-Jumping, tie. Except that the CWC handles have a lot of play in them so I don't feel the direct pull and float as you do w the Matador.
-Flagging, Matador. It just parks and doesn't ever start the death wobble. CWC is close second, but you can hold both on beach and see for yourself which one starts rocking first.
-Tacks, CWC rocks w it's neutral float. What makes the Matador park so well is a slight pull downward, which takes adjusting to for tacks.
-Construction, edge to Naish w more robust materials and more reinforcement. But CWC is excellent. I don't like the 4 extra valves that come w micro-struts, I've had two fail on me.

I will say if you go for a 7, the CWC in this size would be hard to beat.
One unbiased Average Joe's take.

Today I was hoping to get another 5.5 session, sadly the wind didn't show up but luckely I have a 7m flysurfer mojo. It's a session saver. Incredible amounts of power, enough to get your board to unstick before there's enough wind to keep you flying. The wing flags very well too. The span is very tall so I have to mind about the wingtips. Speed is pretty good, because of the huge LE the upwind is a bit less good.
in 13/14+ conditions such a powerful wing becomes really really hard to hold on to. Used a harness for the first time winging and it made the wing even better. I could rest my arms to pump up more on foil before all my energy drained and instead of the insane pull in stronger winds, it translated into speeeed.

i wonder what the gap would be between the 7.0 and 6.2. I bought this wing from a big guy who kept the 6.2 so maybe the 7.0 doesn't have that much more grunt.