183 cm, 78kg older winger here riding a 78 liter 4'11' board and SLS Slicks. Always strapless (bad knee), mostly flat water, and OK-ish skills. Winging for 3 years now and realizing how great my light wind foil (Gong Veloce XXL, 1900 sq cm, 107cm span, AR 6.3, Volume 1.7 liter) has been for learning flat water skills with modest wind speeds (~9-15 kts). It's very thin (low volume) for its large surface area, so it has decent upper end speed, great glide, super low stall speed, AND reasonable carving ability. It also allows me to keep my "lighter wind" hand wing size limited to 6m.

Not a Gong Groupie at all (owned/tested other brands including the HA's), just hoping the manufacturers keep improving THIN, light wind mid aspect foil shapes similar to this, and don't get too caught up in the HA craze or thinking that large area mid aspect foils are only good for really heavy riders or complete beginners learning basic jibes. I think they're great for the average Joe/Jane learning more challenging flat water skills!

I have a Veloce XL as my big foil.
Something I notice is it never feels overpowered like others I've tried. Yes it hits a maximum speed around 17kts but it stays comfortable in +30kts of wind. Especially with the new HA stabs which are absolutely brilliant.

I do have one of the Veloce H-L wings and it's far more challenging. I feel like the HA might suit for light wind in a large size but doesn't seem to work as well when I'm wanting a smaller for for hectic conditions.

We have very short period wind swell which is fairly chaotic on a big day. I think with longer period swell the HA would be brilliant.

I'm currently debating what to go for a light wind foil. The Veloce XXL and Fluid XXL-H both have my eye.

Grantmac said..
I have a Veloce XL as my big foil.
Something I notice is it never feels overpowered like others I've tried. Yes it hits a maximum speed around 17kts but it stays comfortable in +30kts of wind. Especially with the new HA stabs which are absolutely brilliant.

I do have one of the Veloce H-L wings and it's far more challenging. I feel like the HA might suit for light wind in a large size but doesn't seem to work as well when I'm wanting a smaller for for hectic conditions.

We have very short period wind swell which is fairly chaotic on a big day. I think with longer period swell the HA would be brilliant.

I'm currently debating what to go for a light wind foil. The Veloce XXL and Fluid XXL-H both have my eye.

I owned a Fluid HL and have had a few sessions on a borrowed ART999. For efficient downwinding they were both awesome even in our messy short period steep chop conditions (Fluid LH a bit more agile than the ART999), but my mid aspect Veloce LT wasn't that far behind and so much easier to turn aggressively (jibe or tack) in the choppy mess compared to either of the HA foils. That Fluid XXL-H has a 122cm span. Not far from the Axis PNG 1300 at 130cm. That's way above my pay grade for coaxing into an aggressive turn with a hand wing... but I bet they pump and glide like nothing else, almost like the hand wing would be a distraction!

The Mid Aspect-ish Go Foils RS series seem to be more popular than some of their earlier higher aspect wings. They certainly seem to have a solid place in the mix at the very least.

The MA Gong stuff is perfect for me, Veloce, Fluid T's and S's are real good for me, but my skill level is too low to give my opinion any real value in that area.
The only High Aspect wing from Gong I'll be buying soon, will likely to be the Pump and Glide (dock starting, wake thieving, glide machine ) that is suppose to be in the works. I assume it would kind like the Axis 1310 style but with some of that Patrice secret sauce in the mix.

I've ridden quite a few 10:1 gliders which definitely have their place in the quiver but 7-8:1 is my pick for a good compromise between bottom end, glide and turn.

Relapse said..
I've ridden quite a few 10:1 gliders which definitely have their place in the quiver but 7-8:1 is my pick for a good compromise between bottom end, glide and turn.

Same here. Only thing I'd add is foil thickness (often specified indirectly as volume). I have never liked thick foils, even from the early learning days. In fact I basically hate them, regardless of AR or surface area. Partly why I started the thread. To me the thinner, the better, as long as you keep sufficient stiffness and structural integrity/durability. I guess you could say a Mikes Lab rig would the extreme case of that..

I still remember friends learning on an Axis 1020 or 920 back in 2019. It was like dragging around a friggin sea anchor.

I'm hoping some of the new shapes designed for tip breaching get moved into new MA foils from Gong. The difference between the Veloce H-L and XL is very noticable. Although I can't reliably breach either one I've definitely recovered easier on the H-L, although a whole wing breach or a stall is more intense.

I've found the new H tail needs the whole foil further forward. To the point where I might need to drill my aluminum base plate to get it more forward.