Hi all,
From what I see, most riders and youtube test reviews are always using the 3-4 m? range. I rarely come across anyone talking about larger parawings, which makes me wonder:
- Are bigger sizes not yet bought and as market evolves, riders will expand their quiver to 5-6 m2 ??
- Are large parawings of second generation still facing stability / issues, or just diminishing returns?
So the real question: Is it worth going for a bigger parawing (5.5 or 6 m?) to make light wind sessions fun?
...or is PW simply not the right tool once the wind drops below a certain threshold ?
For context, I'm a solid winger, 94 kg , enjoying wing in 16+ knots ... and I'm looking for PW in 12-18 Knt. That's what got me interested in parawing for low wind days....Would love to hear from anyone with real experience on larger sizes-especially heavier riders.
Thanks!
93kg 777 PT Skin 5.4 works well in 10 to 12 knots. Not so good if you get 15 plus gusts.
I am in the market for a 6m. Thinking Ka'a but am waiting to see if BRM will launch a new offer soon.
Currently using Ka'a 4.2m with Dragonfly 7' 19" 100L and AFS E1300 as my light wind rig in 10-15 kts. I currently clock in at 85kg in my birthday suit.
My biggest concern is all the material a 6m has and management on the stow.
Select to expand quotefoilthegreats said..
I am in the market for a 6m. Thinking Ka'a but am waiting to see if BRM will launch a new offer soon.
Currently using Ka'a 4.2m with Dragonfly 7' 19" 100L and AFS E1300 as my light wind rig in 10-15 kts. I currently clock in at 85kg in my birthday suit.
My biggest concern is all the material a 6m has and management on the stow.
I think the smaller Ka'a might be far better than the big ones; I found the 5,4m Ka'a to be a piece of trash, would really not recommend it. The 777 P.T Skin 5.4m is just insanely much better. Better low end, better high end, far better angles, the canopy packs almost as small though the bar is a lot bigger (which actually makes the parawing steerable).
5m Pocket Rocket is fun if you don't want to collapse it - just sail around.
5m PowerPack has a little less low-end by is fun if you want to collapse and pack away.
Haven't tried any others sorry.
I've asked this question on a few facebook pages & even here I think. I got few if any replies from those that have actually bought them & use them & more from those that have smaller sizes & speculate. I'm in the same boat & would like to replace my 6m wing with a PW. Main reasons are not having the huge wing in my face & the increasingly ridiculously expensive prices to replace them.
You'll get the usual suspects that say can get up in 6knots of wind with a 3m PW blah blah blah but the only amateur footage I've seen in real world conditions showed the big PW to be quite cumbersome and not very reactive as can be expected.
Most manufacturers would be really happy to break into the lucrative big PW market however the scarcity of bigger PWs indicates that even they don't see them as a viable option yet.
I'm going to wait out this windless winter & see what happens next spring.
Most of the guys I PW with jump to their Foil Drives at 10mph and below. Above 15mph they are on 5.0 and smaller PWs. That 10 to 15mph window is where the larger PWs come out - Flysurfer POW 5.0, Triple 7 PT Skin 7.3 and 5.4, Ozone PR 5.0 are all viable options - you just need to learn to transition without slacking the lines.
Knowing how to pump your board and foil to get up with help from the PW, instead of relying solely on the PW to pull you up by itself is a good skill to have in this wind strength window.
Inflatable wings also come out in this wind (10-15mph) as they pump way easier
It's all fun - just pick your poison
One of the nuances that I feel like gets left out is the surface condition and how swell direction aligns with wind. I can make a 4.3 PR work around 15 and maybe a little bit below if surface is smooth and water energy aligns favorably with my takeoff. But if its choppy or I'm working against or across the swell direction then I need a lot more wind (or a bigger sail).
Im doing some quiver adjustment now and totally torn as to whether to go 5m or 6m as my biggest size. Haven't ever ridden anything bigger than 5 (and biggest I own is a 4.3), but if it gets me more days on the water, then I'm all for it. Really becomes a question of whether I'm actually going to get any gains out of that last meter, or whether a wing that size just becomes ungainly (pun intended).
Parawing sizing is still a mixed bag so keep that in mind. Projected vs actual area. I'm getting a 5m Vayu Pryo soon and will report back. My 4m Pyro needs a 15-16 knot gusts to get me up on a Code 980S and 80L ML. Pryo sizing is pretty consistent with the Pocket Rocket, Stash and Frigate is you've tried those.
Select to expand quoteVelocicraptor said..
One of the nuances that I feel like gets left out is the surface condition and how swell direction aligns with wind. I can make a 4.3 PR work around 15 and maybe a little bit below if surface is smooth and water energy aligns favorably with my takeoff. But if its choppy or I'm working against or across the swell direction then I need a lot more wind (or a bigger sail).
Im doing some quiver adjustment now and totally torn as to whether to go 5m or 6m as my biggest size. Haven't ever ridden anything bigger than 5 (and biggest I own is a 4.3), but if it gets me more days on the water, then I'm all for it. Really becomes a question of whether I'm actually going to get any gains out of that last meter, or whether a wing that size just becomes ungainly (pun intended).
Absolutely agree. Trying to with launch the 4.3 I'm always looking for that short piece of calm water between the chop to gain that initial board speed.
The 7.3m PT Skin is a great light wind pwing.
The build materials are super light (sail material and lines), so it flies in nothing and drifts well during turns (reminds me of a Peak4).
Gybing is really straight forward and turning is great (helped by the huge handle).
Not sure of the low number to get up and going, (10/12??) but the high number is probably around 15/16 knots (adding a harness will help you hold down even more power).
A really good pwing.
Select to expand quoteFranP said..
Hi all,
From what I see, most riders and youtube test reviews are always using the 3-4 m? range. I rarely come across anyone talking about larger parawings, which makes me wonder:
- Are bigger sizes not yet bought and as market evolves, riders will expand their quiver to 5-6 m2 ??
- Are large parawings of second generation still facing stability / issues, or just diminishing returns?
So the real question: Is it worth going for a bigger parawing (5.5 or 6 m?) to make light wind sessions fun?
...or is PW simply not the right tool once the wind drops below a certain threshold ?
For context, I'm a solid winger, 94 kg , enjoying wing in 16+ knots ... and I'm looking for PW in 12-18 Knt. That's what got me interested in parawing for low wind days....Would love to hear from anyone with real experience on larger sizes-especially heavier riders.
Thanks!
Yeah I think 5.5m is a nice size and I get plenty of use out of this size. I am 105kg riding 100L ML and a few different Axis foils.
Previously I had the 5.5m Dwing ( I shortened the lines which helped a lot with packing) now I have 5.4 PT skin. With both of these I can ride reliably from about 12 knots up to about 20knots. I am usually doing shorter upwind downwind runs where I will go upwind about 500m -1.5kms and then cruise downwind. Previously I was wadding the wing up now I do a full stow. I will usually be doing this 10- 20+ times per session so plenty of practice packing down the bigger sizes. Lately I have been getting pretty much 100% redeploy from a full stow with my 5.4 PT skin which I am pretty stoked on.
Now definitely big parawings have issues and don't just scale up perfectly. They are overall more difficult to use, less stable and for shorter riders might not be manageable. Also transitions in light winds can be difficult.
I think bigger parawings need to be specifically designed for their size not just scaled up. So far it seems like the 5.4 PT skin has the best reputation out of the big parawings currently available but there's so much coming out on the market. I would be very interested to see how the biggest sizes of the Fone quest, Flow v2, Stash v2 and North Rover perform. And let's not forget about the 5.7 PT hybrid that could potentially have a massive wind range and great flying characteristics. Exciting times to be a foil frother!!
A few sessions in and having a ball in 12-18 knots on Smik 5.0 and neutral buoyancy Carver.
Really manageable size and config even out in the wild blue. Scotty's done a ripper job on this wang.
More time on it and shld be comfortable in 10 to 20 knots
With line/bar tweaks prob be happy in 20+
the grass always being greener, after listening to foilrat & Dimitri I'd love to try the 5.7 PT Hybrid, see just how much of a performance gain it is for 10-20+ knot ocean upwind/downwinders...
If its as stable as they reckon, be able to use it to chug home in feck all knots, and with a 5.7 and 3.1 combo - one flying one stowed - cover 99% of conditions round here.
..just how much patience does that hybrid leading edge require tho 
Select to expand quoteflowstate said..
the grass always being greener, after listening to foilrat & Dimitri I'd love to try the 5.7 PT Hybrid, see just how much of a performance gain it is for 10-20+ knot ocean upwind/downwinders...
If its as stable as they reckon, be able to uses it to chug home in feck all knots, and with a 5.7 and 3.1 combo - one flying one stowed - cover 99% of conditions round here.
..just how much patience does that hybrid leading edge require tho
Yeah I'm really interested in the PT hybrid. There's been a bit of info getting out but not heaps just yet. Everything I'm hearing sounds really good. They're not cheap though and I would be a bit hesitant to buy one just yet. I think Daniel at kite addiction myaree has some and has been riding them so could be good for local feedback. I'm thinking about the 4.3m which should work for me from 18 to 30 knots that would cover every day in Perth summer. Or maybe the 3m for ultimate top end and gust handling in the winter storms.
So many good options and not much good wind in Perth currently!! Gotta calm the new gear frothing for a bit
