For those that don't know my history, I ride a full quiver of Fone Swings, the gold standard in my opinion, after previously owning Ozone, Gong, and Duotone wings.
My buddy and I tested the new S25 Naish Wing-Surfer in the 4.6m size during the reps demo tour. The iwindsurf sensor was showing 7-23 mph. Our worst, most gusty wind direction, straight off shore to the ocean. The river is our only place to ride in that direction. A bit like inland lake sailing. Violent gusts, then near calm.
First runs, the wind felt steady. This wind direction doesn't "ever" feel steady. Very impressed with that.
Then I began to put a few performance clues together. I felt fast, like really fast. Then each time I jibed and sailed away toe side, I had to pump and milk it, to stay on foil and get up to speed again. Like what the heck, there was no wind coming out of jibes. It was like this most of the day. I eventually figured out what was going on. This wing is making tons of apparent wind. That is why I feel no wind after the jibe. There was no wind! The wing was making it "feel" way winder than it actually was, from apparent wind speed generation. For those without a sailing background, making apparent wind is a good thing. All while no backwinding of the forward section on the canopy. At least no backwinding at the level seen on my Fone. The Naish felt stable and very comfortable rocketing upwind. For sure, the upwind angles are higher and faster than my Fone.
I was ripping so fast, I was weighting more than normal on the boards nose. To the point, I actually pearled the nose at full tilt boogie into the back of some chop.
My buddy Mark (also an Fone owner) came back with the same conclusions after riding the Naish. So darn fast and stable.
Later in the day, I put a windsurf harness line on the wing. Stock windsurf lines worked perfect.
The handling in the jibe was slightly different, caused by the different aspect ratio compared to my Fone wing. No issue, just a few jibes to let the instincts adjust.
The Naish takes high pressure in the leading edge better than my Fone. It doesn't bulge between the circumferential seams like it might pop, when you pump it rock hard. I like that. It gives me confidence to ride it rock hard. Adding to that confidence is Naish using high tensile thread, instead of the lower strength industry standard polyester thread. Naish switched their kites to this new thread about a year ago, allowing their kites to use higher pressures than industry standard. If I remember correctly, they tested kites to some insane pressure, like 60 psi, before the kites exploded. We all want higher pressure, it really does make wings perform better.
The handle comfort and quality, is my favorite of all the wings I have owned. They got the stuffing inside the tubular webbing just right. They feel solid and comfortable.
Naish uses the same inflation valve as my Fone, but they have figured out an improvement on the design. The Velcro cover over the valve has vent holes in it. This allows you to stick the plastic cap and Velcro cover back in place (to protect the canopy and valve cap from damage) then roll it up and air is free to escape. The one pump tube is super sized for quicker deflation and it is routed so it doesn't get kinked all the time like my Fone. Simple changes that make a huge deal in user experience. I love that!
Regarding weight, I didn't feel any difference riding it. Same with my buddy Mark. We know it has to be heavier just looking at it, but it sure doesn't feel like it in-use.
The extra handles actually came in handy and I like it. You can ride narrow arm positions like my Fone, or wider like the Ozone. If you're boosting airs, you'll like the wider hand option. You can even tweak your positions asymmetric (to center of pressure) between toe side riding and heel side riding. It is also possible to over-sheet and drive harder and faster into the wind with the extra handles.
The window saved me already. I was off foil, putt-putting along, waiting on a gust. The gust came, but a channel marker was down wind of me. I could see it through the window. Being able to see it clearly, I was able to pump onto foil and miss it by 15 feet. Without that window, I would have been forced to pass on the gust, and wait until I had slowly drifted past it. I've had issues riding around other windsurfers and kiters who don't understand wingers are riding blind without windows, so they pass way too close for comfort. Regulars to our wing spot know better, but outsiders/tourists don't understand the issue. Issue solved! Being in Florida, I'm surrounded by jet skis and boats. They can't hear me running silent on foil, and I can't see them without windows. Not good! The situation is way worse once you advance to harness use, and extract the wings full potential. This puts the wing into full windsurf mode, locked and loaded to the max, completely blocking your vision without a window.
When viewed from the leading edge looking over the top of the canopy, the Naish appears deeper in draft compared to my Fone. Measured (by eye) bottom of leading edge tube to top of canopy. The max depth is forward on the Naish and back on my Fone. Draft forward, typically translates to better stability in the upper range. Funny thing though, you might think the Fone would be deeper in draft looking at the membrane between the canopy and strut, but it is not, when viewed from the front. Leading edge diameter is similar to Fone.
So I'm sold on them. A 2nd gen product that exceeded my expectations. I ordered every size. My Fone's are going in the classified section. I ride whatever I think is best. I'm old, time is passing too fast. I plan to die with the best toys.
My current ranking on wings I have owned.
Naish S25 (2nd gen) Fone Swing (1st gen) Ozone WASP (1st gen) Gong (1st gen) Duotone (1st gen)
P.S. my 5.3m wing showed up today. It came with a pump and full replacement inflation valve parts. The valve parts are appreciated. Sand does muck up kite valves sometimes and this valve looks fancy (expensive) compared to the older kite valves.
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