{"id":2859,"date":"2021-05-04T10:51:42","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kitesurfist.com\/?p=2859"},"modified":"2022-07-18T19:43:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T19:43:54","slug":"is-wingfoiling-difficult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kitesurfist.com\/is-wingfoiling-difficult\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Wing Foiling Difficult?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wingfoiling is all the rage in the wind sports world, and makes a great complement to older water sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning to wingfoil is not that difficult, compared to kiting or windsurfing.  Learn the wing control skills separately from the foil skills.  Choose the right board, mast, and foil setup, and you can be up and riding within a few days or a few weeks of practice. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow the same strategy as you would with most sports:  Identify the skills you will need, learn them separately, and then put them together.  And, choose the right beginner gear to learn on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is learning to use the wing hard?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to use a wing is easier than with a kite or windsurf sail<\/strong>.  You can get a general idea by spending some time standing on the beach with the wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the beach, you can practice holding the wing in different positions, pulling with your back hand to get some power, and releasing to depower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get used to keeping the wing in the air<\/strong> and preventing the tips from touching the sand.  When the wing dips too low, push down with your back hand to send it higher. This is relatively easy to learn with a bit of practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, practice flipping the wing over from its back into a sailing position, without letting it touch the sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you get used to riding on the water, you\u2019ll become more precise with controlling the amount of power in your wing<\/strong>, and where that power is pulling from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also need to learn how to pump the wing to generate power<\/strong>, and switching sides to change direction<\/strong>, all while keeping it in the air, without touching the water. These skills will take some water time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is wing foiling harder in light or strong wind?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Is
(2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wingfoiling is much easier in stronger wind<\/strong>, especially if you\u2019re learning. 15 knots is a good minimum to learn in.  It\u2019s also easier to learn in flat water<\/strong>, although stronger winds may bring more chop as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wing sizes range from about 3 m2 to over 6 m2.  In 15 knots, with a body weight of 80kg you can start with a 4 or 5 square meter wing.  With a bigger wing, it may be more difficult to keep the wingtips from touching the water.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popular wings include the Cabrinha Mantis<\/a>, the Slingshot Slingwing<\/a>, or the Airush Freewing Nitro<\/a>.\u00a0See the wing selection here on Green Hat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is wing foiling easier if you kitesurf\/windsurf\/surf etc?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you already have experience with other wind sports, wing foiling will be much easier to learn<\/strong>.  Having an intuitive feel for concepts like wind directions, the \u201cacross the wind line,\u201d and stall and luff points will help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiarity with a board sport will get you through the first stages more easily as well<\/strong>. If you\u2019re a good snowboarder, for example, you could start getting the basics of riding around on a floating board in as little as two sessions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019re up on the foil, though, everything changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The control of the wing is more like a windsurf sail than a kite.  Mast back to go upwind, front arm straight to maximize power, pumping to get bursts of power – your windsurfing experience will help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But be careful not to let your habits from windsurfing or kitesurfing work against you.  Wingfoiling requires a different set of skills<\/strong> than both of these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is wing foiling harder than wing surfing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Is<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wing surfing (on a floating board) is much easier than wingfoiling!<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t take much time to get comfortable with riding, staying upwind, and jibing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can start with a SUP (stand up paddleboard), or a wind SUP.  It\u2019s even easier on a large-volume beginner windsurf board – above 200 liters.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The daggerboard on the wind SUP or beginner board will add stability, and make it easier to track upwind so you can focus on controlling the wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a foil is a distinct skill altogether.  If you\u2019ve never ridden a foil before, it\u2019s best to work on foil skills separately.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can try being pulled behind a boat or jetski.  You can even learn on a self-powered electric foilboard such as an e-foil, or a motorized SUP with a foil.  If you already windsurf or kitesurf, then learn to ride a foil on one of those first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wing foiling is easier if you have the right gear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Wingfoiling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a beginner, it\u2019s crucial to have the right equipment to learn on – otherwise, learning will be slow and difficult. Besides the wind wing (see above), here are a few important things to keep in mind for gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with a large board<\/strong> with enough volume to stand on and balance easily– at least 40 more liters of volume than your body weight. The Lahoma foil board<\/a> is particularly well-regarded for learning to wing foil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use a bit longer mast <\/strong>than you use for learning to kitefoil.  A 75cm mast will be stable enough to practice on. Later on, you can go to 90cm to avoid bottoming out in bigger chop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s especially important to choose a front foil wing<\/strong> that\u2019s easy to learn on– stable, and with lots of lift.  Greater lift will get you riding at lower speeds.  Look for these three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n