Forums > Wing Foiling General

30:1 Wing VS Kite Sales in Hawaii

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Created by foilthegreats > 9 months ago, 24 Feb 2021
foilthegreats
526 posts
24 Feb 2021 9:27PM
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According to Wyatt brand manager at Slingshot, wings are out selling kites in Hawaii 30 to 1. Just wondering what others are saying about sales vs other water sports products around the world?

dejavu
808 posts
25 Feb 2021 12:05AM
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I for one believe it.

Three years ago I watched a Youtube video of Robbie Naish wind foiling and I thought -- I've got to do that. I learned to foil via a windsurfer. A year later here's Robbie again but now he's using a wing to foil and again I thought -- I've got do do that!

I gave up windsurfing with a fin for a foil and have now become obsessed with wing foiling.

Wing foiling is "stealing" people from all the other water sports -- windsurfing, kiting, surfing, SUP and so on. It's already huge in some places and I think in short order will conquer the water sports world.

I hope they keep it relatively simple (equipment wise) because that's a big part of its appeal.

Macca1410
NSW, 68 posts
25 Feb 2021 9:30AM
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And then there are people like me being sucked in who have never done a water sport of any discipline, see wing foiling and go I have to try that.
the simplicity compared to kiting got me in. I could never be bothered to deal with lines etc. and body dragging back to my board when I would eat it constantly while learning. With the wing attached to me, no lines, safety and being able to fly was a major draw card. Now trying to get all my other mates who don't do water sports involved.
only problem now is that I cannot get it out of my mind and concentrate at work, just want to be out all the time.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
25 Feb 2021 6:54AM
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So you had never done a water sport and learnt to not only wing but foil as well. That's impressive dude.
The bit about not concentrating at work ... welcome to water sports, that's not specific to winging. It's an affliction we've all had for many years

yep winging is the growth area of the industry for sure, which means economy of scale should bring the price down right with respect to inflation of course ? .... yeh right

LeeD
3939 posts
25 Feb 2021 7:31AM
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More demand drives prices UP!
I hardly wing, because of windfoil, and have 4.6,5.2, and 6.0 wings.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
25 Feb 2021 11:13AM
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True, and we have a supply squeeze as well. Two equilibrium shifters at once!

Goofcat
239 posts
25 Feb 2021 11:22AM
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Being at ground zero of Wing Foiling here on Maui, 30:1 seems low. There was a confluence of factors last year. The island was shut down starting March due to COVID. People with no work to go to, but allowed to go to the beach. The traffic in the harbor slowed way down due to no cruise ships and less shipping all together. The visitors who usually buy the kite and windsurf gear weren't coming. The US government was giving away money like it was free. All our board shops were cleaned out! Any wing gear was gone in days. I had to buy my first wing board while it was still in the container on the boat. Used gear were going for 90% of new prices because nothing was in stock and everyone wanted to learn this new sport!

Macca1410
NSW, 68 posts
25 Feb 2021 3:18PM
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eppo said..
So you had never done a water sport and learnt to not only wing but foil as well. That's impressive dude.
The bit about not concentrating at work ... welcome to water sports, that's not specific to winging. It's an affliction we've all had for many years

yep winging is the growth area of the industry for sure, which means economy of scale should bring the price down right with respect to inflation of course ? .... yeh right


It is true I had never done any other water sport. But don't be impressed I am still in learning phase with a lot to learn. But I sort of took the right steps as a total novice. Started with 7'3" SUP for a few sessions, then foiled behind boat a couple of times, then added foil to SUP and was going along alright. Then made the mistake that I imagine many do and got a 5'2" board way too early in my learning curve but have stuck with that and am now up foiling both ways just need to work on turns.

Got to say the main drawback, which is unavoidable is being involved in a sport that is weather dependent, just so hard to get out as much as I want so I can improve quicker. All part of the journey though.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
25 Feb 2021 1:16PM
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That's awesome man.

Grantmac
1953 posts
25 Feb 2021 2:02PM
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There seem to be quite a few people locally with no wind sport background at all who are learning winging. I think perhaps it's the perceived simplicity.

Macca1410
NSW, 68 posts
25 Feb 2021 7:43PM
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Grantmac said..
There seem to be quite a few people locally with no wind sport background at all who are learning winging. I think perhaps it's the perceived simplicity.


Perceived is the right word. All the videos I watched at the start were saying how easy wing foiling is and made it look so easy. Maybe if you have experience foiling or windsurfing it is. But as a newbie it was so much harder than I "perceived". When people ask me if it is easy I say no it ain't. It only becomes easy once it clicks but until then it is a lot of hard yards walking up the beach. I can see how some people would give up before they reach a relatively proficient stage and it becomes fun, I know I nearly did. So glad I didn't though.

Alysum
NSW, 1024 posts
25 Feb 2021 10:51PM
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That's impressive... Can't say the same for Australia, in particular Sydney, the uptake seems to be rather slow compared to the rest of the world? Under supply the main reason?

BenKirk
NSW, 600 posts
26 Feb 2021 4:00PM
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Have you been to Narrabeen Lake in a NE'r? It's full of Wings! Last time I was out there would have been at least 15 out, which is a lot of windsports people for around here.

Grantmac
1953 posts
26 Feb 2021 1:32PM
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Macca1410 said..

Grantmac said..
There seem to be quite a few people locally with no wind sport background at all who are learning winging. I think perhaps it's the perceived simplicity.



Perceived is the right word. All the videos I watched at the start were saying how easy wing foiling is and made it look so easy. Maybe if you have experience foiling or windsurfing it is. But as a newbie it was so much harder than I "perceived". When people ask me if it is easy I say no it ain't. It only becomes easy once it clicks but until then it is a lot of hard yards walking up the beach. I can see how some people would give up before they reach a relatively proficient stage and it becomes fun, I know I nearly did. So glad I didn't though.


The learning curve is much steeper than windsurfing. Closer to kiting but less technical than either.
I think the appeal is like prone surfing, it looks so easy but the reality is it's damn near impossible in the beginning.

NordRoi
621 posts
26 Feb 2021 7:39PM
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I think it's not the wing that is hard, it 's the foil. If you give a wing to anybody on snow, they will go back and forth almost immediately. So the approach with newbies should be to master the foil first.

dejavu
808 posts
26 Feb 2021 10:03PM
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I think the trick to wing foiling is the ability to foil. If you come to wing foiling from another foiling sport then you will progress pretty quickly -- I would think kite foilers would pick it up the fastest -- they have the foil experience and to a lesser degree the ability to control a kite will help with the wing. Wind foiling experience helps but you have to remember NOT to try and use the wing like a sail! Especially while learning -- later you can bring the wing down beside you when on foil and you have gained some confidence.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
26 Feb 2021 10:14PM
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From what I've noticed is those that have some foiling under their belt AND windsurfing (even if it was in the past) pick it up real quick. Coming from kiting only (and kite and foil proning etc) it took some time and it wasn't the foiling that was the issue. Few guys I learnt with found the same but the dude who had windsurfed was pulling into head high waves after three bloody sessions.

Alysum
NSW, 1024 posts
27 Feb 2021 10:27AM
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BenKirk said..
Have you been to Narrabeen Lake in a NE'r? It's full of Wings! Last time I was out there would have been at least 15 out, which is a lot of windsports people for around here.


Good to know, indeed a lot for one spot !They are spread all over various spots south of Sydney harbour.

Grantmac
1953 posts
27 Feb 2021 11:32AM
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I feel like it's closer to kiting than windsurfing, but I don't kite. Coming from windfoil I didn't find just foiling along that hard including riding upwind with the wing vertical but the transitions are still impossible 12 sessions in. Carving with nothing to balance against is super difficult if you are used to windsurfing.

tightlines
WA, 3467 posts
27 Feb 2021 12:18PM
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Grantmac said..
I feel like it's closer to kiting than windsurfing, but I don't kite. Coming from windfoil I didn't find just foiling along that hard including riding upwind with the wing vertical but the transitions are still impossible 12 sessions in. Carving with nothing to balance against is super difficult if you are used to windsurfing.



I actually found the transitions easy as and was gybing almost straight away, I think a lot of that was because I was using a big stable as 200 Go Foil wing but the main thing was my path to winging.
I did windsurf years ago, then spent over a decade kiting including a little bit of kite foiling, however I think probably the thing that helped the most was a year or so of SUP surf foiling mainly using the same board and foil that I learnt to wing on.
SUP surf foiling does teach you to foil without having anything to balance against.

Grantmac
1953 posts
27 Feb 2021 2:48PM
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Oh definitely, people with a prone or SUP foil background seem to progress to winging no problem at all.
Me I fall all over the place pretty quickly if I don't have the wing to lean on but I'm getting better. Wish I'd been able to tow behind a boat though, I think that would shorten the process.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
27 Feb 2021 3:17PM
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Yeh that's probably a good point. The guys I know that windsurfed before had kite foiled before and proned/ supped as well. But I had done it all apart from windsurfing. Infact it was a windsurfer that took me aside on the beach and kind of showed me what I was doing wrong with the wing. I suppose I was used to immediate and constant power with a wide band in the window.

Dspace
VIC, 284 posts
27 Feb 2021 6:41PM
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I'm old enough to have lived through several wind sport transitions; first the shift from one design and old school freestyle windsurfing to all things short board windsurfing (slalom, surf), then the whole "windsurfing has been cancelled" transition to kiteboarding around 1999-2000, then the novel, but somewhat modest pickup of kite foiling (it certainly did not overtake traditional kiteboarding), and now finally wingfoiling which has exploded faster than anyone would have guessed. I think even promoters like Ken and Robbie were surprised.

I remember seeing this early video of Alan Cadiz wingfoiling around July of 2019 (see attached). It was just flat water, but he was fast and smooth and tacking as easily as he jibed, all on a board that wasn't huge. I knew right then and there this I what I wanted to do and plunged in head first despite already being pretty committed to kite foiling.....and pretty old to be starting a new sport. Several of my kiteboarding friends here on the Outer Banks quickly followed suit. Haven't looked back since, though I still get out to kitefoil on occasion.

I kinda thought it would be fun to drive down to Real Watersports in Rodanthe here on the Outer Banks wearing a wingfoiling t-shirt with the caption "Triple-S has been cancelled,.....kiteboarding next?'" I'm not too sure Matt would appreciate it.......

Youngbreezy
WA, 938 posts
27 Feb 2021 8:01PM
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eppo said..
Infact it was a windsurfer that took me aside on the beach and kind of showed me what I was doing wrong with the wing. I suppose I was used to immediate and constant power with a wide band in the window.


Yeah I had pretty much the exact same thing, my first session out I was trying fly the wing like a kite and push it forward in the wind window and sheet out to go upwind, the exact opposite of how to do it! It was actually tightlines who gave me some pointers on the beach and the next time out I could easily stay upwind in slogging mode, thanks mate !!

Coming to terms with not having the instant power of a kite took a while though. I am still often amazed at how little forward movement/ apprent wind it takes to make a huge difference when winging. Kiting your either doing it or your really not whereas winging is more like I am sort of doing it, sort of.... oh yeah

Alysum
NSW, 1024 posts
27 Feb 2021 11:12PM
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I would highly recommend listening to the full interview of that clip here, www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Wing-Foiling/Wind-Wings/Full-interview-with-Wyatt-Miller---history-and-where-wing-foiling-may-be-headed-?page=1 some great insights.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
28 Feb 2021 1:42PM
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Yeh ya right was a great watch. Very informative.



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"30:1 Wing VS Kite Sales in Hawaii" started by foilthegreats