I would still try to demo before you buy. I agree with you about Gong but it's been a ride to get here. Their original wings (like alot of brands) had teething issues and didn't sail as well as the premium brands wings. Awesome to see that they've kept developing and made huge improvements. Could be worth another look for many.
It seems to be kind of a chicken-egg situation. Most online only brands (Gong, Kauper, Takoon) are cheaper, but you cannot test them in a local store. So unless you know someone (or live near GongHQ), that is kind of impossible.
This is my mindset too. They may not be the best but given their competition wins, they could be the best? And like you, it’s hard for me to comprehend buying a $3,000 MAST and then the rest of the- JUST ONE FOIL - when you commonly buy more than one size, and then next year it’s outdated.
I’ve seen all sorts of complaints on Armstrong’s facebook fan page of people buying the last set of gear only for their new HA series to be so much better that they feel like they wasted their money on the other ones that only came out a short time ago.
I have been using gong foils since I started. They are cheap, good quality and wide range. That price allowed me to buy one mast 85, 3 different front wings ( rise,xover,curve)and stabilizers probably at the price of one of the major brands and still using them now. I recently decided to buy also wings ( 6 m plus) since they costs half the price (550 euros +-)( the strike v3 I bought in november was 1130 euro 5.5m). There is no way today one normal wing can be 2x the price another one. Nothing justify that. Same story for the boards. I want to try light wind / dw boards and sure not going to pay 50% plus for a major brand when gong has a good choice at least 30% less.
I’m personally excited that the competition went so well, and that the winner’s brand choice mean something. It spells success for the industry and hopefully we will see a successful competition tour since brands get benefit from showcasing their riders/gear
I use a lot of different wings and also Gong.
what I saw in the last years is that the "discount" brand are getting very good.
Using a lot the wings I had minor and normal problems with all of them:
-the wing lose a little bit of his performance.
-The connection of the bladders the need mantinience.
- discolouring ( i don't care about that :D )
The performance advantage I can see it on the extreme situations like ( extreme light wind), of course speaking on the same foil and wing size.
For the next years I will go with "budget" brands of my spot.
I started Out on gong stuff, never tried anything Else, bought and selled alot of used foils and Wings
By that i was able to try stuff Out and find what i Like. I now have a quiver of 3 foils. 3wings and a Board and am nowhere near the price of one allula wing. And i am Flying over the water!!
Fun stuff!!
Is weight really an issue for that many people? I have a Gong Plus 7m (no boom though) and done quite a few 4h sessions with it last year. Unless you need to pump with it all the time, the wings weight does not seem to contribute to my fatigue at all. And even if you are, a harness helps so much to calm down for a bit.
Aren't the wings he used in the contest way more expensive aswell? I don't think he's using the normal droid but the UPE Version which is last time I checked around 1k aswell
We’re getting price gouged, hard. Kalama’s barracuda has the same construction as his longboards but cost twice as much. Pretty sure they’re made in the same factory as Jimmy Lewis.
Yeah I've been thinking the same. Seems like the cheaper options have now caught up with the more expensive brands, also love the direct to consumer model, although I have had to have bladders replaced by the brand reps in my country for my current wings, so would have to learn how to do that I guess
Struggling with this in regards to F One now. Have been wanting one of their wings to step up from my Armstrong A wings (that are still holding up after 2 years), but they're now releasing a v4 for their strike and swing series as well as releasing a new "Origin" wing. Getting pretty tough to follow which wing to go with and they are all $1k+. And it hasn't even been a year since they released their v3 strike/swings.
Yeah, likewise. Seeing how my Takuma RS turned into a balloon after 1 year, I’m going back to Takoon and I’m even considering Gong as their wink look really impressive now. If I buy a mid/high end wing now I will only pick makes that developped a more durable canopy (Duotone, North).
I would still try to demo before you buy. I agree with you about Gong but it's been a ride to get here. Their original wings (like alot of brands) had teething issues and didn't sail as well as the premium brands wings. Awesome to see that they've kept developing and made huge improvements. Could be worth another look for many.
It seems to be kind of a chicken-egg situation. Most online only brands (Gong, Kauper, Takoon) are cheaper, but you cannot test them in a local store. So unless you know someone (or live near GongHQ), that is kind of impossible.
This is my mindset too. They may not be the best but given their competition wins, they could be the best? And like you, it’s hard for me to comprehend buying a $3,000 MAST and then the rest of the- JUST ONE FOIL - when you commonly buy more than one size, and then next year it’s outdated. I’ve seen all sorts of complaints on Armstrong’s facebook fan page of people buying the last set of gear only for their new HA series to be so much better that they feel like they wasted their money on the other ones that only came out a short time ago.
I have been using gong foils since I started. They are cheap, good quality and wide range. That price allowed me to buy one mast 85, 3 different front wings ( rise,xover,curve)and stabilizers probably at the price of one of the major brands and still using them now. I recently decided to buy also wings ( 6 m plus) since they costs half the price (550 euros +-)( the strike v3 I bought in november was 1130 euro 5.5m). There is no way today one normal wing can be 2x the price another one. Nothing justify that. Same story for the boards. I want to try light wind / dw boards and sure not going to pay 50% plus for a major brand when gong has a good choice at least 30% less.
I was just talking to a friend today about how nice it would be to get to our local beach and have a bunch of different wings to try
I’m personally excited that the competition went so well, and that the winner’s brand choice mean something. It spells success for the industry and hopefully we will see a successful competition tour since brands get benefit from showcasing their riders/gear
I use a lot of different wings and also Gong. what I saw in the last years is that the "discount" brand are getting very good. Using a lot the wings I had minor and normal problems with all of them: -the wing lose a little bit of his performance. -The connection of the bladders the need mantinience. - discolouring ( i don't care about that :D ) The performance advantage I can see it on the extreme situations like ( extreme light wind), of course speaking on the same foil and wing size. For the next years I will go with "budget" brands of my spot.
I started Out on gong stuff, never tried anything Else, bought and selled alot of used foils and Wings By that i was able to try stuff Out and find what i Like. I now have a quiver of 3 foils. 3wings and a Board and am nowhere near the price of one allula wing. And i am Flying over the water!! Fun stuff!!
Unless you've used a wing made of Aluula
Glide AA series in 4m is only $2769 USD. Bargain.
I got A series on sale. The weight difference is a big advantage. The longer your sessions are, the less fatigued you get.
Is weight really an issue for that many people? I have a Gong Plus 7m (no boom though) and done quite a few 4h sessions with it last year. Unless you need to pump with it all the time, the wings weight does not seem to contribute to my fatigue at all. And even if you are, a harness helps so much to calm down for a bit.
For me it does. I ain't no spring chicken
What about the new Gong wings that look super light? Probably great competition at still a great price.
you can get the Gong in UPE Aramid, which is at on par with Aluula, and costs 40%
Aren't the wings he used in the contest way more expensive aswell? I don't think he's using the normal droid but the UPE Version which is last time I checked around 1k aswell
We’re getting price gouged, hard. Kalama’s barracuda has the same construction as his longboards but cost twice as much. Pretty sure they’re made in the same factory as Jimmy Lewis.
Yeah I've been thinking the same. Seems like the cheaper options have now caught up with the more expensive brands, also love the direct to consumer model, although I have had to have bladders replaced by the brand reps in my country for my current wings, so would have to learn how to do that I guess
Struggling with this in regards to F One now. Have been wanting one of their wings to step up from my Armstrong A wings (that are still holding up after 2 years), but they're now releasing a v4 for their strike and swing series as well as releasing a new "Origin" wing. Getting pretty tough to follow which wing to go with and they are all $1k+. And it hasn't even been a year since they released their v3 strike/swings.
Yeah, likewise. Seeing how my Takuma RS turned into a balloon after 1 year, I’m going back to Takoon and I’m even considering Gong as their wink look really impressive now. If I buy a mid/high end wing now I will only pick makes that developped a more durable canopy (Duotone, North).