Target: wave riding with stable easy start for messy short period conditions with mainly wing but also adding Parawing. Short enough for easy travel.
68kg
Currently Armstrong 50L FG V1 & DW 7’2 107L V1.
Basically something that gets going better than the 50L but still compact enough for lighter condition travel
I’m 85kg. Proefficient winger, been parawinging for a 2-3 months.
Last year, I’ve shape myself a 73 L (minus 13), 19.5" width midlength for winging. It was perfect for winging but i wish it was bigger for parawinging.
I’ve then shape myself a 80 L (minus 5). So much better but I kinda wish it was 90 L to get up early. The problem is I always need to be on the move otherwise I sink and see-saw.
Anyway, for your size and quiver, I’ll aim for 75-78 L. For the width, I feel 19.5 is perfect. It doesnt bother me in the chop and is quite fast and doesnt catch rail when banking turns.
Hope that help!
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Great feedback thanks.
I wonder if there’s brands that a bit flatter I even if 21", less corky than others at what sounds like +10L (75-78kg with all the winter gear on).
I tried some smaller North and found them to b e pretty corky at volume=weight.
I’m watching/interested while contemplating the PW.
I had a go on the 4.2 Flow D-Wing (demo) and man that pulled like a truck but not enough wind to get going for my 78kg on a 100L board 6-6 x 21. Also found the wing hard to control when sheeting out but this was my very first time on the water.
For winging I’m riding the Omen Emissary 55L 5’6" x 19.5 which handles everything for me and is super efficient. But at this time I don’t think it’s enough volume to learn.
I have a friend who is more your size, 68kg, who started with his 50L board and what riding the first day, pretty skilled though.
I don’t think it will be long before the PW’s have more range and fly more controlled when depowered so I’m hesitant to get a big board at this point.
The Emissary sizes 66L and up are geared for PW and the 66L 6’ x 19.5 might be a great size for someone 68kg. I’m almost tempted myself but probably too small at this point for my 78kg and I don’t want the 6’6" length of the next size up which is 78L.
Or what about the Armstrong Mid in 65L? That’s 5’9"
I’m in no rush at this point and fo the right PW may snag one to play with and try with my 55L.
I can demo boards from my local dealer but they are a Flow dealer and I’m not sold on that wing in it’s current iteration.
Tony
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I’m 73 kg and for parawinging I’ve been using my dw board 7’8 20" wide 110L with success, but was thinking to get something smaller. Been demoing midlength boards 70L, 80L and 95L and I really preferred the 95L, although something like 85-90 would probably be enough. The amount of pull I needed in the pw while using the 70/80L board wasn’t worth it, whereas I think I had the same low end with the 95L as with the dw board. Very curious to try the new KT super K 2, the 90L pro carbon has quite a reasonable length and weight.
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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed wingin my Omen Emissary 66L. Very stable for the size, Great board speed to get up, very direct feel on foil.
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Custom from Sunova is all I do anymore. You could easily do a custom Pilot/mid to whatever dims you wanted. 10% surcharge is what they bill on top of retail for that service and you walk away with a professional build that is exactly what you want. I had mine built at 5’9"x20" 66l and requested 9lbs which they met.
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I hope this helps ya out a big. I have ridden a bunch of different mids and these feel the most alive. But if you’re looking for float you can go Unifoil Quiver Killer or Sunova FD board, which actually look super fun to prone. I attached links so you can check em out if you like. Let me know if you have any questions
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Depending on where you are, consider a shaper like Vince Broglio. He did my last wingboard which I’m now using as a parawing board and it’s perfect. Fully custom, walks you though design elements, super light, awesome colors, quick turnaround, and price equivalent to (and in some cases much less) than the cost of a production big-brand board.
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@Wouzel Are you parawinging the pilot 66L?
What are your thoughts on vol/kg for pw?
Just wondering if you can get away with less volume with an efficient shape and the right parawing.
Tony
Look at something between 6’ and 7’. Width 19" to ? (I am very partial to 19", everything wider feels bargy). I am 75kg, did chose a Starboard Ace Air 6’9, 85l after realizing that a F-one ML at 5’6, 78l was too short (for me). The F-one was a nice board, but if you want to go parawing and do DW runs, length is your friend! The Ace Foil sits so solidly in the water, no corking, very stable. If Starboard would produce a smaller size, I would buy in a heartbeat, love mine but it’s so stable (I can paddle it easily) that I think a smaller one would be magic. And then there is quality, I have well over 50 sessions on the Ace Foil, like new, no issues whatsoever.
I like -10l for my personal goals. I want to be able to ride the Silk 650 downwind and still be able to manage the restart on demand and upwind efficiently. I find that when I go to -20l I need more sail than I prefer for upwind in order to get the restart on demand.
So yes, you could totally use your 55l and a grunty BRM to yoink you up and straight downwind but if you want to session a specific zone you might want to grab the 66l emissary.
I only PW in 25+ knots (Silk 850 until 30+) and am waiting on my 2.4m and 1.9m Ozones to arrive. Feel free to hit me up in a few weeks to ask how those are working with my -10l board (custom Carver 5’11"x20"x77l which has been fantastically easy to learn to PW on). I’m also considering hitting Greg up for a 78l Emissary demo to compare with my Carver on the parawings.
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I am loving my SIC 80L Ka’a mid length board at 6’0" and 22" wide. I mostly wing on inland lakes with gusty wind coming off the mountains. The 80L Ka’a is easy to get up on (I am 79 Kg), releases quickly and is super fun to carve turns on foil. The 70L Ka’a is 5’8" x 20" wide. I’m sure there are lots of good boards on the market right now, but just wanted to chime in.
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I’m about 15 sessions in and tried this:
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Rider
kg -
Ozone Pocket Rocket 4.3
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Lift 120 HA/HM
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Wind: 10-25 kts
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KT 6’9 x 18.5 x 95L
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Sunova 5’9 x 20.5 x 80L
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F-One 5’ x 23 x 60L
The KT and Sunova have pretty similar low end afaict, somewhere between 10-15 kts. I tried the old F-One on a whim when it was 20 kts - that’s comfortably powered on the Ozone 4.3, and I was surprised at how easy it was to get going, probably easier than with a regular wing, I had a great session. Overall I’m noticing that pumping up on foil with a pw seems to be easier than with a wing. So my verdict is that the pw isn’t particularly sensitive to board choice. Next time it’s 20s I’m going to try my 34L kite foil board! 
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for downwinders small boards and big parawings are great because you dont care about being overpowered to go upwind.
I’ve used the 5.1 maliko in 20ish knots with 45L Portal enigma on an 8 mile run and it was a blast.
upwind still doable in this wind speed but PW has less range..
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