jondrums - you definitely can. even with a full sinker.
works best to lie down prone on the board & slightly pressure the windward rail, and you can make great angles.
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For those of you contemplating tack angles on the quest, this is from a session this weekend. Conditions were good for the quest 4. As an average guy, I canāt really tell the difference between the quest and the frigate.
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No dumb question and actually one of the features I found most interesting when testing the Pocket Rocket v1 vs the POW.
So to answer your question, yes I was able to hold 90deg even in some cases a little couple degrees upwind but only with the PRv1, even more upwind if the wind is strong enough, say for example, wind is good and you just want to tow yourself to some launching point just being dragged laying on your board (55L itās what I use - will get more angle on the 90L DW board). But not the POW, that wing wanted to always drag me downwind, it was too powerful and not so friendly when powered up to go upwind laying on the board, and when with not enough wind for taking off, then Iām not sure if it was cause of materials or just the canopy design, was hard to keep it flying and also not possible to keep 90Ā° or upwing.
With the PowerPacks now, since they have a different shape and less upwind ability than the PRv1, I can stay on good enough track to not go straight downwind when wind dies, but not able to go upwind.
So to your question - itāll also depend on the kind of parawing you get.
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I can make upwind progress this way even with the Ranger, which I struggle to go upwind with on foil. Also you arenāt going to fall, which really cuts in to upwind progress.
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Like people have said, this is very much so parawing dependant.
The best slogging upwind parawing I have tried is by far the Frigate.
I can also slog upwind with the POW and PRv1 though.
Itās honestly a huge feature of a parawing that reviews never bother to mention and very important to me as I go out in 8-9 knots often.
With my +20L board and 4.7m Frigate I can always get about 5-15Ā° upwind slogging and one session I even managed 21Ā° upwind thanks to some current:
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Very impressed with the first session on the new Ozone Pocket Rocket v2 3.6m, thing is so solid just drives upwind with comfort in gusts, lots of the improvements in the power pack like the shorter stiffer thicker bridals, center line cascade, trailing edge gather points, smaller bar, bow line clear center of bar. It has totally new supports and structure little bit less aspect ratio, very much easy to control when powered to just keep harder and harder angle upwind with comfort. Seemed like good low end grunt for getting up. This was furthest I was able to get upwind doing upwind downwind laps so far by about 2-3x making my downwind legs seem like full runs not like too short little runs where Iām feeling like it was over before it started. Iām very very happy. I got 3m 3.6m and 4.3m to try and that new mission pack which looks great but I didnāt use since I have a larger board that gives me plenty of range to just pick one size and usually be right.
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Nice Iāve been waiting for these reviews to start trickling in!! Did it feel like more grunt than the v1? Iām wondering if they figured out how to get the wing to be a little more āmobileā in the window so you can get more downwind grunt out of it for takeoff. Love the v1ās but they sort of take off across the wind which can be awkward depending on wave direction, especially in light wind.
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Iām the oppositeā¦ Iāve tried other PWs and I love the way that the PR has a very cross-wind takeoff. Others with more downwind angle feel very awkward for me. I hope they kept that in the V2 
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I think the PWās with the long lines are the most mobile in the wind window. The pocket rocket can work really good with bumps if you spend the time to work it out. As you leg pump a little dw angle on the chosen bump you sort of go at the wing and because of that it will drop way back in the window and then as the bump gives a little push you can rip the PW handle back just as it gets a big power spike from being deep in the window and trying to race forward to the edge of the window. At that point you have bump energy, apparent wind and the pump of the bar all at once for your best chance. Sometimes you get two power spikes in consecutive pumps. This is the very best chance any PW will get you off the water in the lowest wind possible and the PR does it the best i reckon.
PWās with immediate bar pressure from sitting deeper in the window have no power spike from the apparent wind when the wing races to the front of the window. This is ok when the wind is 15 knots but when it 10 to 12 something better is required. They are also compromised on the upwind angle.
I have ordered V2 PR but i am worried they might screw so many of the lovely features of the V1 in trying to appease the mob. V1 with PP line arrangement but not necessarily shorter lines.
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Comment of the week!
Impressive. Is āsloggingā riding on-foil or just standing/laying on floater board?
I have 3.5 Frigate and recently finished a 7ft floater. Struggling to get going - seems i need more than 20knots. If i can somehow āslogā upwind and then prone paddle into a bump i might not havebto give up on this para-thing..
Slogging is anytime not on foil. For me on my +20L board that means standing.
Do you ride a full DW board? I find the people tend to like this feature when on longer boards.
For me the surging forward in the window the PR likes to do reduces the LW pump up a ton. I pump up in 8-9 knots all the time and the ability to bear off wind a bit then have a solid kite to pull yourself forwards on way better. I definitely had a way easier time pumping up on my 4.7m Frigate than the 5.0m PRv1 even though the PRv1 has more static power.
It doesnāt directly say anything about the upwind angle either as in the back to back the 4.7m Frigate clearly beat the 5m PRv1 for me.
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Loving this conversation about light wind start techniques. @FoilMad I agree with you on the line length specifically, I am personally willing to manage long lines if it means better upwind performance or overall wind range. Iām not totally sure thatās always the tradeoff though, Iāve demoād some proto wings that had short lines but were very mobile in the window and could provide good low-end as well as ride very high into the window on upwind. They were a bit nervous flying though.
I canāt personally weigh into this more nuanced discussion on start techniques as I frankly donāt think Iām good enough to do what youāre describing with the PR, but Iād like to try!
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Just got a Vayu Pyro. Super impressed. Feels like it takes everything good from every leading pw.
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I guess the point is that when the PR initiates its race to the edge of the window you rip the bar back and catch it. It provides a big pump without collapsing the canopy that you can even pull down on, not just back, that the frigate doesnāt have. Because the PW has some momentum you have far more to pull against to unweight the board. If the PR is racing to the edge you have failed and missed you opportunity to get ripped off the water.
A 3.6m PR can get off the water in lower wind than a 4m frigate with this understanding. Note this is not with a DW board but using the DW unweighting skills to get a 6ā board off the water. I can get off the water and foiling in wind that i canāt keep sailing in without pumping the foil so i figure I am at the bottom end of what is possible. It think this is realistically 10 to 12 knots with a very efficient foil.
One mans 8 to 9 knots might be another mans 10 to 12 knots Hahahaha. Most PWās donāt even fly so well on the beach in 8 knots.
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I hope you are correct on the tradeoff with shorter lines. I have trusted Ozone to get it right for 12 years so i have ordered the V2ās with that same trust that we will get at least the same upwind speed, angle and comfort of the V1 but with better stow. I think the speed is not talked enough about as a factor. Some of these brands are just slow. Every time I sail my PWās i am just amazed at how much better and more comfortable it is than winging up wind.
After reading some others experiences I totally agree. My PR has a hard time just staying in the air in our 10-12knots.
I have found with a DW board on a small bump in lighter conditions I can sometimes overtake the PW.
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the new bar is notable for sure. He didnāt answer, but I assume you canāt hold the front of the bar with one hand and the new feature only works if youāre holding with two hands. Or maybe I misunderstand and it does fly off the front handle? Super interested to hear anyone who has tried it
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In the video he shows several options on how to hold the bar front hand only. The issue I see is all those options involve being on your heelside. Not sure how you hold the very front of the bar front hand only on toe side.
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