I posted some options earlier in this thread, but haven’t tried any of them. I think ~12 liters is the right size for storage.
Im using my Venstrata stash harness to pack a second parawing (harness is big enough for two), which I put inside a semi-dry bag ( Amazon.com 8L version). The Venstrata harness has a loop in the pouch and I use a keychain carabiner clipped to the D ring of that bag so that it doesnt get ejected. Has been working well, although the dry bag isnt totally dry. I would like a very simple vest option though. Willing to bet there are several options on the market in 6-9 mos.
I’ve been loving using the Foil Run page to analyze my runs recently. Today I did a few runs at The Wall from about the state park all the way down to past the Rufus main lot and had no problem zipping back upwind with the PRv2 3m and Hydrocraft 775/140 combo. I’m getting 54° off the wind upwind angles on both toe and heel side with no foot switches, and 8.5mph heelside and 7.7mph toeside VMG according to the app. Of course there is decent current there helping fluff up the numbers a bit, but man it’s so nice being able to self support those downwind laps. Really stoked on the trash bag! I still haven’t quite unlocked the endless connections on the downwind leg that I see others doing so effortlessly but it’s so fun working on it!
Are you guys using the Foil Run page to measure your progress? Is there a better app that can show the length and time of the downwind legs? Foil Run does a pretty good job but I feel like I might not be using it correctly. I’d love to know for sure how long I was on foil on the glides and how far I went, but it’s a bit of a guessing game currently.
I am typically just using the stock “windsurfing” activity on my Garmin watch to get the data and then exporting the GPX file to analyze in Foil Run. I tried a few other apps on the watch itself and can’t really see a reason to use something else for gathering the data. I tried Hoolan and FoilMotion and didn’t see an advantage and both had displays I liked less and didn’t seem as customizable as the stock watch activities. FoilMotion did have some cool metrics in their data analysis but it didn’t seem worth paying for and didn’t do any better with reading the tracks with regards to downwind glides.
I’m sure I’m an outlier using a desktop rather than my phone but I do like the workflow of a simple GPS gathering on the watch and then importing it for analysis into Foil Run. Wondering if there are other solutions like Foil Run out there, or a better work flow.
I did the same lap today. Agree it’s so nice to do some self supported runs! I’ve been just crudely measuring angles on Strava on my pc. Will check it out!
FoilRun has an app for watch & phone that will be ready for public release soon. The watch app in particular has some nice features.
If you find any bugs (like time on foil not calculating correctly) - please report them. There’s an easy report feature and Wren is constantly working on it.
My app Foil Sessions does a pretty good job at tracking your downwind runs. You’ll get numbers like glide/pump ratio, distance, duration, pace, etc. Next version will get a much improved downwind detection algorithm as well.
This is a sample of what a shared dw run looks like. Track color is purple for pumping and white for glide. Can also show hr or speed.
It uses the motion sensor of the watch to figure out whether you’re pumping or not. It will also calculate numbers like pump cadence and number of pumps. Some dock start people like to know that but I’m mostly interested in the pump/glide ratio as I feel that’s a pretty good indicator on how good I’m at reading the bumps.
Should that be along the line in the middle between two tacks when going upwind?
That will work well for people that foil both tacks at nearly the same angle, but the bigger discrepancy between their upwind angle on both tacks, the more wrong it will be.
True, but the problem is we don’t know the exact wind angle. The app pulls the current wind direction when you start a session and uses that to calculate a bunch of stuff. Trouble is the weather buoy is rarely at the exact spot you’re at, and the wind will change during the session anyway, because wind does that. Just a 10 degree shift will throw off any VMG calculation. but maybe there’s a better way to calculate VMG than my idea?
Yeah, without mounting a wind sensor on the rider it’s just making a best guess. You could take into account that a lower upwind angle could have a higher speed, but that’s assuming equal ability to generate speed on both tacks.
Not a proper sailor but what I care about is VMG towards the start of where I’m lapping, not strictly VMG against the wind. So a user could input a point of reference and you could calculate VMG against that, or I think the angle between tacks is actually reasonable, because again I don’t really care about the exact wind direction.
I got a Camelbak Octane 12 and it seems like its going to work perfect for storing a parawing. Fits a 5m no prob (with the water bladder), and I might be able to squeeze 2 smaller sizes in with a compression bag and no water bladder. It has a small drainage hole in the bottom, but I cut a few more drainage holes. Sits high enough on my back so that it doesn’t interfere with my stash harness.
Biggest question will be how well the zippers hold up to salt water. Otherwise it seems pretty ideal.
good deal ($45 at Wal Mart)
I also tried the Nathan Quickstart 15L and it was nowhere near big enough to fit a 5m parawing which is odd since the Camelbak 12L fits well.
I find it hugely interesting that a company like Ozone who have built closed cell paragliders for decades have decided that open cell is the way forward for speed and upwind not closed cell.
Ozone Afterburner -