There are some late released videos/vlogs discussing longevity of parawings and how the lighter materials on some tend to have reduced performance over time.
I can tell the difference between a new inflatable wing and one that has been used - with stretched fabric the “bagged out” term is self explanatory.
But when you jump back to kitesurfing kites - both inflatable and foil/bridled kites - I have long held the opinion that the bridles manage the loads and they resist bagging far better than inflatable wings. In fact I don’t even recall discussing bagged out kites and that discussion really didn’t emerge until inflatable wings had a couple of years under their belts.
So - I’m thinking a properly bridled parawing may see some stretch at the seams especially if used consistently at its top end (or beyond) - but that the bridles will still manage the shape of the parawing such that it will have a similar efficiency to when it was new.
What are your thoughts on the wear of parawings and what should we be looking for to know when a parawing is hitting the end of its service life? And are we even there yet/has enough time elapsed from when even the BRM Maliko V1 was released to see a parawing stretch to the point where it is “bagged out”?
People, please share pictures of your beaten up parawings, and also pictures taken from the same angle from when these were still new. 146 views but nobody responded yet… This post helps anyone who is looking for a secondhand one. It might vey well be true that parawings don’t bag out as much compared to inflatable wings, they indeed get baggy, the leech gets a nasty curve that catches the wind, in fact a friend of mine uses an old baggy 3.5 wing for light wind, and a new 3.5 wing for good wind. I’ve got 3 baggy inflatable wings and am going to have a sailmaker set the leech back to get a good release again. Maybe someone can create a system with an adjustable leechline to make the leech more baggy just for getting up on foil, and after the start the leechline can be released to improve flow(?). In parawings we already see that, with a tiny loop on the C-lines that can be hooked over the end of the bar for a moment.
Good to hear that they hold their shape over the years. In this video you see someone re-waterpfoofing a bunch of parawings, in a not very scientific way, but his statement is that it works well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3OaznTV4Wg
rode Flysurfer pow for a year a lot. the things that showed signs of wear were: 1) reduced water repellency, 2) minor stitching coming apart, and 3) canopy wear (color faded but also visible worn). but even with all that it flew fantastic. Packing was even better because the canopy volume decreased.