Debunking the Top 5 Misconceptions About Wing Foiling

Is Winging Too Hard? Top 5 Wing Foil Misconceptions

This is Tucker and Jeff from MACkiteboarding.com, and it's Wing Wednesday. Today we're going to look at our top five misconceptions about wing foiling. We're going to try to clear up any misconceptions and find out when there's a shred of truth to some of it, depending on your perspective. Some of these are a bit subjective, but we're speaking from the perspective of people who have been into all different kinds of adventure sports, whether it be biking, sailing, golfing, skiing, snowboarding, surfing... most of us here at the shop have done at least a few of those.

1. You Need to Be Strong

Jeff: Obviously, if you're looking to get into the sport of winging, there is some fitness involved. To go from couch potato to ripping down a wave is a big stretch for anyone, so having some athleticism or at least being able to get out and exercise and walk is necessary. As with any sport that you'd like to do but have some question about whether your body can handle it, you should always check with your physician just to make sure that you can go out there and do that, but we're trying to dispel the rumor that you have to be really strong. On YouTube, you see guys that are in their 20s, but I'm not in my 20s. I'm a half-lifer and I have had my share of injuries, so you don't have to fit that stereotype to be a winger. It doesn't take a lot of upper body strength; in fact, there's actually a lot less resistance when you get up on a foil with your wing. You can even get on a stand-up paddleboard and use the wing for power. So you don't have to be physically fit, muscular, or have a lot of cardio endurance. I've done a lot of cardio activity riding bikes for miles, but you don't need that to learn to wing and to enjoy the sport.

Tucker: I'm not a cardio guy so I can attest to that. If I run a mile, I'm probably going to be throwing up at the end. I used to be more of a cardio guy growing up, but cardio stuff's not my normal thing nowadays. Windsurfing, surfing, and probably even kiteboarding are more physical than winging. I would say the learning process is a little bit more strenuous for winging if you're making mistakes or if you're riding in conditions that are not ideal. Then it can get more physical or require a bit more cardio.

Jeff: Right. If you don't have the skill, you have to make up for that with a lot of work to learn it initially, so there is a little bit more strenuous activity, heavy breathing, and getting tired out initially.

Tucker: But it doesn't have to be like that, either. You can always be patient. The cool thing about winging is if you get tired, you can sit down, take a breather, catch your breath, enjoy the scenery, and go at it again. I think a mistake a lot of new riders make in this sport is they just go hard. I usually tell even fit people that if you're trying to wing for 20 minutes and you're not actively up and riding, you should probably rest for 10 minutes, otherwise you're just losing ground, so it's better to reset and then go at it again. So if you're not a cardiomaniac like Jeff or a real hardcore athlete, be patient with yourself and don't set too high a standard. Enjoy the process and take breaks frequently. Like Jeff said, check with your doctor. If you can't ride a roller coaster because of a heart condition, you probably shouldn't be winging.

Jeff: I want you to do it safely, but you don't have to fit the stereotype of looking strong and fit. Any size, any body, male, female, 50 to 350 pounds... we have customers in their 70s that are out there winging and having a good time, and people over 50 just learning the sport. So it can be for anyone; you don't have to be strong.

2. You Have to Live Near the Ocean

Tucker: Do we live near the ocean, Jeff?

Jeff: Definitely not. Lake Michigan can look like the ocean, but no, you don't need to live by the ocean.

Tucker: By me there are a lot of inland lakes, and I'm ripping those lakes a lot. Just the other day we went to a little inland lake and had a great time. That's one beautiful thing about winging; it's not like kiting where you really need clean wind.

Jeff: You can also paddle out to the wind. If you live in a bay area where there's no wind, you can just paddle out to the wind, and as soon as you get a little white cap on any water, you can have fun with it. This summer I experimented on a smaller lake that I would never try to windsurf or kite on, but I was able to wing and have a good time.

Tucker: Some of it's accessibility. Maybe there's good wind, but there are a lot of docks or trees or homes on the shoreline, so you can't launch or land a kite safely or rig a windsurfer. Winging is really accessible with regard to that. I can't even think of a situation where you wouldn't be able to get into the water, unless it's just too shallow or you're dealing with other more serious obstacles like a dry reef or something like that.

Jeff: But we do suggest learning the sport in a spot with somewhat consistent winds over 15 knots. When you're learning, this will set the stage for success and make it easier to learn. Once you've got the skill set, if there's any water with a good breeze, you can make it work.

Tucker: Over 15 knots is probably more important than clean wind; it doesn't need to be perfect by any means, but you do need to have adequate wind, which leads us to our next point.

3. Winging Is for Light Wind

Tucker: Is this a light wind sport? I guess that's kind of subjective. As a wind sports person that's grown up sailing, I would say it's sort of a light wind sport from that perspective, but I think people that aren't into wind sports or sailing think of 10 knots as windy. The leaves are moving, so it's windy. But in terms of wind sports, that's not really windy. Even for sailing, 10 knots is pretty light, and at 10 knots a kite's barely going to stay in the sky. For winging, as a new rider, that 15 knot threshold and above is really great for learning; 15 to 22 is that magic zone.

Jeff: If you don't live in a spot that has that kind of wind, that can be a little bit of a a hurdle to learning the sport.

Tucker: You might need to be more patient or be willing to hunt down the wind a little bit. Maybe at your house it's not 15 knots, but a half hour away there may be a little bit more wind for one reason or another. So while you're learning, take the time to travel to find good wind.

Jeff: For sure. For light wind, you have to have more skill, so this sport is not only for light wind. Once you get the skill and you've spent the time in the sport, then you can make things happen in light wind, but to think that it's light wind specific because foiling is very efficient and you can do it in very light winds, that is not accurate. It takes a lot more skill and you need to have a lot of patience if you're going to try to learn and only ride in light wind.

Tucker: Yeah. But it is getting better every year. When the sport first came out, 6 meters was about as big a wing as you could get, and the design hadn't been refined as much as it is now. We were riding different foils and boards than we are now, and you almost needed 20 knots to learn at my weight. But the gear gets better every year, and there are more resources and knowledge for people so they don't have to go out and figure it out like we did. The wind you need to ride in is incrementally getting lower and, with the right technique and experience, you can get down to 8 or 9 knots, depending on your weight.

4. Winging Is Expensive

Jeff: Is it expensive?

Tucker: It can be. Once you get hooked, man, get ready to cash in those bonds. But coming from a perspective of other sports like golf, skiing, hockey, or biking, is getting into winging expensive? That comes down to the point of view of each individual person. It can be a little intimidating, but for most people, once they look back at it and realize what a big part of their lifestyle it is and how frequently they go out and how much joy they get from it, then it's not that expensive. Comparing it to skiing or biking, which have upfront gear costs at multiple pricing tiers, winging is the same way. Here in the shop, we usually have a complete kit with everything you need at around two thousand dollars for a good, reputable brand, not a random knock-off that you found on the internet. It's high quality, new gear, though the used market's getting better too, so that could lower that threshold slightly. I realized that, compared to something like skiing, boating, golfing, wakeboarding, or any of those, every time you do it, it's going to cost you something in addition to the cost of your gear. For instance, every time you go skiing you're talking a $50 - $100 lift ticket. That adds up quick.

Jeff: So in perspective, it's not an expensive sport.

Tucker: Right, and it's getting cheaper all the time, now that there's some good used gear on the market. You can also resell your gear as you progress or decide to buy something new, so there's some reinvestment there.

5. Winging Gear Is Bulky

Jeff: Our last myth: it's bulky. Does all the stuff you need to do the sport take up gobs of room in your car and require multiple trips down to the beach?

Tucker: Again, I think it's a perspective thing. You do have a relatively large board, at least when you're starting, and you have a foil attached to it, so when it's assembled, it's a big piece of kit. But it's not heavy, maybe 25 pounds, and you don't need a pickup truck. And it all breaks down. For a couple of years I was driving a Prius as my session mobile, and I put three boards, six foils, and ten kites in that thing, no problem. I had to break it down, of course, but it puts together pretty quickly, so you definitely don't need to drive your Sprinter van with attached trailer like you sometimes see with the windsurfers.

Jeff: You don't need that excess space, for sure. I've got a Subaru Outback and I can pack in my board, three wings--I like to have all the sizes, but you don't need all the sizes--and multiple foils. It does pack down and the materials are lightweight, so generally speaking, once you get things set up from out of the car, you can take it down to the beach in one trip, or at the most two trips, if you want to take your board down first with your foil on there, and then your wing.

Tucker: You can also get a day bag like the Mystic travel bag and put everything in it. It goes out of the garage, into the car, out of the car, onto the shoulder, and down to the beach.

Jeff: For the amount of travel you can do with it on the water and moving it, it all packs down impressively small, almost to the footprint of a table top.

Tucker: I think for a lot of people, it's not necessarily whether it will fit in their car, but it's more of a travel thing when they say "bulky". But again, I compare that to any other similar water sport like surfing. Then you're bringing a lot more bulk, and it's a lot easier to damage it.

Jeff: Some people want to be able to operate within what they have: their car. They don't want to have to buy a roof rack, they don't want something on top of their car, and they don't want to buy a trailer to haul their extra gear. All this will fit into a Prius or any car.

Tucker: And then there are inflatables, which really take that compactness to the next level. Those are popular now for people that have limited space. They live in an apartment, they might not have a car because they live in the city, or they're traveling and they need something that packs down and is going to handle some abuse as they travel around. That's an awesome option as well.

Jeff: Well, there you have it. It's not bulky, you don't have to live by the ocean, it's not just for light wind, you don't need to be strong, and it isn't that expensive. Hopefully that gives a little help for those that are thinking about getting into the sport.

Tucker: If you have any questions at all, reach out to us here at the shop. That's what we do. That's where we got our list. Call us at the shop or chat with us on our website. We're here to help. This has been Jeff and Tucker, and we'll see you next time.

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