Why More Riders Are Mixing It Up with Wing Foiling, Foil Drive and Parawing

It's a great time to be a foiler. Just a few years ago, kitesurfers hopped onto foilboards, and it was awesome. You could get in and out of waves and pick any spot you wanted to surf. The only downside was that the kite was always there and you could easily outrun it and find yourself dealing with loose lines. Today we've got options like winging, parawinging, and Foil Driving that allow us to use power when we need it and shut it off when we just want to surf, and many foilers are taking advantage of more than one of these.

You don't absolutely need power to get out on a foil. Prone foiling does give you the most freedom on a wave, but you're also sitting there bobbing a lot of the time. You're going to have a harder time getting to that perfect spot on the wave, and pumping definitely uses up your internal reserves. So a lot of foilers have turned to wind or battery power to get longer and more productive sessions.

Wing Foiling

Wings were an exciting development for foilers looking to get out and have fun in the waves or even flat water. Winging did a lot to broaden our understanding of what was possible on a foil and opened up the sport to people living all over the country. You don't have to live on the coast or a large body of water; it's accessible to anyone on a small inland lake or even a river.

Wings are something that even new riders can feel comfortable on. While a lot of wingers are also kiteboarders, many are jumping in to foiling for the first time on a wing. It's also appealing to older riders; many of our customers are in their 50s or 60s.

A big advantage wings have over kites is that you can let it flag out behind you while you're using the power of the wave. As soon as you need the power, you simply bring the wing back up into position without any lines to deal with.

Foil Drive

Foil Drive battery-powered assist was another innovation that made foiling more accessible. No wind? No problem! Pull the trigger, the propeller spins up, and off you go to the next wave. It does add some weight and drag to your setup, but most riders will gladly accept the tradeoff. It's also a great way to get a feel for foiling if you're new.

Parawing

And now we're beginning to see the latest entry into foiling: the parawing. Essentially a small ram-air foil kite on short lines, it's mainly for prone foilers who want to be able to get to more waves but not have anything dragging behind them once they're on a wave. It's completely soft and can quickly be stowed in a waist pouch once you get to your wave. After your ride, you re-deploy the parawing and take off for the next set.

Parawings are also appealing for downwind SUP foilers. That's a demanding discipline that requires skill and stamina, perfect conditions, and the right setup for the conditions. A parawing stowed away makes great insurance in case the conditions change or you need a breather.

There's a lot of crossover among these options, and many foilers will not stick to just one. Depending on the day's conditions, what you want to do, and what your progression goals are for the session, one may be a better choice than the others. Tucker's even done all three within the same 4-hour session and had a blast the whole time. Other days he'll go out with just a board and a foil and prone surf the waves.

While the parawing is quite intuitive and easy to pick up for wing and kite foilers, it's not for new foilers. You should already be proficient in getting up on foil and doing your tacks and jibes. That said, we don't know how the gear is going to evolve or what will become possible down the road, so stay tuned as more brands release parawings and existing models are refined.

Parawings are quite durable and are easy to repair if you get a tear. It's also possible to carry a second size with you if you expect conditions to change during your run. That's not something that's ever been possible with kites or wings, and it's an interesting option. Parawings also pack up smaller than other options, which is great for travel to areas where conditions are favorable for them.

Some wingers are even beginning to carry a parawing with them on downwind runs. If something happens to their wing, they can pull out the parawing, almost like a skydiver's reserve 'chute.

With all these benefits, expect to see a lot more parawings out on the water in the near future. If you're a foiler who rides waves, you should be curious about whether a parawing is right for you. Jeff began his life on the water as a windsurfer, while Tucker was a surfer. Then they got into kiting and later, winging. They see parawing as a natural progression since it solves some problems wave riders have with kites and wings. Of course, they still enjoy kiting and winging very much and can do things with them that can't be done on parawings.

Mix 'n' Match

And that's why you see so many riders crossing over among wing, Foil Drive, and parawing. No one option is right for every session. A foiler who wants to get out as much as possible and make the most of every session is going to keep their options open.

It's exciting to see that we still haven't reached the end of what's possible in wind sports. Parawing looks like it's going to infuse it with the same boost of energy that winging brought just a few years ago, and even more recently, Foil Drive assist. With our community being so connected now, word is going to spread faster than ever, and that's going to propel innovation. Back in the day it might take weeks or months for something to get published in a magazine or broadcast on TV, but now we can watch videos that were posted minutes ago of a session from that morning. It's an amazing time, and we can't wait to see where the wind takes us next.

Shop Wing Foiling

MACkite Subscription Links:

YouTube  |   Instagram  |   Spotify Oddcasts

Contact MACkite Below:

800.622.4655  |   Kiteboarder@MACkite.com  |   LIVE Chat Messenger