Wing Foil Fridays: Ozone Wasp vs. F-One Swing
Wing foiling has officially taken off. This new and exciting sport is really resonating with riders from SUP, surf, kite, wake, wind, and more. Right now knowledge is limited or skewed and choosing the right gear is necessary to have a good time. Building off of our first wind wing comparison video and blog about the Slingshot Slingwing, Naish Wing Surfer, and Duotone Wing Foil, this blog will detail the differences and benefits of the two most popular wings in the market right now, the Ozone Wasp and F-one Swing. Let’s start with some similarities, then compare the differences.
Similarities
Both F-One and Ozone are longstanding, top-tier kiteboarding brands known for their design, quality, and customer service. In that regard, they are very similar in the fact that you can expect a great-performing, durable product with support to back up years of use.
Both the Wasp and Swing wings feature an inflatable leading edge and boom frame. This style of construction is beneficial because it is lightweight, packs down small, and is exceptionally tough. If tumbled in a wave, the bladder will warp rather than break. If you need to deflate and paddle, they are easy to handle. If you manage to pop a bladder, they are simple and cost-effective to replace or repair. Both Ozone and F-One use high-quality pump valves and strut tubes for a one-pump system.
Since they are an inflatable boom-type wing, they employ handles to grasp the wing. Handles are nice because they allow a visual reference and more comfort, as well as less muscle fatigue. Grabbing the same handle will give you a baseline for power and sheeting, so you can quickly be familiar with how it reacts. You’ll learn which handles you like best and use them most of the time. Handles are softer on your hands and muscles because they are a much smaller diameter to hold. They require less grip strength and fit into your fingers more naturally, so you do not need to work so hard to hold the wing for long sessions or higher winds. You’ll find that this sport can be tiring, especially on your forearms, wrists, and shoulders, so any help is nice to have. There are, however, some minor differences in the handle designs for the Ozone Wasp V1 and F-One Swing V1 models.
Differences
Handles
As I mentioned, these wings each use handles. However, they use a slightly different approach that we can look at. The F-One Swing handles are very simple and clean with only three options along the boom and one on the leading edge. This makes your choice of handle very simple while maintaining a minimum wing weight. The handles are a round narrow diameter which makes them maybe slightly easier to grab but less padded. Their boom also has attachment points for their harness line if you choose to add that. The harness line allows you to hook into a harness and ride with less stress on your arms. I’d only advise this for riders with experience in mellow conditions.
Ozone’s handles are beefier and abundant but still manage to keep it lighter than most wing surfing options. These handles are more rectangular and have good padding that leaves fewer pressure points when riding powered. Handles appear along the entire boom so you can choose where you want to grab based on your power and arm length. Once I find my favorites, I like to use some tape to mark those handles for easy reference. In addition to boom handles, they also use a leading-edge handle and Y-type handles. Y handles connect the leading edge and boom at a roughly forty-five-degree angle. These provide extra stability between the leading edge and bladder but also give you a great way to control the roll of the wing. In gusty or overpowered conditions, you may find that your wing is more unwieldy than normal because the wing is getting uneven power across each side. This sometimes causes the wing to want to roll from side to side if you do not have a point of leverage over it. The Y strap gives a great point of leverage over the roll. Additionally, it gives an easy-to-find handle during a tack or jibe. Ozone does not include harness line anchor points, but you can attach any windsurfing harness line to the handles and do the trick if you are inclined to do so.
Shape
I’d say the second, and probably most notable (and noticeable) difference between these two wing surfers is their design or shape. Ozone has a medium aspect ratio shape that makes it quite user-friendly. Power comes easily even if you are not an expert sailor. The Wasp’s medium aspect ratio design provides a narrower wingspan which allows for some forgiveness in sail angle and wingtip touches. The profile is rather flat, so it catches a good amount of power and stays stable in your hand when luffing the sail downwind.
The F-one Swing is higher aspect than most designs on the market right now. This means it has a wider wingspan when comparing a similarly sized wing. For instance, the wingspan on the Swing 4.2 is nearly identical to that of the Wasp 6m. Because of that, you do have to be mindful of touching the wingtips to the water on the larger sizes. It’s not so hard after you get used to it, and the tradeoff is slightly better upwind performance and top speed. Its dihedral shape lifts the wingtips higher than the strut, so it’s less difficult to handle than it sounds on paper. Some dihedral wings can feel a little tippy in gusty winds or luffing, but the Swing has a deep pocket located directly behind the boom that keeps the wingfoil section efficient, powerful, and balanced.
Construction
As I had mentioned in the similarities, these two brands are both noted for their performance and quality. They do go about it in slightly different ways when they approached the construction and materials of these wing foils.
Ozone, in its typical fashion, balanced durability and weight for a nice blend of longevity and performance. The right areas are robust, almost overkill, but they are not reinforcing anything unnecessary so it still remains an exceptionally lightweight wing.
F-One took a similar approach but ends up just a little lighter due to the fact that their handle system is more simple and lightweight. They also used lighter scuff guards that still provide great protection.
At the end of the day, these are both very light wings and the ounces of weight that separate them is probably not a notable discussion for most riders. The pack-ability, on the other hand, could be discussed for those insistent on the smallest possible travel packing. They both can be folded down into a child's backpack if you take the time to properly evacuate the air and fold them nicely. However, again due to F-One’s less bulky handles, it will pack down slightly smaller. If you are serious about packing small, simply slide either of these into a space bag (vacuum bag) and suck the air out for a razor-thin packing method. Doing that, you could fit 8 of them into a standard carry-on.
Sizes
This might seem like a “duh” kind of discussion, but the fact remains that some manufacturers only offer one or two wing sizes. If you have already been wing foiling, you know that is not going to fit the bill for every rider in every condition. Wings do have an amazing wind range, but, like kiteboarding and windsurfing, you need the proper kite for your size, ability, and riding conditions. At this time, the future of wing surfing is still evolving, but the size range of 2-6m does seem to meet most riders' needs in a massive range of conditions. Wing foiling does require power, especially when you are learning and progressing, so when in doubt we’d encourage you to size up. The five and six square meter sizes allow average-sized riders to go out in the most common 12-28 knot winds. These have been the most popular for our customers and will continue to be for some time, I’d expect.
The sizes for each brand do not line up directly but do follow a similar pattern. Ozone offers 3, 4, 5, and 6 sqM sizes while F-One offers a couple more at 2.2, 2.8, 3.5, 4.2, 5, and 6 sqM.
Pump system
Another comparison that could be made is their pump systems. Both wings are a one-pump system, so you only need to connect to one valve to inflate the whole kite. They both use common pump adapters, although slightly different. Ozone uses a boston style valve with ultra fat pressure fit. You can also use a threaded boston style attachment. This valve is easy to service and find replacements if need be. The boom to leading edge connection is the typical exterior kite surgical tubing style, although a bit narrower diameter than what is standard. If there is anything to nitpick, this is probably it for me. It takes just a little longer to evacuate the air after you are done with your session. On the five and six meter sizes, maybe an extra thirty seconds if you really want to get it all out. That seems like a long time when you are rushing and late for dinner, but in reality, not too bad.
F-One uses a high pressure inset valve that is popular in inflatable boats, SUPs, and increasingly popular in kiteboarding kites. This makes the leading edge more flush and a bit cleaner looking. Just make sure you understand how those valves work, or you might be pumping up that kite twice. The main thing to know is that the air plunger needs to be in the upwards position so it can work as a one-way valve rather than letting air escape. To do this, simply push in on it before connecting your hose. If it stays down, it was probably already set up and you can push it again to lock it in the upward position. This type of hose adapter is pretty common, but probably won’t be found on your kiteboard pump. F-One does include the adapter in your wing’s parts kit, along with a spare high pressure valve. That is a really nice touch, especially for those who are traveling. F-One also uses the exterior boom to leading edge connection with surgical tubing, but with a fatter diameter for quicker deflation.
To conclude, there is a reason that the Wasp and Swing are some of the most highly-regarded and popular wings in wing foiling today. They have been thoughtfully designed and tested while pushing the boundaries of where the sport is headed. Although they go about the same objective with different designs, they are both excellent choices and neither would prove to be a disappointment.
As with many of our topics in our blogs, there is no one-size-fits-all or end-all “best” product. Our staff prides ourselves in giving honest, excellent recommendations and solutions. Give us a call at 800.622.4655, jump on live chat, or email kiteboarder@mackite.com for your personal consultation and recommendation today.
Tucker Vantol
Mackite's resident surf and "Hydrofoil junkie." You can either catch him on the phones or on the water at dawn testing new gear. He is proficient at a myriad of sports, a shaper and passionate about getting his water time. When he discovered kiteboarding it took over as his predominate sport. The same could be said about hydrofoiling.
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