4th part in our windfoil vs wingfoil series.
Today we discussed with Benjamin Tillier, French waterman from New Caledonia. Benjamin was one of the pioneers in windfoiling, and has been featured on our blog several times already, sharing his best windfoiling tips. We have now asked Benjamin to give us his views about the new sport wingfoiling.
Read also our three previous articles with Tez Plavenieks, Simon Croft and Dean Peaple.
So Benjamin, should I choose windfoiling or wingfoiling?
No need to choose, it’s better to do both! Windfoiling and wingfoiling are two different kinds of foiling:
- In windfoil you become one with your body, your sail, and the foil under your feet. You get this great feeling of foiling with a perfect balance, pushing in the harness, gaining speed, whether you are freeriding or racing.
- Windfoil is of course closer to the feeling of windsurf, while wingfoiling is a bit different because your body is actually the link between the wind in your hands and the water under your feet. Wingfoiling is more about doing curves and playing with the waves. It’s somehow closer to a Surf-Foil feeling.
The big advantage of wingfoiling is that the equipment is compact and fast to rig! Both windfoiling and wingfoiling are really exciting and there is incredible potential to explore this playground to the maximum !
Are hybrid boards wing/wind the future of the foiling sport?
Hybrid boards are a very good option but can also have their limits as windfoil boards usually need more volume than for winging.
It all depends on your program: If you’re looking for a compact board for freeride in windfoil and easy light wind wingfoil board, a hybrid board would be perfect! But if you are looking for more performance, each discipline needs its own board!
Thanks again for your comments, Benjamin. Let’s explore the playground!
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