New to the wing market is the GA Wing, and although it may be a little late to the party, it is definitely worthy of note.
GA have had their design team on it for a while and what they have produced is a lightweight, manoeuvrable and well-balanced wing. Those three attributes will make a great wing for anyone starting out or pushing limits.
Lightweight and manoeuvrable are fairly obvious attributes, with lighter tending to be more manoeuvrable. A well-balanced wing is one of the less talked about things, yet has a huge impact on how the wing performs.
A well-balanced wing means that when you come to sitting it in a neutral position, with the leading edge into the wind and no power in it, the wing will float in the air without much movement. This stable neutral position is really important for many reasons. Firstly, when starting out (or you simply want to rest), you can stand/kneel on the board and the wing won't bounce around too much. The main reason, though, is when you come to doing anything where you don't need power, such as turning the wing mid-gybe or mid-tack; downwinders and riding swell. In these instances, the wing will sit well supported by the wind without much effort from you. This powerless floating of the wing means you can focus on the board to either pump the foil or look at the swell you are riding.
The construction of the wing is solid, and with the large inflated leading edge giving strength and support, there isn't a huge amount of fluttering of the panels. The coiled leash comes with the wing, and is attached centrally on the leading edge.
The handles are continuous along the inflatable boom, which gives plenty of options for hand placement, whilst the Y-shaped frontend allows the user to get the wing a little higher whilst riding, by holding the lowest section. This in-turn will help the wing stay light when powered up, and the lift will focus more upward, instead of parallel to the water.
One of the real selling points of this wing is the price.
Retailing at £599.00 on SurfDoctor here.
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