Parawing – hype or here to stay?

Author: Jon Mann

So the parawing movement is in full flow and I thought I’d write my thoughts on it primarily focused on its use case as an alternative starting method (upwind ability for me for the focus of this blog is irrelevant) and for learning to DW. I’ll start with my disclaimer: I haven’t used one yet as I don’t want to pay that much for a parawing + shipping + import to the Netherlands, so if any brands want to let me try one, get in touch!

So first thoughts – this looks fun! Second thought – is it easier than a paddle?

My second thought arose when I saw how many people who haven’t yet mastered the paddle (let alone actual downwind foiling – which is arguably harder than getting on foil –  regardless of your chosen method of getting) started jumping on the parawing thing as the saviour to their paddle problems, also fuelled by the awesome content put out by competent downwind foilers on their smaller boards (biggest upside of the parawing – and the bit that appeals to me, especially when I see McFlowi shredding The Gorge on his midlength, but more on that later). 

So I’m going to try and break down some of my thoughts on this and we’ll see how it goes

Reason for a parawing: Way better than using a wing to learn to DW. The wings are always in the way, the parawing you can easily pack away, or it pulls you downwind.

My opinion: you can just as effectively learn to foil downwind with a wing. I think learning to downwind foil with a wing (if you already wing) is the lowest cost option to learn the sport as you already have all the gear. Yes the wing can get in the way, but it also forces you to look around you more. Contrary to popular belief, unless racing, you aren’t always going straight downwind. Traversing bumps and going sideways (especially when learning) are more how you spend your time – in these situations your wing is normally next to you. Plus the point about the parawing pulling you downwind…means you can’t pump, so it’s exposing a skillset you would be better off working on rather than avoiding (I say this purely based on the premise of ‘how to I get to the end goal of being a competent downwind foiler’). I’d say wing drops and anchorman runs with a buddy are way more fun too!

Reason for a parawing: It’s easier to learn than paddling, so you can spend more time on foil learning to foil

My opinion: Time invested learning to paddle isn’t wasted. But I do agree with the base premise. Time on foil is important. With a wing, restarting after every fall is super easy, and the wing has a pretty decent wind range on it so if the wind drops a lot, or picks up a lot often you are still good. Not having used a parawing I won’t comment on the wind range of one, but it’s a consideration. Plus ease of start. Until you’ve got it dialled, there will still be a decent element of dicking around to restart I guess, and the lower your downwind proficiency the more you have to do it. If you already wing I’d use the wing for max foil time and limit the dicking around hours to the paddle and learn that in parallel. 

Reason for a parawing: you can rip on a midlength – ultimate freedom and no paddle

My opinion: Fully in! This makes sense to me completely and is the reason I’d love to get my hands on one at some point. Especially since I recently got a 5’5” 50L Appletree Skipper DW prone that I love. But it’s worth noting: this use case is targeting a completely different demographic of the market (competent downwind foilers vs those learning) who typically will start and never use the thing again.

So I haven’t really elaborated too much on the whole process of actually learning to foil once up, as I just dumped some thoughts down purely on the parawing as an alternative starting method. I’m not anti parawing – I just believe that some people have forgotten about ‘what happens once you are up’. Though one case in favour of the paddle over a wing or parawing is that the paddle doesn’t have a low end (so long as you are riding a set up you can flatwater start and are able to flatwater start, or start in very poor bumps) which gives you a wider range of rideable conditions without having a quiver of (para)wings. I’m super curious to see how this new niche of downwinding continues to grow and develop and look forward to trying one in the near future!

Anyways, those are my thoughts. Let me know what you think and if I’ve missed any reasons for using a parawing other than its fun and it’s another toy to play with, don’t disagree there, but trying to help beginners getting into downwinding with this blog too (please not too much abuse) and if any brands want to let me try one, give me a shout!