Minimize friction. Maximize water time.
Less pack time, less rigging hassles, less jeers about a wet wetsuit …
Here’s how to reduce friction between you and your happy place.
Pack Less: Goya Cypher and Goya Fringe Sails
These sails excel in windsurfing and windsurf foiling. The Fringe is lightweight with just 3 battens, but built for wave sailing. The Cypher is lightweight for freestyle windsurfing. Both are approved by foiling superstar Greg Glazier, and both shrink quivers for those who love the fin and foil.
Rig Quick: Duotone Power XT
Don’t sit down. Don’t reach for a tool. Don’t pull a hamstring. You rig standing up, and downhaul with a click. Rig a sail in seconds; tune your downhaul on the water. This extension saves time, effort, and – once up and riding – lets you keep riding no matter what the wind serves up!
Extend Your Season: ION Claw Gloves
No gloves and numb fingers OR gloves with excruciating forearm fatigue. That’s the cold-water-riding friction windsurfers face. But ION’s Claw gloves flip the script. Pre-bent fingers and a thin palm lining improve grip so you don’t overgrip. Ride warm and relaxed no matter the temps.
Rig Quick: Goya Windsurfing Sails
Ditch your sail bag, stop bunching your sail while inserting the mast, and tie off excess outhaul line so that it holds. Sail designer Jason Diffin makes all of this (and more) relatively effortless. And he should know: He’s a dad, and he battles for every second of water time just like you.
Pack Less: Goya Airbolt
Is it a windsurf foil board, wing foil board or downwind SUP foil board? All of our department managers claim the Airbolt as “theirs”. A ¾ length deck pad and long foil mount tracks make it not a jack of all trades master of none, but a winner for all. Pack one board for now, and next.
Protect Your Board: Vent Plug Trick
This little vent plug bolt carries big consequences if forgotten about. Here’s how to use it, when to remove it, and a trick that means never letting its “in” or “out” status slip your mind. You don’t want to do that …
Shrink Your Quiver: Goya Banzai Sails
What is it about Banzai sail models that saves pack time and shrinks quivers? The 4.7 model rigs on a 370 cm mast. For Gorge riders whose “big” sail is a 4.7, the Banzai means they can ditch their 400 cm mast. That’s one less mast to pack, and no repercussions. Banzai sails boast a huge wind range.
Lower Your Wind Minimums: Duotone E Pace Windsurf Sail
For those tormented by the tease breeze, the E Pace is a lightweight free-ride sail with a windsurf foiling kicker: The sail offers a foil-specific clew eyelet that, when utilized, accommodates an upright foiling stance. Fin or foil, one sail to rule them all.
Know Better: How to Rig Right When Sail Specs Seem Wrong
You follow the sail specs, set your extension, pull the strings and … the sail looks wrong. It’s no easy task to rig a sail properly. But there are tricks, and they don’t rely on a sail’s specs. A keen eye for downhaul tension is all it takes to shave rig time. Here’s how to get it.
Pack Less: O’Neill Mutant Legend 4.5/3.5 Wetsuit
Big Winds’ Co-Owner TJ Gulizia will crunch through snow in this wetsuit, riding all winter long. The Mutant Legend’s Technobutter 3 neoprene makes this possible. But its removable hood makes it a one-and-done winner. Keep it simple and pack one wetsuit for winter, spring and fall.
Struggle Less: Chinook Proflex Windsurfing Mast Base
Made for windsurf foiling only, Chinook’s Proflex base utilizes a mechanical joint that makes attaching and separating your sail from the board easy. No more turning the board on its side to remove your sail. Saves time and hassle.
Struggle Less: 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Getting Into Your Wetsuit
There is a right way. Our 10 best tips for front and back zip wetsuits save time, energy, and save your suit. From how to climb in, what not to wear under your wetsuit, to how to protect it from velcro enclosures that pose suit-damaging perils.
