I have a Duotone Unit 3.5m as my smallest wing for stronger wind days. It is very different to the Ensis Score which I normally ride, and coming from the Score can be quite confronting as the wind range and ease of use are both much better on the Score.
What I do like:
This wing is super balanced when on harness. I run a short harness line that connects to the handles, and when hooked in the wing is incredibly well balanced.In gusty conditions, the wing de-powers. When hooked in on harness I find that I have to push the front of the wing out to maintain power, as opposed to the Score which powers up in a gust and requires me to pull my front hand in to de-power.This wing is super stiff, and the inputs are really direct. It lends itself a lot more to freestyle and freeriding.What I don’t like:
While being so well-balanced on harness, this wing is wildly out of control when flagged. It constantly flips upside down when riding on waves. The deep dihedral that makes it so responsive also makes it so unstable in this position. This also comes into play when setting up and getting in and out of the water if you have a bit of the walk, as the wing bucks and spins when on the front handle.The power range is narrow. The wing has a limited angle of attack where it generates lift, and this can be tricky in shifty winds. This is the biggest challenge coming from the Score which seems to find power at any angle to the wind.Some mixed feelings:
This one is personal preference, but the wing is very light on input, and it can sometimes be deceptively powered when it doesn’t feel like it. This can lead to some small airs becoming much larger than expected – a problem when you are trying to land in a wave transition.The Duotone inflation valve is rock solid, and it has deflation valves for quick pack down which can be great if you don’t have a sheltered place to pack down. The flip side is that these valves are all quite large and I find my leash sometimes gets wrapped around them wave riding. I can see how this could destroy the wing if the leash pulled out a valve.Overall, when I get the right conditions for this wing (clean, strong wind) I have a great time, however whenever I use this wing in shifty wind I regret using this.
I have a Duotone Unit 3.5m as my smallest wing for stronger wind days. It is very different to the Ensis Score which I normally ride, and coming from the Score can be quite confronting as the wind range and ease of use are both much better on the Score.
What I do like:
This wing is super balanced when on harness. I run a short harness line that connects to the handles, and when hooked in the wing is incredibly well balanced.In gusty conditions, the wing de-powers. When hooked in on harness I find that I have to push the front of the wing out to maintain power, as opposed to the Score which powers up in a gust and requires me to pull my front hand in to de-power.This wing is super stiff, and the inputs are really direct. It lends itself a lot more to freestyle and freeriding.What I don’t like:
While being so well-balanced on harness, this wing is wildly out of control when flagged. It constantly flips upside down when riding on waves. The deep dihedral that makes it so responsive also makes it so unstable in this position. This also comes into play when setting up and getting in and out of the water if you have a bit of the walk, as the wing bucks and spins when on the front handle.The power range is narrow. The wing has a limited angle of attack where it generates lift, and this can be tricky in shifty winds. This is the biggest challenge coming from the Score which seems to find power at any angle to the wind.Some mixed feelings:
This one is personal preference, but the wing is very light on input, and it can sometimes be deceptively powered when it doesn’t feel like it. This can lead to some small airs becoming much larger than expected – a problem when you are trying to land in a wave transition.The Duotone inflation valve is rock solid, and it has deflation valves for quick pack down which can be great if you don’t have a sheltered place to pack down. The flip side is that these valves are all quite large and I find my leash sometimes gets wrapped around them wave riding. I can see how this could destroy the wing if the leash pulled out a valve.Overall, when I get the right conditions for this wing (clean, strong wind) I have a great time, however whenever I use this wing in shifty wind I regret using this.
Although this wing doesn’t always play nice when flagged, you definitely can surf with it.