Parawinging Update
Parawinging was becoming a thing at the back end of 2024, and we wrote a blog about it HERE with our initial thoughts and feelings.
Reading through it now, 6 months later and a lot of those thoughts have been confirmed, but its still maybe not completely taken over here in the UK. It feels like we're still waiting for those first adopters to get good enough in their local areas to entice the regular joe's and weekend warriors into the mix.
Saying that, the Ozone Pocket Rocket has solidified itself as the leader among the brands already as the best all-round offering and has become one of our best selling products in 2025 so far - so there is a tonne of interest!
Where are we with Parawinging?
In short here at NRS, we're half sold and half not. It definitely has its purposes and we're frothed on it - but it definitely still seems like a discipline most suited to those with relatively good foil skills already. We're yet to see many outright beginners get involved as its definitely quite technical to learn.
On the positive side, it does seem relatively easy to pick up for the more advanced riders who are winging comfortably in all conditions and have great foil skills. We started with downwind boards and larger foils - which are great in lighter conditions and also for a bit of confidence in lumpier winds and also while sussing out how the parawings work in general. We've also now had a couple of sessions on sub bodyweight volume boards and 800cm foils. While this started as a bit of a joke to see if we could get going at all, it very quickly established itself as the way forward for us in pumping conditions. It was much easier than anticipated.
It looks to be going this way around the world too in places like Hood River which has a steep history in downwind practices. Parawings are already well established there now after proving their upwind ability, ease of use for the relatively high average level of riders there and frequency of big swell and windy conditions.
Stowing and deploying is technical but entirely possible after a couple of sessions and some dry land practice.
The Two types of Parawinging
Are we going to be doing bigger downwind sends with the parawings, or upwind/downwind sessions, starting and finishing at our cars? This is yet to be confirmed - but purely logistically we can see the upwind/downwind riding catching most peoples attentions. It wasn't obvious to begin with as the upwind ability of these wings was questioned and nobody was sure. Well, we're confident now. They go upwind just as well as wings, if not better in some cases - and using a harness only makes them better. There are early adopters around the country now, riding out from their carparks and directly upwind into the bumps to score handsfree riding for 1/5/10 minutes at a time, then cranking upwind just do it over and over again. Take my word for it, we've seen it. That clicked it.
Should you get involved?
Yes - Its yet another discipline to try your hand at, but its well worth it. No doubt it's going to open up more spots we hadn't considered yet with winging, and it's going to inovate quickly for a while.
Even the first versions from the brands on the markets are allowing us to do exactly what we've always wanted - ride waves as long as wanted, handsfree, and without the painstaking learning curve that the SUP foil downwind discipline has brought upon us.