You’ve probably heard the buzz about parawings and their growing role in wingfoiling, especially for downwind missions. But what exactly are they, do you really need one, and how do they compare to traditional wings? In this feature, Rou Chater breaks down the tech, pros and cons of these lightweight, single-skin wings. Whether you’re downwind curious or just want to understand what all the hype is about, we’ve got you covered!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be fully aware of the Parawings’ arrival and impact on our sport. You may well be wondering if you should buy one, if you even need one, and what all the fuss is about. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have all the answers you need and a better understanding of where our sport is headed. 

What is it? 

It’s a single-skin “wing” that uses bridles to control the shape and a bar to control it, rather than an inflatable frame that you hold onto. There have been many comments about it being very similar to a kite, and those conclusions are valid. In kiting, we have had single-skin kites for decades, with bridles and a bar. The only real difference seems to be the orientation of the bar and the lack of lines. 

It might be wise to look at kites for a moment to understand the basic principles of the concept, we have LEI (leading edge inflatable kites) which use the same construction as a wing, then we have RAM air inflatable kites, these are twin skin designs where air is forced in to inflate the two skins, hence the name RAM air, the shape is controlled by a network of bridles that can be incredibly complex. Lastly, there are single-skin kites, which fill with air as the wind hits them and the shape is controlled by a bridle. 

There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these designs, but most notably, the single-skin kites are exceedingly light and pack away incredibly small. We also see this single-skin technology in paragliding, where weight and size when packed are crucial when climbing mountains to a take-off spot. Single-skin designs are inherently less stable, however, which we will get onto in a bit. 

What are parawings for?

Here is the rub: Parawings are not designed to replace wings, so don’t think you need to sell your quiver and buy a whole new range of parawings if you want to go wingfoiling. This would be about the worst decision you could make. Parawings are a tool to get you on foil, so you can then pack them away and foil downwind. We all know how popular the sport of downwind has become in foiling. However, Jack mentioned in his editorial that there is often a media bias towards it over the actual participation numbers. 

The advantages that the parawing offers for downwind are huge; the hardest thing to learn is the paddle up and the balance. A parawing negates all of the paddle-up skill and some of the balance issues. You can then pack the parawing away, either bunch it up and hold it in your hand, or stuff it in a rash vest or use a specially designed belt such as the Parawing Stash belt from Ozone. This features not only a parawing pocket but also doubles up as a harness too, and features a safety knife. A well-designed bit of kit that is essential for anyone taking their winging in a downwind direction. 

Downwinders can sometimes be logistical nightmares, but finding friends, taking the time, and getting access points both into and out of the water can be a real headache. The para wing offers the opportunity to launch at the spot and ride upwind for as long as you like, so you can send it downwind without needing a shuttle. This is the real key to these new products: the ability to turn every session into a downwinder.

If you are reading this and thinking this doesn’t sound like you, or how you want to ride, then worry not, the wing in your hands has way more development time under its belt and is far more efficient and far easier to ride than the latest parawings. If you want to just cruise and ride some waves, there is no need to change. However, adding one to your quiver is essential if you are downwind curious. 

Advantages:

Lightweight: It’s quite stunning just how little these things weigh. This is great for getting them flying in lighter winds and travelling.

Packability: If you are doing an upwind downwinder, you won’t ever be able to stow your wing in a bag or on your back like you can pack a parawing.

Easy to Deploy: If you are upwind and downwinding, you’ll have a small pump to inflate your wing if you can’t paddle up; re-deploying a wing takes time and is a hassle, especially in a big sea. The parawing can be deployed in an instant. Just throw it in the air, and it will catch and give you near-instantaneous power.

Easier Downwinding: There is no such thing as easy downwinding, but this does negate the need to learn SUP and paddle skills and instead transfer your winging skills. 

Disadvantages:

Harder To Use: Despite all the media hype, these are much harder to use than a traditional wing; the power is very on/off, making it hard to balance, especially in marginal conditions. They are also harder to steer and fly, especially if you don’t have any kite experience. 

Narrow Range: They have a slimmer range in which they will work; they need more wind to get going and quickly become overpowered, so you may need more of them to cover all the wind conditions if you live in a spot that experiences variable conditions. 

Specific Use Case: While we see lots of pro riders getting freaky with the freestyle, this likely isn’t on your radar. To that end, it’s really a tool for upwind/downwind runs rather than something to replace your wing. 

Set Up Can Be Daunting: Bridles were always the most off-putting thing for kiters, and a reason the LEI design took hold and became dominant. The parawing will always use bridles, which can be off-putting if you haven’t experienced them before. However, they are not as scary as they look, and on most parawings, they are pretty simple. Maintenance just takes a bit of time and patience, should you ever need to do it. 

Hopefully, by getting this far, you will better understand what the Parwing is, how it works, and who it’s for. As a team here at Tonic, we’ve spent a few months flying them, testing different models and figuring them out. The first thing to say is that they are not all created equal; some are definitely better than others. While they all work, some are just easier to use; notably, the Ozone Pocket Rocket seems to be the clear winner. 

Ozone has invested a lot of time and effort into single skin kites and paragliders, and that knowledge transfer is obvious when you fly the Pocket Rocket. The main advantages you will notice are with gust handling and steering. The Ozone is more forgiving in gusty conditions and allows you to sheet the power in and out to a point, certainly more than some other wings. 

It’s also much easier to steer and feels more intuitive to fly. We have experienced some of the parawings having a mind of their own and crashing without any real input from the rider, but the Pocket Rocket never did this. It certainly gets the biggest thumbs up from the team here at the mag. 

So, how was the experience of learning? More complicated than we thought, and this is the running theme, not just from our team, but from all the people we spoke to as well. It’s a little like learning a new sport all over again. The positives are that if you have good wing skills, these are largely transferable and will help. Even more so if you have ever kitesurfed or kitefoiled, these are skills that will give you an advantage.

Get the conditions right. The range of these wings is much smaller than that of a traditional wing, so make sure you have plenty of power for the size of wing you have. This will make the learning process much easier and enjoyable. We would also recommend learning on a bigger board and foil; this is essential. The hardest thing to master with the parawing is the on-off nature of the power delivery, especially if it is gusty. 

This means when you are learning, you are getting pulled forward when it powers up and then dropped back in the drink when the power goes. With a traditional wing, you can pump it and use it to counterbalance; you can’t do this with the parawing, so you’ll struggle if you are riding your usual sinker board, for instance, unless it is nuking. A larger board with positive buoyancy will make learning much easier. A bigger foil will also allow you to get up on foil faster. Once you are foiling, the stability increases; the initial phase is the hardest. 

We’ll dive more deeply into the technique in an upcoming issue; we wanted this to be an overview to ease the inquiring mind. If you want to do more downwinding than you ever thought possible, this is a fantastic tool in your arsenal. A parawing can turn any launch site and location into a downwind run, negating the need for any logistics, shuttles, or access. As long as you can launch, the only restriction to your downwind run is how far upwind you want to go...

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Ozone Pocket Rocket Parawing
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater has been kitesurfing for over twenty years, paddleboarding for the last six years, and was there testing the first wingsurfer from Naish in Tarifa when it arrived on the continent. He is passionate about riding waves and exploring new places. As the publishing editor, he oversees everything at Tonic but also our sister magazines IKSURFMAG and IMB. He's been on the water since he was born and has never looked back, in the winter you'll find him chasing swells in the Caribbean and during the summer he can be found all over Europe at various SUP, Kitesurf and Mountain Bike events getting features for the magazines.