Tkb Review: 2021 NAISH Wing-Surfer

Sizes Available: 2.2, 2.8, 3.6, 4.6, 5.3, 6.0, 6.8m
Sizes Tested: 4.6m

Naish Says:

The Naish Wing-Surfer took the world by storm with its introduction in 2019, launching the sport of Wingsurfing into what is now the fastest-growing water sport in the world. The S25 Wing-Surfer took the basic concept to the next level by adding more sizes, better visibility, and improved performance.

This season’s all-new Wing-Surfer is packed with design features that will carry this rapidly evolving sport well into the future. We started with the basic outline, refining the leading edge curve of each size wing to maximize drive, balance, and stability in its given wind range. Panel count has been reduced for lighter weight, yet not overly simplified, ensuring that optimum foil shape is retained. Leading edge diameters have been increased in the center of the wing to provide a substantially more rigid airframe, without appearing cartoonishly large as seen on some other wings.

New internal reinforcements and advancements have been made in seam construction, especially in high load areas such as strut to leading edge connection and strut to canopy stress points — all contributing to a stronger and longer-lasting wing. Weight reduction was a factor in the design of the Wing-Surfer, but there must be a balance between weight saving, functionality, and durability. The Wing-Surfer meets this challenge without compromise by perfectly providing a dynamic, responsive, powerful, and long-lasting wing that will suit first-timers equally as well as it will suit the aspiring professional… Session after session.

Visit for more info: www.wing-surfer.com/product/s26-wing-surfer

TKB Says:

This year the Naish Wing-Surfer gets a reboot with significant changes to the airframe, canopy panel design as well as a new handle layout that makes for faster and more intuitive hand work for both learning and advanced riding. Naish has gone back to the drawing board and introduced a number of changes that give this performance wing an extra dose of durability, range and user-friendly handling.

Type of inflation: Push button inflation / boom dump valve
Number of boom handles: 5 center handles
Y handles: Yes / 2
Wrist leash style: Closed-loop cinch
Window/Coverage: Yes / medium-sized

Design and Features
The handle layout for the Wing-Surfer gets an upgrade with fewer handles that are now grouped into two handles for the front hand and three handles farther back on the boom strut for the back hand. The handles are built out of wider double-layered webbing that gives you a very rigid connection to the wing that makes tuning the wing feel both crisp and precise. There are two Y-handles that cross between the boom and leading edge and if you peel back the neoprene cover there is a Velcro tensioner system that allows you to adjust their tension or remove them completely. This is a great concept because people tend to either use the Y-handles all the time or ignore them altogether. If you’re not using them, you might as well disconnect them and peel off some weight because every bit counts. The leading edge handle is located underneath the leading edge which is a bit different but when you reach for your boom handles, this brings everything in a bit closer and we found this makes handwork a bit easier going into waterstarts and swapping from riding waves to upwind riding. The windows are a little smaller than last year’s but they’ve been reshaped and are now located closer to the leading edge and spread out along the wingspan to give you better visibility of opposing traffic. This year even the wrist leash is revised with a smaller diameter coil and a cinch-style Velcro closure system that makes it easier to attach the leash when you’re balancing more than just the wing. The coil does a great job of giving you extra slack when clearing the wing from upside down and the smaller diameter means that it feels lighter and less obtrusive on and off the water. Naish has steadily been making improvements to the Wing-Surfer’s airframe: this year there have been some noticeable differences to the rigidity of both the leading edge and the boom that pay dividends in performance.

Impressions
There are a ton of small differences in this year’s wing that improves the overall experience, yet much of the Wing-Surfer’s balanced DNA was still very much apparent from our first tack on the water. While the new Wing-Surfer has added a deeper profile or draft to the wing, it still has a very efficient forward flying feel that excels at rocketing upwind. Although they beefed up the design’s airframe rigidity, Naish has done so without expanding the size of the inflatable spars so you still have that high angle of attack and solid penetration into the wind while keeping material weight down. The deeper draft with the luff strut does a good job of adding some low-end power, making the Wing-Surfer feel a little less on/off and providing smoother power delivery as you sheet in. There’s a careful balance here and Naish does an excellent job of adding low-end without sacrificing its notable upwind abilities. The Wing-Surfer seemed really stable and locked in while going upwind and the wingtips seemed to stay clear of the water, never snagging and causing unnecessary crashes.

The new canopy gives you a ton of range with extra power generated from pumping motions and a stable canopy that can handle over-powered conditions without taxing your arms. On the longer upwind tacks, the wing offered up really good depower in the gusts, allowing us to drive through them with fast upwind progress. The handle options were placed perfectly; we often used the second and fourth handles for flying upwind and then the first and fourth handles for broad-reaching. The balance points seemed super intuitive, improved from last year and the sweet spot was wide enough to always get the power we needed in the moment. When it came to chasing waves, the Wing-Surfer gives you a neutral to slightly positive hover that feels very stable as you drive down the line. The streamlined construction does a good job of shaving off some weight and keeping the feeling light and nimble whether you are downwinding, boosting some jumps or just going for a cruise.

Having started at the beginning, we’ve seen the Wing-Surfer evolve with an excellent blend of user-friendly performance features that makes flying upwind super easy, intuitive and comfortable. In the classic Naish methodology of refining products for widespread appeal, this year the Wing-Surfer has received a number of significant tweaks that yield solid improvements to its airframe, visual safety and controls to deliver one of the most balanced wingsurfing products on the market.