Question of the ages. Wing or no wing?

[Tdub]

I am sure this has been covered many, many times. But here we go. I am an average skier. 32 MPH. Once in a while I will run 28. Horrible bad side. I have tried without the wing but I always put it back on. Really can't tell much of a difference. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[crashman]

Decent thread on this a while back

http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/4794/bob-lapoint-on-wings/p1

[Tdub]

Great link. Thanks. Taking the wing off for the next few sessions. I will post the results.

 

Cheers.

[skibumm]

I have not had a wing on for years. I am 34 mph and get into 28 off. I skied with a wing for years and cant remember the location that I skied in florida but the coach took the wing off and I picked up 4 balls on the first time out wingless. I have not looked back. I am old and learned to ski on skis that you had to slow down by getting pressure on the front foot and that with a wing took the speed down too much.

[Deanoski]

all the new skis are designed to use a wing it will tighten up the turn radius IMO.

[skosney]

I find the real benefits of a wing to be added stability.

[Tdub]

Took the wing of last night and got 3@28 at 32mph. Best this season. I am going wingless the rest of the season. It really seemed to help my off-side turn.

[Waternut]

IMO a wing addition or subtraction should go with a slight fin adjustment. Otherwise, all of my ski's feel like they want to ride on the tail when I add a wing.

 

Bottom line, if it was a hard rule to keep the wing or remove it, people wouldn't debate about it.

[Nando]

Like most questions, the answer is, "It depends". Some skis need a wing regardless, some it depends on the skier, some perform better without. All of the above comments are true because- it depends. Some skis feel locked into position and free up without a wing. Some will have a dramatic improvement in the ability to get wide and free of the boat without one. Some will tend to lose their tails without wings. Most will need the fin settings tweaked when adding or removing the wing. You need to experiment.

[Wish]

I like @Nando‌'s "some" statements.

 

Some guys put a funny little wing up high and up front on the fin. Some guys put funny angles into their funny little wings. Some guys put a second bigger funny wing on as well. Some guys put a funny little side force enhancer wing thingy on the side of their ski. Some guys build their own binding and plate set up. Some guys run into 39 with all that crap strapped to their ski at the same time. Some guys.... oh...wait, that's just me. :-)

 

To each his own.... I agree with @Waternut. There's just not a pure rule of thumb. :-)

 

 

[Nando]

Yeah, Wish- zackly.

[SkiJay]

Rather than talk talk talk about it, take your wing off and try it. It's not something you have to get used to. You'll either like it more or less. You'll know right away. If you can't tell the difference, you should probably leave it off. It will be good for your technique.

 

This isn't something someone else can decide for you. Try it. It won't totally spoil your next ski set and it's easy to go back if you don't love it. You don't even need a set of wing gauges to put your wing back on correctly. You can cut up a business card until it fits perfectly between the ski's base and your wing at its current angle. This way you can go back to exactly where you were before removing the wing if you want.

 

Besides, experimentation is good for your skiing because it makes you aware of what your ski is up to. Go for it. You've got nothing to lose and maybe something to gain.

[GAJ0004]

I had one ski a few years back that worked better for me without the wing(1993 O'Brien Synergy Z), but the rest I used the wing. Depends on the ski.

[Wish]

Just slapped a wing on my daughters ski. She literally forgot it was there and when I asked if she noticed a difference she replied "...difference in what...?...oh ya...no, no difference."

[RazorRoss3]

I had an interesting experience that I made a thread about a few weeks ago where my wing actually fell off mid set. One bad crash at the buoy which I believe means the wing fell off in the approach then all the sudden super wide, super early, super fast. Skied it for a week and a half but found I was off balance, but out the back. Put the wing back on and I felt I regained rocker and edge stability, ran a half buoy pb without the wing and a week later I upped it by another half buoy with the wing. I think all skis and all skiers are different but for me, on a razor 2 68" A flex, wing is better.