GEAR: 5 REASONS TO USE THE GONG BOOM IN WING FOILING

An unparalleled blend of lightness, control, and sailing comfort – we’ll tell you all about the GONG Boom!

More lightness, control, and comfort in navigation, we tell you everything about the GONG Boom!

Three gripping systems are available in wing foiling: textile handles, rigid handles, and the boom. These solutions are all offered on our Perf Series wings, which have handles adjustable to your liking thanks to the GONG Fastening System. Everyone has their preferences, and there are plenty of arguments for each system, which is why modularity is the rule on our Perf Series wings.

Booms have been present in wing foiling since the sport's early days but were often too heavy or simply uncomfortable while sailing. Avoiding these pitfalls was the driving force behind the development of our GONG Boom. By working without rushing, with the only development schedule being that of performance leaps, we are pleased to offer you a Boom that will revolutionize your practice. It is important to understand that our boom is not like the others:

- It is lightweight!
- There is no play possible, no possible disengagement.
- It is offset from the batten for a leverage effect on steering.
- It has a significant angle compared to the profile to maintain a natural behaviour.
- It does not create medium-term wear on the center strut.
- Zero breakage from the pro team in one year!!!

Within our pro team, riders now prefer the boom, like Malo, for example:
"I have long stayed on rigid handles which provide superior precision to textile handles, with which you can still achieve solid performances. By switching to the boom, you save 200 grams and still have that ultra-precise feeling but with exponentially multiplied trick possibilities. Everything becomes intuitive and natural. The combination with the latest UPE Aramid wings is really great. It's light and responsive. The performance is top-notch."

Let's see in this article some of the reasons why many practitioners are switching to our boom and our wings totally dedicated to its use.

Wing foiler : Malo, GONG team rider, in Stunt FSP Pro, Droid UPE Aramid, mast HM85, front wing Ypra Surf-Freestyle and stab Freestyle.

1. An improvement in wing behavior

The rigidity provided by the boom on the central strut allows us to reduce the diameter of the strut. The gain is considerable:
- This boom is 200 grams lighter than rigid handles.
- A "wasp waist" strut reduces drag to gain pure speed on, for example, the Pulse DP, and significantly frees the wing from the wind axis in transitions and rotations with a Neutra or a Droid.
- A strut flex close to zero thanks to the carbon boom which absorbs the efforts. And a strut that does not bend means a taut canopy, hence a powerful wing that never flaps and with perfect glide.
- We gain in control, lightness, and responsiveness.

Wing foiler: Malo, GONG team rider, in Stunt FSP Pro, Droid UPE Aramid, mast HM85, front wing Ypra Surf-Freestyle, and stab Freestyle.

2. Increased comfort in maneuvers

The use of the boom is for all wing foilers synonymous with more ease in basic maneuvers. A boom is grabbed blindly and without thinking. For example: you are no longer obliged to lean downwind to grab the rear handle when starting on your knees. The gain in ease of start-up is considerable for the less flexible among us. While sailing, you can slide it in one hand and position the wing to the millimeter. You find yourself navigating more and more at one hand after maneuvers, to turn on a swell or send a trick. What seems merely practical at first ultimately evolves the practice itself.

Wing foiler: Patrice Guénolé, GONG Boss & Shaper, in Droid UPE Aramid and Cruzader Point FSP Pro.

3. A new attitude in the waves

The boom offers an additional grip in wave riding with the possibility of surfing with one hand in the center of the boom. In addition to the downwind handle, the pistol grip on the front part of the boom, or a rigid handle, the boom offers a grip in the center of the wing which develops more power and freedom to follow a swell or send a turn. A delight in downwinds where you occasionally appreciate having a little more power to pass through bumps. The same in wave riding where the one-handed grip on the boom offers lift for aerial turns in the wave and the wide range of tricks it unlocks. You really feel that all positions become possible and that you can get out of any situation because the solution is always within reach. It's striking. In freefly mode, the boom fades into your back just like textile or rigid handles. You win on all fronts.

Wing foiler: Clément, GONG team rider, in Lethal FSP Pro, Neutra Perf Series, mast HM85, front wing Ypra Surf-Freestyle, and stab Freestyle.

4. The possibility of freeing one hand without slowing down

When sailing without a harness and with a two-handle system, letting go of one hand outside freefly phases generally means losing speed, risking landing in light conditions. It's a nuisance when you want to signal to your comrades on the water, fix an element of your equipment, adjust a camera, warm your hands, wipe water from your face,... Opportunities abound. Thanks to the boom, you keep going without slowing down. Better yet, you can relieve a tired arm. In the end, the boom allows you to sail longer without a harness than handles.

Wing foiler: Malo, GONG team rider, in Stunt FSP Pro, Droid UPE Aramid, mast HM85, front wing Ypra Surf-Freestyle, and stab Freestyle.

5. New moves in freestyle

The freedom of movement provided by the boom is a substantial benefit for the most creative freestylers. A multitude of new tricks from kiteboarding are injected into wing foiling thanks to the boom, to the point that it becomes almost essential to perform in the discipline. Just like the essential handle pass in kiteboarding, the wing pass, back mobe, or palau are to be counted in the repertoire of freestylers who send it.

Wing foilers : Clément and Bastien, GONG team rider, with the Neutra Perf Series equipped with a GONG Boom.

An inexhaustible list gaining arguments with each session! One certainty: it quickly becomes difficult to do without this comfort!