I’m really interested in the Plume for some reason. I wing, but I’m pretty much a beginner. I have been around winging since the beginning, but I mostly wind foiled. I put my wind foil gear away last fall with the intention of learning to jibe on the wing and get better at the wing foil side of things. Is the Plume relatively easy to use? I kind of like the way it looks when people are using them in videos. I want one. I’m thinking of getting a 6.0 because I’m a bigger guy. Am I dumb for wanting to try one? Is anyone here using it and loving it?
I don't know if you can actually find the 6m? People seem to say the Plume is quite nice while up on foil, but the low end is supposed to be very bad.
Select to expand quoteJve said..
I don't know if you can actually find the 6m? People seem to say the Plume is quite nice while up on foil, but the low end is supposed to be very bad.
I saw some video reviews on the Plume that mentioned the lack low end power, but I thought they mentioned that mainly in the prototype Plumes. Supposedly it’s better than the original version. I called a friend of mine at MacKite Board Sports a few minutes ago to ask him what he thought. After chatting for a few minutes, he said I’d probably like it, so I asked him about the 6.0. Turns out they had only one left, so I bought it. Going to stop by there after work and snag it. Hopefully I can get to the beach and inflate it and practice with it on land for a little while tonight.
Flew my 6.0 Plume for around 30 minutes yesterday. On land , I love it. Feels so easy to fly with one hand. My friend at MacKite thinks I’ll need 16-18mph minimum to get flying. Maybe going to a bigger foil would lower that a little bit? Currently on a Code 1540s.
I was really hoping there’d be more people who have tried a Plume and let me know their thoughts and experiences.
There's a local guy who rides one. His username on progression project is alexnz, I don't know if he comments on this forum but you could try over there. He only pulls it out in >25kts, goes for a cruise when everyone else is getting hammered on their 4-5m wings. He's very handy though
I have a 4.2 Plume. The wind range on the F-one web site is accurate. The Plume is great fun in its optimal wind range. I can cheat the bottom end by a few knots (below the size chart) with a downwind board but it isn't really worth the effort. A hand wing is better in light conditions.
I have the 5/4.2 which i mix up with wings/PW. I need about 15-16kts to get going on the 5m whith a 77ml and an 1100 foil. I weigh 75kg. The 5m basically corresponds to the windrange of my 4.5 Swing v5 or a 4m of a more grunty brand. Exaggerating the sheeting in definitely helps getting up. Sometimes I am pulling the bar nearly 90 degrees to its normal flying position. These last generation PWs are as easy to fly but I still love the Plumes for big windy ocean conditions; They behave impeccably and its harder to get in trouble with the lines.
Select to expand quoteFaff said..
It looks like you must use a leash with the Plume.
Yeah. The leash runs through the front edge of the control bar, and then up to the front edge of the Plume. Flying it on the beach is quite easy, which surprised me.
Select to expand quoteWingthing said..
I have a 4.2 Plume. The wind range on the F-one web site is accurate. The Plume is great fun in its optimal wind range. I can cheat the bottom end by a few knots (below the size chart) with a downwind board but it isn't really worth the effort. A hand wing is better in light conditions.
Good to know. I plan on mainly using my 7’2” Naish Hover DW board with the Plume.
Select to expand quoteSpeedialer said..
I have the 5/4.2 which i mix up with wings/PW. I need about 15-16kts to get going on the 5m whith a 77ml and an 1100 foil. I weigh 75kg. The 5m basically corresponds to the windrange of my 4.5 Swing v5 or a 4m of a more grunty brand. Exaggerating the sheeting in definitely helps getting up. Sometimes I am pulling the bar nearly 90 degrees to its normal flying position. These last generation PWs are as easy to fly but I still love the Plumes for big windy ocean conditions; They behave impeccably and its harder to get in trouble with the lines.
Good to know. I have high hopes for the Plume. 😎
Well interesting to see that people are actually using and enjoying the plume. To me it looks like an evolutionary dead end. You get the compromised low end and pumping of a parawing and you can’t pack it away like an inflatable. Perhaps it flags a bit better than a normal inflatable wing but if you need to size up on the plume surely that would cancel out the better flagging. If you could be on a 3m wing or 5m plume surely the flagging would still be better on a 3m wing.
It would be interesting to see whether or not Fone continues production on these, so far no other brands have jumped on board.
With that said if you’re enjoying it and it works for you go for it.
Select to expand quoteYoungbreezy said..
Well interesting to see that people are actually using and enjoying the plume. To me it looks like an evolutionary dead end. You get the compromised low end and pumping of a parawing and you can’t pack it away like an inflatable. Perhaps it flags a bit better than a normal inflatable wing but if you need to size up on the plume surely that would cancel out the better flagging. If you could be on a 3m wing or 5m plume surely the flagging would still be better on a 3m wing.
It would be interesting to see whether or not Fone continues production on these, so far no other brands have jumped on board.
With that said if you’re enjoying it and it works for you go for it.
I just think it looks interesting. Flying it on the beach was fun. Anxious to see if I can actually use it on the water.
