Interview with Matthias Kaufmann – 18 Parawings put to the test
Matthias Kaufmann recently caused great interest with his YouTube video in which he tested over 18 Parawings. There is hardly anyone who has tried out as many parawings as the Swiss water sports enthusiast. In this interview, we want to find out more about him and his views on the parawing market.
Aloha Mätthu, thank you very much for your time. You’re really getting to grips with the subject of parawing. Can you briefly tell us a bit about yourself and where your passion for foiling and parawing comes from?
I love trying out new things and experiencing the learning progress first hand. Even though I don’t spend too much time on the water – once or twice a week if things go well – foiling has been incredibly enjoyable for almost 3 years now. The first time I went out parawing was in January of this year: around 0 degrees, breeze and, at over 30 knots, far too much wind for the 3m Roger V1. The community is also great. Everyone helps everyone – I hope it stays that way for a long time to come.
OK, that’s very cool. You’re the only one I can think of who has tested so much material. It’s quite obvious that there’s a lot on offer. How did you get all the “Wings”?
I have written to companies, some have lent me one, others have sold me the wings at a discount. The problem is that I now have Parawings that I didn’t think were great, but now I want/need to sell them. I have received other wings from private individuals for testing because they are also very interested in them. That’s very cool!
What interests us here is not necessarily the individual results, but the overview you have gained. As we have seen, the supply is enormous. Do you see enough demand in your area to absorb this supply? Or to put it another way: Are the Swiss lakes filling up with parawings right now?
No, definitely not. You still stand out with a parawing. I don’t think the development is sustainable. If a company has to replace the old model within a year, the math somehow doesn’t add up. At the same time, nobody wants a V1 when there is already a V2 from company X. During the last week when I was doing these tests, I saw four other Parawinger on the water – one of them was Balz Müller (@radiculo). There are already a few inside my bubble. The downwind run on Lake Neuchâtel is done by maybe 10-15 foilers on a good day. Whereas they used to all use a paddle, more and more are now parawing.
Parawings aren’t exactly cheap either – what do you think justifies the price for a piece of fabric with a few strings and a handlebar?
Research and development is extremely costly in such a new sport. If you divide the price of a parawing by the number of hours you spend in the water, then the calculation looks better. As a water sports enthusiast, you shouldn’t just look at the price of the equipment. And if you do, you should try making a parawing yourself. Good luck!
How do the price differences compare to the quality and performance of the Parawings?
My tests have shown that the price is not the decisive factor. I have also heard that more expensive models, which use very thin fabric, “wear out” after a few months of intensive use or the fabric becomes a little windy. So the old 5m looks like a 4m. Nevertheless, there are four parawings in my top 5 that cost just under 1000 francs. Specifically: The Frigate, the Kanaha, the new Roger and the POW are all just under CHF 1000.00. They are all good. The P.T. Skin from 777 is also excellent. I just don’t know exactly what the durability is like because the material is very thin.
Matt weighs the Parawing on the vegetable scales in the local grocerystore.
Matthias has a table with all the comparisons. Support him with a click and buy him a coffee.
If I’m right, you tested 18 different models. If you classify them all in a performance and quality spectrum – how big are the differences?
I just have to emphasize that these tests were carried out by a rather average foiler and average parawing user. I also tested them on the flat, so I didn’t use them for downwinding. The differences are sometimes huge in maneuverability, stability, turning angle, pumping behavior, low-end vs. top-end, pre-flight handling, etc. And the bars are also very different. There really were a few parawings where I had to make a huge effort to do another session. The 777 is my favorite at the moment, also because of the price. It’s fast, runs well at altitude and is fairly inexpensive.
Now to the consumer: What should a buyer who wants to switch from a “normal” Wing to a Parawing look out for?
Remember, it’s a different sport. You need more balance, more wind per square meter of cloth and also more nerves. The lines are a little more cumbersome compared to the wing. But it also has a lot of advantages. It also takes up much less space in the car, you don’t have to inflate the wings and you don’t have any broken bladders. And surfing the wind waves without having anything in the way is one of the best things there is. I think that everyone who has surfed a wave with the Wing in freefly mode has had the Wing fly around their ears. That doesn’t happen with the Parawing!
Now to the future of the whole thing and how you see it: The Parawing is barely two years old, but has spread very quickly and athletes are already jumping loops with it. Where do you see the development going? Will the Parawing steal customers away from the Wing?
To be honest, it’s happened to me – and to some friends too. But there is more second-hand wing material. That means it’s less expensive for beginners. I’m currently looking forward to more efficient parawings with more wind range, which hopefully won’t be any more expensive.
Will we soon see our own parawing divisions in the GWA? What do you think – will there be a big change in the still so young wingfoil sport?
I think we will go on another tour. I imagine an upwind downwind where you have to pack away the parawing would be cool. Not just freefly, but really longer downwind. Maybe there is also a way to let parawings start at the big SUP races. One condition could be that you have to pack the wing away before the start and get 5 minutes added to your time per re-deploy or something. I took part in a race in the Engadine with the Parawing(https://youtu.be/fVE8sKSJgaU) but I would definitely have been faster with the Wing. Maybe that will change.
Finally, what is your vision for the future of the sport of parawing?
We all want a board that is as small as possible and a small foil that is easy to turn with. The parawing makes it possible – or at least more possible. A parawinger wants to see the parawing packed away as much as possible – a paradox – but ultimately the goal.
The Parawing is a versatile foil assist – but nothing more.
Thank you very much Matthias, that was very interesting.
Do you want to switch to the Parawing? Take a look at Matthias’ videos.
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