Lightwind test of 2020 slingshot infinity 99 wing

Latest update on the infinity 99 wing. So far we have tested the wing on a variety of boards and the i99 has worked extremely well on all of them.

I have used the i99 on the wizard 125 and the Out Wit SUP/foil board with either the 48 or 42 rear in either B or C position.

Local rider here (Bob) uses the i99/48 with a 7.5 ezzy on a Horue foil board 205 x 78 with tuttle box, which is much narrower in the tail than the wizard 125, he foils up in sub 10.

Another local rider (Brad) used the i99/42 with a 5.6 Goya wave sail, on a Horue foil 95 liter foil board with tuttle box in position C.

The i99 simply works very well in light and shifty winds. Just like the i84 is does have a speed limiter to it, so its not super fast but it will
plough you through sub 10 winds with ease.

I agree with Wyatt on the pumping, the i99 wing feels as if there is so much stored energy under the wing, so as soon as you pump down
the wing pushes back and keeps you gliding through the lightest of lulls. I have been using the i99/48 with the short fuse on the sling wing, the performance is outstanding.

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dejavu said..
CoreAS,

This is a little off topic -- what sort of wind strength can the i99 wing be used with the Sling Wing?

Have you compared the Sling Wing with the Duotone, Naish, etc.?

I'm interested in giving a wind wing a try.

Have you tried the Sling Wing with your Wizard 125?

Hi dejavu

It ultimately depends on your body weight. I am 92 kg so I need 15-20 to get the sling wing foiling.

If wind foilers are really comfortable on a 6.0, I can pump the sling wing, if wind foilers are on a 5.0, that is perfect.

It has taken quite a bit of practice to go from a complete start to pumping board, foil and sling wing in synch to get going but
once up on the foil, I can glide through holes and connect with the next gust.

I have not tried any other wing..I would like too but I'm the only foiler around my area that has one.

from reading between the lines, the Naish is super light construction and maybe favors areas
with swell assistance (more a surf design, more than outright horse power). The duotone didn't tick my box due to the boom
design and time to rig/adjust it. I want to pump it up, bolt on the foil and get on the water.

The sling wing has a huge leading edge and creates a super deep pocket (much like a RAF sail with minimal downhaul) with
the correct pumping technique it will pull you up, it also has a inflatable trailing edge and keeps it's shape in strong gusts.
Some other brands tend to "Taco Shell" and distort all over the place.

I have not tried the wizard 125 yet, simply because not enough wind yet. The SS out wit has twin tracks much further forward and greatly assists you to directly pump down on the 99 wing. I believe the tuttle box is too far back to foil up in medium winds for heavier riders but maybe it will work in strong winds.

CoreAS said, I have used the i99 on the wizard 125 and the Out Wit SUP/foil board with either the 48 or 42 rear in either B or C position.

Any words of wisdom on using the i99 on the Wizard 125 with the 48 rear in the C position? I was wishing your post read both the 48 and 42 rear in both the B and C position!

Looks like a i99 will cost $1,099.00 in Australia.
I would be interested in the opinion of those with the i76, i84 and i99 as to whether they would still use the i84 now they have the i99?

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MrA said..
Looks like a i99 will cost $1,099.00 in Australia.
I would be interested in the opinion of those with the i76, i84 and i99 as to whether they would still use the i84 now they have the i99?

MrA

Yes its up there but great smile per dollar investment.

For my local conditions and weight (92 kg) I find the i84 is my all round go to.

The i99 I actually use more with the sling wing, but another local rider is using it a bunch for 5-14 mph with a 7.5.

I'm a huge fan of the i76 but it has to be fairly windy for me, its the quickest of the group (especially upwind) and my go to for trying foil tricks etc.

this is my wind/wing gauge:
i99 for 5-14
i84 for 10-20
i76 for 18+

The testing continues with the slingshot infinity 99 wing. This morning the wind was super light around 10 knots or less. Decided to rig a 7.0 on a JP135, so of course the moment I launched the wind picked up to 12 gusting 20 at times.
Each time I have tested the i99 I was using a 5.8 sail. Today With a 7.0 in strong gusts I had real pitch issues. My back foot was hanging off the end of the JP135 just to get enough even pressure to gybe. Comparing it to the SS wizard 125 is completely different.

I will test it some more, but my first impressions are? you just don't need a big sail, the downward pressure feels like it adds to the pitchiness?

maybe this is a reason why slingshot suggests you use the twin tracks to move the whole set up forward, maybe they were using large sails? I have had zero problems with the wizard and 5.8

in the pic i99 versus i84

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CoreAS said..
Today was super gusty North West winds 5-15 mph. Great day for testing the infinity 99 for gybing!

Very cool. What wing is the sailor on the ezzy using?

Cool. My i99 arrived yesterday. Hopefully get to test it out on my freestyle 115 this weekend.

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sl55 said..
Last Saturday wind was crappy SE side-offshore and I decided it was time to test Infinity 99. After few nights below freezing the water got really cold and I took a short 71 cm mast off of my wife's board. It saves me an extra 100 meters of wading. The wing was in modified position "D" as I reported earlier. Because of the short mast and the wing so much forward, behavior was different. The board was more squirrelly than 84 on a long mast. I could not pump the board pushing on the back foot as much, and the tail was drifting wide if I sheeted in too energetically. But I think I gained a knot or two in the bottom end. The balance was less back footed than 84 in position "C". Would be interesting to test 99 on a long mast in C and D position. Next season I will. Crashed at the end loosing the foil. My fault - used wrong bolts between the Tuttle head and the mast.

I just watched your vid and noticed no front foot straps? And what are chicken straps?

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CAN17 said..

CoreAS said..
Today was super gusty North West winds 5-15 mph. Great day for testing the infinity 99 for gybing!

Dean, what are the water temps like in North Texas this time of year. Does it get much colder?
Foiling definitely seems a lot easier then windsurfing when the water is cold as long as you don't fall in

Looking forward to seeing some testing of the small board board big wing combo. The future of foiling

It's 54 degF right now which is cold for us! In the summer water temps are 85+
it will continue to cool down next few months to around 42, so I'll refuse to fall in at that point, lol.

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MagicRide said..

CoreAS said..

CAN17 said..

CoreAS said..
Today was super gusty North West winds 5-15 mph. Great day for testing the infinity 99 for gybing!

Dean, what are the water temps like in North Texas this time of year. Does it get much colder?
Foiling definitely seems a lot easier then windsurfing when the water is cold as long as you don't fall in

Looking forward to seeing some testing of the small board board big wing combo. The future of foiling

It's 54 degF right now which is cold for us! In the summer water temps are 85+
it will continue to cool down next few months to around 42, so I'll refuse to fall in at that point, lol.

Well in a few months from now I'm learning to foil, and yes, the water temps will be around 40F, and air temps in the low to mid 50s. I guess I got big balls to do this. Haa! I just can't wait to get started!! We usually begin our sessions in those water temps because were all die hards here and can't wait to get on the water after the winter snow has melted. Most of the locals think we're crazy!!

40 degF is cold

couple of years ago we went to 38 water temp but still had sunny days and my hands split like sausages, like having a dozen paper cuts.
I was talking to my foiling mate this week and he remembered about 15 years ago he was rigging up really slow as it was cold, a bunch of Canadians stopped off in Dallas on their way to Corpus Christi and was giddy with excitement, the reason being Dallas had "Liquid Water"! Took me a moment to realize what that meant, We shouldn't complain about 50 degF water temp.

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MagicRide said..
I have to do my best to keep my head out of the water or it starts getting too cold in those temps.

Good luck. Most foil beginners have quite a few big crashes in the first few sessions.

Maybe going to Texas would be a better idea. At Padre Island, you may get a handful of days each winter were temps are around 50, but most of the time, air and water are in the 60s and 70s. Well worth a 6400 km round trip drive (if you stay long enough ).

When the Columbia River gets cold--down to the lower 40s F--I foil only on a formula board so I can stay up out of the water. The formula board is floaty, wide, easy to uphaul and jibe and tack, and is still lightweight enough to pump. However, its geometry it not ideal for freeride foiling.

My dedicated freeride foil board has better geometry and gives a nicer ride, but it is narrower and smaller. I end up swimming more often with it. Not good to swim in 42F water, even with a drysuit.

OK, the days are getting longer up here in the northern hemisphere. Come on, summer!

You foilers down south are in mid-summer. I enjoy reading about your exploits and learnings. We all learn from each other.

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CoreAS said..
it will continue to cool down next few months to around 42, so I'll refuse to fall in at that point, lol.

Ah, that's how it works... didn't get the memo earlier today and ended up in.

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motogon said..
Is there significant difference between i84 and i99? I'm using "old" 68 wing for 3 years now. I'm "occasional" foiler, as prefer fin sailing when there is enough wind. I did demo of i84 in October (it was 10-13 knots day, i84 x 48 combo on Levitator 130 with 4.4 sail): I did like how easy foil get up, but I didn't like how slow it is. I assume i99 even slower?

Yes there is a significant difference between the 84 and the 99. The 99 is slower but goes earlier. For most of us regular sized guys the 84 or 99 would be our light wind wing. One of those might work well for you as you want finwindsurf as much as possible and just foil the days you cannot windsurf. I personally am not a fan of the i84 with the 48 stabilizer for windsurfing, as I found it harder to pop onto the foil and it was slower. Althouh once it's on the foil the 48 stabilizer seemed to lower the stall speed. So you might want to try either the 99 or the 84 with the 42 cm stabilizer I think you will like it better.

The best wing IMO is the i76 and if you are a normal size dude I would suggest getting that if you wanted to increase the amount you foil relatively to windsurfing, but then you might need the need for another wing for superlight wind (probably the 99 if you have a board with tracks).

Adding the i84 to the old 68 might make more sense as it would cover a wider wind range and as you windsurf most of the time you may not get as much use out of the 76 as sounds like you are windsurfing through most of the 76's wind range.