Armstrong XPS Lightwind

The be-striped Armstong XPS has cemented itself as an instantly recognizable signature product from the Kiwi brand in a short space of time, both in international competition doing incomprehensible things at J-Bay and probably down at your local. This wasn’t just down to the distinctive graphics either, we were blown away (no pun intended) with the balanced characteristics and comfortable handle setup of the wing, so much so I ran it all last winter as the daily driver. Whilst the 6.1m definitely had some low end in the right hands, it was clear that demand was there to extend into the larger sizes to facilitate more extreme lightwind conditions and heavyweight riders, and two new size-chart-topping wings have been developed in 7m and 8m.

In typical Armstrong fashion they’ve engineered it in a completely different way to most brands. As wings creep into the 7m plus size range, the most common current practice is to bolt on a couple of inflatable struts towards the wingtips to maintain profile and stability at the fringes of the sail and extend the canopy backwards, with span the limiting factor of practicality and handling. Armstrong have decided to keep the single-strut platform, utilizing a long strut with a bat wing that fans the trailing edge of the canopy in the mid-section, increasing the all-important surface area here. To stabilize the rear of the wing shape into an impressively perfect and tight profile, they’ve incorporated a short cross batten running perpendicular to the strut. It’s just a short section of sturdy cylindrical carbon on our 7m which is removable and barely noticeable, and the little carbon trailing edge battens carry over from the smaller XPS wings. The other fabulous news is, even without removing any of the battens, the 7m rolls up into a normal size backpack with zero hassle.

The clever cross-panel cut and preloaded sail tension carries over from the smaller XPS which pumps up to form a drum-tight sail in the front section, and again, the lack of any vibration when going through the wind is extremely impressive, as with a larger wing it’s all the more difficult to achieve. The eagle eyed will notice the strut has some extra curvature built in to angle the handles towards you, an important comfort feature for a larger wing. Material choice is also a key factor when things get big, and these have also been refined with some lighter, but stiff tube material utilized over the outer sections of the leading edge to minimize weight.

Striding out on sub ten knots, coupled with an efficient downwind board and an optimistic attitude, we were seriously impressed with the low end on tap. With a mere ruffle of wind across the water the 7m made decent forward driving power much like its smaller siblings and it also seemed to possess more extended wind range than most other wings this size. Around the corners running downwind into jibes, a handling point where the cracks start to show in many larger wings, it remains very balanced and you rarely need to manage the wing to avoid running over it. Pulling a fast bottom turn, the wing will pivot around the strut superbly and trail well, and there’s not many 7m wings you feel comfortable to ride a wave with without tripping over, and the waves at these wind speeds are so delightfully glassy.

The canopy maintains its shape very well under load and has oodles of stability, and without the extra drag and weight of two additional struts it feels all the more efficient. Balance that with lightweight materials and we’re presented with a sail with an extended sweet spot, and more manageable when overpowered. We really felt this wing was a step in the right direction design wise, and whilst other big wings will match the XPS Lightwind in low end, few will come close to the ease of handling, balance and fun factor.