Lately, there is a big question arising among wind-lovers and water-women and men. The answer is as easy as if you compare sports cars to 4x4 cars, It's just different and there is not a simple and easy winner, even though I don't like to admit it, as a seasoned kitesurfer, they are both amazing sports, let's get a bit more in-depth.
Wingfoiling, the elephant with wings, and a horse tail.
That's exactly what it looked like when it first came out, even though Wingfoiling has been around for a while, it only became a "thing" in the last 5 to 6 years, now it is a well-developed sport, but now we trust it is one of those sports that came to stay, and still has a long way to go.
In the beginning, no one was sure about what was that sort of triangle sail, like a weird windsurf sail but it wasn't, and foils were also just getting popular, so it was even weirder. We, the people in the watersports industry, did not trust that new toy, and we did not give it the place it now earned on its own.
Now, after its big debut among most big and small kitesurfing and windsurfing brands, it is certainly growing faster than kitesurfing and windsurfing in many of the big destinations for these other sports.
It is easier to get started, in many wind-powered sports, you need a lot of lessons and a coach behind you for a long time before becoming an independent rider, Wingfoiling allows you to be independent after two or three lessons, for most people, not meaning a proficient rider, but at least get to the point where you can go and come back to where you started, without harming yourself or other people around you.
Overall, we can say, Wingfoiling is a more user-friendly and easier sport to get in than kitesurfing, but emotions are not as strong as when kitesurfing.
Kitesurfing, the extreme, yet accessible windsport.
Kitesurfing became one of the fastest-growing water-and-wind sports in the last few years, especially after it became officially recognized by the sailing federations around the world and is now also an Olympic sport, which will have its debut during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
It used to be one of those sports you would only see on Red Bull TV or another sort of action sports magazines, focused on freestyle maneuvers where riders would often break both of their knees. But that has been long ago when it was a sport for the crazy young guys willing to find some adrenaline playing with the elements.
Nowadays, it is an extremely accessible sport, and you can find a school or a kitesurf center pretty much wherever the wind blows, not only at the beach but at lakes and rivers as well.
Big brands got into the game and took the challenge of bringing the sport to all sorts of water-lovers and made it accessible and easy to get started.
It is safe to say that, I've seen 5-year-old kids shredding through the waves and jumping over 10m high on a kite, as well as 80-year-old grandparents cruising for hours at my home spot. But it really did not affect its adrenaline factor, it just became safer for everyone to practice, and kites evolved to jump higher, be more responsive, and be easier to fly.
The conclusion is: if you want to get on a faster way into board-wind-powered sports, Wing foil may be the answer for you, may not squeeze as much adrenaline as kitesurfing, but it's safer to learn on your own without a lot of support, although we always recommend taking lessons of Wingfoil in Mallorca to progress on the right direction, and kitesurfing could be for the more adventurous looking for a new source of adrenaline and also for those who want to jump higher, shred bigger waves. Kitesurfing still remains a sport everyone should be very respectful of, as learning without professional help could be dangerous for you and other people around you, you can book your kitesurf lessons in Mallorca right here, at Pura Vida Mallorca.