Who doesn't know the beautiful pictures and videos of Robby Naish who also showed us the winfoiling of the 21st century a few years ago. Wing foiling is now and extremely popular wind and water sports and for me a cool addition to kitesurfing. I jumped at the chance to make this Naish ADX review. The 'Naish Wing-Surfer ADX', as Naish calls it, came on the market in May 2023. View my findings.
Start with wingsurfing or wing foiling?
Is wing foiling also your dream? Very good, because it is a cool water sport. You can read in the special how I learned to wingfoil and what lessons you can learn from it learn to wingfoil. Also view the explanation of wing foils, which is now complete handbook wingsurfing is.
Naish ADX Review: Quality
We will first briefly discuss the qualitative aspects of the ADX, such as the quality of the fabric, the construction, the weight, etc. Naish is a so-called A-brand among the wingfoil brands and you can expect these things to be 100% in order.
Race in development
Because the development of the wingsurf material is currently going so fast, it is challenging even for the big brands to keep up with these developments. In a single season we already see huge improvements in wing foil material. This quickly creates a big difference between the more than 100 wing foil brands. With the ADX, Naish has visibly and noticeably strived to contribute to the development of wing foiling and to develop a wing that meets the needs of wing foilers today.
Devil is in the details
Subjects that are very consciously considered include: the correct aspect ratio (ratio between height and width), the length of the strut, one or more struts, the optimal tension of the fabric in different places, the impact of the choice of material on the performance, hard or soft grips and the stiffness of the tee (where the strut and leading edge meet). These are just a few examples. View on the website of naish which details characterize the ADX.
Naish ADX review
Naish's goal with the ADX wing was to develop a wing for wingfoilers of all levels. As you can see in the video, I can now wing foil nicely, but I don't consider myself a natural talent as a 'weekend wing foiler'. This does not matter, because it is about fun and enjoying sports on the water. This is going great and as you can see I'm having a lot of fun. In the video I foiled a bit overpowered at times with the 6 meter ADX in winds between 15 and 22 knots. With a 4.5 and / or 5 meter ADX I would probably have been able to do well. It is also true that when you get better at wing foiling, you can get much more out of a smaller wing. You can read more tips about this in the wing foiling manual or the special learn to wingfoil.
I'm going for a 6.0 meter and a 4.5 meter this season. My plan is to kitesurf above 20 knots and wingfoil below that.
Findings Naish Wing-Surfer ADX
- Accessible wing. I think the ADX is an easy and accessible wing. I weigh about 87 kilos and have 2 wings to purchase this season. As stated, my plan is to stick with strong winds the kitesurfer and wing foiling in less wind. For me this is between 14 and 20 knots. For this I purchased the Naish ADX 6.0 and 4.5 meters. The 6.0 meter is already a good choice. The one-pump system works flawlessly with the large internal valve as you are used to from a SUP board. The hard handles took some getting used to, but from the second session they were very good. With a small pressure distribution from the wrist I can already give the wing a very direct and subtle correction. This was different with soft handles.
- Nice elevator. A good lift is important to be able to get on the foil even with less wind. Every wing is different, so finding the right way of 'pumping' is a bit of a search, but I soon figured this out. This is how I came to the places where or moments when the wind was weaker, also easy on the foil.
- Good low end. Thanks to the good low-end you can see me playing with the wind waves in the video of the Naish ADX review. What struck me was the ADX's fine low-end performance. This came in handy when foiling on the wind waves and when the wind dropped a bit at times. Then you need the low-end to continue wing foiling.
- Proper dose of power. I was quite overpowered at times. My experience is that the ADX has a lot of power but can also be taken out of the wind well. In addition, the ADX continued to behave well. He did not get nervous and therefore difficult to handle. I felt confident on the water with the ADX in stronger winds and when I could have had a smaller wing.
- Lies nicely on the wind. The canvas is under good tension and the symmetry seems very well developed. It will probably have to do with this because the Naish ADX is well on the wind. You notice that immediately when you walk to the water with it. It floats neatly with you. If you take the wing out of the wind during wing foiling, the ADX will keep up with its sleek design.
Conclusion Naish ADX review
As you can read I am happy with the Naish ADX. The ADX is very accessible and friendly, runs very well in height, can be dosed and steered very well. Even when the wind blows a little harder. You don't see me jumping with it yet and doing cool tricks with it like you see others doing. I'm not that far yet and I think wing foiling itself is very cool so I'm perhaps a little less ambitious to jump. I thoroughly enjoy being on the water. The 6.0 meter has proven to be a good size with my 87 kilos, fitting my level and wind between 14 and 20 knots. If I get better at it I will be able to handle the 4.5m more easily in the same wind and I can use the 6.0m at the lower end of this wind range. I noticed the lift, low-end, high-end and symmetry of the ADX positively.
