Not the gong but if I was considering an inflatable (and I currently am) I'd be looking at a Starboard ACE Air. The way they attach the foil is much more direct and the quality will be higher but of course you pay for it.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
Not the gong but if I was considering an inflatable (and I currently am) I'd be looking at a Starboard ACE Air. The way they attach the foil is much more direct and the quality will be higher but of course you pay for it.
Thank you but I find the Starboard really hideous looking and the attachment on foil seems overthought and unnecessary in my humble opinion.
The Gong Diamon is the only inflatable midlength in the market unfortunately hence the options are quite limited at the moment,,
I have owned two GONG inflatable foilboards - both were great quality, very durable construction. Recommend!
I've owned a Gong inflatable and hated it. The thickness makes for a completely disconnected feel and the foot strap inserts were either u comfortable when not used and limited in position when used.
I'd rather have the plate but each to their own.
The Starboard is 0.5kg lighter for the same volume as well.
So...anyone actually use the Diamond HIPE mid-length?
I'm on the fence between 3 models for a travel board...
5'1" 75L Perf (in part b/c it is just 4" thick)
4'8" 77L or 5' 90L Freely (no inserts saves weight and I don't use straps)
4'11" 75L or 5'2" 85L Diamond
Hard to tell what the dimensions really mean in practice with an inflatable, but I do think I want to avoid the 6" thick Cruzaders...leaning toward the 5'2" 85L Diamond, or the 5' 90L Freely for extra liters the my wife might like better as she is foil curious
There are plenty of Hipe users on the Gong Facebook group "GONG Galaxy Group" (also the Gong forum, but FB is more active nowadays)
You will get plenty of various advice there.
I really like the concept of the Diamond inflatable boards, and the dimensions are exactly what I'm looking for. However, the weight is a bit of a drawback. My 6'6 Escape Air weighs just about 5+ kg, while the smaller 4'11 Diamond weighs over 1 kg more, which feels excessive for its size. Hope Takoon will release a ML Air Board soon.
Select to expand quoteczareka said..
I really like the concept of the Diamond inflatable boards, and the dimensions are exactly what I'm looking for. However, the weight is a bit of a drawback. My 6'6 Escape Air weighs just about 5+ kg, while the smaller 4'11 Diamond weighs over 1 kg more, which feels excessive for its size. Hope Takoon will release a ML Air Board soon.
I must say that if the weight difference is in the carbon plate (I know Gong ones are quite beefed up, no idea for Takoon), it should not be a big difference in action as it is centered and not impacting a lot the swing weight.
But true, the weight difference is still there when carrying the board on land (e.g plane travel).
Select to expand quoteczareka said..
I really like the concept of the Diamond inflatable boards, and the dimensions are exactly what I'm looking for. However, the weight is a bit of a drawback. My 6'6 Escape Air weighs just about 5+ kg, while the smaller 4'11 Diamond weighs over 1 kg more, which feels excessive for its size. Hope Takoon will release a ML Air Board soon.
I think the air escape dose a lot of things right. I really like the more pointed nose and the weight. The stringer is a nice idea if it really works. If they made the mid length (diamond like dimensions) thick I'd be all over it.
Cloud 9 new board looks to have lowered the weight of their inflatable to under 10 Lbs which is impressive.
Select to expand quoteFishdude said..
If they made the mid length (diamond like dimensions) thick I'd be all over it.
I completely agree with you.
My last session with the Escape Air 6,6 in light wind
Select to expand quoteFishdude said..
Cloud 9 new board looks to have lowered the weight of their inflatable to under 10 Lbs which is impressive.
Wish Cloud IX would includes specs on those boards besides length and weight
Select to expand quotekook123 said..Fishdude said..
Cloud 9 new board looks to have lowered the weight of their inflatable to under 10 Lbs which is impressive.
Wish Cloud IX would includes specs on those boards besides length and weight
A bit to be found on the Cloud IX Stratus Air here:
Select to expand quotekook123 said..kook123 said..Fishdude said..
Cloud 9 new board looks to have lowered the weight of their inflatable to under 10 Lbs which is impressive.
Wish Cloud IX would includes specs on those boards besides length and weight
A bit to be found on the Cloud IX Stratus Air here:
hey dude thanks so much for sharing this. this looks v cool. finally another manufacturer who understood the demand for midlength inflatables.
Not beat a dead horse but starboard inflatables are light, stiffer than anything else in terms of foil to foot connection and are releasing mid lengths.
I'll have last year's 6'10" in hand fairly soon to give a full review.
Just back from the AWSI at Hood river and Starboard had an amazing range of inflatables .They have really invested in them even with inflatable wind surfing boards . Haven't see the new gongs but I owned a Hipe , wasn't that impressed by it . Have seen & used the new Cloud 9 inflatables they are very good , super light and stiff and come in a great travel bag . Plenty of whispers about Gong though coming out with some very good gear , they have F-One worried .
Select to expand quoteSlowlyButSurely said..kook123 said..kook123 said..Fishdude said..
Cloud 9 new board looks to have lowered the weight of their inflatable to under 10 Lbs which is impressive.
Wish Cloud IX would includes specs on those boards besides length and weight
A bit to be found on the Cloud IX Stratus Air here:
hey dude thanks so much for sharing this. this looks v cool. finally another manufacturer who understood the demand for midlength inflatables.
I think the price of the Cloud 9 board increased by about 150? today. Maybe it's because of this thread?
For the Foildrive users out there both the Gong & Cloud have no connectivity issues the remotes work great , I'd assume the Starby's would be the same.
Select to expand quotePiros said..
For the Foildrive users out there both the Gong & Cloud have no connectivity issues the remotes work great , I'd assume the Starby's would be the same.
It would be awesome *IF* the Starboard inflatable system would fit the gen2 Foildrive... because the battery would be completely hidden inside the board...
Those new 2025 versions in your photo look interesting. I like 4.75" thick and all the strap position options.
I just got the 5.6 and it looks great. However some edges came very sharp (production issue. It's quite uncomfortable at the hand) and Gong are not accepting there is nothing wrong with it.
Also there is an issue with the pump valve too.
Gong it is not accepting none of these issues. So far I have purchased another board and I will ship them the first board back.
This would be my 2nd board from Gong. And with my first one I was extremely happy with it.
I look forward to try it out
I will send some picts and videos once this forum allows me to. For first timers it is banded.
If only it wasn't so heavy. I really hope they make a lighter version this year.
Compared to a hard board how do the inflatables feel pumping, surfing, shredding, etc. seem 100% fine for mowing the lawn winging but what about more powerful maneuvers?
I normally don't mix travel and foiling but I'm on a Bahamas trip and I threw a kite foil setup together (free kite so why not) and it's OK just mowing the lawn but the kite has a high sketch factor in remote spots. I think a DW inflatable could be really versatile - winging, prone surf(in a pinch) parawing downwind, etc.
its a good board. I have been using it quite a lot when traveling paired with Armstrong HAv2 foils.
But it's a Gong board. Hence, dont expect too much.
The foil box + straps holes placement is wrongly placed as with any gong inflatable. You have to fine tune the board with mast and tail shims and then it works.
Despite several people highlighting the issue, they dont seem to care as the board design and strap placement suit their French pro riders well I guess.
check out Duotone DW Air. I bought the smallest one and I was surprised the stiffness of the board, although I had my expectations pretty low so this could be the factor. I bought is as a travel board for work trips should there be an opportunity, but I could use it much more. Compared to Armstrong's 85L DW hard board, there wasn't a world of differece. Pumping was much more in line with the hard board than I expected. And the board is light, and no wrongly placed footstrap bumps as it doesn't have any. Now DT is bringing out the Skybrid Air as well, which looks pretty good.
Select to expand quoteomg said..
check out Duotone DW Air. I bought the smallest one and I was surprised the stiffness of the board, although I had my expectations pretty low so this could be the factor. I bought is as a travel board for work trips should there be an opportunity, but I could use it much more. Compared to Armstrong's 85L DW hard board, there wasn't a world of differece. Pumping was much more in line with the hard board than I expected. And the board is light, and no wrongly placed footstrap bumps as it doesn't have any. Now DT is bringing out the Skybrid Air as well, which looks pretty good.
Yeah the Skybrid Air looks really interesting. Finally they understood that with inflatables you seldom can get away with one hole only for straps placement given how shorter the rails typically are on inflatable hulls.
However the foil rails on the Skybrid Air seem so short and far backward...not sure why they dont put longer rails to ensure cross compatibility with other foils...
Strange to find out the Gong Hype Diamond actually weighed a good bit LESS than there website stated. Turns out the 5'6"2024 weighed only 6 kgs, not the 7.1 stated.
The new 2025 is listed as 5.0 kgs which seems real good.
Select to expand quoteFishdude said..
Strange to find out the Gong Hype Diamond actually weighed a good bit LESS than there website stated. Turns out the 5'6"2024 weighed only 6 kgs, not the 7.1 stated.
It can happen.
Basically, the early production batches are weighted to state the weight on the site.
But sometimes, factories optimize their process, workers gain experience, and the weights can go down after some time.
Normally Gong corrects it on the site if they see that it is sustainable.
I don't think I'd bother with an inflatable unless it was a group of friends buying one to share for travel reasons (think everyone grabs it for their own travels). If I was to try one I'd be looking at the Cloud IX due to the weight savings for sure. No matter how stiff any of them are though.... we know that inflatable boards don't perform like hard boards so I wouldn't consider it as a serious daily option.
I cant wait to sell the Gong and get the new Skybrid Air.
With Gong u get what you pay for. It's not even the quality which I am questioning.
But it's the design. With the current Diamond Hipe, the placement of the strap / foil box is totally wrong. Particularly if you use the rear strap too.
