Speaker 1 (00:00)
Today we have Dom Zimmerman, the head of R &D at Ozone. We need to talk about this power pack. What has led you guys to think about a new market?
Speaker 2 (00:09)
we kind of started from scratch to make a Harrowing that is designed for quick packing and fast redeployment.
Speaker 1 (00:16)
So maybe let's start from the bar and let's work our way up in the para wing. What has changed in the bar?
Speaker 2 (00:23)
bass system has changed drastically.
Speaker 1 (00:26)
the
lines themselves changed.
Speaker 2 (00:28)
have
worked with our supplier on a new line material.
Speaker 1 (00:32)
The
external A's are separate from the middle A's. How does it go up when compared to the pocket rocket? What is the wind range of the power pack like? What's the bag look like? Is it the same bag? Different bag? Accessories? Anything in the pipeline for you guys? When is that one coming? Because that's something I would use, I think.
Speaker 2 (00:37)
It's for easier storing.
Yes, indeed.
Maybe Christmas?
Daniel Paronetto (01:09)
Welcome to the Lab Rat For the podcast. name is Dan and today we have a recurring guest Dom Zimmerman, the head of R &D at Ozone. Welcome back Dom.
Dom (01:21)
Thank you for having me a second time.
Daniel Paronetto (01:23)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, you guys are pumping out some interesting things, so we have to bring you back. It's, we need to talk about this power pack now. So you recently introduced a whole new power wing into the market. and I normally start with a little bit of context with, β our guests, but you have been on the podcast already. If you want to learn a little bit about Dom and his history, you can go, I'm going to link down in the description to his first interview. You could check that out.
β today we are really going to be talking about the power pack and everything that the power pack is and who's it for. So before we get into that, β give us a little bit of context of what has happened. within ozone after the launch of the pocket rocket, it was a really successful powering in the market. I dare to say probably the, the one that has, you know, probably the most successful one, β in the last 12 months.
What has led you guys to think about a new model and what led you to the power pack?
Dom (02:29)
I think we were quite overwhelmed with the success Rocket in the first place. β But we also quickly realised what it's probably not so good at. And we kind of then started working on something specifically. β
for that area where the pocket rocket isn't performing β that well, which is mainly, you know, it's got fairly long lines which makes it β quite performance upwind. It makes it easier for beginner to handle with because you just got, you know, the canopy is a bit further away. It's less hectic and stuff, but obviously the downside of longer lines are it's not so easy to pack.
Daniel Paronetto (03:19)
Mm.
Dom (03:20)
So we realized that and then instead of just using that very same design we kind of started from scratch to make an actual β para wing that is designed for a quick packing and fast redeployment which led to a reduced cell count, a bit more compact planform.
Daniel Paronetto (03:35)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (03:44)
and way shorter lines and specifically designed bridal lines and so on. So it was a whole redesign process basically.
Daniel Paronetto (03:55)
Amazing. β I like to hear all those things because when I think about my riding I always think about, not only stowing quickly, but you know, the success rate of redeploying a power wing, β and getting into the flow of your session. So those things are really, β exciting to hear. And so let's start from the beginning. Like who is this power wing for? And if you were to think about a persona that's going to be using this power wing in the market.
Who's going to be enjoying this power wing, you think?
Dom (04:29)
β It's really designed for people that are already into the sport of para-winging. It's not designed as a beginner wing or as an entry level necessarily. But it's for people that are looking for riding without a wing as much as possible really. Having the wing stashed away or stashing the wing and redeploying it all the time one way or the other.
Daniel Paronetto (04:52)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (04:57)
So yeah, that's the strength of the PowerPack really, is the size of the package, β being able to quickly β pack down and redeploying it very quickly with a very high redeployment success rate.
Daniel Paronetto (05:07)
Mm-hmm.
The, when you say it's, β not necessarily meant for beginners, is there something about the flight characteristics when you're riding it that makes it a little bit harder for beginners or why is it more meant to people who maybe already are parawinging?
Dom (05:31)
β
Probably it's more to do if you're looking at the pocket rocket how kind of easy it is to for anyone entering the sport to get going on it and you know having that extra length in the lines and the canopy away from you β just dampens all the bar inputs and makes everything a bit quieter while having shorter lines things are more reactive it's a bit more you've got a bit more focused on your riding
Daniel Paronetto (05:53)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (06:02)
making sure you're putting the wing where you want it to be. And I think the power pack is a bit more forgiving. And additionally, the upwind angle on the pocket rocket is still easier to get out of. So you're still cranking a bit more upwind on it.
Daniel Paronetto (06:09)
Right.
Mm.
Cool. β So I noticed a few things when you guys launched β that teaser video probably a week ago now. And I watched it probably 50 times to try to pick everything that I could, β all the difference that I noticed on the Power Pack. So maybe let's start from the bar and let's work our way up in the Parawing. β What has changed in the bar?
Has anything changed from the Procket Rocket to the Power Pack in the bar system?
Dom (07:00)
So, yeah, the bar system has changed drastically. We've now eliminated the central leader line, which was color-coded blue on the pocket rocket, which went to the center of the bar, holding the central bridle line. This has been eliminated, and we're now putting basically a bow line, it's what we're calling it, between the front and the back of the bar. β
So that frees up the whole bar basically for your hands to grab on to. You're not having that stopper in the center of your bar as you used to. yeah, with the bow line, basically the center bridle lines are suspended through that bow, which has another positive effect apart from freeing up your hand space. But it's also... β
The angle of attack change with that bow line is more on a ratio, so it helps you on a depowered mode to add more control on your wing. β Steering still works quite well even when you're depowered. And then the powering up also works better because you're changing the angle of attack β more smooth with the bow line system.
Daniel Paronetto (08:11)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (08:28)
β that gives you more range on the bar so you're not stalling the wing out as quickly β and that's pretty much the biggest difference there is on the bar system here.
Daniel Paronetto (08:41)
Yeah, that's,
that's pretty big. And I've flown a few other pair of wings that have a similar configuration and you can really notice how much you can sheet in and sheet out and feel the wing go in and out of the power zone a lot more. and I feel that's just great. Just having a bar, like cleaner bar. I'm always for it. I'm always,
talked about having a clean bar have the bar length changed as well or is just the line configuration to the bar that have changed when you think about the. Yeah.
Dom (09:18)
I almost forgot about that, but the bar
length has been reduced as well. We were at 42 cm and we cut it down to 36 now for all sizes. That's a good chunk of... still gives you plenty of control on all sizes. We found that a good compromise.
Daniel Paronetto (09:31)
Nice. That's huge.
Yeah, and it's
underestimated how much it helps with stowing a small bar. It's incredible when you get a big bar and you're trying to stow versus a tiny bar. Like everything just makes it 10 times easier to put everything neatly and redeploy neatly. So that's pretty cool. Connection points to the bar is still the same. You have those end points on the bar. Those are still...
Dom (09:45)
Mm.
Daniel Paronetto (10:06)
similar to what you have in the pocket rocket or that system also change the connection points to the bar.
Dom (10:12)
Let's change the wee bit. We've got a new bridle layout which kind of the bridle lines now go through the bar ends instead of having pigtails. And this helps us reducing the overall length from the bar to the canopy again, making it as short as possible.
Daniel Paronetto (10:21)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dom (10:34)
within an arm reach even on the 5 meter. A normal person easily grabs the canopy within an arm reach now which is quite nice. β
Daniel Paronetto (10:40)
Yeah. Yeah. That puts a smile to my face.
cause I saw in that video, β and I, I posted a, just a couple of screen grabs and I saw someone with an arm length and I'm like, if this is a five meters and they are within an arm length, that's pretty big. because a five meters is never easy to stow. But before we go into that, let's talk about.
Stepping now from the bar into the line system. β You're talking a little bit about line length β line length in all different sizes Very as well. So they go from the five meters. They're a little bit longer and then they cascade down What are the sizes by the way Dom that the power pack comes in? Do you remember?
Dom (11:26)
Yeah, exactly.
They are different for every size. And the PowerPack comes in the same size as the PocketRocker 2. It's looking from a 1.9, 2.4, 3 meter, 3.6, 4.3 and a 5.
Daniel Paronetto (11:42)
Cool. β So we will have different line lengths for all the sizes, which is always great. And has the lines themselves changed or are they the same lines that you find in the Pocket Rocket?
Dom (11:56)
For the front lines we have found or worked with our supplier on a new line material which is quite exciting because first of all it's a little bit more meaty so it's got more diameter which is nice if you're sliding your hands through it.
In addition to it, it has a very special coating which makes the sliding process super easy and smooth. So that's the main difference you will feel on those lines and additionally to that as well, they are much stiffer so there's no more tangling on the front lines anyway. The mid and the back lines are still the same as we're using on the pocket rockets.
but still even these have increased in the stiffness slightly and we have not experienced any tangles on the power packing also because if the lines are much shorter there's less of the risk of them getting tangled.
Daniel Paronetto (12:58)
Yeah, that was a big point that, a lot of people talked about, you know, the line length together with the type of line generated sometimes a little bit of a, you know, the line catching on the bar, a little snags. β so that, that, that's really cool. And I saw another thing that I was really interested in when you look at the a lines and this is something that I.
do with my pair of wings, I always put a little electrical tape on the middle four lines of the a lines. And I noticed that the line configuration on the power pack is now like the external A's are separate from the middle A's. Did I see that right?
Dom (13:41)
Yeah, that's correct,
Daniel Paronetto (13:43)
Yeah, and is that for easier stowing, the A-line stow?
Dom (13:47)
It's for easier stowing exactly. We call it a center A riser line where we have the center A lines coming to one line that comes out of the bar and then we've got the tips going on either side so they are suspended separately from the center ones and that makes your packing way easier, again lighter because
Daniel Paronetto (13:58)
Mmm.
That's awesome.
Dom (14:14)
You're not trying to pull the tips in, you're basically flagging the tips out and you're pulling the center lines, the center A's in while letting the tips flag out as such. They don't create much more drag actually and the whole processing of getting β your arm up to the canopy is way less hard.
Daniel Paronetto (14:28)
Mm.
Yeah, I think that's such a great mod, especially in those overpowered situations where you have to maybe force that stow β and not having to look at what lines you're grabbing. It's more of a tactile feeling where you can feel, okay, I have my exterior lines and my middle lines. You know you're grabbing the right stuff. β And when you're in that kind of β extreme situation when you have to do things quick, that is so helpful.
Dom (14:42)
way more efficient and quick at that time.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Daniel Paronetto (15:12)
β So I noticed that on the video. like, I need to make sure that I'm seeing this correctly because I really love that. That's such a good innovation. β
Dom (15:15)
Mm-hmm
Especially for
us here, we're testing a lot on the wave in Manawa and that wave you're of getting on and it goes fully into wind. β So you're loading the thing up quite a lot and then...
Daniel Paronetto (15:25)
Mm.
Dom (15:37)
getting pulling your canopy towards you is quite a hard work actually because everything is fully loaded. So yeah with this system now it's pretty easy. also you know another great feature we thought about is we not from the the central a riser which is 20 centimeter long all lines going to the canopy are just straight lines there's no more splits or anything. β
and that every split you have to go over with your hand. It's a little resistance, isn't it? So these are just straight lines and it's super smooth now running your hands up to the canopy.
Daniel Paronetto (16:17)
Yeah, it makes a difference when you're doing those sessions where you're doing multiple laps and you're stowing 20 times catching your, you know, your fingers on those little knots that, know, joint knots. They, yeah, it starts getting a little bit abrasive sometimes. So that's, that's also nice. β let's go to the canopy now because again, looking at that video, it seemed to me that it's a lower aspect pair wing.
Dom (16:29)
Mm.
Daniel Paronetto (16:47)
in shape. β Talk a little bit about β what's the shape about and how did you guys come to that shape for the Power Pack.
Dom (16:59)
So because we didn't really, the design brief was not to match the upwind performance of the pocket rocket at all, it just needed to be a very good getting up on foil, still being able to go upwind, but mainly using as a tool to get onto waves, is it either downwind or wave riding, whatever you want to be doing. β
And we try to make it as simple as possible. it's with a reduced amount of ribs and cells. It gets away with very little material, which helps you on the package size.
Additionally, as you can also see on the pictures, it has quite big bulging out between the supported ribs. It's what we call in the parachutal effect that really helps the wing to generate a lot of power for going downwind. So you almost bearing off into a downwind angle when you get starting on a power pack instead of on the pocket rocket you almost facing.
Daniel Paronetto (18:00)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (18:09)
or into the wind when you going on this one you actually better get going using the parachutal β shape of the wing dragging you downwind. So it's very much reduced to a minimalistic little nugget if you want so.
Daniel Paronetto (18:21)
Gotcha.
Yeah.
The, I saw again, looking at that video, felt like the trailing edge was so bold. Like it was so tweaked in. I don't know even how to explain it, but it almost felt like it was brought down and it would capture a lot more wind. Is that the intent of having that trailing edge coming down and arcing down a lot more?
Dom (18:57)
That's again β helping you to create a parachute style of wing for getting you up onto β a downwind angle rather. It's not super helpful for going upwind necessarily, but that's what it's not designed for. β again, that cup trailing edge β creates a massive amount of β lift and all that.
Daniel Paronetto (19:24)
you
Dom (19:25)
makes it going β onto the foil very easy.
Daniel Paronetto (19:30)
Well, you know, people, people will ask how does it go up when compared to the pocket rocket? And my personal opinion is you have a spectrum now that is like the pocket rocket is on this side of the spectrum where it's the probably the best pair of wings that goes up wind. If you're not talking about a double skin. And then you have this side of the spectrum, which I think is where the power pack is, which is low aspect, you know,
good bottom end, less upwind capability, short lines. And then you have certain pair of wings that sit in the middle of that. So you've gone from one side of the spectrum to the other. What upwind angles can people expect from the Power Pack compared to the Pocket Rocket?
Dom (20:05)
Mm.
It's definitely a few degrees less and it's been shown in the product video that will be released any minute quite nicely where we do write and compare to each other and you see the pocket rocket is way more going upwind. Our units we kind of...
Daniel Paronetto (20:24)
Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Dom (20:36)
created a scale from 1 to 10 and we put the pocket rocker to 10 and the power pack is still at 6 or 7. I think it's 7 actually. It's still fairly good.
Daniel Paronetto (20:43)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I think everybody will be worried about that, but I think a new pair of wing coming into the market will go up when probably better than anything that has come beforehand, still to be confirmed. β But that's the question that a lot of people ask in the groups, how well it's going to be, β know, how effective it will be upwind and all those things. So good to know that it's still, you know, a good six and a half, seven out of 10. β
Dom (21:02)
Yeah.
Daniel Paronetto (21:19)
And if you're doing wave writing, that's the sacrifice, right? β You kind of have to sacrifice a little bit of that upward angle to be able to pack something quick. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that comes about. And just feeling that pair of wings will be interesting as well because low aspect pair of wings flies so differently than a high aspect pair of wings. So can you give us...
Dom (21:23)
Exactly,
Daniel Paronetto (21:43)
The viewers a little bit of a sense of what it's like to fly a lower aspect short line parrying versus the pocket rocket that everybody already knows. And most people have flown the pocket rocket now.
Dom (21:56)
Yes, they do fly quite differently and the sensation is a different one. Me now, I must say, I'm really in love with the short lines. β
We are into the game for 18 months now in the Parawing game. I personally haven't bounced long enough now to easily be handling those short lines. I think for the longer lines as on the Pocket Rocket we won. It does help you to not having so rapid effects on your bar inputs. β
Daniel Paronetto (22:17)
Hmm.
Dom (22:41)
The whole system with the new bow bar, the new shape and pulling on the bar, what you're really going to be feeling is you've got massive amount of range in the bar if you're pulling it on. It's only really stalling at the very highest angle on your bar, which is very nice to have because you can just keep on cranking on without having to be very sensitive on your bar inputs.
Daniel Paronetto (22:58)
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dom (23:10)
The shorter lines, I could even imagine that for some it makes it more direct and therefore easier, I don't know really yet. β But it's a nicer sensation, you're more connected to the wing.
Daniel Paronetto (23:20)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (23:27)
as such and then because you can see the canopy is just in front of your nose and you can always just put your hand there to grab it so you're always right there or the canopy is always right there if you want to grab it which is just very nice to write bumps and waves and stuff.
Daniel Paronetto (23:37)
Yeah.
Yeah, I found, β the bow system of not having the B lines connected to the bar. β it gave me a less direct feel of control. almost gave me a slight delay on what I'm doing to the bar to what happens to the pair wing without the B and the B lines connected to the bar is do you feel that as well? is this just in my mind?
Dom (24:00)
Mm.
No, does because your bar range is way bigger. The input you can put into the bar. So before you were moving the bar that much, right now with a bow system you've got to move it that much. you just got way more range in the bar and you don't need to be so precise, especially if it comes to stalling the wing out.
Daniel Paronetto (24:21)
Yep.
Yeah. And then when it comes to that, I think that, β and, this is just me, β spitballing ideas. Do you feel that this bow system would work on a higher aspect pair wing as well, or does it work better on a lower aspect pair wing like the power pack? Because being lower aspect, it's already agile. It'll turn better. It'll do all those things quicker. So giving it a little bit of less reactivity.
is actually good. You don't want something that is super, you know, β sensitive. is that, does that make sense? Or like what a higher aspect pair wing also benefit from this bow system.
Dom (25:21)
I think you're right in the point of what you know if it comes to reactivity especially now on the power pack where the lines are so short you're not really relying on the reactivity so much. On a high aspect we've tried it, we've tried it on the pocket rocket as well and yes you're sacrificing a wee bit but the advantages of it are definitely outweighing it.
Daniel Paronetto (25:49)
Interesting. Okay. A little tip what's coming ahead there. β Let's talk about the fabric. β Any changes to the fabric itself or a coding system that you guys work, any changes there? Because the fabric you guys used was pretty bloody awesome already.
Dom (25:52)
Thank
Yeah exactly, we didn't change anything to the fabric, it's well known, it's been proven on the Pocket Rocket to be a good mix between very light with 32 grams and very durable so we stuck to it for the power pack as well, no changes there.
Daniel Paronetto (26:28)
change is cool. β And when we talk about wind range, β I feel the O's, the pocket rocket has such a good wind range and I can be overpowered on that thing and work it out. Like it has incredible high end. What is the wind range β of the power pack like?
Dom (26:51)
It's pretty similar actually. can still, you know, on the top end we've been on the 3.6 and 35-40 knots fully hanging into the harness and like, yeah, full on. That was just to test if it stays stable, which is always one of the main concerns on parawings, which it fortunately did β on the leading edge.
Daniel Paronetto (27:11)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (27:18)
The wind range, because it kind of has that parachutal shape, it probably gets you out a bit quicker if you're facing downwind, so it really drags downwind a bit better. But other than that, the top end is definitely very, very similar.
Daniel Paronetto (27:27)
Mm.
Dom (27:42)
at least, not a bit better probably. just feels like, because of the short lines also, you're feeling less sideways pull and it's all a bit more dampened on the power pack. So the high end is actually quite nice too. You're feeling comfortable and not overwhelmed by it.
Daniel Paronetto (27:56)
Hmm.
Nice. β I feel like now people will start asking questions like, okay, we have the pocket rocket, we have the power pack. I want to build a quiver. I want to have a two, a three, a four, and a five. Which pair of wings should I buy now? Because β I have my own personal opinion of what could work in different sizes, but I would love to hear from you.
Dom (28:22)
You
Daniel Paronetto (28:30)
Um, how can people start thinking about pair of wings in different sizes, in different models, depending on what they want to do, obviously as well.
Dom (28:40)
I would say it depends more on what you're going to be riding, like if it's swell, it's upwind, downwind. β
It's a hard question really. If you're liking that feeling of having high angles upwind and speed and performance, definitely the pocket rocket β in whatever size down to three meters, I would definitely recommend the power pack on the smaller sizes. If you're going out in New King, 35-40 β knots.
Daniel Paronetto (29:19)
Interesting.
Dom (29:23)
because you're probably more surviving than trying to get the performance out of the way. You know, if you're talking about 2.4s and 1.9s and also the lower aspect just makes them a bit calmer and more stable in general. So definitely the small sizes, I would recommend that the Power Pack, big sizes, especially if you're looking into a five meter, it's questionable what you, the way you want to be riding.
Daniel Paronetto (29:40)
Interesting.
Hmm.
Yeah, I, because now we have the, there's the spectrum that I was talking about, you know, super high end and super, high aspect and low aspect for me personally, I prefer having the high aspects in the lower sizes because I can just crank them up when so hard. I think I feel like the more wind I get on them, the more I go up wind. Like I, know, you, you dig an edge and you just crank up wind.
When it comes to the fours and the fives, then I feel that that high aspect shapes, they start becoming too much. And I lack a little bit of the bottom end because it's lighter wind as well. So then I prefer having something like the power pack where I can get up quick, shorter lines, shorter, you know, canopy width. So I, it's more maneuverable. So that's how I'm thinking about it. β
Dom (30:45)
Mm-hmm.
Daniel Paronetto (30:52)
for the bigger sizes, I feel like I would have power packs four and five, and then maybe everything lower than a four. Personally, I think I would still prefer the Pocket Rocket. And this just is how, yeah.
Dom (31:05)
Fair enough, yeah. We've got to find that out. can't.
And it's personal preference as well.
Daniel Paronetto (31:12)
Totally. And look, if I, if I'm going to be riding waves and I need a three meter, then I need a, I need a power pack. β I wouldn't choose the pocket rocket over that because I feel if you're riding waves, the biggest hurdle in riding waves is getting into the wave, not super far back, but getting in close enough of where it's going, you know, the power zone is and packing things down quick. Getting and, and,
Dom (31:39)
Mm.
Daniel Paronetto (31:41)
That leads me to like my second point of what I wanted to talk to you about as well is the accessories that we currently have in the market because we need things that allow us to stash the power wing, maybe even in different ways to be able just to like go to the a lines and put it somewhere without having to fold it because wave writing is so fast, so critical. Have you guys been thinking about accessories that might compliment, you know,
styles of writing, β the belt that you guys launched was by far the best belt β that we have and still have, β in my opinion. So what can we expect in terms of these possible accessories? Anything in the pipeline for you guys?
Dom (32:31)
Yes, indeed. We're working on some refined, definitely the Stash Belt that we've launched earlier this year that's going to be refined, not much, just a little tweaks here and there, making it bit more streamlined and just cleaning it up a bit.
Additionally, we use that very same shape of the stash build and put a bit more reinforcement around the back like webbing but also foam to make it bit more comfortable to ride as a harness.
Daniel Paronetto (33:15)
Hmm.
Dom (33:16)
You hardly see a difference if you're just looking at them visually, but you will feel it when you're riding, so it's much more a harness style, it's called the Stash Harness. Comes in three sizes, which of the medium large one will just be based off the current Stash Harness. So there's a smaller and a bigger version additionally, size.
Daniel Paronetto (33:28)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (33:45)
The harness is what we've been riding all the time now. We're not riding the belt anymore because we're also just riding with harnesses always hooked in.
Daniel Paronetto (33:56)
Nice. Yeah.
Dom (33:58)
I think for us anyway it just makes sense. Looking at upwind angles, looking at fatigue, having long sessions, β especially on para wings, they still have relatively β quite β a lot of sideways pull compared, you know, if you're looking at wings or...
Daniel Paronetto (34:14)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (34:17)
other devices, β they still create a lot of pull if you want so. having to transfer that through your arms into the board foil, yeah, it just wears you out. While if you're hooking into a harness, you can just relax and free your arms.
Daniel Paronetto (34:37)
Nice.
β excited about that. I want to see a new belt coming out. I did jump one question here that I wanted to touch on about the leading edge and the leading edge profile of the power pack. How does the leading edge compare to the pocket rockets leading edge? it thicker, thinner, about the same?
Dom (35:00)
It's a little thicker β but not that much. We've been changing the plastic rods inside β to a bit of a sturdier, heavier one just to make sure even in the strongest winds we're not seeing any deformation and just to make it really rigid and because we got so few ribs really
β Every single rip has to withstand a lot of β wind forces. So we beefed them up quite a bit.
Daniel Paronetto (35:38)
And when you think about β maybe a slightly thicker leading edge, does that give you more wind range or does that help you with the flight characteristics of it going further into the wind window and helping you with upwind angles or what does that give the pair of wings?
Dom (35:58)
β It's basically, you know, the thicker the leading edge, obviously the more drag you're having. But that drag is necessarily bad because it's also calming the wing down and it helps you with, you know, generating a lot of ground power to get going again. β
Daniel Paronetto (36:13)
Hmm.
Dom (36:23)
And since we are not looking for massive speeds or upwind angle, β this is what we ended up finding it as the best compromise.
Daniel Paronetto (36:33)
Nice. So have you been writing the power pack mostly these days or do you write the rocket?
Dom (36:40)
These last days, last week's month, we were pretty much purely on the power pack. We're obviously not stopping, so we've been working on a new pocket rocket as well in parallel, which we're going to be releasing in April.
Daniel Paronetto (37:01)
Mmm,
nice.
Dom (37:03)
So yeah, obviously now that the power pack is out, we're being more focused on the Pocket Rocket V2 and we'll be riding that a lot more.
Daniel Paronetto (37:11)
Did you notice,
yeah, did you notice any change in your gear when you were writing the power pack compared to the pocket rocket, like foil sizes or board sizes? Did you have to change anything due to the power wing or it was basically the same stuff?
Dom (37:28)
It was still the same stuff really. I'm still riding a fairly small board, a 55 litre and still on a 880 front wing, something like that. That's kind of my preferred setting. I think that's the nice thing. I think we talked about it in the first episode where I said we're going to see a lot more, lot smaller boards being ridden in the future. think this is still going to happen, always happening already with the Powerwings.
Daniel Paronetto (37:40)
Beautiful.
Yeah.
Look, I'm super excited about this. β I think now that we can see the brands diversing and just opening up their line and having different parawings is awesome because people want different things. They want to ride different styles of riding and having more parawings just gives us more options. So thank you for that. That's always nice to have. β
Dom there anything else that you want to talk about the power pack that we haven't touched on? be anything, little things. How, what's the, what's the bag look like? Is the same bag, different bag, the little, the bag that it comes in.
Dom (38:34)
β
The little stuffed bag is basically the same design as the β pocket rocket. We've added a second shoulder strap which is now a trustable so you can wear it as a little backpack and it has a little...
Daniel Paronetto (38:48)
Nice.
Dom (38:51)
breast velcro strap to connect it so you can just use that bag to put your spare wing in if you want to take it out. Just be aware it's got a mesh panel on the back so water will flush into the spare para wing on your backpack. β But yeah, it's a very simple but functional β design. What else have we not touched on?
Daniel Paronetto (38:59)
Mm-hmm.
Dom (39:19)
Well, maybe talking on the bags maybe first, we've also as an accessory working on a trail running inspired backpack with a waterproof compartment to put up to two spare β para wings into roll top closure. β
Daniel Paronetto (39:19)
Colors, what colors do they come in?
Hmm.
Dom (39:44)
breast pockets for your phone, your devices, food, GoPro, God knows what. Very clean, simple, lightweight. So that's a very exciting product. We've been using it all the time, especially for us. go in testing, we always just put the backpack full of wings and then go out and we can swap the wings easily.
with that system. But also I think for anyone going out at sea, it's good to have a spare wing with you just in case you're breaking something, you're losing your para wing or you're running out of wind. So we're always going with a five meter as a spare one if we're doing a downwind just in case the wind drops or whatever. It's always the biggest one to at least drag you back onto shore.
Daniel Paronetto (40:08)
that's awesome.
Hmm.
Nice.
And you can fit a five meter and maybe a four meter in that backpack. Wow. That's pretty good. Yeah.
Dom (40:41)
Easy, yeah, there's plenty of space. There's
another compartment for a hydration bladder and it's basically the full spec that you want but in a very compact little shape. Maybe Christmas?
Daniel Paronetto (40:57)
Mmm. All right. Well, when is that one coming? Because that's something I would use, I think. β okay. Line
it up. Line it up, boys.
Dom (41:07)
No, it's
pretty finished. It will be coming in the next weeks. It will be available in the next weeks. β
Daniel Paronetto (41:12)
Amazing. That just makes me
have to edit this podcast very quickly now because I want to launch it before these things come out. β So we're shooting on the 10th of December so people know, but I'll try to get this one out quick. β Dom, this was really a quick catch up β just to really touch base on the Powerpack. β Everybody's really excited. The Powerwing Facebook group has been going off and everybody's been commenting on
Dom (41:19)
they suit.
Daniel Paronetto (41:42)
Everything that they saw out is so I think there's a lot of hype about it and I can't wait to see the launch video Understand all the little nuances, but thank you for coming on and giving us a little bit of an insight of what's coming up in the future for you guys and Thanks again mate,
Dom (41:58)
Just thank you very much for having me and for the people listening and I hope β everyone enjoys the new products as much as we did in developing them.
Daniel Paronetto (42:10)
Amazing. Christmas is here. Put it on the Christmas list and put some accessories down there as well because by the way, they might be coming. So let's get onto them. Dom, thanks again, mate. And we'll touch base soon.
Dom (42:14)
That's it.
Awesome. Thank you.
