
Maliko 2.9
Released August 2024
- Area
- 2.9 (m²)
- Wingspan
- –
- Aspect Ratio
- –
Once on foil, the Maliko packs away, leaving nothing in the way of endless, ultimate glide. Without interference from any lingering gear to manage, the experience is left undisrupted in its purest form. Just you, in harmony with the water’s energy through your foil and board; the pure bliss we’ve long searched for.
Beyond revolutionizing the riding experience, the Maliko has elevated our entire experience. Ultra compact and light, its a joy to take anywhere. There’s no bladder to pump or leak, or anything to gas-up or plug-in. With no setup, we’re launching and riding in places that we never considered with an inflatable wing or kite. We just throw it up or paddle out, pop-up on foil, and start our downwinder, or hook-in and jam upwind. Every part of the experience is entirely new and crazy fun.
We’re super excited to share with you the Maliko’s new experience and entry into ultra-pure glide.
WHY IS IT CALLED A PARAWING?
Paragliders and foil kites for kitesurfing are more commonly referred to as parafoils. We use the less common terminology, parawing, for the Mailko because we feel it is perfectly descriptive of parafoil design as applied to our current wingfoiling sport.
CAN I GO UPWIND?
For sure! One suggestion for describing the Maliko was “up-winging / down-winding”! One thing that influences how high it points is how powered-up you’re riding. When highly powered, they’re super strong upwind (and best ridden with a harness, otherwise not needed for cross or downwind riding).
CAN I RIDE IT WITH A HARNESS?
Absolutely. The Maliko performs outstandingly with a harness, especially for combo up-winder/plus/down-winder runs. So, we’ve designed our belt to accommodate adding a sliding harness hook. And, in the first batch of Maliko parawings, we’ve included a pair of optional webbing harness attachments. Exact position of these is of huge effect. As a starting point, we recommend placing one at the very front of the bar, and the other just in front of the middle bridle line connection to the bar.
CAN I USE MY SMALL WINGBOARD?
Yes! Part of the fun of being in the first wave of a new sport is that anything goes! It’s a new, blank canvas for us to paint! Having said that, our experience has been that the smaller the board, or the slower it taxies through the water, the more powered-up you’ll want to ride (meaning, a bigger Maliko size choice). On the flip side, the more efficient the board, the smaller the Maliko size you can choose.
DOES IT COME WITH A LEASH?
The Mailko doesn’t include a leash. Coming from inflatable wings and kites, in early development, we rode with a leash. In the following process of testing all initial assumptions (from the paradigms from other sports), we discovered that we prefer to ride the Maliko without a leash.
DOES IT FLOAT?
In many environments, the Maliko will rest on the water’s surface for a moment before beginning to sink. If you’re in a situation where you may leave it unattended, you should consider adding flotation to your individual riding needs.
WILL IT FLY AWAY?
On land, yes. On water, it tends to stick, and, depending on the environment and the wing’s position, either park in place, or slowly drift downwind.
WHAT IS THE WIND RANGE OF EACH SIZE?
Range varies greatly by individual preference, experience, application, and equipment pairing. As a starting point for matching to your riding, we suggest selecting the same size Maliko as you would in inflatable wing. On Maui, that’s often 2.9m. In Kailua, from 4.0m to 6.2m. If its just to get on foil and then pack away for a downwinder, choosing a powered-up size is a good insurance plan in case the wind drops during your run. However, if you’ll be riding upwind, especially if without a harness, you definitely want to choose a comfortable size to not feel over-powered.