GA CROSS 5.2M TEST REVIEW 2024

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03 Oct 2024 05:04

GA CROSS 5.2M TEST REVIEW 2024

The Verdict

The GA Cross is a wing that will match and please most Wingers. From beginners to intermediates, the Cross remains well balanced, stable and usable in the accessible arenas of winging. Comfortable through transitions and flagging the Cross will compliment riders who exert a relaxed and flowing riding style.

The Lowdown

Brightly coloured with orange and dark blue, the GA Cross brightens up the beach and water with its striking appearance. The Cross is inflated through two separate valves, one on the leading edge and the other on the strut. The strut on the Cross is ergonomically shaped with two stiff handles wide enough for your hands to slide forwards and backwards as needed. The draft and belly between the canopy and strut is positioned upfront, directly under the front handle, where most of the tension in the canopy is kept, while small windows increase the rider’s visibility. Moving back to the trailing edge of the canopy, two mini battens sit on either side of the strut to stabilise the slightly looser canopy present at the back end of the wing. The Cross doesn’t possess a pronounced dihedral shape; there’s some present, but it doesn’t jump out at you, suggesting a nice user-friendliness to the Cross. The Cross also has plenty of reinforcement with Kevlar protection along the leading edge on the seams to resist abrasion on surfaces, which helps to prolong the life and durability of the Cross. This is subtle touch for those of us who don’t have the luxury of soft rigging areas. The makeup of the Cross uses a vast list of new materials from GA: Forcetec Dacron for stiffness in the leading edge and strut, Voltnova Spinnaker in the front and centre sections, and Voltnova+ in the trailing edge. On initial rigging, the Cross looks user-friendly with a sprinkling of performance in the materials to enhance the rider’s experience and longevity in winging.

Brand Claim

‘Whether you’re freeriding, jumping or just starting your wing foiling journey, the Cross is your go-to-choice for all-round performance.”

Performance

The Cross feels like your super stable, dependable mate. In your hands, walking down the beach, flagging, and holding the handle, it flies naturally and neutrally. Pulling in the power, the Cross responds with usable power that won’t catch you out. You are very much in control of the power in the Cross. Like an automatic car, the Cross doesn’t require massive input from the rider to get you up and foiling – especially when adequately powered. It feels like its size in your hands and when up and foiling, the Cross remains balanced and stable. Its automatic feeling continues as it pulls you through lulls wonderfully without you even noticing. Meanwhile, when tacking and gybing, the Cross is light and easy. Its intuitive personality goes neutral when you need it and floats to where you want it. In the gusts, there is some flex to the Cross, which is forgiving for the rider, but it won’t transform the extra pwower into masses of additional speed or hard angles upwind. Down in the bottom end, the Cross remains comfortable and holds some oomph in the wing to keep you moving until the next opportune gust. It thrives on a slightly slower cadence of pumping compared to others in the category, which is more user-friendly for the less athletic among the winging world. Everything about the Cross is well balanced, both in the hands and through transitions. It floats around to assist the rider in a nice, fluid, unaggressive riding style. The Cross compliments the more relaxed and rhythmical rider – it’s not going to send you into huge stratospheric aerials or a ridiculous number of rotations, but it will deliver dependable power to crossover in all aspects of winging, from the occasional jump, to waves and swell, where there are minimal consequences, or in the perfect flatwater playground.