Tried & Tested | Duotone Unit 2023
Duotone Unit 2023 Review
Words by Local Rider Ash Davis
With a legacy of innovation and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on the water, Duotone has once again redefined the game with the Duotone Unit 2023. In the ever-evolving world of water sports, enthusiasts are constantly on the lookout for the next big breakthrough that will elevate their experiences to new heights.
Duotone Unit V3 2023 – Specifically the 4m, 5m and 6.5m
Wing Design
Duotone have updated the Unit for 2023 and whilst visually the changes are not huge compared to the 2022 wing, in use things have changed a fair bit. The first thing to mention when talking about the 2023 Unit is that we have a materials change.
The new wing is using the new MOD3 material, this is a ripstop material overlaid with a treatment that increases the resistance to stretch. The goal being to stop the wing from stretching as quickly and losing performance over time. This does make the canopy material both thicker and also a little bit heavier. The benefit of course being that the wing will last much longer (in theory).
The Unit does come in two different materials for the leading edge and the strut. In this review I have just been using the Dacron wing and whilst I have used the Aluula variant of the wing it is not the one that I have been using for this test. On this subject I will just point out that the Aluula wing is around 15% lighter. I didn’t feel like I could generate more power with the more Aluula wing but it was noticeable that it was both lighter and stiffer in use. Aside from this fairly obvious factor I found both types of wing to be very similar to use, with the more expensive wing due to its lightness being a little more floaty in gybes and more stable when flagged but otherwise very similar.
If we talk about the design of the wing then this year’s variant has a tighter canopy and this combined with the stiffer MOD3 material makes it fly differently to last year’s wing. I would also say that the leading edge and strut also have a less flexible feel to them which makes the whole wing feel stiffer overall than last year. In fact I would go as far to say that this year’s Dacron wing feels to me as stiff as last year’s Aluula wing.
If we come onto the handles then nothing has changed in their physical design to last year but the mounting to the strut has been significantly improved, with much stronger patch panels. I would assume this is in response to some of the failures in last year’s wing, where there were a few examples where the handle had separated from the strut. It is extremely unlikely that this will be a problem in the 2023 wing and with the Unit having been available for some time now I’ve not seen any handle to strut failures reported.
We have a new design and shape for the windows this year, with Duotone opting for a thin double window either side of the strut. Personally I have not found the windows that useful as they are very narrow and don’t offer a very wide field of view. I’m not particularly bothered about this because I feel it is always necessary to lift the wing and check properly before making a maneuver. Incidentally the same design of window has also been used on the Slick.
The wing keeps the usual Duotone valve and is a single inflation system with a hose leading between the leading edge bladder and the strut bladder. The hose also has a pinch clip so you can, if you wish, isolate the bladder from each other and pump to different PSI. Whilst we are talking about inflation the Dacron wings range from seven to nine PSI which in my opinion is plenty to produce a nice stiff wing.
Dump valves are on the strut and also one on the wing tip which allows for a very fast deflation of the wing and an easy roll up and pack away without any air getting trapped in the bladders.
The leading edge has some protections along the leading edge to prevent wear and tear as well as on the wing tips and on the end of the strut. This is not overdone and it’s plenty to protect the wing without making it overly heavy.
The front flagging handle is stiffer this year, which is an improvement from last year and also features a neoprene pad to stop abrasion on your knuckles.
The strut bladder also features a fixing to stop the bladder from dropping inside of the strut when the wing is hung up to dry, without which you can have bladder inflation issues or a burst strut bladder.
The handles themselves are secured with Philips head screws and you can remove the handles for packing away (although this is not necessary) as well as allowing for the fitment of harness lines.
The canopy itself has a panel layout and panel orientations in keeping with the loading on the panel, with load spreading panels on the wing tips and also on the rear of the strut. Panel alignment being another highlighted design change by manufacturers to minimise canopy stretch.
The very front section of the leading edge, which is coloured white, is a thicker dacron for stiffness with the rest of the leading edge in black dacron but a slightly lighter weight which allows for some twist in the wing tips.
Overall the quality and attention to detail in this wing is very high and it is a very good quality product, with all seams and stitching done to a high level.
On The Water: Duotone Unit 2023
The first and most immediate impression when using the Duotone Unit is that this is a very powerful and stiff wing. So much so that I feel that you can size down at least half a meter over other manufacturers wings. The Duotone Unit 2023 is exceptionally good when being pumped and a good amount of speed and power can be generated to get onto foil quickly. Not only this but the wing is exceptionally well behaved when being pumped, which makes it in my opinion a very non-technical wing to use to just get onto foil. It constantly wants to lift rather than dip its wing tips in the water.
Once you are on foil the hard handles offer a very direct connection to the wing, which means that you do feel everything that is going on with the wind and its effect on the wing. If you are coming from soft handles then this can be a little bit disconcerting as you will not be used to feeling everything that is going on (as soft handles tend to mask this).
The Duotone Unit 2023 is a reasonably locked in wing in that once you are up and foiling it does not tend to move around massively. That said it is a very responsive wing and your own inputs to the wing can move it around very quickly rather than it being a wing that locks in and then doesn’t want to move no matter what you do.
This to me creates a good balance between being very stable when you just want to cruise but also being reactive when you need to move the wing quickly – such as in a tack.
As with all wings it is not possible to be good at absolutely everything and in this regard the Unit 2023 is less happy in overpowered conditions than it is in underpowered conditions. What I mean by this is that when you are underpowered it is possible to pump the wing and generate lots of power to get onto foil. However, when you start getting into overpowered conditions the wing can start to become more physical as it is a very powerful wing. The result of this is that when the wind drops you tend to be less concerned as you will be able to pump back onto foil, but when the wind increases it is sooner that you start to feel that it would be wise to change down to a smaller size.
These characteristics are both positive and negative, positive in that you can get away with it when the wind drops but negative in that you may need to change down sooner. This need to change down earlier could also be seen as a positive as generally it is not a good idea to run your wings in overpowered conditions – this creates far more wear and tear and can result in premature canopy stretch.
The Unit 2023 has a very tight canopy and this means that you tend to use a higher cadence of pump when pumping it onto foil. It is not a big bellied wing with a slower and more exaggerated pump.
The above does mean that the Unit 2023 is suitable for both beginners and intermediate to advanced foilers, with beginners being specifically helped by the good low end and very effective pump characteristics.
Beginners also tend to find a more powerful wing easier during the learning process as it offers an effective counterbalance whilst learning. On the negative side the Unit 2023 does tend to flip over if you leave it hanging off your leash instead of holding onto the flagging handle at all times when getting onto your board. This could be frustrating for beginners who often just let everything go and then have to constantly flip the wing back over to its correct starting position.
If we move on to more advanced characteristics such as how the wing performs in gybes then I have found that the Unit ‘23 is very well behaved and intuitive to use due to the direct connection of the hard handles. On the negative side the hard handles do add a little bit of weight to the wing and this can cause the tail of the strut to dip down a little earlier than some lighter weight wings. I would add that this is splitting hairs as there are not many wings that are significantly lighter, F-One being the most obvious for light weight wings.
Where the Unit 2023 excels is when we move on to more advanced maneuvers like the duck gybe, Heineken gybe and tacks. Here due to the hard handles and also the very tight canopy we have a very compliant wing which is a joy to use in these types of maneuvers. Particularly when tacking as the tight canopy is very easy to punch through the eye of the wind and you lose very little speed during your tack. Not only this but because the wing is very keen to maneuver and not overly locked in it makes sending the wing for your tack a lot easier than some other wings on the market. The Unit is also one of the easiest wings I have used to do Heineken gybes and I would recommend anyone trying to learn this maneuver to try doing it with a Unit.
If we now move on to wave riding – the Unit is not the most stable wing on the market when flagged – it has a very tight canopy and this is not conducive to a super stable flag out. That said it is not bad at flagging out and is easy to control from the front handle (which is stiffer this year).
Whilst you can get more stable and wave focussed wings – those who are free riding and surfing the occasional bumps the Unit is far more than adequate. I would add that if flagging stability is important to you then the Aluula variants do flag out better than the dacron versions due to their lighter weight. If all you do is wave surf then there may be better options on the market than the Unit but I would not write it off as being able to get back up quickly between wave sets is where the Unit may save you over other wings on the market.
This review does cover the 4m, 5m and 6.5m and I’ll just put a special mention here that I replaced my F-One CWC 8m V2 with the Duotone Unit 6.5m and it has served me extremely well as a smaller but very capable wing for light wind conditions. The wingers with 8m wings have maybe 1-2 more knots of low end but for the most part if the 8m wings are on foil so am I, so I have no regret turning in my 8m wing as the 6.5m is much more maneuverable. The Unit 2023 6.5m is a beast of a wing when you pump it, so you can get up in winds that were previously the realm of only 8m wings.
So Who Is The Duotone Unit 2023 Wing for?
Well, Duotone markets it as their wave / freeride wing while the Slick 2023 is marketed as their freestyle / freeride wing.
Given it isn’t the most competent wing on the market when flagged out and prone to some yoyo I’m not sure I’m in full agreement with it being a wave wing as I would prefer a more stable flagged position. The Aluula variants are better when flagged but the Dacron version is prone to some side to side movement. As I said earlier, it does flag out OK but there are other much better wings at this if your primary goal is wave riding.
With regard to freeride – this is where it excels, it’s got good speed, outstanding upwind ability and great low end – with some compromise at the top end when you get into overpowered conditions. It also is exceptionally competent at more complex gybes and tacks.
So it definitely would suit someone who is not primarily a wave rider but looking for a fast and competent progression wing that excels at the more complex gybes / tacks.
Regarding beginners – I do think it is a good wing for beginners as it has loads of power – which is what you want as a beginner. However, I temper this by saying its affinity to flipping over when just loose on the wrist leash could be frustrating for beginners – although easily fixed by just keeping the wing close leashed or holding the flag handle rather than letting the wing just fly freely off the leash.
Overall the Unit is a quality product and an extremely competent / capable wing – and has been my choice of wing for 2023. Hillhead is hardly the wave capital of the world, so the things the Duotone Unit 2023 does well suit the conditions here on the South Coast.
