INBOUND: Vayu Aura III

The third generation of the popular AURA wing arrives, featuring fresh material choices in its design, and their innovative new Click-Boom handle system too. Plenty enough there to warrant pitching a few questions to the Vayu team to find out more…

It looks to us like you’ve used some really cutting-edge material choices in the AURA III – tell us about what’s in this wing.

You are right – we have been testing new materials for a while over the evolution of the different models, both for the canopy and for Dacron. We found out that, pretty similar to the mast of a windsurfing sail, this helps to give the leading edge its unique and needed flex. That is why you’ll find the new Aluula FX86 material (Aluula Black) in the center, then the DKC 160 in white, plus the high-value Teijin Dacron – this all together gives a unique stiffness in the center and controlled flex in the tips. 

What updates are people going to find in the AURA III that weren’t in the previous two incarnations?

We worked a lot in terms of materials, as we said above particularly for the material in the leading edge. We also added some new Teijin Canopy material called Crazyrip, which gives more stiffness to the wing without losing the light and playful character. This canopy material also does not lose its stiffness and so quickly. Of course the character itself is again more balanced and more playful, while you have a more stable wing in waves. 

How does profile depth affect a wing’s characteristics? Why did you choose to increase it in the latest version?

We are always looking at the overall performance and what discipline it is made for. So the AURA III will be used for freeride, which means it needs to go upwind easily, have fast acceleration, be very balanced and have a good speed. But the AURA is also made for wave riding, which means it has to be stable while flying behind you, you need a stiff handle to hold it with enough space (including when wearing gloves), and also it needs a good pop if you decide to jump.

Tell us a bit more about the new Click-Boom system.

The new Click-Boom can be used in sizes 3.0 to 5.5 with all these sizes having one boom size and still with a very small packing size. After bringing the first exchangeable soft-to-rigid handles to market and later the first exchangeable boom system, we feel this is the next important step for the customer. You can install and unfix the boom without any tool, you just need two fingers and one click. That means you have the site panels which are attached to the wing and stay there, and you can unfix the boom easily after every session to pack down the wing into a small size. 

Has manufacturing and blending all these cutting-edge materials been a challenging process, or have the factories got used to working with it?

Right from the beginning we have been working together with the biggest and, I guess from my perspective, the best factory. So as these new materials are developed, they always adapt fast to the new processes and train their staff to what needs to be done.

How does the AURA III stack up against the other wings in your range, such as the new VAYU AURA X II?

Here the main difference is the material mix – the AURA X is stiffer in the leading edge which gives the wing a different feeling and much more power. Also we worked a lot in terms of speed with Oscar and Yannik to have a very performance-oriented wing. So the AURA X II is a really high-end wing. 

How do you determine when it’s time to bring out a new model? 

We bring a wing to the market when we feel we have something new and better. In general the model stays for at least one year, sometimes a bit longer, like the new EOS (the follow up model of V3). Maybe we will even delay the release on some items when we feel there is nothing new to come out at the time. But right now we are discovering many new and improved details, as we are trying innovative concepts. 

Other than the wings, anything else fresh in the Vayu range that our readers should know about?

We are working pretty intensely on the board range and have made so many prototypes for the mid-length boards (which have already had amazing tests this year), improving construction and incorporating new materials and ways of building them, not just changing the shape. We look at what else is coming out all over the world, as sometimes you have different concepts in America and the EU region. So there will be a big push with boards for next year.