The perfect paraglider doesn't exist. Yours does.
In 30 years of advising, the question I hear most often is: « What's the best wing? ». My answer has never changed: the best wing is the one that's right for YOU. Your skill level, your weight, your flying style, and — let's be honest — your temperament. I've seen nervous pilots tense up under docile wings, and zen pilots thoroughly enjoy demanding wings. Equipment is very personal.
Skill Level: Be realistic, not ambitious
EN categories (A, B, C, D) are not video game levels you unlock. They are a classification of a wing's behavior in degraded conditions. An EN-A forgives almost everything. An EN-D does not. Between the two, there's a world — and especially years of flying.
My advice, and I'm blunt about this: don't skip categories. I've lost count of pilots who came to me after buying a wing « to progress » based on forum advice. The result: they no longer fly because they're afraid of their wing. That's the opposite of the goal.
PTV: The data that changes everything
The PTV (Total Flying Weight) — you + harness + reserve + equipment — is THE technical criterion. Each wing is certified for a weight range. Flying at the bottom of the range makes the wing soft and slow. Flying at the top makes it lively and fast. The sweet spot is the middle to upper third of the range.
A concrete example: a 75 kg pilot in a cocoon harness (7 kg) with reserve (2 kg) and wing (5 kg) = 89 kg PTV. On a wing sized 80-100 kg, they are right in the sweet spot. On a size above (85-110 kg), they would be at the bottom of the range — the wing would feel sluggish in thermals, harder to inflate, and less precise on the brakes.
Your flying style dictates everything else
A cross-country pilot aiming for FAI triangles doesn't have the same needs as someone who wants to hike up the Grand Ballon and fly down on Sunday. Here are some benchmarks:
- Local flying, soaring, pleasure → versatile wing, standard weight, comfort first
- Hike & fly → light wing (< 4 kg), reversible harness, every gram counts
- Cross-country → glide performance, max speed, aerodynamic cocoon harness, GPS vario
- Acro → it's a world apart, come talk to us directly
Brands: All good, but not all for you
At Rid'Air, we work with Ozone, Advance, Gin, Nova, Niviuk, Skywalk, Dudek, Kortel, Supair and our in-house brand Way Gliders. I personally know the engineers at most of these companies. They all do good work. The difference is in their philosophy: Advance focuses on longevity and Swiss after-sales service. Ozone pushes innovation and lightweight series. Nova seeks flying comfort. Each brand has a distinct « feeling » in flight — and that's why a test flight is irreplaceable.
My seasoned advice
Never choose a wing based on a screen. Come fly with it. We regularly organize test flights at Markstein and other sites. You come with your harness, we lend you the wing you want to test, and you form your own opinion. It's free, and it's the only way to know if the chemistry is right.
And if you're far from Oderen, give me a call. In 15 minutes of discussion about your flying style, your flight hours, and what you enjoy in the air, I'll be able to guide you. It's been my job long enough not to often be wrong.
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Fly safe,
Cyrille MARCK and the Rid'Air/CEM team