2025 End of year summary and 2026 goals.
- Bryan Lee
- Nov 23
- 6 min read
This was not the year I planned for! I really thought that I had it all figured out. The perfect foils, perfect wings, perfect boards... I was totally set! Little did I expect that the new parawings would capture my mind for the last 1/3 of my season. Fortunately I got all the miles in that I needed to develop my PW skills and I'll be starting 2026 as a completely solid, confident, parawinger. I think it will be my primary activity in 2026 but it will be interesting to see how the spring unfolds and if the wing comes roaring back to life for me.
Blue links will take you to my other articles on these subjects
Foil info:
Miles on foil: 2118
Sessions in the water: 122
Months in the water streak: 45
Longest ride: 50 miles in 3 hours and 30 minutes. AFS Silk 650, no falls!
Longest glide: A very long way.
Website info:
Countries reached: 84
Site visits: 10,000+
Most read article:
Board Stats
Most used board:
Sunova Custom Carver 5'11"x20" 77l: 1498 miles - I loved winging this in all conditions and it was excellent for parawinging after I sorted out the basics.
Runner up:
Sunova Aviator 6'6"x18"x90l: 293 miles - This board was absolutely critical for my rapid parawing progression.
Favorite:
Custom Carver
Honorable mention:
Sunova Pilot Mid - Purchased at the end of 2025 and I'm over the moon for this board going into 2026.
Wing Stats
Most used wing:
Ocean Rodeo 3mAA: 678 miles (Unbeatable)
Runner up:
Ocean Rodeo 2.5mA: 301.27
Favorite:
3mAA
Parawing Stats
Most used:
Ozone Pocket Rocket 3m: 365 miles
Runner up:
Ozone Pocket Rocket 2.4m: 263 miles
Favorite:
2.4m
Foil Stats
Most used foil:
AFS Silk 1050: 842 miles - Up from last year, this was a weapon for learning to parawing.
Runner up:
AFS Silk 850: 315 miles
Favorite:
AFS Silk 1050 - Kind of a surprising favorite for the year. I think that when I let go of trying to rip as hard as possible every single day, and I started feeling more stylish movement, this foil took over for me.
Honorable mention:
Silk 850 - What a beauty.
Best singular ride of the year:
Silk 650 - When I started training for parawing I pushed myself hard on this foil and had some really amazing rides.
Tails:
Loving the Ultra Glide 41 from AFS when parawinging.
Cloud IX 157 tail helps to slow down my Silk 650 when swell riding.
Crisp Flex 130 has intrigued me on a demo and will be considered in 2026.
Mast Stats
Most used mast:
AFS 75cm UHM: 1945 miles - My all time favorite mast.
Runner up:
N/A
Favorite:
AFS 75cm UHM
Honorable mention:
One Ocean UHM 78SSS - One of, if not the stiffest masts I've ever ridden. Absolutely outstanding.
Best Gear I Didn't Buy
One Ocean UHM 78SSS
Crisp Flex 130 Tail
High Points of 2025
I fully embraced spring in the Gorge this year and am glad I did. That's my favorite season. Conditions are commonly big, the river is moving fast, the water is cold. Less weeds, less people. I like it a lot.
I got to know my Sunova boards a lot better this year. I've fine tuned dimensions and deck shapes. Now I just want some custom graphics haha!
I completed my 40 knot bucket list. Riding in maxed out conditions at all my spots:
Arlington
Rufus
Dougs
The Hatch
Viento
Stevenson (west and east wind)
Learning to parawing. I don't see it as better or a substitute for winging, but I really love the feeling of having nothing in my hands and just flowing down the river. It's a different kind of mental engagement which has been welcomed.
Quiver to Start 2025
Boards:
Sunova:
Aviator 6'6"x18"x90l
Carver 5'11"x20"x77l
Pilot Mid 6'5"x19"x68l
Wings:
Ocean Rodeo:
Glide AA 3m, 2.5m
Glide A 2.5m
Parawings:
Ozone:
Pocket Rocket 2.4m and 3m
Foils:
AFS
Silk 1050, 850, 650
Masts:
AFS
75cm UHM
High Priority Gear to Demo or Buy in 2026
Boards:
Pretty set with my Sunova quiver but I'm jonesing for some custom graphics.
Wings:
None at the moment. Hoping to see new AA wings from Ocean Rodeo this year!?!?
Parawings:
1.9m Pocket Rocket
Foils:
Enduro 600 - Super curious to see how an HA foil of this size rides.
Flitelab Flux - Tons of hype on this in 2025. I'd love to experience it myself!
More tails!
Masts:
None. Lots of brands are dropping new skinny masts this year but I'm set with my AFS kit and if I buy another brand it would be the One Ocean 78SSS.
Reflecting on Goals from 2025
Have some monster days on my new custom Pilot and Carver.
I've already tested them both this winter and they are going to be excellent in the Gorge when the swell arrives.
Fantastic year on these two boards. Carver got the most use and I loved the Pilots performance. I picked up a parawing friendly Pilot at the end of the year.
Figure out how to get rid of my 4m wing and use my 3m or smaller every day.
Maybe a bigger enduro will unlock this?
I sold every wing bigger than 3m and dedicated myself to pursuing the best winds and using the most efficient gear. Silk 1050 became my biggest foil.
40 hours of SUP surfing!?
Yep, variety is the spice of life and my Sunova Revolution is a dream!
40 hours would be an insane amount of time for me to surf since the ocean is several hours away.
Unfortunately I tweaked my shoulder early season which held me back. Then, I got extremely sucked into the parawing and I think it hindered my SUP time. I'll get some this winter though!
2500 HIGH QUALITY miles on foil.
I got more miles in 2024 but this coming year I hope to focus on bigger, longer days in epic conditions instead of trying to milk the light/funky days. Plus, my surfing is going to get in the way.
2100+ High quality miles is what I walked away with. I honestly don't think I missed hardly any opportunities to get better sessions in and think that 2000 miles a year of pumping swell is plenty!
Demos outside of my current system:
Board: Omen Emissary is the only board on the market that I have significant interest in trying and it looks sick.
Foil: Whatever company releases short chorded masts and fun new foils.
Wings: Cabrinha is releasing the AER line and Reedin also has some lightweight wings I'd like to try.
I did minimal demos this year. Parawing was the focus and I stuck with my trusted AFS foils and Sunova boards.
Get some pictures.
I think I'll get a Stawicki Photography photo package this year.
Unfortunately I didn't get this going after all. Maybe next year?
Get caught up on all the content I want to publish before the spring hits.
Gorge launch guides
Gorge Gear Library
5+ current articles lined up to write!?
Got it all done except the launch guides! That one seems to be lingering in the backround for me.
Complete a few secret projects.
Shhhhhh!
Boxes checked and more to come!
New Goals for 2026
Keep developing as a parawinger. Really looking forward to the spring conditions!
I've got a couple parawing articles to do as well.
More mixed sessions.
I'm planning to spend more time doing wing + parawing days. Most likely starting the session on a wing, getting warmed up on a challenging foil, then seeing if I can step over to the parawing on the same foil or if I need to size up a bit.
Spend more time on the Silk 650.
This is still my favorite feeling on foil. I don't reach for it first when parawinging because it's very demanding to ride and I'm not always trying for hero level carving.
2000 high quality miles on foil.
This may be harder this year.
Get serious about getting some pictures!
I really need to get a Stawicki Photography photo package this year.
Complete a big project.
All planned, just need to execute!
Try kitefoiling!? I'm interested in doing this on light wind days at spots closer to home instead of chasing moderate winds that are much farther away.
As Always
Thanks for taking the time to read 2025 End of year summary and 2026 goals. I hope your 2025 was amazing and I'd love to hear what you want to accomplish in 2026.
See you at the river,
Bryan Lee, M.S. Experiential Education.
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