Upbeat Brit Pro Ben Proffitt returns with the 2014 series of his Pozo Training diaries, profiling all the action – and other random fun – in the run up to the PWA Tour’s Canary Islands leg.
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“Action from Bruch and Adam Lewis, construction testing with Philip Koester, Koester Doubles, impact protection is the new cool, 3-batten testing with Albert Pijoan and I compare my Doubles to Koester’s and work out the problem!’
DON’T FORGET THE TIP JAR TO FUND MORE DIARIES FROM BEN!
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OVERVIEW
The V-Max sits between the Enduro ‘freemove’ and 2XC twin-cam in the Simmer range. They also have the SCS 3-cam freerace and, of course the PWA registered full-on racing SCR.
Outline One of the longest mast and boom lengths on test the V-Max has low to moderate aspect ratio, a small dropped clew, twin outhaul cringle positions, a step high in the leech, a deep-cut foot and all on a 6-batten frame – one of only two 6-battens in the group.
Build Quality Solid Simmer build with Kevlar reinforced stretch control seams, x-ply in the luff and foot, ‘q-ply’ in the head and film in the main body.
Rigging and Tuning Generally the V-max likes to remain a little bit taught. Keep it nice and full with just a couple of cm. of positive outhaul but don’t overdo the leech. You can tune with both down and outhaul to match the conditions, but we found it largely better left full as the profile pins boards down incredibly well anyway when the going gets more hectic.
BRAND POSITIONING
‘V-Max is a powerful 6 batten freeride sail which is easy to get going, even with a smaller sail in less wind. With a light-weight construction and a full sail profile, the V-Max appeals to the freeride sailor who wants to maximise the enjoyment of planing without needing to work for it. V-Max offers quick and simple rigging, great low-end power and easy on-water handling. V-Max is the best choice for the sailor who wants a light-weight, cam free, manouever-oriented freeride sail.’ (Sic.)
PERFORMANCE
Although it initially looks a bit ‘boomy’ the V-Max generally behaves like a much higher aspect sail. But the benefits of lower end grunt are all present though – even for the big boys – and the acceleration notably smooth and always to-hand. Through the wind range the speed is good and the smooth ride, power delivery and control all help to be competitive in a head-to-head, especially in rougher water. The feel is also nice and light thanks to the 6-batten chassis and good mix of durable and lightweight materials. But it’s at the corners and – more specifically – coming out of them that make the V-Max a mouth-watering proposition. All tester weights found this 7.9 to have amazing exits from the turns – where it definitely didn’t feel ‘boomy’ at all, flicking around beautifully, all nice and neutral, letting one easily able to stay well composed, until sheeting-in where then the power comes on good and strong. All said and done we found this a nice ‘invisible’ product that’s pretty much ‘plug ‘n play’ and easy to setup and use.
THE VERDICT
A super-manoevrable and light-feeling sail that delivers good control and an easy ride. But the ace up the V-Max’s sleeve is the demon acceleration, specifically on exiting turns. A dark horse to watch out for in a drag-race…
ATTITUDE RPM 7.8
EZZY CHEETAH 7.5
GAASTRA SAVAGE 7.8
GOYA NEXUS 7.5
NEILPRYDE HELLCAT 7.7
NORTH E_TYPE 7.8
POINT-7 AC-X 4G 7.5
RRD FIRE 7.6
SEVERNE NCX 7.5
TUSHINGHAM T4 7.5
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Yes, advanced racers reap the benefits of the stiffer foil camber inducers provide and speed addicts definitely rely on them in smaller sizes. But for you and I, the convenience of the cam-less rotational sail is liberating to say the least.
Added to that, a no-cam freerace absolutely must be manoevrable. Maybe not as much as crossover or freeride sails, but you want to be able to duck gybe it too.
READ MORE 2014 WINDSURFING EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTS
What else? Well these days, and in line with the 120 x 80 Freemove boards we largely tested these on in this issue, they have to increasingly drive wider and wider board outlines.
And we want all that with near racing-level speed yeah? Yep. Fear not. All this – and more – is all sitting on your dealer’s racks.
To read the latest tests and juiciest features hot-off-the-press and before they’re published online, treat yourself a subscription – go on, you deserve it!
But there can be no outright test winner. Everyone’s requirements are so vastly different. You can read all about the individual intricacies of this group in the separate reports, but, for perspective’s sake here’s an overview of the ‘spectrum’ – from ‘race’ to ‘free’ – that this lineup covers.
FASTEST: In all-out top speed, in the mid-range – although mainly for light and medium weights – it’s definitely the Tushingham T4. One of the oldest designs – and just a 6-batten in a sea of 7s – but undeniably the quickest until you hit the …
BOTTOM-END: The Gaastra Savage and Pryde Hellcat both standout in this respect, especially for heavier riders. Not far behind would be the Simmer V-Max.
TOP-END: For all-out speed ‘past’ the reasonable ‘envelope’ you’d expect of a 7.5, the Hellcat will win a drag race, but only if you’re a 100 kg. monster and able to cope with the forces involved.
For lesser human beings, the Severne NCX will have you holding your own – in a more relaxed and efficient manner. Close behind would be the Point-7 AC-X.
PRINCIPAL TEST TEAM
James Randall 70 kg. Med. Height
Julian Da Vall 83 kg. 1.95 Tall
Toby Gibson 87 kg. 1.90 Tall
Brian McDowell 98 kg. 1.90 Tall
Thanks also to: Kevin Salmon 85 kg. & Kevin Pijl 70 kg.
ACCELERATION: The Gaastra Savage has the ‘gears’ at the low end, but so does the Simmer V-Max.
Also nearby are the RRD Fire, Severne NCX, Pryde Hellcat and the Attitude. (Yes, a new entry to the market!)
MANOEUVRABILITY: It’s got to be the Simmer V-Max, Ezzy, North and Goya Nexus.
EASY TO SAIL: They’re all accessible, but it’s the Ezzy Cheetah, North E_Type, Goya Nexus and Tushingham T4 that initially stand out as the friendliest and least technical to ride.
VALUE-FOR-MONEY: We’ve tried to take into account mast prices when coming to this conclusion too, but, in alphabetical order, we think the Attitude, Ezzy. Point-7, RRD and Tushingham deserve special mention for their pricing, build quality and performance mix. The North and Simmer are also tempting propositions.
Read on and see which ones stir your go-fast juices! BM
Special thanks to Harry Nass Centre Dahab, F-Hot/Dave White for the loan of their mast mounts, I Love Meet and Greet Gatwick Parking Services and North Sails for adjustable outhauls for our test rigs.
ATTITUDE RPM 7.8
EZZY CHEETAH 7.5
GAASTRA SAVAGE 7.8
GOYA NEXUS 7.5
NEILPRYDE HELLCAT 7.7
NORTH E_TYPE 7.8
POINT-7 AC-X 4G 7.5
RRD FIRE 7.6
SIMMER VMAX 7.9
SEVERNE NCX 7.5
TUSHINGHAM T4 7.5
PIC James Randall
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‘The Training Diaries this week are from a little spot just up the road from Pozo.
‘Things got a little crazy for a bit but we are back to normal now – well as much as we can be.
‘There is action from Victor, Bruch, Lewis, Albert, Aleix and me, plus Swifty makes a brief appearance (Make sure you watch until the end) plus a spot of Yoga Mat BobSleigh thrown in.
‘Also a chance to win tickets to the indoor and a sail of your choice. Oh and a crazy Dutch dude makes his debut!’
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PRESS RELEASE AND PROMO CLIPS
Working closely with our World Class team riders and young talent, we give you an extensive range, so you can easily achieve the ultimate ride.
With the option of one, three or four fin setups, combined with high tech design, the versatility of our Waveriding range is endless.
The TriWave fills the gap perfectly between the Quad and FreeWave. Featuring six sizes with a wide more compact outline, we can assure you that you’re first on the plane; while the shorter shape and snappy tail outline provides extremely desirable turning abilities.
The Quad TE sees a wider centre and flatter deck, offering stability while enhancing power, grip and speed.
The FreeWave offers the ultimate freedom to any rider, with a slightly shorter, more compact outline and a fuller, rounder nose, we ensure easy planing and smooth Waveriding.
All of our Wave/FreeWave models have weight saving layups with no compromise to the solid, top Fanatic quality you’d expect.
Whether you are looking to impress the crowds with your showmanship, throw down a bag of tricks or start dialling your first Freestyle moves, then the Skate TE is the perfect companion for you whilst the Skate BGS is ideally suited to Freestyle newbies.
The post FANATIC 2015 WAVE AND FREESTYLE LINE appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
Besides re-working the graphics, panel layout and sail profile completely on all wavesails we have introduced two new sails into the range:
2015 Simmer Style from Simmer Style on Vimeo.
It is designed to feel extremely light in your hands and it is incredibly maneuverable.
The Tricera features the most precise handling and control levels in the critical sections of the wave.
It is our most neutral and ‘on-off’ wave sail which allows for an experience as close to surfing as possible.
The Tricera is best suited for the more advanced wave sailor who wants to push their wave riding to a new level.
This is our cross-over power house wave sail. It is designed for high top-end speed, power and control.
It is designed to excel in real world conditions.
We have also modernized the Blacktip, the Icon and the Halo. The objectiv has been to make them more manoeuvrable and give them more front end drive.
– A more compact outline featuring a reduced luff length but a maintained boom length.
– Improved forward pulling drive due to more shape in the front sail body and the lower batten.
– Reduced weight due to an efficient panel layout.
– Less over-rotation on the batten above the boom for a more direct response and earlier planing.
The response from our team riders and distributors have been extremely positive so we are super excited to launch the range officially! Hope you like what you see!
All pics Si Crowther
<ENDS>
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But can you have both? And, is genuine, raw power actually ever controllable? We think it can be – and there are a couple of examples in this very test – although, largely, cammed sails generally all fit into a scale ranging from more user-friendly and freeridey, to unabashed, terrifying levels of force.
BETTER THAN BIG WAVES?
If you haven’t read this issue’s slalom board test intro and picked-up on our newfound passion for slalom, then please do! We’re hooked! Normally we test all this stuff in Egypt where the going’s easy and everything feels perfect. But not in Tenerife where we ended-up!
However, despite having the workout of our lives, we’re addicted and can’t stop buzzing after sailing all this gear. If you’re a fanatical, wave-only sailor, we think you seriously need to look in the mirror and ask yourselves some critical questions.
READ MORE 2014 EQUIPMENT TESTS
Namely – without wanting to sound discriminative – have you got the balls? Because this is one side of the sport that will give you kicks you’d never imagine. It’s definitely time to ‘man-up’ …
Chest-beating aside, Slalom is a special scene – even just drag-racing as opposed to 4-minutes-of-genuine-intense-deep-downwind-racing – because you spend time in the shorebreak socialising and sharing info and experiences on the session.
You’re always tweaking kit and finding better combinations to suit the immediate conditions to hand and get better at being in-sync with your gear.
It goes without saying all this will carry over to other types of sailing you do – slalom WILL bring your sailing level higher all-round. Fact.
Why the shorebreak time then? Well, if you’re really pushing it, you won’t be able to breathe if you sail flat-out for more than ten minutes at a time! Go and try it for yourself and see…
WHAT DID WE FIND?
So what have we got here then? Generally there’s two types of sail and power delivery types in this test. ‘Tractors’ and ‘Magic Carpets’.
Before we go into details – and just to confuse you – we also suggest you check our upcoming twin-cam tests and previous no-cam freerace sail reviews (April 2014 issue) as there’s some interesting overlaps.
If we picked our ideal quivers (okay, later in the year we may well do!) there would be sails/boards from all these categories mixed in with the hard-core stuff in our personal picks.
THE POWER SCALE
TRACTORS:
• For serious racing in mind
• Require skill and fitness, plus body weight helps too
• Are sailed overpowered at all times. (‘Rig for the lulls – man-up in the gusts’)
• Suit gusty conditions
• Perform best deep downwind
• Demand you to ‘sail efficient’ and, when required ‘pounce’ and to turn on the power.
MAGIC CARPETS – FRIENDLIER/DE-TUNED PRODUCTS:
• Good for entry-level racers and/or lightweights
• Easier to control and more energy efficient
• Suit more consistent conditions and less hard-core boards
• Overlap with ‘freerace’ models
• Best for across-the-wind reaching not just deep downwind legs
• Finer foils with less glide and ‘carry’ through lulls
• For rougher conditions where control beats brute strength
How to choose:
GO TO DEMOS! After reading these reports and getting a shortlist to test, trust your instincts and be aware of ‘feel’ – but be brave.
Strive for low-resistance products that you can trim to suit your skill and style, yet leave yourself some ‘growing room’ for when you progress and are fitter. (Even regular wavesailors will struggle for breath!)
CONCLUSIONS
Most Powerful A toss-up between the Point-7 AC-1 and the Gaastra Vapor.
Easiest To Handle The RRD is undoubtedly the easiest and most ‘freeridey’. The North, Simmer and NeilPryde are all ‘chuck-about-able’, but the surprise package is the grunty Severne Reflex 5 that’s also very forgiving despite being a ‘full-on’ sail.
Fastest That’s subjective as comfort can bring great speed over a course. It’s also pretty board-type and fin dependent too. In a straight line, on a dedicated top-of-the-line board and deep off the wind, for us it’s the Gaastra. But, if you’re a monster, the Point-7 would be hard to catch – and the Severne brings a great mix of both worlds to the table too.
Best Value For sail-only and without calculating mast prices in we think the Point-7 and RRD definitely deliver the most bang for the bucks.
Which Ones Would We Buy? With a mix of experienced slalom heads and new-to-the pain members on the team, our collective choice would be the Severne Reflex 5 closely followed by the Gaastra, which is not exclusively a heavyweights sail.
If we all weighed 110 kg. and only wanted to race downwind – not just tear around our local waters – the Point-7 would probably be the pick.
Lightweights should also consider the North, which is pretty rapid as well. Both newcomers to slalom and old hands might also want to read our no-cam freerace reviews and watch out for some interesting results in the upcoming 7.8 twin-cam test …
Special thanks to Tenerife Windsurf Solution (TWS) centre for hosting us – the best demo/hire centre in the world, F-Hot/Dave White for the loan of their mast mounts, I Love Meet and Greet Airport Valet Parking Services and windsurfingfins.co.uk for the loan of control fins. BM
READ THE INDIVIDUAL REPORTS
GAASTRA VAPOR 7.9
NEILPRYDE RS: SLALOM 7.8
NORTH WARP 7.8
POINT-7 7.8 AC-1
RRD FIRE 7.8
SIMMER SCR 7.8
SEVERNE REFLEX 7.8
PRINCIPAL TEST TEAM
Chris Rainbow 75 kg. Med. Height
Julian Da Vall 83 kg. 1.95 Tall. Experience national and European-level racer.
Brian McDowell 100 kg. 1.90 Tall.
Thanks also to the various PWA pro sailors on hand in Tenerife who also lent a hand, showed us the best tweaks on their affiliated brands’ gear and gave opinion on boards and sails from rival manufacturers.
Due to camera battery and GoPro failures during our test trip, we’ve had to use brand-produced images to show the gear in action.
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PRESS RELEASE
The Tenby Caldy Island Relay will be run as always across the last August Bank Holiday on 24th/25th and 26th. The main demo and race days are Saturday and Sunday with free clinic time from our stars, stacks of kit to try out from the latest ranges across the brands and the fun race itself – the Caldy Island Relay.
This will be a fantastic family event with Windsurf and SUP gear for all members to enjoy from the kids upwards……and this year we will also be including Kitesurfing for the first time with thanks to North Kiteboarding!
The famous Saturday night BBQ is firmly in place and there may even be a live Rock Band!! Tenby town is a great place to be over the summer holiday with o shortage of nightlife to enjoy…….
There will be stacks of demo kit on hand and some ripping pro sailors to join your teams as we do every year…….each team will get assigned a top sailor to boost their chances and provide some top notch kit! Some of the confirmed guests already:
Nik Baker – Fanatic North…..TOP SEED
Simon Cofield – Fanatic/North – BSA Slalom tour leader
Kev Greenslade – Simmer/Tabou – Past speed champ and top 5 slalom seed
Si Pettifer – Simmer/Tabou – BSA Slalom top 5 seed
Chris Muzza Murray – Tushingham Starboard BWA & PWA Wave tour ripper!
Fanatic/North will be there with Nik Baker on hand to offer some free clinic time, kit advice and stacks of the latest gear for you to try! Both the Windsurf & SUP range will be on show all weekend.
Simmer Sails and Boards will be there, as well as some of the Mistral range with helpful tips and speed tuning advice from legendary Farrel Oshea as well as teamriders Kev & Si
Tushingham and Starboard have Chris Muzza Murray and their big demo wagon to get you out on the latest kit and join the weekends fun! both windsurf & SUP.
This year for the first time there will be a Kitesurf section in the race as well as kit demos and ‘intro to kiting’ from the North UK team.
Thanks to everyone who puts the time aside to join one of the most fun events of the year, and please help us spread the word and encourage others to come along!!
The entry for the entire weekend to join the demo and take part in the fun racing and fancy dress comp will be £30 per person. This includes your event T-Shirt and all the proceeds will go to Cancer research. So please help us raise some money for this great cause……
Really Look forward to seeing you there from all at Puravida and the Tenby Windsurfing Club
Please like and join our event page
The post PURAVIDA TENBY CALDY ISLAND RELAY AND DEMO WEEKEND appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
Offered as ‘de-tuned’ versions of brands’ no-compromise slalom machines, they’re designed to offer a little more user-friendliness and comfort that allow everyday windsurfers a chance to maximize their speed or dip their toes into the racing or GPS competition scenes.
This test was originally published in the June issue.
TWEAKERS
If you’ve read our recent (May issue) slalom tests, you’ll know that the overlap between race boards and freerace shapes is quite significant. PWA or national-level racers like to sail overpowered on all-out boards, deep downwind for short races, while you and I like to mainly reach across the wind more and be able to sustain a session for longer than 10 minutes at a time! Another issue is the level of tuning required. With slightly friendlier, inboard strap settings and subtle variations in rocker line, freerace outlines generally offer comfort and don’t require you to overload the hull with a hideously large rig for the conditions. That also means less tweaks and less time in the shore break or on the beach making adjustments. However, if racing is your eventual target some of these boards will serve as a useful stepping-stone.
WATER STATE
This test was conducted in super hectic conditions in Tenerife. Hard work but a real eye-opener on what kind of boards work best. And this should be a vital factor in your decision-making process. If you’re wanting to stay local and reach across the wind, maybe the odd deeper downwind run with the GPS on, then buy what boards suit your local stretch of water. If those conditions vary a lot, or you travel or intend to compete in a broad range of conditions then, again, choose comfort over all-out, flat-water speed. At least until you’re a proficient master of the dedicated slalom board. Some of the sticks on offer here suit full-on slalom sails and would therefore allow you to experiment with the levels of rig power you need to race, but on a more forgiving hull and fin setup. Others are better matched with freerace sails such as no-cams and twin cams that you may already own.
READ MORE 2014 EQUIPMENT TESTS
FINS
Unlike race board, all of these boards are supplied with fins – mostly softer, G10 models – that match the boards and offer a flexier, forgiving nature. As you progress, for any kind of use, you should start experimenting with different foils to see the massive effect they can have in transforming a board’s performance. Our advice is to try out smaller, but still powerful, carbon fins and get in sync with the added acceleration and top speed they offer before buying larger ones nearer to and larger than the supplied G10 models.
CONCLUSIONS
In addition to the individual reports to follow, here’s some pointers on how they match up in relation to each other.
Fastest:
The Tabou Speedster is the best ‘racy’ model and quickest in a straight line on all points of sailing – that and it’s comfort make for a compelling proposition. It definitely offers the best natural acceleration and suitability for dedicated sails. The Fanatic RAY is a dark horse for speed. Best for bigger riders and a more traditional stance. Also suits dedicated cammed sails best.
THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND
ABOUT THE TESTING
• We’ve tested individual models, NOT ranges, so have an open mind if it’s other sizes of the products we review that you’re considering.
Rough Water/Surf Slalom Use:
The RRD Firestorm is the best all-round/versatile range of use and night-and-day best rough water choice and new-to-racing or ‘not fussed about racing’ pick. Suits any type of sails, especially no-cam freerace sails.
Comfort and Control:
The Starboard Futura is the best ‘ticking-every-box’ board that’s super smooth and refined. Suits draft-further-back sails best. The JP SuperSport is also good for entry-level comfort and for those who like to sail in a narrower wind band and not so powered-to-the-max. Suits more traditional, outboard stance. Good deep downwind GPS potential. Best on twin cams/friendlier race sails.
Gybing Machines:
The RRD Firestorm, Simmer Monster and Starboard Futura give the most fun and control around the corners.
Which Ones Would We Buy?:
For genuine speed and racing potential, the Tabou is, without doubt amongst our core and guest testers, the benchmark board of the class. If control was a bigger factor or we wanted a wider, freeride/wave/slalom range of use – say in and out of breaking waves – the RRD with a few different rakes of fin would be amazing.
THE LINE-UP
The post 110L FREERACE BOARD TEST appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
THE LOW-DOWN
A super-funky looking new shape from Simmer boasting heaps of complicated and technical ‘X-Steps’ and channels underneath and on the rails. Based on a MXR Van den Berg design in conjunction with renowned speedsailor Martin Van Meurs, the Monster 100 is, we’re told, actually 105 litres. The board is divided into three sections (forward, midships and aft) and designed with GPS sailing and speed via control in mind. The Monster sits alongside the light wind Godzilla shape and the Freemove series in their line.
BRAND CLAIM
“A true medium to high wind machine for medium to heavy weight riders. It’s easily controlled when chop rises in stronger wind speeds. The wide tail provides back foot support in the lulls without compromising the agility. The board can be taken up to really high-end speeds and executes gybes with full control.”
PERFORMANCE
So, first up, thanks to some frustrating Canarian customs and logistical issues, a load of our Simmer gear for this test was held up until right until the very end of our trip. So without much water time we had very limited range of conditions and head-to-head opportunities to really weigh up this product against the rest. That also meant we got to use fewer types of sails on it as well. The overriding impression of this board is that it’s incredibly deceptive. Similarly to another Simmer product we had earlier this year, (Freemove 120), we found this board really ‘slow-feeling’ and cruisy, but, it’s when you line it up against others that it becomes clear it’s no slouch. The intricate bottom shape sucks down onto the water – and we’re talking a really rough and challenging water state here – to deliver a unique feeling of control and trim. OK, there was some nose flight in the extreme chop and swell, but generally this is a very manageable, settled board and it provided a big contrast to the full-on slalom boards and racier freeracers from this selection that we had with us, that tend to ‘let fly’ more over the swell. In terms of gybing this is a total carving machine that really encourages you to get over on the rail as much as possible and we can only imagine how much fun it would be to crank some on it in nice flat water. We’d have liked to have had more time to try out different fins as we were generally over-finned on this test anyway, thanks to a surplus of circa. 30-knot wind! A lot of shapes in this category would suit smaller, carbon foils than the largely soft, G10 models supplied by most. We think the Monster would follow suit and allow budding racers to really progress with more powerful, but small-enough-to-control blades underneath.
THE VERDICT
The Monster comes with a lot of bells and whistles that obviously tested the CNC shaping machine’s capabilities. But actually the sophisticated profile delivers a very controllable and likeable sailing sensation, not to mention amazing gybing capability. Easy to sail and uber controllable in rough water, the Monster 100 has superb potential and ‘growing room’ for aspiring racers and speedsters.
For more information on the
SIMMER MONSTER 100L 2014
go to www.simmerstyle.com
Other boards in this test:
Back to 110L Freerace test intro page
The post SIMMER MONSTER 100L 2014 TEST REVIEW appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
OVERVIEW
The 2XC is a fairly compact, 6-batten twin cam that’s position next to the V-Max no-cam freerace (see April 2014 issue test), the SCS 3-cam freerace and the top-of-the-line SCR race sail (see May issue test report). The 2XC comes with an extra ‘TekCam’ that makes it possible to rig on an RDM mast as well.
BRAND POSITIONING
‘The 2XC offers quick and simple rigging, great low-end power, smooth rotation and easy handling. With research and development directly linked to that of the Simmer Race Program, 2XC features all of the most recent innovations found in our full-bred race machine. The 6 battens provide stability, while the 2 mini cams create a full draft profile and keep the center of effort low and locked. The 2XC is the best choice for beginning slalom or just drag racing against your friends. It is also a great alternative to SCR and SCS in the smaller sizes.’ (Sic.)
PERFORMANCE
Some frustrating customs incompetencies delayed the Simmer gear for this test and we only got to try the 2XC out in the final couple of days of the trip to Tenerife. That means this report is inconclusive and based only on the conditions we had to hand in a very short window of opportunity. Okay, so unbagging the sail you an instantly see there’s been a lot of love and attention to detail give to the construction, with lightweight film bolstered in key areas by x-ply and Kevlar reinforcements. The draft is pretty deep considering the nice and narrow, user-friendly sleeve. Rigging-wise it’s a breeze, with the cams going straight onto the mast easily without any elaborate ‘cams-off’ fuss, which is nice if you’ve just got a short window of time to sail in. Bar a few basic tweaks, we found it simple for a first-time setup and that the downhaul can pretty much be left alone, with the outhaul being your go-to tuning device. With incessantly strong wind (25-30 knots), we effectively tested it far beyond its upper wind range really, but, most importantly, the hold-up meant way less head-to-heads against the rival sails and that we only sailed it on a much narrower range of boards. There’s quite a soft batten profile from the 6-strut frame, which did limit it in the rough water there, but we remember on previous trips to Egypt that previous incarnations of this sail gave quite positive top-end performance in flatter water and stronger wind. We didn’t think flattening the sail off was the answer in these conditions and preferred to use the draft to keep control and use the softness to our advantage. If we had more time we’d have experimented with stiffer masts to see if they raised the upper limit, especially for the heavier testers. Manoeuvrability-wise this is a legend, being super throw about and flicky and light to handle thanks to a relatively low-aspect outline. All-in-all the ride is nice and upright with a good closed foot for an efficient, low-energy stance.
THE VERDICT
A friendly, throwabout and light-in-the-hands product that capably bridges the gap between freeride and freerace performance.
Other sails in this test:
The post SIMMER 2XC 7.8M 2014 TEST REVIEW REPORT appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
Offered as ‘de-tuned’ versions of brands’ no-compromise slalom machines, they’re designed to offer a little more user-friendliness and comfort that allow everyday windsurfers a chance to maximize their speed or dip their toes into the racing or GPS competition scenes.
Arriving in Tenerife to test these 7.8 twin cams, alongside full-on, cammed slalom racing sails and slalom and freerace boards (see May 2014 issue for reports, here and here), gave us the perfect opportunity to test the theory out. (Apart from the fact we should’ve brought the ‘benchmark’ no-cam sail for comparison, which in our opinion is the Severne NCX.)
This test was originally published in the June issue.
TO CAM OR NOT TO CAM?
Even without such a ‘control’ sail, after the first run-throughs on each sail we continued to think that twin cams may no longer have a place in our quivers – apart from maybe in sizes over 8.0m and for use in gusty locations, such as tree-lined lakes and other locations with a lot of holes and light, fluky wind.
But there is, once again – as we see in so many sail and board test categories – a real ‘scale’ of use, generally ranging from the powerful, deep, drafty, more-technical-to-sail end, stretching to a friendly, efficient – which can arguably be faster – nature at the other extreme. So what should a twin cam deliver then? This question certainly had us scratching our heads. We remember them always being actually quite tight-sleeved, easy to use and still quite manoevrable toys for use over 6.5m. More hours on the water soon began to throw up a few answers …
READ MORE 2014 EQUIPMENT TESTS
DRINK IN THE DRAFT
Primarily using the 110L freerace boards that are also reported on in this same (June) edition, we soon began to find that some of these twin cams are actually performance machines and, that, especially if you read the May issue slalom report findings, that there are some serious overlaps in range-of-use between these twins and some of the full-on racing machines, with some of them having, relatively speaking, quite deep sleeves and pretty full-on wind range and acceleration. That’s what cambers bring over the no-cam sails – that little extra boost in the dirty air and, of course, some vital glide through lulls and holes around the park. Can a no-cam bring that and the same wind range? No – and yes – respectively is the answer.
TESTING CONDITIONS
OK, so it’s fair to say we only really got to test the upper limits of this gear thanks to howling wind and a super challenging sea state in El Médano, Tenerife. The lightest wind we got in two weeks was about 18 knots and most of the testing was carried out in 20-30 knots! But it’s impressive how this group coped on the whole – another big plus for camber inducers.
CONCLUSIONS
Yes, yes, there’s never any outright winners – although we do generally reach consensus on ‘benchmark’ products that encapsulate a category and are what we’d judge next year’s gear or new entries to the market against. We’d like to start taking our benchmarks back out on trips with us to use as the yardstick of progress and the required standard. To help you sort out what’s best for you from the individual reports to follow this is what we found:
Fastest:
Comfy can be faster than pure power, but the Severne Turbo offers both. Light and medium weights will love the North S-Type too.
Best Entry-Level Racing Potential:
The Severne Turbo or Gaastra Cosmic.
Best Wind Range:
For low-end the Severne Turbo, Gaastra Cosmic and the Pryde Hornet. The Ezzy Lion also has a vast tuning range.
THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND
ABOUT THE TESTING
• We’ve tested individual models, NOT ranges, so have an open mind if it’s other sizes of the products we review that you’re considering.
Most Manoevrable:
Ezzy Lion and Simmer 2XC.
Easiest to Rig:
Ezzy Lion by a country mile.
Which Ones Would We Buy?:
For hassle-free, comfortable freeriding, the Ezzy Lion. To accessibly crossover into genuine racing/GPS performance the Severne Turbo or Cosmic. They’d both help you go straight into a top-end slalom board too. The North S-Type is also a
lovely ‘fingertip’ sailing product.
Benchmark Product:
Absolutely everybody loved the Severne Turbo and we think it best bridges the gap between no-cams and full-on slalom sails – and can genuinely compete with many all-out racing models.
Special thanks to Tenerife Windsurf Solution (TWS) centre for hosting us – the best demo/hire centre in the world, F-Hot/Dave White for the loan of their mast mounts, I Love Meet and Greet Airport Valet Parking Services and windsurfingfins.co.uk for the loan of control fins and North Sails for supplying adjustable outhauls for our test rigs.
THE LINE-UP
The post 7.5 – 8.0M TWIN CAM SAIL TEST 2014 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
OVERVIEW
The ‘Simmer Competition Race’ (SCR) is their top-of-the-line racing product that sits above the narrower-sleeved SCS freerace and 2XC twin-cam. (Simmer also has a no-cam freerace model, the V-Max, that we tested in the April 2014 issue.)
BRAND POSITIONING
‘The SCR is designed and manufactured specifically for high performance competitive racing, slalom and speed. For the 2014 SCR is developed by Tomas Persson together with top PWA sailors Sylvain and Benoit Moussilmani. For 2014 we have developed the back bone of the rig, the mast and the battens to give the sail a better top-end speed and faster acceleration. Precision batten tapering is a new concept which allows us to with greater precision control how the batten curve defines the sail profile. Each cambered batten is specifically customized using the this technique to create the most optimal support for the profile.’
PERFORMANCE
This 7.8 SCR was sadly late to party due to some unavoidable logistical issues. Arriving near the end of the trip meant not only limited water time, but also a narrower range of conditions, boards we could pair it with and therefore also a limited number of head-to-heads against its rivals. We only sailed this 7.8 in shorter chop and less rolling swell than we had earlier in the fortnight, but we did get to test the top-end of the wind band on a par with the rest. There’s a lot of technical materials involved and there’s clearly a lot of attention to detail in the product construction, although we were surprised to see so much ply on the luff sleeve near the leading edge. Elsewhere there’s loads of expensive Dacron and Kevlar-reinforced ply and the rigging process was straightforward and swift. At the top of that wind range the SCR was comfortable, with a slight element of softness and forgiveness, all helped by the nice and responsive mast. In terms of our ‘power spectrum’ the SCR is definitely at the more manoevrable end of scale with the outline being easy to flick around and manhandle through gybes and manoeuvres. The rotation and acceleration exiting gybes were both smooth – the low-end being ample to get you going but easy enough to control without too much energy expended. This 7.8 has a pretty medium depth profile and entry that favours being well powered, but still has enough shape to pin down a board well and enjoy good speed with the downwards, forward drive directing energy into the hull. We found there’s pretty much one downhaul setting to keep the leech working optimally and kept some good belly with negative outhaul keeping the sail against the boom almost up to the lines. In rougher water we liked to keep the outhaul that way to further add to the ‘pinning’ factor for added pace and control.
THE VERDICT
One of the friendliest of the all-out, dedicated racing sails to handle and extract top-level performance from. The Simmer SCR is soft and forgiving, easy to gybe and offers excellent top-end performance and speed in an easy-to-rig, well specified package.
READ THE OTHER REPORTS
GAASTRA VAPOR 7.9
NEILPRYDE RS: SLALOM 7.8
NORTH WARP 7.8
POINT-7 7.8 AC-1
RRD FIRE 7.8
SEVERNE REFLEX 7.8
The post SIMMER SCR 7.8M 2014 TEST REVIEW REPORT appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
THE LOW-DOWN
The Iron is one of four sails in the comprehensive Simmer wave sail programme. We can’t comment on its true surfing performance, since we tested it in Egypt, but all the attributes of a power wave sail are there in abundance. Other options in the Simmer collection are the grunty Enduro ‘freemove’ sail and Veron entry-level freeride model. Construction-wise the news is good with the typical Simmer quality build involving Kevlar x-ply, Dacron and beefy film. The Iron rigs on RDM masts and Simmer claim it’s so throaty it can be sailed one size down from your normal choice.
BRAND POSITIONING
‘The Iron is our ‘hybrid’ power wave sail, it is designed for high top-end speed, power and control. The Iron comes alive in average type conditions when you need to make the most out of what you have. The effective sail profile allows you to use a smaller sail size than you normally would and still stay maneuverable. The Iron’s low aspect ratio and five batten outline makes this our most stable wavesail, with a massive wind range and great control for high wind jumping.’ (Sic.)
PERFORMANCE
The Iron is particularly smooth and stable as you’d expect from a ‘power’ wave sail with good depth and shape. The foil graduates nicely with the draft tapering away steadily to produce effective twist without any excess leech flutter or twitchiness. At the top end of the range we found it was really easy to keep well sheeted in in heavy gusts. As a crossover sail should – particularly with onshore conditions and jumping in mind – the Iron tracks upwind well to help you keep ground and have space to accelerate into ramps or work on those gybes and blatant show-off tricks. With onshore conditions often requiring a lot of drive, the Iron’s power will be handy to through strong currents and will make a good match for larger riders and those that like to be well powered anyway. In general this is a really ‘forgettable’ and ‘invisible-in-the-hands’ sail that could suit a lot of different locations and rider styles. Manoeuvrability-wise the Iron’s good and flicky. It’s pretty compact really, but the boom length isn’t inhibiting. The power delivery is quite direct with only a small amount of spring at the slacker end of the tuning band. We found both outhaul and downhaul effective in tweaking the range between 14 and 33 knots on this trip and the low-end can be increased even further with a fairly tight leech if required.
THE VERDICT
Power on-tap for torque-hungry wavesailors and bump ‘n jump freaks alike. A wide tuning band and heaps of shape in a manoevrable outline deliver good drive for onshore situations, where strong current and ramps close to the shore need to be swiftly accessed on launching.
Other sails in this test:
The post SIMMER IRON 6.2M 2014 TEST REVIEW REPORT appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
As the clichéd ‘Swiss Army Knife’ rig of choice, they have to, in the 6.0 range, ideally, span wave use – probably in more moderate wind, onshore environments – be fast enough to enjoy some drag-racing and bump and jump action, (most likely as a change-down size for inland sailors), have enough manoeuvrability to enjoy some freestyle – as well as being a sensible and popular choice for entry-level freeriders.
That’s a tough call so it’ll come as no surprise that there is a little bit of a spectrum ranging from the blastier, more freeride-oriented end to genuine onshore wavesailing powerhouses.
This test was originally published in the July issue.
TRENDS – WHAT DID WE FIND?
Well, compared to recent seasons we reckon this category has seen a massive increase in the upper end of the wind ranges. On this trip we were more than happy in over 30 knots of wind on 105L FSW boards, which equated to a effective wind range of 14-33 knots. That’s not a ‘we could hang on in 33 knots’ statement. We’re talking excellent control and comfort in most cases. Considering some of these sails are more expensive than others, it’s worth bearing in mind that you definitely need less of them these days so budget can arguably be less of an issue than in the past. Bear in mind though that all our test findings are only relevant and in context of what else we had on the beach at the same time. If a sail isn’t the earliest planer in this group for example, it doesn’t mean it’s not got good low-end, it’s just that we can only state what its performance is like compared to what else we were trying on the same days in the same conditions.
READ MORE 2014 EQUIPMENT TESTS
WHICH ONES SHOULD YOU BUY?
FOR BLASTING AND SPEED: The Vandal Addict, Severne Gator and the NeilPryde Fusion are probably your best bet in a drag race.
MANOEUVRABILITY: A tough call in this multipurpose category but the North Volt, Attitude Source, Severne Gator, Gaastra Cross and Pryde Fusion stand out as the most throwabout picks.
GENUINE WAVE PERFORMANCE: The compact Attitude Source, RRD Move, Simmer Iron, Severne Gator and, to some extent. the Naish Moto will all serve well in cross-on wave environments.
WIND RANGE: The widest overall range came from the Naish Moto, Gaastra Cross, North Volt and Severne Gator. For bottom end grunt it’s the Simmer Iron, Goya Nexus and Gaastra Cross that will power the big boys, wider boards and deal with current and patchy wind best.
BUILD QUALITY: The Naish Moto, Pryde Fusion and Severne Gator both display the techiest materials in the lightest packages. At the budget end of the scale the Attitude and Ezzy will be hard to beat too. For techy, cutting-edge materials it’s Pryde and Naish that stand out most.
EASY RIGGING: The straight-luffed Ezzy and the Vandal are probably the easiest to assemble without breaking into a sweat!
VALUE FOR MONEY: There’s the most bang for your buck in the Attitude, Vandal, Point-7 and Ezzy.
FOR ENTRY-LEVEL USE: The Point-7 HF and the Vandal Addict are hard to beat.
FOR HEAVYWEIGHTS: The Gaastra Cross, Severne Gator, Simmer Iron and Goya Nexus will haul your ass best.
FOR LIGHTWEIGHTS: The Vandal Addict and the Point-7 are probably best for ladies, kids and lightweights.
SOMETHING NEW & DIFFERENT: Naish have produced a unique feel with the ‘Fusion’ construction used in the Moto. The Dacron skin is nice and flexy but the frame is well tensioned and locked. You have to try one to experience it!
THE BENCHMARKS: This large group makes it a tough call. If a new crop launched on the market tomorrow, we’d probably take the Severne Gator as the most representative of this selection to measure them by. A sort of ‘Desert Island’ sail if you like. That said, we all liked the Moto’s unique feel. However, nobody would complain if they were given the Attitude for Christmas. Darn it we’d like them all for Christmas! Amongst the various size testers the Ezzy, Gaastra and RRD were all very popular across the board too.
* Also consider: Tushingham submitted their long-standing Storm to this test but have since released the Bolt, a line that changes throughout the sizes to suit most conditions in any given wind strength. We aim to find out the wave credentials of the 5.5 on our upcoming wave sails test trip.
Read on and see which ones stir your burn and turn juices!
Special thanks to Harry Nass Centre Dahab, F-Hot/Dave White for the loan of their mast mounts, I Love Meet and Greet Airport Valet Parking Services and North Sails for adjustable outhauls for our test rigs.
THE LINE-UP
The post 6.0M CROSSOVER SAIL TEST 2014 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
“Action from Bruch and Adam Lewis, construction testing with Philip Koester, Koester Doubles, impact protection is the new cool, 3-batten testing with Albert Pijoan and I compare my Doubles to Koester’s and work out the problem!’
DON’T FORGET THE TIP JAR TO FUND MORE DIARIES FROM BEN!
The post BEN PROFFITT 2014 POZO TRAINING DIARIES – PART 1 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
OVERVIEW
The 2XC is a fairly compact, 6-batten twin cam that’s position next to the V-Max no-cam freerace (see April 2014 issue test), the SCS 3-cam freerace and the top-of-the-line SCR race sail (see May issue test report). The 2XC comes with an extra ‘TekCam’ that makes it possible to rig on an RDM mast as well.
BRAND POSITIONING
‘The 2XC offers quick and simple rigging, great low-end power, smooth rotation and easy handling. With research and development directly linked to that of the Simmer Race Program, 2XC features all of the most recent innovations found in our full-bred race machine. The 6 battens provide stability, while the 2 mini cams create a full draft profile and keep the center of effort low and locked. The 2XC is the best choice for beginning slalom or just drag racing against your friends. It is also a great alternative to SCR and SCS in the smaller sizes.’ (Sic.)
PERFORMANCE
Some frustrating customs incompetencies delayed the Simmer gear for this test and we only got to try the 2XC out in the final couple of days of the trip to Tenerife. That means this report is inconclusive and based only on the conditions we had to hand in a very short window of opportunity. Okay, so unbagging the sail you an instantly see there’s been a lot of love and attention to detail give to the construction, with lightweight film bolstered in key areas by x-ply and Kevlar reinforcements. The draft is pretty deep considering the nice and narrow, user-friendly sleeve. Rigging-wise it’s a breeze, with the cams going straight onto the mast easily without any elaborate ‘cams-off’ fuss, which is nice if you’ve just got a short window of time to sail in. Bar a few basic tweaks, we found it simple for a first-time setup and that the downhaul can pretty much be left alone, with the outhaul being your go-to tuning device. With incessantly strong wind (25-30 knots), we effectively tested it far beyond its upper wind range really, but, most importantly, the hold-up meant way less head-to-heads against the rival sails and that we only sailed it on a much narrower range of boards. There’s quite a soft batten profile from the 6-strut frame, which did limit it in the rough water there, but we remember on previous trips to Egypt that previous incarnations of this sail gave quite positive top-end performance in flatter water and stronger wind. We didn’t think flattening the sail off was the answer in these conditions and preferred to use the draft to keep control and use the softness to our advantage. If we had more time we’d have experimented with stiffer masts to see if they raised the upper limit, especially for the heavier testers. Manoeuvrability-wise this is a legend, being super throw about and flicky and light to handle thanks to a relatively low-aspect outline. All-in-all the ride is nice and upright with a good closed foot for an efficient, low-energy stance.
THE VERDICT
A friendly, throwabout and light-in-the-hands product that capably bridges the gap between freeride and freerace performance.
Other sails in this test:
The post SIMMER 2XC 7.8M 2014 TEST REVIEW REPORT appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
This test was originally published in the October issue.
So with the business of windsurfing pleasure in mind, the playground of EL Medano was turned into our test lab as we put the latest 4.7 offerings through their paces. It’s our prime choice for this test because of its blend of great wind stats, accessibility, and what most of the manufacturers would describe as “real world “conditions. This trip we were blessed with marginal winds and small swell, not “epic” but still conditions that would tempt sickies and early finishes at the office. The wind speeds experienced meant we had less time than we would have liked to give each of the 4.7s in this group a thorough shakedown over their top end abilities but the low end and gust handling abilities were certainly tested fully.
READ MORE 2015 EQUIPMENT TESTS
THE LINE UP: – “NO LEMONS”
Real “duds” are few and far between these days and guess what? We didn’t find any here either. For most of us, any day you get to break out a 4.7 is going to be a great one; I’ll wager that you can remember exactly when you last used your equivalent. The eight models here represent a good cross-section of the market and we have sought to place all the products in context with their competition, offer an honest critique of performance, construction quality, desirability and the overall value based on those attributes. There is a lot of choice of styles on offer today; 3, 4 or 5 battens?
How many battens a sail has is only part of the picture and a little bit like categorising boards by fin count alone. For example the tallest in the group is the four batten Goya Banzai but the shortest is also four batten, the Maui Sails Mutant, so not much can be gleaned from looking at the dimensions alone either. What we wanted to really define is the “flavour” of each of these designs as they were all created to fulfil similar briefs and aid the decision in finding the style that suits you best, within budget!
The key point we would like to make is right now we have the most diverse range of sails for “wave” use than there has ever been; some brands have up to 4 different wave sails in their range! While each product has a well defined niche by the manufacturer we were surprised by how some sails performed so well outside their specified zone.
This reminded us of another finding, everything we tested had a small range of downhaul settings, not more than 3 or 4 cm variation.
Outhaul, controlling the draught and power point, has a little more variation, 4 or 5cm. We all tune our sails to find the sweet settings but what has become obvious is that we also need to tune ourselves. Our ability to adapt our techniques is much greater than any tuning that can be built into equipment. Feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Then change your style of sail and give yourself a fresh perspective.
CONCLUSIONS
Pro riders tear the seas apart on every single one of the sails tested here, which shows how capable they are and the benefit of the time spent in their development. The core test team of Brian Mc Dowell, 99kg, Julian Da Vall, 84kg and Chris Rainbow 79kg, interrogated our broader squad of pilots for their reactions, and some patterns emerged.
Ezzy Taka took the honours in the easy rigging department and is also the easiest transitioning sail here with its luff panel control giving another dimension to the de-power / re-power cycle.
The Goya Banzai was well praised because of its low energy personality that leaves you forgetting about the sail and its build quality and aesthetic that everyone seemed to love. The RRD Vogue certainly shared character traits with the Banzai and is much more than a side shore sail. The Sailloft Hamburg Quad is unique in this selection as it has been developed with freestyle ability on the menu too. It was one of the earliest planers on test due to its pronounced foil depth but you do need an induction period to get used to its feel. Finally the Mutant’s radical outline was a real eye turner and will appeal to the more adventurous of us.
There is great value in all of these sails, particularly when looked at with a quiver in mind, the trend being more range on fewer masts.
Stick with what you know or try something new? On the team, we would all say, try something new. Keep an open mind and don’t judge anything too quickly, experience some new sensations and your windsurfing will thank you for it, even if your bank manager won’t!
Thanks to, The team at TWS, Harco, Bart, Robbie, Guillome, Ronald Cormac de Roiste and Laoise Dhuda.
MISSING
As with the 5.3 test last month, the administrative error at North saw us receive the 2014 versions of their flagship Hero. It was immediately removed from test, which was a shame as rigged with their Aero mast produces a ridiculously light handling experience that would have been great to compare directly to the rest of the test group. The Neil Prydes unfortunately weren’t quite ready yet after what looked like some major works going on with their new range and we hope to catch up with them both again in the future. JDV
THE LINE-UP
The post 4.7M WAVE SAIL TEST 2015 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.
MOVE ON UP – SKILLS AND DRILLS Light-wind workouts to polish your technique from Super Coach Jem Hall
