Durabilty in sails, best vs worst brands,consumer reports...

boggsman1 · Joined: 24 Jun 2002 Posts: 9120 Location: at a computer

My two cents. Northwave is a dream. Ive sailed EZZY and HS Super freak and the differences are big. The HS is nice and well balanced, but lacks low end power. The EZZY is bulletproof , but feels heavy and dead , compared to the Northwave.
The Northwave ZX is the best of all worlds, light, ultra-low end power , and great looking! BY FAR the best sail Ive ever touched, and I wont even get into all the monofilm sails.

Boggsman

bil7y · Joined: 17 Dec 2002 Posts: 349

AEROTECH. Ezzy and AeroTech are the definite leaders. Dacron breaks down and stretches more than the x ply. KA uses to much film. Good sails but I have to give the nod to Aerotech. Ezzy sails are killer but sort of a limited range of choices. Aerotech has a broader line and they perform excellent with superior durabilty.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

[quote="bil7y"]AEROTECH. Ezzy and AeroTech are the definite leaders. /quote]

Many thousands of fans of other brands disagree. Not disparaging your faves, just pointing out that your opinion is exactly what it is ... your opinion. And we don't even know what brands you have owned.

jimwilkins · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 70

I should add that any info related to the topic in cambered sails would help as well. If I could even be direct in asking what cambered sails really have a bigger wind range and are they actually more efficent in lift?

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

Hi Jim,

I should point out that Hansen Slalom sails are 3-4 fixed camber sails depending on their size, and the FreeRaces can be rigged with 1, 2 or 3 cambers, or with none at all. The Freeraces are designed be rigged in a way that suits your style with varied cambered support, and that make them very unique in the market. Frankly, I like no cambers at all, but other practical choices are possible based on your preferences. Wave sails are RAF sails without cambers.

Earlier, I failed to point out the Formula sails are offered too. If you're interested, take a look, I think that you'll agree that the formula sails are trick and capable with anything on the market. I'm sure that many SF Bay area sailors would agree, to include others around the world.

jpf18 · Joined: 13 Aug 2000 Posts: 347 Location: San Francisco

I'm sailing recent year's Aerotech's mostly. Remarkably solid in my experience. You should see my 05 Rapidfire and hear associated stories of abuse. Still intact and strong (except for some mast sleeve wear due to inproper batten replacement; my fault). Not enough mileage on Ezzy's to tell.

North sucks in a big way; had a few in mid-early 2000's. I'll never go back although they're great on the water.

With any brand... stay away from the "budget" lines and pre-production sails. They somehow make it into circulation and I have seen them either not built to standard or nicked when shipped as singles from China or whereever.

jpf18 · Joined: 13 Aug 2000 Posts: 347 Location: San Francisco

theq · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 707

I've got to agree with the Ezzy supporters here. Sailing amidst the jagged-toothed rocks at Leo Carillo, a place with no good rigging area, our sails and feet are subjected to major abuse. I've sailed Norths, Neilpryde, and Ezzy. My Norths were the best in terms of raw power. Neilpryde carried the day in handling. Ezzy takes the durability award, hands down. If anything the weight factor is the only dinger against Ezzy. However, as another poster mentioned, they never feel heavy on the water, and that's really what counts. Now if we only get Ezzy to make booties to save our feet.....
I've always wanted to try out an Aerotech, and occasionally look for them when I'm in the market. However, we don't really see much of them here on the West Coast. My .0129 Euros.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

I don't use Ezzy sails and I probably never will. I have sailed them many times though and I also think they are the most durable sails made. But I also feel they are too heavy form me- not sailing over reefs or sharp rocks. Are they heavy on the water? Yes, because I've rarely seen a sailor not fall in. Water starting an Ezzy 7 meter was way heavier than waterstarting my 10 meter formula sail. I also feel the weight with Ezzy sails doing light wind freestyle sail handling. But if durability is what you want I think they are the way to go.

Coachg

lindseyl · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 4

On Maui there is almost universal agreement that the Hot Sails Maui Superfreaks are the most durable sails on the planet. They are also the number one sail with Maui locals. It's a given that they are the lightest and most maneuverable wave sail on the market

As far as the low end power of the Superfreaks, they do have tons of low end power if you rig them for power. Unlike almost all other modern sails, which have the draft locked in by the way the sail is cut, the Superfreaks' draft can be increased radically by releasing outhaul beyond what is considered "normal".

When most people try the Superfreaks they are blown away by how they feel so much more light and responsive than other sails and switch over to Freaks as fast as they can, but occasionally people who try the Freaks say that don't understand what all the fuss is about-why they have such a huge following of sailors who think that they are by far the best wave sails ever made. This may be partly due to the different feel of the sails-how they power up gradually, but most of the time I think it is simply because people rig them wrong. I have even seen long time Superfreak owners rig them too flat.

Try the sails, in my experience nothing even comes close.