Who makes the best boom?

[kevinkan]

my favorite boom is the Streamlined Carbon Boom

(free shipping to USA addresses)

I own the following booms:
-Streamlined Carbon Wave 140
-Maui Sails Carbon Wave 140
-Goya Super Skinny 140
-and I've used the Chinook Pro-1 Carbon 135 & 150 (pre-2017 versions)

In my experience the Streamlined was the stiffest by far. I also like the boom head the best (stiffest and quickest to attach). The only missing feature for me is the loop & go outhaul. Grip size is nice (around 29.4mm). Some are smaller like the Goya Super Skinny (which is also nice.... at 27.5-28.5mm, not the advertised 24.5mm). Really a personal preference.

As far as the bend goes, I did not think I would like it, but I absolutely fell in love with it. Poor Dave from Streamlined had been begging me for years to try his boom, but I didn't think I'd like the bend. Once I tried the Streamlined once it became my boom of choice.

The Streamlined boom is also built a little differently than the other booms. The straight sections are actually table rolled on a mandrel (like the way you'd make a mast). The straight sections are then bonded to bladder molded curved parts in the front section and tailpiece. I like this method, although some will make good arguments for monocoque (which would be all bladder molded). If done properly, you can make a top-notch boom either way. The front tube diameter is also quite large on Streamlined (around 38mm). Big front tube for stiffness. Maui Sails is around 41mm... other booms are in the 33mm range. The Streamlined booms use a very high percentage of prepreg carbon. I used to work for NP, and their carbon boom back then was actually 35% fiberglass. Doing boom re-grips, I can see how some companies mix in a lot of fiberglass into their booms. Fiberglass is actually good as an inside and outside layer (for abrasion and wear... especially on the sliding parts) but some companies will use more to save on material cost.

I believe all the above listed booms to be good booms... but you asked which was best

[wsurfn1426]

Kevin knows his stuff.

I currently have Chinook, Maui Sails, and Severne.

I am pretty high on my Severne Enigma 150 wave boom right now. Super stiff, build/tolerances are great. If you like a small grip, it is definitely smaller than my other two. If you have never tried one, I suggest it.

[U2U2U2]

My fav booms are AL360, from Italy.

2nd , Chinook.

[swchandler]

My vote goes for the Maui Sails carbon 170 wave boom. I have never found a front end that works as easily or as well. Also, no boom has ever lasted as long for me under hard use. It also dependably covers a broad range of sails for me (5.0-7.0), most of my sailing opportunities. To be fair though, I have never used either a Streamlined or Chinook boom sailing. I have tried to use a Chinook boom trying to help another sailor separate a stuck mast, and I found the front end far less than stellar. In my view, it's definitely not the benchmark front end design that Maui Sails offers.

[manuel]

I personally love having a straight bar around harness lines. I'm unsure as to why some build a curve around this area.

For this I like my streamlined. The grip around the boom head is massive on the streamlined, feels odd. The metal head feels dangerous, I'd rather get hit by plastic! Cannot be adjusted in the water. System difficult to adjust between tightness levels.

The Severne has a skinnier grip which reduces forearm fatigue and is nice with gloves. A little too curvy but not as bad as maui sails which has a really old school bend. Great head.

The Aeron boom (Goya, Simmer, etc.) feels really nice, I like the bend better than the Severne.

There are two aspects of rigidity, the head and the boom itself. Having some slight play in the head can be welcome when landing jumps. In regards to boom stiffness, most of the harness lines load is outward for this we want the stiffest connection to drive all of the sail force onto the board. I like the streamlined and Severne.

After snapping a streamlined boom head, I replaced it with one from an old X9. Feels great and is super easy to adjust. Many heads are available online to swap.

That said, strong aluminum (heavy) can be quite stiff too and hardly affect performance. I have a Severne metal and honestly it feels quite good to me. I use a carbon tail piece with it!

[swchandler]

"The Severne has a skinnier grip which reduces forearm fatigue and is nice with gloves. A little too curvy but not as bad as maui sails which has a really old school bend."


About the curvy bend of Maui Sails booms, I have to say that I've used better bend curve designs in the past, but that stuff might now be considered old style today. Still though, there's proportional beauty to the Maui Sails design that I like, and the boom works well. I probably should try one of the newer bend curve designs, arguably first introduced by Streamlined. Like Kevin Kan suggested, it's the actual use that might tell the real story.

Maybe I should get a Streamlined boom, and put the Maui Sails front end on it.

[manuel]

Maybe the bend in the boom was to accommodate the sail shape under load? Imagine doing pull-ups on a bar with similar boom bend...

Maybe streamlined could sell their boom with both types of heads?

The neilpryde head worked really well on the streamlined boom, I just placed a piece of inner tube over the boom and matched the boom angle with my usual boom height before tightening.

The Maui sails head works well too, how about the Chinook?

[kevinkan]

Manuel, was your experience with the Streamlined boom head with the older style w/ the black straps or the newer style with white dyneema rope?

The newer head is much easier to adjust, and has a large sweet spot for correct tension. I can use my boom on may different masts without having to adjust the tension.

https://www.sunsetsailboards.com/collections/spare-parts/products/streamlined-dyneema-boom-head-rdm-red

[manuel]

Yep old, the bolts were impossible to remove, ceased in there. Luckily one snapped then a piece broke off which made disassembly easier, hahaha !

Still I wouldn't want that piece near my head, I put a boom bra over it but it's annoying. Do the adjustment arm still spring out when releasing?

My booms stay on the sail always so it's not a big deal.

[ctuna]

There are so many booms out there now.
I have had a lot of them .
Went for the Maui to the Streamlined I think it was last year .
Streamlined is lighter and stiffer and I think the grip material
is better. Also no shim needed for RDM's
The loop an go on the Maui tailpiece was faster to rig though
no threading required.