Severne S1 4.5m
BACKGROUND
The S1 is Severne’s flagship wave sail line that has always been focused on no-compromise top performance, build quality and the lightest possible rig weights. For 2013 it’s been completely redesigned, losing a batten – even in the larger sizes – while losing some weight and aiming for a slightly softer feel.
AT A GLANCE
It has a compact 4-batten outline with a high-cut foot and short luff length. The focus on weight reduction uses pricy but extremely lightweight e5 Technora in the top of the sail and a combination of X-ply and eM3 materials in the lower half for durability plus a Dacron luff panel intended to give smoother power delivery. It even has a titanium clew ring to save yet more weight and now features SpiderFibre that’s designed to spread the loads around the profile. It’s fair to say it’s well-built! The S1 is only available in this bright red colour option.
RIGGING
It rigs on a 370 mast and we tested it with a Severne Redline RDM. It’s quite rigging-sensitive so set the downhaul to the suggested setting and then tweak with the outhaul to get the best results. You don’t want to over-downhaul as you’ll lose all power but there is a decent range to play with.
PERFORMANCE
It is super-light in the hands, which combined with its compact shape and low swing weight, make it feel even lighter. It has a very eager and strong forward drive, which pulls you forward and the low-end gets you going well enough although it doesn’t feel overly grunty. It has a highly efficient foil shape that works well in a wide wind range, with razor sharp power delivery that is very on/off. This can be put to great effect on the wave, where you can completely forget about the sail and just focus on the ride.
THE VERDICT
The S1 is a seriously high-quality piece of kit for advanced riders and it feels awesome to use. In terms of weight, there really isn’t much out there that can touch it. Its handling has been softened-up slightly but it is still a hardcore sail and maybe not ideally suited to everyone. We loved it though.
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