2022 5.0 WAVE SAIL TEST
Tris Best and his team rig, ride and review some of the latest wave sails on the market.
THE LONG ROAD (TO WEIGHT LOSS)
Editor: Tris Best // Second Testers: Joe North, Scott Stallman, Sam Anstey, Isaac Lines, Tarren Amor // Photos: Alex Best, Tris Best, Isaac Lines, James Faley, @Radicalxposure // Test locations: Gwithian, Overcombe and Kimmeridge.
FINDINGS
The race amongst the brands to achieve the lightest structure continues. The tightrope that all lofts face is striking the right balance between pushing innovation and reducing weight, without compromising structural integrity and durability. The easiest and most obvious method employed over the years to reduce weight was to reduce the batten count. Five battens was the ‘industry standard’, but four and then three batten wave sails arrived on the scene, to much speculation and debate. Interestingly, this trend to lower batten counts seems to be reversing very slightly and subtly, with many brands dispensing of the three batten wave sail from their ranks, whilst others are re-introducing the once phased out five batten wave sail back into their fold. Why the change? Well, our thoughts are that the materials and layups used in the sails today have moved on to such an extent that brands are now finding more enterprising ways in which to save weight. The extra batten can be welcomed back with open arms, for all the structural advantage and stability it brings, and the added weight it brings is countered with savings elsewhere. We only need to look at the hard facts to see that this is now possible! Indeed, the physically lightest sail in the test here is the Severne Blade, which is over 50 grams lighter than the next lightest … and of course it has a batten count of five.
Another weight saving method that certainly drew attention when first released was the use of membrane laminates. Whilst expensive, their very presence has kept progression going; their ‘learnings in the field’ spurning new, more cost-effective materials and layups, so that sails resist high loadings in some directions and breathe harmoniously in others. These ‘intelligent’ materials and structural patterns are more apparent than ever before, and whilst some brands continue to adopt an ‘annual range makeover’, there seem to be increasingly more looking to move to a two-year cycle. As such, this has to be indicative of the maturity we’re seeing in our sport and the high-quality products on the market.
SUMMARY
GA Sails’ IQ ME is the first full membrane sail we have had the chance to try and whilst physically light, it is also easily the largest sail in this lineup. A ‘float and ride’ behemoth in stature and performance potential, we have to be honest that it’s still hard to justify the cost. At the other end of the scale is the PureLip from Loftsails – a high skin tension sail that thrives on being loaded and sailed in powered conditions. If the conditions get hairy, the stability of this sail will not let you down. The other five-battened sails on review are the Horizon from Gunsails and the Severne Blade. Both super user-friendly, the Horizon is great value and provides a real all-round performance across a tuneable range. The Blade has a very different nature, being fast, efficient and with immaculately clean handling over a wide natural wind range. Onto the four battened options and the NeilPryde Combat delivers super crisp and precise power, making its ride both involving and inspiring. There are changes afoot, the 2022 Combat sporting different colourways and entirely new panel design, but this 2021 version on test is still readily available whilst we wait. The Super_Hero from Duotone continues to forge a pioneering pathway. The original ‘free centre’ sail, with extra space between batten three and the boom, it now has a smoother drive and with more natural range. RRD’s Vogue has also evolved significantly, with batten spacing changed and much more sail area in the head. There’s also extra movement in the sail’s panels, giving it more feel in the hands. It is also very compact in nature, the same of which can be said for the Salt Pro from Point-7. A real chameleon of a sail, it almost has two distinctly different sets, its centre of effort shifting from low to high with a change in set employed – time spent fine-tuning is a must. And finally, there’s the Banzai Pro from Goya, with its bright new colours, it has the same stunning performance potential, but now delivered in a softer handling style, bestowing it with a much broader user appeal.
THE LINEUP