Windsurf MagazineGA MANIC 5M TEST REVIEW 2024

GA MANIC 5M TEST REVIEW 2024

The Verdict

Living up to its branding of easy handling and controllability, the Manic offers a more neutral feel than previous years, which works well in challenging and changing conditions. The Manic doesn’t pigeon hole you into one set of conditions, it simply adapts to suit you and whatever you throw at it.

The Lowdown

Produced and cut for universal wave sailing performance at any spot and any given conditions. The Manic keeps its Dacron luff from last year, but the outline has been slightly revised for 2024 to enhance its stability and reduce its well-known backhand pressure, which boosts its ease of handing, power and control. Available in two colour ways and littered with a whole host of details that are there to enhance the sails performance, tuning and durability such as; Carbon load stringers, which all point to the clew, directing the load to maintain stability and control. Two clew eyes give you the option for tuning either for more power or control.

When the Manic is rigged to the recommended settings it sits with plenty of batten overlap, ready to breathe and fill in on the water. Applying additional downhaul doesn’t disrupt the Manic’s profile hugely as the leech falls away with uniformed consistency, while light and durable 2-PLY sits at the top of the sail to reduce overall weight and swing through manoeuvres. Sticking with 4-battens throughout the range, from 3.0m up to 5.8m, the Manic’s character changes ever so slightly as you go through the sizes to match the conditions and what you need most from a sail at that time. In the bigger sizes they offer more power in light winds, while in the smaller sizes the focus shifts towards offering more control in radical conditions.

Brand Claim

“Cut for universal wave sailing performance at any spot for all conditions. Its inimitable combination of control, power and handling will fascinate you… both as much when blasting down-the-line in perfect side-off conditions or in onshore jumping sessions.”

Performance

Finding power easily, the Manic provides you with confidence straight off the beach, while when getting going it offers positive pull and grunt as the sail fills in in classic GA style. The centre of effort is located slightly higher, which urges you to drive the board on to the plane and once planing and up to speed, it offers exceptionally easy handling and feels as though it is perfectly balanced in your fingertips. The power of the Manic helps you keep the nose pinned down in rough waters, which increases your ability to keep things under control in challenging sea states, or when there is a bump on the face of the wave that you need to negotiate. Through gusts, the Manic remains stable – neither folding or creasing – and it channels the extra power into additional speed and forward momentum. Possessing on and off power, the Manic maintains its effortless handing on a wave as it slides through the hands with ease, allowing you to place the rig in those critical positions, which allows you to concentrate more on the board as you look to drive the rail hard or snap a turn off the top, before exiting with power as the sail refills and pulls you back down the face ready for more.