Background
The S-Type is North’s freerace sail, it has featured in their range for a number of years and for 2012 it has had a few slight tweaks to improve the bottom end performance and handling.

At a glance
It has a compact out-line, with six battens and three cams. The bottom cam is removable so it can be tuned and ridden with either two or three. The build quality is of the highest standard and it also has all of the usual North features such as the new iBumper tack pad and the TwinTrim clew.

Rigging
Quick and easy to rig, it has zips on the luff at each of the cams and it also has the VTS (visual trip system) on the sail to help you get it tuned just right. It rigs on a 460 mast and we tested the sail on a North Platinum SDM. We found it felt best when down-hauled to the maximum on the VTS and then tweaked with the out-haul and as for the adjustable cam, we preferred to keep it fitted for extra power.

Performance
It is perfectly balanced in the hands with an eager forward pull. The adjustments that have been made for 2012 are very noticeable and the bottom end grunt has been greatly improved, making it quick to power up and get going. Once going it just keeps on pulling but is always very controlled. Its wind range is vast and at the top end, it can be pushed a long way before it gets overpowered. It is fast and also handles beautifully through all manoeuvres.

The verdict
The S-Type is a great freeracer that has a wide wind range, superb all-round performance and is highly tuneable. It is the perfect choice for powering either fast freeride or slalom boards and a very good user-friendly alternative to a race sail.

www.north-windsurf.com