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Simmer Apex Featured

SIMMER APEX 5.7M 2015 TEST REVIEW

Stats Size (m2) 5.7 Luff (cm) 435 Boom (cm) 178 Battens 5 Ideal Mast 430 RDM / 21 Simmer 8 Extension Req (cm) 5 Price £550 (with mast £989)

SIMMER APEX 5.7M 2015 TEST REVIEW

OVERVIEW
Rigged on an RDM mast, the Apex has a large luff tube, enabling the sail to adopt a deep draft and lots of shape in the bottom two battens. The range of set is impressive for relatively little tuning – with just 3cm of extra downhaul from minimum set, the leech falls away completely, right down to the clew, whilst the shape remains fixed low in the sail. Build quality is excellent as we have come to expect from Simmer Sails and is sure to provide years of service.

BRAND CLAIM
“The Apex is our crossover power house wave sail. It is designed for high top-end speed, power and control. This is a sail that makes the most out of average type conditions. The effective sail profile allows you to use a smaller sail size than you normally would and still stay manoeuvrable. The Apex low aspect ratio and five batten outline makes this our most stable wave sail, with a massive wind range and great control for high wind jumping.”

PERFORMANCE
On the water, the Apex provides a good deal of constant positive power through the backhand. With a deep powerful profile, the centre of effort is locked down and back, which, coupled with a relatively high clew eyelet gives a good amount of useable feedback to pull against. This makes the sail very pumpable and with good technique can get a board planing earlier than most here. Once going, the Apex has quite a locked-in feel; it is soft and flexible enough to cope with severe sea states and moves around the rider, rather than pulling them out of shape, and so can be used to reach an impressive top speed. In manoeuvres or transitions the Apex is balanced and easy to reposition, but the power is always noticeable. It remains present and wants to get involved, rather than disappearing like a sharp precise on-off wave-sail. The looseness in its upper panels give it a smooth, measured, response speed rather than sharp or instantaneous. This sail loves to breathe and as soon as the wind increases, any nerves can be settled by applying extra tension. It then becomes a real high-wind blaster, asking to be pinned down and partnered with an efficient board to charge around a break. The pull is grunty but the power delivery is soft, super stable and dependable,enabling it to be used to great effect and absorbing gusts well.

THE VERDICT
The Apex is a real rhinoceros of a sail, with massive wind range and a strong, grunty, dependable nature, ideally suited for riders who crave constant useable power and love to charge around a break at speed.

www.simmerstyle.com


Other sails in this test:

EZZY ELITE 5.7M

GA SAILS CROSS 5.6M

GOYA ECLIPSE 5.7M

NAISH BOXER 5.7M

NORTH VOLT 5.9M

RRD MOVE 5.7M

SEVERNE GATOR 5.7M

TUSHINGHAM BOLT 5.75M

 


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