Windsurfing Equipment Tests - American Windsurfer

Sails: Naish @ Aruba

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

Naish Alana

The new Alana, Naish’s best twin-cam ever, struck us as almost a cambered version of the Noa. It has fairly soft, transparent cam rotation, so the cams don’t really get in the way that much, and it’s quite stable and fast. It’s not quite as top-end-oriented as the Noa III, however, and it has plenty of low-end power. The luff sleeve is fairly narrow and weight is moderate so it’s about as easy to waterstart and uphaul as a big cambered sail can be. Despite being reasonably easy to handle, the Alana was preferred by the bigger, more advanced testers.

Size tested 8.0
Mast 520–30
Boom 7’2”
Weight 10.4
Durability B
Downhaul Ease 8
Rig Ease 7.0
Speed 7.0
Power 7.5
Stability 8.0
Waterstart 8.5
Rotation 7.5
Luffability 7.5
Price $539

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

Naish Noa III

This latest iteration of the Naish Noa continues the no-cam slalom revolution it began a couple of years ago. Very much a speed-oriented sail, the Noa sports a greater number of stiff battens (4) than any other sail in the test, save the Gaastra Freeslalom, and consequently maintains a fast shape for great top-end speed through the biggest of gusts. Rigged flat, this sail can handle amazing amounts of wind. Rigged full, it has respectable power and acceleration out of a jibe. Some of our lightweight testers like Travis Lester judged the Noa III a bit heavy, but its measured weight is actually only slightly above average. Still, the Noa III is best suited to medium- to heavyweight riders with a real passion for going fast on a reach.

Size tested 6.0
Mast 460–25
Boom 6’0”
Weight 8.4
Durability C
Downhaul Ease 9
Rig Ease 6.0
Speed 7.0
Power 6.5
Stability 8.5
Waterstart 9.5
Rotation 9.5
Luffability 9.0
Price $493

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

Naish Stealth

The Stealth is a real departure for Naish. Whereas Naish speed-oriented sails in the past have been very powerful, soft in the cam rotation, somewhat unstable and draft back, the Stealth is nearly the opposite. It has strong cam rotation, a full leading edge and tremendous draft stability. Even when downhauled to the maximum setting indicated by the visual trim markings, the sail has a fairly tight leech. Pumpability is therefore one of this sail’s strengths. Most guest testers found the Stealth to be a handful to manage, largely because of its weight, wide luff sleeve and positive cam rotation – all the usual race-sail liabilities – but pro testers enjoyed it. They felt that it really excelled for heavyweights, given the mast provided for the test.

Size tested 6.5
Mast 460–25
Boom 6’6”
Weight 9.4
Durability C
Downhaul Ease 8
Rig Ease 8.0
Speed 7.5
Power 8.0
Stability 9.5
Waterstart 8.0
Rotation 7.5
Luffability 6.5
Price $570

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