Windsurfing Equipment Tests - American Windsurfer

Sails: North Sails @ Aruba

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

North Sails Pyro

The Pyro is a popular sail with both pro and guest testers. It has a small luff and light construction, so waterstarting and uphauling is easy, even in the 7.5 size. North’s soft webbing camber inducers - each Pyro has two - make for ease of jibing almost like that of a camless sail. The draft is a little farther back than on, say, the Neil Pryde SuperSonic, so the Pyro has a draft-back feel if it’s not outhauled enough. This is actually good for pumpability, quickness to plane and upwind speed. Crank the downhaul and outhaul a little when the wind picks up and top-end speed are more than satisfying. Margaret Hepper called the Pyro 7.5 “Light and loose - very easy to handle for its size.”

Size tested
Mast
Boom
Weight
Durability
Downhaul Ease
Rig Ease
Speed
Power
Stability
Waterstart
Rotation
Luffability
Price 6.0|
460–23/25
6’1”
7.9
C
7
6.0
7.0
7.5
8.5
9.0
8.5
8.0
$489 7.5
490–26/28
7’1”
9.8
C
7
6.0
7.0
7.5
8.5
9.0
8.5
8.0
$569

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

North Sails Sting

It’s obvious that North designers have worked hard on the Sting since last year, because this year’s version is noticeably more stable. This six-batten camless sail is much like the Pyro in appearance and feel. It’s not quite as powerful out of a lull - owing probably to the lack of a cam and the consequently flat profile when underpowered - but it has wave-sail-like handling combined with draft stability that’s equal to that of the Pyro. And if you leave a little slack in the outhaul it has a powerful, draft-back feel when the wind kicks in. Compared to other camless 6.0 sails it’s most like the Neil Pryde SuperNova in feel, but a little more draft-back and more expensively built.

Size tested 6.0
Mast 460–23/25
Boom 6’0”
Weight 8.1
Durability C
Downhaul Ease 7
Rig Ease 9.0
Speed 7.0
Power 7.0
Stability 7.5
Waterstart 9.5
Rotation 10.0
Luffability 9.5
Price $459

Novice Control Speed Race Explore Balance

North Sails Zoom

North Sails bills the Zoom, a sail that fills the slot formerly taken by the Spectro, as a race sail for everyone except professional racers. With three cams and seven battens, the Zoom has one cam and one batten fewer than the high-end race sail, the IQ, and with a bit more broad seam shape in the panels, it sets with more draft. This extra draft is what really sets the Zoom apart from the IQ and what it does is give the Zoom quite a bit more low-end power and pumpability. The downside is a touch less stability and top-end speed. The sail is highly adjustable and, with the aid of an on-the-fly outhaul, offers huge range. The North cams tend to under-rotate a bit when the sail is on a tack, making for a fine entry. This hurts broad-reaching performance in underpowered conditions, but it, and the transparent rotation from tack to tack, makes the Zoom relatively easy to handle compared to some of the other speed-oriented sails.

Size tested 6.5
Mast 460–24/26
Boom 6’4”
Weight 9.6
Durability C
Downhaul Ease 7
Rig Ease 6.0
Speed 7.5
Power 8.0
Stability 9.0
Waterstart 8.5
Rotation 7.5
Luffability 7.0
Price $589

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