About Me
- Mike Burns
- Nags Head, NC, United States
- Windsurfing has ruled more than 1/2 my life. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about how it feels to fly across the water, fly through the air, or spin around in circles on my windsurf gear. So to help spread the stoke (and further give in to my addiction) I started this blog. I hope you find it entertaining and a place to go for some useful information.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Fanatic!
After the demise of Mistral in the US I went searching for the next perfect board. It was hard to find to say the least. Along the way I've sailed boards that were lots of fun and others that only a mother could love. (you know who you are) For 2010 I couldn't find a brand that had it all, so I ended up with both JP and F2. I recently was able to try a few of the 2010 Fanatics. Not just the skate but also a sampling of the wave range. The skate was very nice with good pop, nice sliding and decent carving abilities. The wind cranked up a notch and I was able to give the 85 ltr New Wave Twin a shot. That thing has more traction than anything I'v ever sailed, and I could actually picture myself starting to wave sail again with one of these. So with a great all around range I've decided to go with Fanatic for 2011. Not to mention they look sexier than any board I can remember in recent history. I'll be sure and post up my findings of the new boards when they come in. For now I have on order a 2011 skate 90 and 100.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
2011 North Sails Ice review
I know, I know. Everyone says the new sails just keep getting better and better. Well, everyone is right. The 2011s are very similar in feel to the 2010s. I've had the 2011s for about a month of testing now. I finally managed to get out on the 4.2 and 3.7 recently and I've been out on the 4.7 and 5.3 a ton.
As always, North is a very high quality sail with the 5 year warranty to back it up. There is an attention to detail in the norths not found in most other manufacturers. It's still the easiest sail to rig on the market. Just set the downhaul to the sail markings and outhaul to the numbers on the luff sleeve by the boom cutout that are dead on. The Ice HD is back again this year in a full X-ply construction. I opted again for the monofilm versions for ultimate handling and easy viewing of the next wave I'm about to slash, or boat about to run me over.
The handling of the 2011 sails is a bit lighter feeling in the hands than last year, and that's saying a lot, because one of the online mags stated after testing a boatload of sails that the 2010 Ice was the lightest handling sail in the group. Now the 2011 is even lighter feeling! The low end of the Ice increased for 2010 and but couldn't tell a difference this year. Still lots of smooth power and I'm still always the first one planing. What I did notice however was the ability of the 2011s to stay even more locked in when overpowered. The center of effort just stays right where the harness line markings on the sail are. Another noticeable improvement for those that are up for some freestyle trickery is that the 2011 is much more controlled in all the duck moves. It goes neutral really easy and just lays into the perfect position for a duck tack, funnel, kono or culo. The improvement of handling was most notable in the 5.3 size. It's very close in feel to the 4.7 now.
All in all, the 2011 ice is as good as or better at everything than the 2010. Little improvements here and there are really adding up. Although you might not notice too much of a difference going from a 2010 to a 2011 if you haven't been sailing the 2010 all year, I recently sailed a 2008 5.3 Ice and the difference compared to a 2011 very noticeable.
For more info on the Northsails Ice go to the NORTHSAILS WEBSITE
Here are a few pics of the 3.7 in action in winds gusting over 40!
And one of the 4.7 in action at Heckscher along side it's older brother (2009).
As always, North is a very high quality sail with the 5 year warranty to back it up. There is an attention to detail in the norths not found in most other manufacturers. It's still the easiest sail to rig on the market. Just set the downhaul to the sail markings and outhaul to the numbers on the luff sleeve by the boom cutout that are dead on. The Ice HD is back again this year in a full X-ply construction. I opted again for the monofilm versions for ultimate handling and easy viewing of the next wave I'm about to slash, or boat about to run me over.
The handling of the 2011 sails is a bit lighter feeling in the hands than last year, and that's saying a lot, because one of the online mags stated after testing a boatload of sails that the 2010 Ice was the lightest handling sail in the group. Now the 2011 is even lighter feeling! The low end of the Ice increased for 2010 and but couldn't tell a difference this year. Still lots of smooth power and I'm still always the first one planing. What I did notice however was the ability of the 2011s to stay even more locked in when overpowered. The center of effort just stays right where the harness line markings on the sail are. Another noticeable improvement for those that are up for some freestyle trickery is that the 2011 is much more controlled in all the duck moves. It goes neutral really easy and just lays into the perfect position for a duck tack, funnel, kono or culo. The improvement of handling was most notable in the 5.3 size. It's very close in feel to the 4.7 now.
All in all, the 2011 ice is as good as or better at everything than the 2010. Little improvements here and there are really adding up. Although you might not notice too much of a difference going from a 2010 to a 2011 if you haven't been sailing the 2010 all year, I recently sailed a 2008 5.3 Ice and the difference compared to a 2011 very noticeable.
For more info on the Northsails Ice go to the NORTHSAILS WEBSITE
Here are a few pics of the 3.7 in action in winds gusting over 40!
And one of the 4.7 in action at Heckscher along side it's older brother (2009).
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