These sails are included in the test:
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Few disciplines are as specialised as freestyle. Because the demands on the material for sliding and ducking manoeuvres have always been very special, for a number of years the material also developed in a direction that only made sense for freestyle specialists: to exaggerate a little, you could say that a few years ago there were freestyle boards that could only slide, but could hardly go straight. And for a while, freestyle sails were light and glided well, but creased like an Aldi bag in the wind at the first gust - no sign of control.
Paradoxically, the trend towards power and double power moves in recent years seems to have made the material a little more compatible with the masses. After all, in order to catapult yourself out of the water with a Kono, Burner or Air Culo, the boards need to be fast and the sails need to be stable in the hand and easy to duck when fully powered up.
After a break of a few years, we have ridden six freestyle sails in some really windy conditions and can confirm this: As expected, modern freestyle sails are 100 per cent suitable for freestyle, but they are also much more suitable for the masses than was the case a few years ago. None of the sails tested appear fluttery or undersized, and a glance at the scales emphasises this impression. Some models can even be ridden over a large wind range - in view of their good light power, reasonable control and feather-light handling, some freestyle sails are also suitable for freeride beginners or for use in bump & jump conditions. Find out which models offer you 100 per cent plus X in the following test.
Flat profile, stretched outline
If you compare pure freestyle sails with wave sails, for example, which are alternatively used by some surfers for tricks, you will notice that freestyle sails have a more stretched design overall. All six sails in the group are rigged in the 4.8 size on a 400 mast - with wave sails, the luff length would be 20 to 30 centimetres shorter. On the other hand, the trick cloths have shorter boom dimensions, which makes the sails more agile around the longitudinal axis and during rotations.
The profiles of freestyle sails are also very special: on land, the sails are usually very flat. It is only when the sails are close-hauled and under wind pressure that they develop a distinctive profile, which in many cases ensures that freestyle sails are ultimately really good gliders. However, the prerequisite is that you have the appropriate riding ability and can "feel" the necessary angle of attack of the sails to the wind. This means that if you are just learning to planing and are naturally more passive on deck, you will start planing earlier with a freemove or powerwave sail. However, with an active sailing style and a good feel for the sails, you can tease out a lot of planing performance from freestyle sails.
Trimming tips for freestyle sails
Freestyle sails are designed to work without a lot of loose leech in the top. Background: When ducking, a loose leech only disturbs and causes unrest in the sail, which is why the leech of the test models is comparatively tight. Duotone, RRD, GunSails and NeilPryde offer good orientation for adjusting the luff trim with printed markings. In a direct comparison on the water, you also realise that the design concepts are sometimes very different: The models from Severne, GunSails and above all Pryde definitely want to be brought into shape with noticeable tension on the trim sheet when the wind picks up. Duotone and RRD in particular tune the profiles tighter overall, which means that you should tension the boom of the RRD Style Pro very carefully, for example, so as not to kill the light wind performance. With the GA Sails Pure, the sail batten is pushed well past the mast above the boom. This is not quite ideal when turning the profile, but it is part of the concept. If you tension until the batten moves freely around the mast, you have mercilessly overtrimmed the sail.
The days when freestyle sails had no control in strong winds are over. (Julian Wiemar)
The details of the freestyle sails tested
The notes at a glance
During testing, each tester keeps their board, only the sails are swapped. In this way, strengths and weaknesses become clear, which we always show in a rating scale.
The surf type recommendation for freestyle sails
Freestyle sails are not as specialised as the moves that are made with them. This means that even freestyle beginners won't go wrong with a sail like this.
- If you use your sail primarily for light winds and want to sail small sail sizes early on, the main criterion should be"Glide"keep an eye on. Here we test which sail starts to slip early even with a passive riding style (without pumping). There are two interesting criteria for practising duck moves such as Kono or Burner:
- Neutrality when ducking:If the profile flattens completely at the push of a button when ducking and the sail floats in the air without a life of its own, this significantly increases the success rate. If a sail crashes more often due to its more pre-shaped profile, this results in deductions.
- Pop for power moves:For burner, kono and other power moves, the sail should charge noticeably after ducking - this is the only way to reach the required height. On the other hand, if a sail feels a little stiff and "empty", this is reflected negatively in our rating.
- Handling:In terms of manoeuvrability, all test models play in the top league due to their flat profile and short boom dimensions. Differences are noticeable, but should not be a reason to spurn a sail.Control:We rig the test models in a medium trim, which should offer good planing power but also control. If the pressure point of a sail moves noticeably backwards in gusts, the light sail feeling is sometimes quickly lost - which is reflected in the rating.
All freestyle sails in the individual rating
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