Which are the best camless free ride/free race sails I only have ezzy cheetahs and one severe gator and very happy with both models. Thinking of adding an in between size to my quiver. Stick with what I know and enjoy or is the grass greener on the other side. Opinions?

The need to pair sails with the same brand's masts to optimise performance is usually an issue with having a multi brand quiver but if $ are no hurdle you might like to try a NP Speedster. 7 batten, no cam sails that offer great performance and are a joy to use. But, you'll need to match it with, preferably, a 90-100% carbon NP mast to experience that maximum performance. In my experience, the Pryde will feel very different to your Ezzy or SV. I've had all three but now only have Prydes, but it's horses for courses.

Stick to what you like ... as long as the brands don't suddenly change the sails dramatically. That happened to me once with a different brand, where the 4th sail (6.5) with the same name behaved very differently than the other 3 (5.5, 6.0, 7.0) from different years I already had. I won't buy that brand again. But with Ezzy and Severne, you're probably safe.

If you switch, definitely check the mast compatibility. A lot of brands are "middle of the road" and work well enough with masts from other brands, but there are outliers. NP always was one of them.

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boardsurfr said..
Stick to what you like ... as long as the brands don't suddenly change the sails dramatically. That happened to me once with a different brand, where the 4th sail (6.5) with the same name behaved very differently than the other 3 (5.5, 6.0, 7.0) from different years I already had. I won't buy that brand again. But with Ezzy and Severne, you're probably safe.

If you switch, definitely check the mast compatibility. A lot of brands are "middle of the road" and work well enough with masts from other brands, but there are outliers. NP always was one of them.

This^^^
stick with what you know. The more sails i use, the more im a fan of having a quiver of the same sails.

Too many design changes, you can end up with two different size sails that are good in the same power zone. even year to year with the same sail.

Although it's preferable to stick with similar models, I find it more exciting to use different brands. It may take some more time understanding settings and such but the different feel to me is more entertaining.

So maybe go with what is available on the market at a good price and read reviews about that specific year and model to see if it matches your criteria.

It's a bit difficult to prefer one brand over another as manufacturers material selection may change each year.

It's preferable to match mast curves with sail design as well as mast size to fit in each sail so you don't have two sails needing the same mast.

I would suggest getting a Lion they also handle a bit more wind ..than the cheetah .

Get the Ezzys smaller sizes go lighter .. Lion has cams, no.

Well actually 2020 you can remove the cams and use it without or even with one cam .thats if your looking for something different ,and they say they are lighter this year .
so your getting a Lion and a cheetah for the same price

the lions are more stable in higher winds .

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Tardy said..
Well actually 2020 you can remove the cams and use it without or even with one cam .thats if your looking for something different ,and they say they are lighter this year .
so your getting a Lion and a cheetah for the same price

the lions are more stable in higher winds .

That sounds like the best option I didn't realise you could remove the cams and use it without them l think I'll stick with ezzy there durability and toughness is undeniable and I'm a big fan of the foolproof rigging gauges does the lion series have that setup as well? always wondered why the other brands have not introduced something similar it makes tuning your sails so quick and easy without second guessing

"Best" 2020 sail is 5% of the equation. 1998 sails are within 95% of 2020 sails.
Stop obsessing with new gear.

1998 masts are getting hard to find, strangely enough.

Maybe where you live.
Figure...1997 gear with Jason Polakoils 3 times better than you...5 times better than me...us with our current skills and 2020 gear.

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mob dog said..

Tardy said..
Well actually 2020 you can remove the cams and use it without or even with one cam .thats if your looking for something different ,and they say they are lighter this year .
so your getting a Lion and a cheetah for the same price

the lions are more stable in higher winds .

That sounds like the best option I didn't realise you could remove the cams and use it without them l think I'll stick with ezzy there durability and toughness is undeniable and I'm a big fan of the foolproof rigging gauges does the lion series have that setup as well? always wondered why the other brands have not introduced something similar it makes tuning your sails so quick and easy without second guessing

yes ,still has the easy visual tune ...i have cheetahs and lions ...i like both ..and their quality ..my fav is my 7,5 Lion .

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LeeD said.. Figure...1997 gear with Jason Polakoils 3 times better than you...5 times better than me...us with our current skills and 2020 gear.

I could beat Jason Polakoils on any gear any time anywhere.

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Mark _australia said..

LeeD said.. Figure...1997 gear with Jason Polakoils 3 times better than you...5 times better than me...us with our current skills and 2020 gear.

I could beat Jason Polakoils on any gear any time anywhere.

I reckon i could beat Jason Polakoils too (whoever he is).

funny thing with old masts. I had an old powerex mast i gave to a mate to use in one of his sails about 6-7 years ago it looked a bit suspect then. i warned him as such. I've since snapped 3 much newer masts without trying to. He's still using the old powerex today

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LeeD said..
"Best" 2020 sail is 5% of the equation. 1998 sails are within 95% of 2020 sails.
Stop obsessing with new gear.

What rubbish

Rubbish, maybe, but true.
Sure, the old mast might not work nearly as well as a new mast on your new sail.....but it works good enough for a better sailor to still sail better than YOU....and me...with tuning.
And a better sailor can still sail his 1999 mast and sail better than YOU for sure.
Heck, than me if course.
OTOH, maybe I sail 1999 sails better than YOU. Can you plane out of 70 % of your jibes on a typical 15-21 knot day? Can you stay dry that day after 50 jibes? And be the top 10% in speed also?
Not on a day sailing with PWA sailors, of course.

Why don't you post your best session on gps-speedsurfing.com and provide a link? The post will show your avg speeds, vmax and best alpha. We can't check whether you used 1999 sails, but at least we know how fast you are actually going.

on topic: the best 2020 sail is a Point 7 AC-Z. Freerace sail (cams) below the boom and no cams above the boom. Best of both worlds. Incredible stable and very easy to waterstart (if one doesn't stay dry after 50 gybes).

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LeeD said..
Rubbish, maybe, but true.
Sure, the old mast might not work nearly as well as a new mast on your new sail.....but it works good enough for a better sailor to still sail better than YOU....and me...with tuning.
And a better sailor can still sail his 1999 mast and sail better than YOU for sure.
Heck, than me if course.
OTOH, maybe I sail 1999 sails better than YOU. Can you plane out of 70 % of your jibes on a typical 15-21 knot day? Can you stay dry that day after 50 jibes? And be the top 10% in speed also?
Not on a day sailing with PWA sailors, of course.

Dude you are embarrassing yourself again.

Best sail 2020 is a brand new one with a crystal clear window panel, I have one of those just waiting for the right day to roll it out

Just picked up 1996 North Vertigo 5.0 and Zeta 4.5.

Gestalt...keep your head in the sand, your eyes closed, and your mind on your ways.
Yes, I have 2019 Duotone SSessions 4.8 in the van.

I notice LeeD has carefully picked 1998 as the benchmark. That of course was the year NP came out with the Supersonic with the shear tip. When it wore out I got the V8 - more grunt but no top end. Then later on the Hellcat??? I never found a RAF sail to better the supersonic.(despite the shear tip)

LeeD as usual - stars in his eyes about the old stuff. YES pro sailors are better than us. But it is a ridiculous assertion that they could beat all of us on old gear.

We did 44 knots in 1991 which stood until 2004, when Finian did 46.

It is now 53.

So lets say in 1998 the pros were doing around 44 but not quite getting the record..... a lot of people do low 40's now. The gear is faster.
If Finian was on his 1998 gear and it same condition he might do 46 - but so might a lot of other non pro's on new stuff.

Go watch the videos that FlyingDutchman has put up here Lee. In the 90's and 2000's the wave sailing was slower, less height everythign was way lower level. PRO SAILORS that is.
On new gear, heaps of amateurs sail better (not me lol) and I see it every day in summer. EVERY day I see the sort of State level guy sail waves on new gear better than a pro did in 1998.



That is not saying we all need new gear - no we don't. But you take it too far and are talking rot. Again....

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Mark _australia said..
LeeD as usual - stars in his eyes about the old stuff. YES pro sailors are better than us. But it is a ridiculous assertion that they could beat all of us on old gear.

We did 44 knots in 1991 which stood until 2004, when Finian did 46.

It is now 53.

So lets say in 1998 the pros were doing around 44 but not quite getting the record..... a lot of people do low 40's now. The gear is faster.
If Finian was on his 1998 gear and it same condition he might do 46 - but so might a lot of other non pro's on new stuff.

Go watch the videos that FlyingDutchman has put up here Lee. In the 90's and 2000's the wave sailing was slower, less height everythign was way lower level. PRO SAILORS that is.
On new gear, heaps of amateurs sail better (not me lol) and I see it every day in summer. EVERY day I see the sort of State level guy sail waves on new gear better than a pro did in 1998.



That is not saying we all need new gear - no we don't. But you take it too far and are talking rot. Again....

I honestly don't think it's the gear but we've found better spots to sail!

Best 2020 sail is the one you get heavily discounted by the retailer seeking to clear his old stock in 2021/22.

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LeeD said..
Rubbish, maybe, but true.
Sure, the old mast might not work nearly as well as a new mast on your new sail.....but it works good enough for a better sailor to still sail better than YOU....and me...with tuning.
And a better sailor can still sail his 1999 mast and sail better than YOU for sure.
Heck, than me if course.
OTOH, maybe I sail 1999 sails better than YOU. Can you plane out of 70 % of your jibes on a typical 15-21 knot day? Can you stay dry that day after 50 jibes? And be the top 10% in speed also?
Not on a day sailing with PWA sailors, of course.

Ha Ha, he's funny
BTW . Yes. Missed two gybes in 650 km
It's hard to tell if you're serious or your just click bait........

Fellas, its obvious that LeeD is a legend. He keeps telling us.
Very well balanced, a huge chip on both shoulders!!!

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RichardG said..
Best 2020 sail is the one you get heavily discounted by the retailer seeking to clear his old stock in 2021/22.

I gotta say, i love buying the superseded sails. "New" sail, but cheaper price.

I'm aiming to get 20 years out of my SuperFreaks.

Given the amount of time on water i'm getting, it's looking likely.