So I began the exciting journey of searching for boom reviews on the web.

If anyone else ventures this pursuit, good luck! There aren't any... in fact, most google hits come back to SB....

No windsurfing magazine sites with comprehensive reviews on stiffness, weight etc..... nothing.............

Has anyone tried this search before with some good data results?

I guess booms aren't all that important

it can be difficult to get reviews that are more than just ad copy these days. Try your local shop - go in and run your eyes over some physical models - the quality of hardwear , fittings and current curves (vs old curves) will give you an idea of the quality of the product - keep the weight in mind too.


its a side effect of the relatively small scale of our very awesome sport - whereas a camera or tablet will sell in the millions. Lots of dodgy reviews here though - so it can be hard to find the truth. this is where web sites like

thewirecutter.com/

are awesome as they differentiate themselves by being unbiased and selective

I would love to see a windports site that is brave enough to do the same!


As a side note to being a small industry-
we dont have anything like the congestion and angst that surfing has - so maybe small is beautiful!

A number of windsurfers talking about the teardrop profile on the boom arms being very comfortable and very strong Kurt. I know a couple in Inverloch Windsurfing Club are using them.

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Old Salty said...
A number of windsurfers talking about the teardrop profile on the boom arms being very comfortable and very strong Kurt. I know a couple in Inverloch Windsurfing Club are using them.

Thanks Doug. Is tear drop monocoque?

Thanks for the ideas Reflex!

what sort of boom Slalom or Wave?

my 2c

dont waste your time with ali booms unless you like swimming or buy a new one every 1.5 - 2 seasons

Slalom: North Platinum
good: strength, stiffness, reliability, strength/stiffness at full extension
bad: grip (falls off and schred you hands), price tag, sharp pulley plate- needs rounding off (easy job), extn gets stuck if sand gets in.

Wave: NP X9
good: lightish, strong, nice tail piece, grip
bad: price

you get what you pay for more often than not with booms

i haven't tried the Severne Enigma but its supposed to be pretty good. i am not sure how i would go with the 26mm diameter, the 28mm on the X9 seems small compared to my race booms.

I completely concur with the North Platinum mini-review above. I've the wave version. Honestly a very, very well put together piece of kit, the head is great (and adjustable), super stiff and yes, you can definitely tell the difference over alloy ones. I've upgraded from Alloy to Hybrid to full carbon. Full carbon if you can afford it. Got mine for $1k (last season's, oh no).

But, the ****ing grip falls off. Like the very first minute I sailed it I noticed it was starting to peel. I'm taking it back to the shop (eventually) and I'm not sure what'll happen as far as a replacement. Replace with another North that will have the grip fall off too?

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evlPanda said...
I completely concur with the North Platinum mini-review above. I've the wave version. Honestly a very, very well put together piece of kit, the head is great (and adjustable), super stiff and yes, you can definitely tell the difference over alloy ones. I've upgraded from Alloy to Hybrid to full carbon. Full carbon if you can afford it. Got mine for $1k (last season's, oh no).

But, the ****ing grip falls off. Like the very first minute I sailed it I noticed it was starting to peel. I'm taking it back to the shop (eventually) and I'm not sure what'll happen as far as a replacement. Replace with another North that will have the grip fall off too?

my maui sails boom has the same problem. even tried gluing all the grip again but still falls of. i now but have brown medical tape that is so grippy.

you can find a couple of reviews if you can read french, just search for "wishbone"

boom wise it doesn't get much better than this stuff : www.al360.it/windsurf/
just need the $$$$$$

Saw some nice formula booms in hawks nest. I think they were MB fins brand. Looked pretty sexy, ( or maybe that was just Remi). Don't know if they do smaller sizes.

I disagree that ali is bad, I honestly don't know what you blokes do to them

As a 100kg guy sailing in 35kn 3 x a week and crashing bad I got 3 seasons from a Tecnolimitz Ergal boom. $500 boom.
ONLY changed it cos I felt like trying carbon.

Before that I had 3 seasons on a Chinook ally ($300 boom) and that was learning to wavesail at a hollow dumpy spot. I busted 3 masts and countess sails and that boom is still fine. Again, only changed it cos I had money burning a hole in my pocket.

I've got a Surf Sail Australia carbon boom which is a rebadged Autima I believe.

A bit heavy perhaps but absolutely bullet proof.

I have broken numerous ribs on it.

Its 10 years old, still going strong. You can still buy these from Surf Sail for just under $450.

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Marvin said...
I've got a Surf Sail Australia carbon boom which is a rebadged Autima I believe.

A bit heavy perhaps but absolutely bullet proof.

I have broken numerous ribs on it.

Its 10 years old, still going strong. You can still buy these from Surf Sail for just under $450.

10 years!!! Nice. What kind of sailing do you do?

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Marvin said...
I've got a Surf Sail Australia carbon boom which is a rebadged Autima I believe.

A bit heavy perhaps but absolutely bullet proof.

I have broken numerous ribs on it.

Its 10 years old, still going strong. You can still buy these from Surf Sail for just under $450.

I got one of these probably about the same vintage. Use it on my 8m salom sail with about 90kg hanging off. I put a maui sails head on it.
The only issue is the clips corrode and break so need to be replaced every other season.

Super stiff?

The NY times for the first time ever had received more income from subscriptions (ie paying readers) than it does from advertisers.

Traditionally the price you paid for a newspaper was just a token amount of revenue compared to the percentage of revenue generated by paying advertisers.


Partly driven by ipad / tablet electronic subscription - and partly driven by consumers awareness of environmental concerns (1 kg of paper pulp in a Sunday times that is read and then thrown in the bin anyone?)

Joining the dots on this one we may see more impartial quality reporting and journalism in the future -


ie - you may get your boom review after all! And journalists / media producers may actually get paid to produce quality content.

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evlPanda said...
I completely concur with the North Platinum mini-review above. I've the wave version. Honestly a very, very well put together piece of kit, the head is great (and adjustable), super stiff and yes, you can definitely tell the difference over alloy ones. I've upgraded from Alloy to Hybrid to full carbon. Full carbon if you can afford it. Got mine for $1k (last season's, oh no).

But, the ****ing grip falls off. Like the very first minute I sailed it I noticed it was starting to peel. I'm taking it back to the shop (eventually) and I'm not sure what'll happen as far as a replacement. Replace with another North that will have the grip fall off too?

A mighty fine boom aside from the grip (but then you can get a second hand one cheaply because they look so beaten up!) . So light and I love the shape. I regripped mine about a year ago, it looks great and the grip has held well.

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Reflex Films said...
impartial quality reporting and journalism in the future -

If only........if only........

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Mark _australia said...
I disagree that ali is bad, I honestly don't know what you blokes do to them

As a 100kg guy sailing in 35kn 3 x a week and crashing bad I got 3 seasons from a Tecnolimitz Ergal boom. $500 boom.
ONLY changed it cos I felt like trying carbon.

Before that I had 3 seasons on a Chinook ally ($300 boom) and that was learning to wavesail at a hollow dumpy spot. I busted 3 masts and countess sails and that boom is still fine. Again, only changed it cos I had money burning a hole in my pocket.

Mark, I'm almost your weight, and I went through a few alu booms before I switched to carbon. I broke all of them at Safety Bay, just doing back and forward runs. I also broke a few sets of harness lines, so I think you could argue I am putting a lot of load through the boom/lines.

Maybe wave-sailing doesn't generate as much pressure on the booms?

Also, my aluminium booms had to cope with a range from 5.5m up to 8.5m, so maybe the change in length often, made the aluminium fatigue? My own pet theory is that if I used the same boom on almost the same boom length, it would last a lot longer.

It could be that booms aren't that differentiated?

If reviews started encouraging 'innovation ' then that would bea bad thing if it wasn't required...

That said, Neil Pryde produced the singularly best length adjustment system in the nineties. Easy trim could be twisted on the water to tighten or loosen outhaul without any messing around with ropes....

Likewise the eyelet is faster to rig up with on downhaul because you hook a pulley in... Rather than threading one...

Old school strap batten tensioners were maybe lighter and cheaper...

Mistral fin bolts don't need a screw driver..

Maybe reviews should slap down changes for the worst..

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K Dog said...

Marvin said...
I've got a Surf Sail Australia carbon boom which is a rebadged Autima I believe.

A bit heavy perhaps but absolutely bullet proof.

I have broken numerous ribs on it.

Its 10 years old, still going strong. You can still buy these from Surf Sail for just under $450.

10 years!!! Nice. What kind of sailing do you do?

Sailing = sloshing around in the Cottesloe washing machine and wavesailing when I can get away points north or south.

Exhibit 1: My last true wave sailing adventure was getting pummelled by a 3m close out up at Pt Moore. Survived that.

I weigh 90 kg and I run sails up to 5.7m. Interestingly, the clips are a bit rusty but still work fine.

Exhibit 2: Late last year a 40 knot gust picked up my rig, flew it 10m through the air, then slammed it down on a bitumen road - landed on the boom right on the bend near the mast attachment. As a result, the grip is looking very secondhand there (gravel rash) but the boom is still going strong. I am in two minds as to whether to regrip that section or just buy a new boom. Be interesting to chat to Mark whether the current Surf Sail booms are the same as these older ones.

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K Dog said...
Super stiff?

14 mm of lift at full 195cm extension with around 20 kgs force on the mid-point. Not sure whether that is stiff or not?

Ginger Pom said…” That said, Neil Pryde produced the singularly best length adjustment system in the nineties. Easy trim could be twisted on the water to tighten or loosen outhaul without any messing around with ropes....”

Er-r-r-r, that was a Fiberspar boom, badge-engineered for NP (and it can't be used with an AO system).

Oh cr*p!!! I'm showing the number of years I've been windsurfing.

What's an ao system?

It was so so so so good

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ginger pom said...
What's an ao system?

It was so so so so good

Adjustable outhaul