Not a review but did get to have a good look at the 9.4 before Peter went out testing this morning at Pt Walter.
First the weight. Felt incredibly light for a 9+m sail. Admittedly Peter said it was also on a lightweight mast but still very light.

When you look at the fibres you can see the 3D shape that they give to the sail.

The fibres and laminate run over either side of the battens so the pocket is within the sail.
Very deep shape low down with the sail almost touching a deep course maui sails boom in front of the front harness fixing!
Unfortunately the wind dropped out so only got to see it planing on a couple of runs.
Certainly an interesting design and would like to try one in a smaller size.

Price range, does it compare with your Lofts in this area, or is it specific and not same?

Prices not including shipping or duty here http://www.avantisails.com/sails/specifications
6.1 $USD 1020

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lao shi said...

Prices not including shipping or duty here http://www.avantisails.com/sails/specifications
6.1 $USD 1020

Thanks Lao Shi. With the aussie dollar still relatively strong (i.e. $1020USD = $950AUD)that's not too bad for what seems like a very well designed and made sail. If the sail felt light even with a Mauisails boom attached then they must be very light indeed.

Anyone looking at getting some?

damn that is a nice looking bit of kit

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sausage said...


Anyone looking at getting some?

Naaaaaaa, it's a full on race sail (PITA), not red, does it use a RDM and if they have to be imported why would you

It reminds me (material not shape) of the North Sails race sail (was it an IQ?) from the early to mid 90's that was moulded on a pre-shaped sail table. No idea what it was called and can't find any info on the web.

Anyone know what I am talking about?!

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sausage said...

lao shi said...

Prices not including shipping or duty here http://www.avantisails.com/sails/specifications
6.1 $USD 1020

Thanks Lao Shi. With the aussie dollar still relatively strong (i.e. $1020USD = $950AUD)that's not too bad for what seems like a very well designed and made sail. If the sail felt light even with a Mauisails boom attached then they must be very light indeed.

Anyone looking at getting some?

Add at least $300+ for freight then another $300+ for customs/duty sort of kills it

Hi Benkirk,

The North sail you were talking about was called the 3DL, one piece molded, made in the North sails loft in US.
We had a demo one in N.Z. and got to use it a few times, if i remember the production costs were to high to make it worth while.
Cool looking sail at the time, even look cool now, wonder if there is any still laying around??

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choco said...

sausage said...

lao shi said...

Prices not including shipping or duty here http://www.avantisails.com/sails/specifications
6.1 $USD 1020

Thanks Lao Shi. With the aussie dollar still relatively strong (i.e. $1020USD = $950AUD)that's not too bad for what seems like a very well designed and made sail. If the sail felt light even with a Mauisails boom attached then they must be very light indeed.

Anyone looking at getting some?

Add at least $300+ for freight then another $300+ for customs/duty sort of kills it

Choco, Thanks for spoiling the fun I suspect your numbers will be pretty close too. Maybe it could end up more economical if a collective made a multiple order and had the power to negotiate the price with Avanti. Anyway I'm sticking with my Loft Blades.

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jsr said...

Hi Benkirk,

The North sail you were talking about was called the 3DL, one piece molded, made in the North sails loft in US.
We had a demo one in N.Z. and got to use it a few times, if i remember the production costs were to high to make it worth while.
Cool looking sail at the time, even look cool now, wonder if there is any still laying around??

Thats the one!

but think of the money you could save on reapirs, presumably that reinforcement stops little tears becoming big expensive ones?

Do you think we need to buy the Avanti mast to work with this sail?
Thanks,
Dani

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DaniS said...

Do you think we need to buy the Avanti mast to work with this sail?
Thanks,
Dani

Like most sail manufacturers they will always advise to use thier masts
for best performance.

I contacted Avanti asking for the specs (curve's) on thier masts but they are reluctant to publish thier R and D numbers in line with other top racing brands. Fair enough!
If Dan Kessler was ex Gaastra then maybe he will stick to to what he used last time around if so didnt they uses C/Curve hard top ??
Shame though the technology,pricing and country of origin look good and I am sure they would do well if people knew what the specs were and had another alternative mast choice to buy.

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choco said...

sausage said...

lao shi said...

Prices not including shipping or duty here http://www.avantisails.com/sails/specifications
6.1 $USD 1020

Thanks Lao Shi. With the aussie dollar still relatively strong (i.e. $1020USD = $950AUD)that's not too bad for what seems like a very well designed and made sail. If the sail felt light even with a Mauisails boom attached then they must be very light indeed.

Anyone looking at getting some?

Add at least $300+ for freight then another $300+ for customs/duty sort of kills it

So you're looking at 'under' $2000 for a state of the art Race sail that is 'arguably' better than a lot on the market at the moment. Has anyone priced RS Evo1V's lately???? Seems like a good deal to me if you want to be at the pointy end of technology.

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stringer said...

but think of the money you could save on reapirs, presumably that reinforcement stops little tears becoming big expensive ones?

But if you break a panel there is no way to repair it nicely

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col5555 said...

DaniS said...

Do you think we need to buy the Avanti mast to work with this sail?
Thanks,
Dani

Like most sail manufacturers they will always advise to use thier masts
for best performance.

I contacted Avanti asking for the specs (curve's) on thier masts but they are reluctant to publish thier R and D numbers in line with other top racing brands. Fair enough!
If Dan Kessler was ex Gaastra then maybe he will stick to to what he used last time around if so didnt they uses C/Curve hard top ??
Shame though the technology,pricing and country of origin look good and I am sure they would do well if people knew what the specs were and had another alternative mast choice to buy.

They appear to be marketing a premium product and are no doubt reluctant to have masts over which they have no control affecting the peceived performance of their brand. Additionally they may have ordered and equal number of mast from CST as sails from China.

Of course while an Avanti Mast will work perfectly for Finian obviously a person with half his leverage may be better off with a softer mast. Maybe Avanti should ask CST to make masts of different stiffness' for different sized riders. Just as CST do for their dingy masts.

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col5555 said...

DaniS said...

Do you think we need to buy the Avanti mast to work with this sail?
Thanks,
Dani

Like most sail manufacturers they will always advise to use thier masts
for best performance.

I contacted Avanti asking for the specs (curve's) on thier masts but they are reluctant to publish thier R and D numbers in line with other top racing brands. Fair enough!
If Dan Kessler was ex Gaastra then maybe he will stick to to what he used last time around if so didnt they uses C/Curve hard top ??
Shame though the technology,pricing and country of origin look good and I am sure they would do well if people knew what the specs were and had another alternative mast choice to buy.

It would be good if you could buy the avanti masts direct from CST and save on freight (both ways). CST could be the Australian agent...

Lol.
It is nice to try new products but don't need to brake the Bank, 2 sails 2 mast will be $4500 dollars.
I should stick with Maui Tr8 and maybe go for a KA Concept, that way i don't have to buy 2 different size mast. Good luck for Avanti.
Thanks for the reply,
Dani.

Thou shalt not covet.

Was fortunate enough to have a go on Pete's 8.5 today in a light 15 knot sea-breeze on the river, the overall impression of the sail was dominated by a feeling of weightlessness. The stability of the sail in the very gusty conditions was incredible, unfortunately the session was cut short with small hiccup.... Build quality of the sails is first class!
The Fanatic prototypes with Sebastian W. at hand felt really nice!!

A bit more R and D on the masts might be required
I thought that looked like S.Wenzil it would be cool
if PV and SW could come to Wednesday's Peli point racing ?

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MattL said...

Was fortunate enough to have a go on Pete's 8.5 today in a light 15 knot sea-breeze on the river, the overall impression of the sail was dominated by a feeling of weightlessness. The stability of the sail in the very gusty conditions was incredible, unfortunately the session was cut short with small hiccup.... Build quality of the sails is first class!
The Fanatic prototypes with Sebastian W. at hand felt really nice!!

You must have tried 20% harder to break it than any other mast on the market

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Kimba said...

MattL said...

Was fortunate enough to have a go on Pete's 8.5 today in a light 15 knot sea-breeze on the river, the overall impression of the sail was dominated by a feeling of weightlessness. The stability of the sail in the very gusty conditions was incredible, unfortunately the session was cut short with small hiccup.... Build quality of the sails is first class!
The Fanatic prototypes with Sebastian W. at hand felt really nice!!

You must have tried 20% harder to break it than any other mast on the market

or maybe, just maybe 20% more bullsh1t than normal from the marketing department.

PS - Doesn't FM ride RRD too - "the fastest boards, PERIOD"

I see you can order them online now although you have to register first but I'm too lazy.
[edit] okay curiosity got the better of me so I registered. Freight was $310USD excluding any import duty.

Per sail? Or per order?

If per sail then that is almost 33% extra for freight plus extra $s for duty and custom clearance.

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sausage said...

Kimba said...

MattL said...

Was fortunate enough to have a go on Pete's 8.5 today in a light 15 knot sea-breeze on the river, the overall impression of the sail was dominated by a feeling of weightlessness. The stability of the sail in the very gusty conditions was incredible, unfortunately the session was cut short with small hiccup.... Build quality of the sails is first class!
The Fanatic prototypes with Sebastian W. at hand felt really nice!!

You must have tried 20% harder to break it than any other mast on the market

or maybe, just maybe 20% more bullsh1t than normal from the marketing department.

PS - Doesn't FM ride RRD too - "the fastest boards, PERIOD"

I see you can order them online now although you have to register first but I'm too lazy.
[edit] okay curiosity got the better of me so I registered. Freight was $310USD excluding any import duty.

told you so Snags....

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BenKirk said...

jsr said...

Hi Benkirk,

The North sail you were talking about was called the 3DL, one piece molded, made in the North sails loft in US.
We had a demo one in N.Z. and got to use it a few times, if i remember the production costs were to high to make it worth while.
Cool looking sail at the time, even look cool now, wonder if there is any still laying around??

Thats the one!

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yoyo said...

Per sail? Or per order?

If per sail then that is almost 33% extra for freight plus extra $s for duty and custom clearance.

Good question Yoyo. Freight costs for 2 sails (a 9.4 & 5.5) $485 and 3 sails (2x9.4 & 5.5) $795. Import duty would put them up there with an NP EVO full retail I'm guessing

Can't understand why third sail would be an extra $310 - volumetric calculation can't be that bigger increase can it?

Okay tried again. dummy order 5.5, 6.9 & 8.5. Total $3,160 + $545freight = $3,705 excl duty

PS - deliver is to regional Qld so this may be different for Capital cities.

full retail for rsracing evo3 5.5 7.0 8.6 is $5510 (1690+1820+2000). I'm guessing the evo4's are similar thou I reckon retailers would have to be heavily discounting them as most other brand race sails seem to be a fair bit cheaper RRP.

from a first glance, considering the materials used vs monofilm that most other brands use.. it seems pretty damn good value for money. I reckon save the $2000 on the evo's, and fly to maui and fly a set back and avoid the duty! or there is always the hotsails/loft/severne which are pretty darn cheap!

Swoosh, Add 10% GST and 5% Duty, GST is on the freight component as well.

You could get around it by asking them to do a fake invoice and have the price set around $500 mark or even lower and mark them as a sample.