The Enigma and the Neil Pryde from my experience give you the stiffest connection to the mast.

I can really feel the difference in connection.

Not sure if it translates into better performance but yes i think it does.

The North front end is also good but not having as wide a connection as the other two reduces the feel i have.

Similar with the Maui, though i rate the North a little better.

Have a older Aeron carbon boom which works great but i do not get the same super secure or responsive feel.

I really think booms are the most under-rated part of equipment and especially the front end part.

Square back ends improve the booms stiffness no question as does using less extension.

If you are lucky enough to find a sail where you do not need any extension then the boom works at its peak.

I dunno Pete , but when I have a boom at no extension it feels somewhat too wide/large in a production boom .
But a fixed boom with no extension all the way in would feel spot on with a bend and width set for that size

Only had my Enigma boom for 4 months and i have to say its made a massive difference to my enjoyment of the sport.

Newer model sails or changing to a different brand sail i find next to no difference.

With my Enigma boom i feel it is easier in the gusts to close the foot of the sail to the board though it might just be my imagination.

You can apply very little tension to the cleat and the boom still does not slip which is a first for me.

Using my older model 140 -190 X9 with my 5.0 last week for the first time i also felt a much better connection to the mast than with my old Aeron carbon.

With my 5.6 my Enigma 180 - 230 set at 180 feels double amazing..

If i had to use my old model carbon booms now i think i might have to take up kiting.

The one thing i hate about the newer model booms is the reduced diameter tubes in the smaller sizes.

Feels like using a toy boom.

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Pcdefender said..
The one thing i hate about the newer model booms is the reduced diameter tubes in the smaller sizes.

I can sail for extra hours on the water with a reduced diameter boom .. would never use anything else

Streamlined is the stiffest but hard to adjust and potentially dangerous if metal parts hit us. Boom bra, good idea.

Old neilpryde head is great. The rest about the same I think. Although aeron and Chinook seem softer. Maui sails not better?

I do like Severne yes.

Streamlined is in my oppinion the stiffest (but unpleasant to mount) connection boom to mast.

X-Boom offers a modified Maui Sails boom front end with a carbon lever, which I prefer now compared to my older X-Booms with the streamlined heads.

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Manuel7 said..
Streamlined is the stiffest but hard to adjust and potentially dangerous if metal parts hit us.

hard plastic or metal in your head will be a similar result

If its not slipping down on backloop landings, its attached just right.

Why don't all companies do a textured finish in the boom area on the mast, like Severne RDM's?

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Mark _australia said..
If its not slipping down on backloop landings, its attached just right.

Why don't all companies do a textured finish in the boom area on the mast, like Severne RDM's?

I agree. It works brilliantly at the start. No need to overtighten the clamp. Only problem is it does wear away after not enough time, then you're back to slipping boom problems.

Unifiber has new boomheads
www.unifiber.net/windsurf-gear/booms/modular-rdm-and-sdm-compatible-boom-head-5cd5a47497b7a3ed5768de4c

According to my dealer they are very good. Much better connection between boom and mast.
He showed me the Elite Modular Carbon Booms, I think the 190-240, it was extremely stiff.

Also should be better for the mast, traditional boom heads make a small area of the mast flat. These new ones allow the curve to continue.

I had been using enigma 150-200 for about 3 years, boom upgrade was the most noticeable comfort and performance gain i had compared to other rig upgrades.
Recently i got a goya super skinny 140-190 (it was much cheaper compared to enigma at the time) and i am pretty happy how it feels, both feel great in terms of stiffness but i am lightweight so i wouldn't know the extremes.
Didn't weight them but enigma felt tiny bit lighter just by holding at hand, olso being 10cm bigger i would say its lighter at same lengths. Enigmas diameter is very slightly smaller and grip material is softer. Similar shapes in general but goyas tail is a little wider. Goyas tailpiece quality is better, more protection (more glass over carbon, plastic protection at corners) and sturdier authaul plastic part, moves smoother too. Severne rdm mast barely fits the clamp base (no marks or damage), a slight push gets it in firmly as the base have closed "C" shape softish plastic which husgs the mast by itself, then closed by firm plastic top, severnes base is more open at ends so it doesn't have the full contact area with mast, and top plastic part is too soft, so far i like goyas clamp more except its the wrong way to how i rig.

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Pcdefender said..
The Enigma and the Neil Pryde from my experience give you the stiffest connection to the mast.

I can really feel the difference in connection.

Not sure if it translates into better performance but yes i think it does.

The North front end is also good but not having as wide a connection as the other two reduces the feel i have.

Similar with the Maui, though i rate the North a little better.

I own two enigma booms but I must say that the Point-7 front is a better design with three screws securing it to the boom in stead of two. I have a 140-190 and it feels ultra solid, unlike the severne that with time loosens up.

BTW: the unifiber boom head seems a modern take on the streamlined approach. Two independent cups tightening the front to the boom. I still have an old race boom downstairs with the streamlined head that I remember finding a bit finicky to use. Maybe the unifiber is an improvement.

Streamlined is good for rdm masts, but, in my opinion, not for sdm masts. It has too much point loading for the thin sections in sdm masts. I went through three 550 masts before I changed over to Maui Sails heads, and had zero problems after that.

So, I have been using Streamlined heads with rdm masts (thicker sections) with zero problems.

Maui sails head owners care to contribute both short term and long term?

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Manuel7 said..
Maui sails head owners care to contribute both short term and long term?

Great boom heads used the for many years only problem is that they do tend to slip down on the masts while sailing in rough water.

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Manuel7 said..
Maui sails head owners care to contribute both short term and long term?

I fitted MS boom heads on two of my old Fiberspar boom. They were a big improvement on the fiberspar boom heads, very solid connection. I did really notice them slipping down, but I mainly sail flat waters. Because the collar is longer than most, I noticed very little movement/twist in the boom, solid connection.

When I sold my Fiberspar booms, I refitted the original boom heads and kept the MS boom heads. I tried fitting them to the replacement AL360 booms, but they suffer with accidental over articulation, pulling the leech to tight at times (if you get me). I'd love to think of a way to mould a stop onto the boom to prevent the over articulation.

But yes, MS boom heads are generally a good upgrade for some booms.

Sorry, typo error above. I meant to say "I didn't notice the boom slipping down much"

I fitted all my HPL booms with MS heads. Huge improvement. Never any slippage.

I had been (trying to) use Streamlined heads with big 550 sdm masts. They consistently broke the masts. Too much point loading for the thin sections. When I converted them to MS, zero problems.

By the way, Streamlined heads are excellent for rdm masts with thick sections.

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Manuel7 said..
Maui sails head owners care to contribute both short term and long term?

I installed it on my HPL ages ago. It did not feel particularly solid, it was hard to tie right, if you did not it slipped, and there were a number of broken ones. Not catastrophically, but the "wings" were fragile, it was apparently easy to brake them if you were not careful when you put the boom on the mast (mine did not brake). The shim for the RDM is an old style massive piece of rubber. It is an old design. I switched to Streamlined (much better), and then moved on to Severne and Point-7, much better front ends.

This is looking good too, i didn't like the outhaul system though.
www.neilpryde.com/products/xcs-wave-carbon-boom-1

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Sea Lotus said..
This is looking good too, i didn't like the outhaul system though.
www.neilpryde.com/products/xcs-wave-carbon-boom-1

RDM adaptor on a wave boom... Why can't they make an RDM-only head for it after all these years?

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Faff said..
RDM adaptor on a wave boom... Why can't they make an RDM-only head for it after all these years?

haha .. yea .. cheaping out .. and 25mm so that could be smaller these days.

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JakeNN said..

Faff said..
RDM adaptor on a wave boom... Why can't they make an RDM-only head for it after all these years?

haha .. yea .. cheaping out .. and 25mm so that could be smaller these days.

To be fair, the head is carbon. Maybe it's too expensive to tool up for an RDM-only head, given how small the windsurfing market is. I only started windsurfing in 2013. But I get the impression that equipment progress has slowed considerably since about 2008 (GFC?).