It wasn't a bad sail for a right person, the first version Chopper at least.
My friend learned to sail on it, she never learned to catapult properly :)
Tried it my self, really, was hard to squeeze a good catapult out of it, probably got something to do with being that short and wide, no much pull in the top.

Used to have a set of Force 5s. Cut out on the luff was so low I had to push the boom head deep up in the sleeve :) On a light day could have used like 10 extra cm there. Go shorty!
Changed to Blades all good now :)

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Tanel said..
It wasn't a bad sail for a right person, the first version Chopper at least.
My friend learned to sail on it, she never learned to catapult properly :)
Tried it my self, really, was hard to squeeze a good catapult out of it, probably got something to do with being that short and wide, no much pull in the top.

Used to have a set of Force 5s. Cut out on the luff was so low I had to push the boom head deep up in the sleeve :) On a light day could have used like 10 extra cm there. Go shorty!
Changed to Blades all good now :)

Does anyone really learn to catapult or want to catapult on purpose.....???

They were originally designed for lighter riders and the force 5 for bigger riders who needed more power.

Naish recoded that they had more power per metre than any other sails in their range.

They seem to be a great sail in the right conditions for the right person.

I've actually used the 4.8 sail -
my spot is mushy cross onshore and I weigh 75kg
im looking to replace my Blacktips as I'm sick of how quickly the mini film turns opaque on them
The 4.8 is more like a 5.5 and easily covers 4.5 to 5.7 sails with only minor trim on the OH abs maybe your mast foot if you want more or less drive.

pros
it weighs nothing
It rotates really fast - might be a con for you.
it's impervious to gusts
I spend less time thinking about if I have the correct sail
no need to return to shore and keep rigging.
less sails to clean and maintain
One mast or maybe 2 if you get the complete set.
it's very very soft - you'll forget you are holding it.

cons
might be a bit soft and uninspiring if you look for a lot of feedback and pull from your sail
the white xply is a bit glarey if the sun is behind you - and you have to learn to look through the sail to focus on the water.
the sail rotates faster so you need to adjust where your hands are - and also I seem to come out of most gybe clew first with this sail so that might be an issue.

it's probably not the most exciting sail but seeing as how you can just rig and go and spend zero time back in the beach rigging and derigging and that you only need 2 or 3 of them to cover 80% of conditions that's a winner for me.

if you value practicality over other things then this is the sail for you.

I can sell all my black tips and buy 2 full sets of these. And masts.


Recommended.

Juanlauda. Well said. I have a full set of (4) Choppers and love them. Will sail until they die. Rig them as sloppy as you want and they work regardless. Have 370 for all but a year back got 'kids' 310 nolimitz which I sometimes use in M and S when it's really windy and not only no mast is sticking out and with Severne boom the sail is basically weightless, it also makes M,S extremely soft.
Maybe Mr.Naish read these forums and decided to bring back Chopper... but for Gods sake why in black.. lol don't like it..

You forgot one point though... Less people asking you what sail you rigged... as you become a local 'dork' who has Large, Medium, Small sails.. lol

The new ones look great for lighter riders for down the line wave sailing.

Oh boy.. I think we are losing it again...

Remember Naish Boxer that gradually went to a sort of normal sail shape and then disappeared... I see same may happen to Chopper until it gets dropped. So, now longer masts, less sail area. No XXL again lol. Old spacing makes much more sense than 5.1 4.8.. I can sail with 4.8 almost exactly where I can sail with 5.1 and visa-verse. I'm still waiting for Chopper 5.7/5.8 on 370 which pulls like 6.0..

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leto said..
Oh boy.. I think we are losing it again...

Remember Naish Boxer that gradually went to a sort of normal sail shape and then disappeared... I see same may happen to Chopper until it gets dropped. So, now longer masts, less sail area. No XXL again lol. Old spacing makes much more sense than 5.1 4.8.. I can sail with 4.8 almost exactly where I can sail with 5.1 and visa-verse. I'm still waiting for Chopper 5.7/5.8 on 370 which pulls like 6.0..

I think you are right there....

They should have stuck to the old 4 batten shape and added the extra size, maybe that one would sit better on a 400 mast with a little extension.

They are very close and specific sizes now too. Probably sell loads in Hawaii but don't think they will sell well in Europe.

Silly me, I just realized it's now 3 batten sail. Bad... I'm 185 pounds. Will not be buying for sure. Although they may work, ... in Maui.
XXL should be made to sit on 370. No 400 please. Even if it looses 5% of efficiency.

I think that many locals in Maui sail whatever they can find cheap and one can find a ton of good used stuff there. Agree, not sure people in mainland/ Europe will buy a lot of these.. I think that sizes 5.1, 4.5, 4.0/3.9 would make much more sense. Closer to sizes of their old Choppers ~5.3, ~4.8, ~4.3, ~3.8