Hi
This is not normally something I do but it is getting so hard to get an opinion on sails and boards these days and often we are outlaying significant sums of money in the hope that the gear we buy suits how we want to sail. Some of my first proper sails were North Zetas and they were great sails in the day, when David Ezzy set up his own brand I followed him for many years with waves, SE's freestyles, cheetahs, panthers and finally the early elites etc, all were extremely well made. I strayed a couple times and went back.

A couple of years back I strayed as it was a simple fact the other brand I moved to simply performed better, I did miss the build quality, attention to detail and ability to rig exactly how the designer intended them to be rigged - if you have not seen the rigging cords and marks for ezzys, check them out they leave every other sail manufacturer for dead

A friend and I were fortunate enough to back to back the elite and Zeta in the 5.2/5.3, initial appearance was that both are made to the very high standard they have always been made, superb stitching and detail. There's a lot of Velcro down the bottom of the sail which can make getting to the tack a bit of a chore and there's even instructions on how to thread the pulley !

Both sleeve and set easily using the correct ezzy masts (whilst I changed sail brand I have always retained ezzy masts), both set with a lot of profile, the Zeta almost looks like a camber induced sail !Sailing: both sails are very stable and definitely help pin the board down, they make the tracking of the board noticeably more stable through chop compared to my current 5 batten wave sails. We backed to back against a Blade as well and it is really noticeable how the ezzy's pin the board down- it makes blasting around in chop a lot easier

The Elite definitely feels a lot lighter than the Zeta (not a huge surprise) however it does not lose much in the way of stability compared to the Zeta in some ways the lightness compensates. The 4 batten Elite is really comparable to the 5-batten wave sails I am used to using (Blades). the Zeta is not so much heavy in weight but locked in the hands

The sails were only really tested in flat but extremely choppy conditions due to time constraints and other commitments. The elite is pretty easy to depower and goes pretty neutral through a manoeuvre, the zeta just pulls its super stable and it pulls ! I previously owned the Elite (and previously panthers , SE etc) but moved on because of what we would call the "trampoline" type feel the sails would give whilst sailing along, they always felt fairly elastic and pulled you around a bit - this trait is completely gone not sure what Ezzy has done but the stability of both the zeta and Elite is now superb, much more precise.

If I had not tested I would have ordered the Zetas as an all round sail, however whilst I don't get to sail waves as often as I would like I need all the help I can get and I think with the drive of the Zeta I would never get the sail down the wave ! - as a heads up the Zeta has a LOT of grunt, I like powerful sails but this was too much for me - the elite being lighter is easier to depower,is easier to handle overpowered in a transtition can power up nearly as early (and is easier to pump to the point I think there is probably not much in it.) if you were flat water only the Zeta would be fine, Both great sails but I am going with the Elite in a normal 4.7,5.3,5.7 quiver - big thanks to Mark at Surfsails for being so flexible in loaning gear out - its a cost to him and others and needs to be encouraged (hence this post)

Very impressive read, as I am going through the struggle and being educated in all aspects of the elite and zeta. You may have read my post on this exact topic in question of what sail to purchase. I do have a 6.8 Zeta and love it, but I don't have or ever sailed the Elite.

I'm either getting the 5.8 Zeta or the 6.1 Elite. I'm steering towards the 5.8 Zeta so far based on positive comments and my own experience with the Zeta, but I'm always open for more opinions. I like how you mentioned the Elite is lighter, I had no idea about that. That matters, because I will be using the sail for bump n jump conditions on lakes and rivers, but not in the ocean. One of these 2 sails I will choose will replace my Naish 6.0 Alterain sail. I have an Ezzy 430 Hookipa mast to fit the Ezzy I pick.

I did and it's part of the reason I posted (I wrote it ages ago and didn't get round to posting) so I hope it helps, the zeta is really blasty and goes round the corners nicely I used it on the river one night and it got me going early and would be great for bump and jump - it does pull like a train, if you want to flick the sail around then the elite is a better option, the elite blasts well and is perfectly fine for blasting and bump and jump - it's not a bad choice as both are great sails, not sure about a 6.1 as I stopped going above 5.7/5.8. - I have sailed the Naish all terrain (some years back) and pull and grunt wise it is probably more simliar to the elite, the zeta would feel more blasty and grunty by comparison,hope this helps

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maxy333 said..
I did and it's part of the reason I posted (I wrote it ages ago and didn't get round to posting) so I hope it helps, the zeta is really blasty and goes round the corners nicely I used it on the river one night and it got me going early and would be great for bump and jump - it does pull like a train, if you want to flick the sail around then the elite is a better option, the elite blasts well and is perfectly fine for blasting and bump and jump - it's not a bad choice as both are great sails, not sure about a 6.1 as I stopped going above 5.7/5.8. - I have sailed the Naish all terrain (some years back) and pull and grunt wise it is probably more simliar to the elite, the zeta would feel more blasty and grunty by comparison,hope this helps

This helps very much so! This gives me a nice description of how the Elite handles now. It's going to be a tough choice. I'm sure I would enjoy both of them. I will most likely purchase at the end of the season when prices go on sale. Maybe I should buy both sails. Haaa!

Thank you...

Cheers, great review. I've been using the Takas (2,3 and 4) the last few seasons, but I'm keen to try the Elites as well - been hearing a lot of good things!!!

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bigdaz said..
Cheers, great review. I've been using the Takas (2,3 and 4) the last few seasons, but I'm keen to try the Elites as well - been hearing a lot of good things!!!

I have a quiver of taka3 and this winter I tried the Elite(2018). I can say the Elite has some taka feeling now, pocket seemed bigger than previous elite(also own a elite 2016), the upwind capability is increased and yes the trampoline feeling is final gone, and of course the stability is better than the Elite. However I still like prefer the Taka, the feeling is more lively and seemed lighter in hands. I was in waves, side-off, logo to mast...wind was from schlogging to ballistic so I did had the whole range. For a flat water bump and jump type of riding I would have prefer the Elite however, more locked-in profile in my opinion, less demanding on the long run. Another sail I liked, was the G.A. IQ 2018 for wave sailing, not a good overpower sail I think, but really fun for down the line!! However I'm not convinced of the durability, just a few crashes and I had 2 pressure point in the window, I inspected the sail before hitting the water...unless it's a sail that shows pressure point only when they are wet...I did it I think, but I really liked the sail! (sorry it's a tad out of subject, but talking about durability is Ezzy D.N.A.). ;-)

Trampoline = not enough downhaul.

Lol, I guess after 18yrs using ezzy I finally got it right this time . ??

i alway set my ezzy between mid and max even in light wind and play more with the outhaul. Not enough downhaul is usually a dead and heavy sail?

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Shifu said..
Trampoline = not enough downhaul.

Not quite, pretty hard to get downhaul wrong on an Ezzy - the "trampoline" effect is not downhaul related, min, med , max or max plus downhaul it's there - it's more "give" in the sail - in some ways it's quite forgiving but I prefer a more precise feel these days, people who have sailed older elites will notice the difference with the new ones

Set all my sails (Cheetahs and Tigers) on max dh plus 10 - 15mm, otherwise feel like I'm being pulled upwards. They feel beautifully light like this, and I love them, but I've always been mystified that I need more dh than others seem to.