Hi everyone,

I'm having a dilema. I want to upgrade my v6 7,5 and really don't know what I should get (Hornet, H2). Here at my place there is no way I can get to test the sails. I'm looking for better performance in at least same windrange. Looking at windrange data at NP site I thought that 7,2 Hornet would be a great substitute for the V6 7,5 but the seller said I should get the 7,7 (there is never enough size he sais :D) Well I think more size means more to handle ... means less fun ...

Anybody has any experience with this sails? I was also looking at H2 to get even more windrange but NP website sais that Hornet has even more lowend power than the H2 ... I'm riding my V6 sail on 115 L board Mistral Syncro.

Is Hornet (h2) in any way better than the V6. Mine is the 2005 model (no cut clew yet). My mast is Matrix x65 460 (2012)

Thanks for any help regarding this matter ...

Greetings from Slovenia :D

Hi,


mate of mine has got the H2 racing, really happy with it, plenty of power, the Hornet is locally described as a pimped up Hellcat with two mini useless cams....

definitely the H2 racing !!! (I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hornet vanish from the catalogue or be redesigned... though it looks really nice !)

I have sailed all of these sails in question. If you love your V6 then you should go for the Hornet in the same size. The Hornet is the new V6 but if anything will plane earlier and have better windrange than the V6. The hornet will get planing before equivalent sized H2 however the H2 will be faster and have a bigger windrange than both your V6 and the Hornet. hope that helps. Cheers, Fletch

Thanks for help.

Hi Gregorpi,

When it came time to replace my old NP 7.5 V6 about a year ago I bought a 7.7 H2. I didn't like it as much as my old V6 because I found it a lot heavier which took a lot of the fun out of it for me. Then NP released the Hornet in the 2013 range so I traded my H2 on a 7.7 Hornet and I love it. To me it is very similar to the old V6, very light, but still has good range because of the two cams. (I must disagree with the previous post who insinuated the micro cams are a waste of time on these sails). Gregorpi, get yourself a 7.7 Hornet, you'll be stoked! And yes they do look very nice!!

Hi Gregorpi,
I would agree that the Hornet is a simple elegant solution and an improvement to the V6, and it is very early planing. If you want early planing and easy handling choose Hornet. If you have race aspirations and want race sail solid stability and ultimate top speed choose H2.
My comparison is the H2 has a heavier, thicker if you will feel, and has more of a race sail twisted leach, and a need for oversizing race philosophy behind it, while the Hornet feels much lighter and more maneuverable, almost camless feel, can be rigged with a tighter leech, allowing for a smaller size to be used.
If you liked the V6 you will like the Hornet, with the compact clew, short boom and still lots of low end power, as you noted the NP website describes Hornet as low end power early planing sail. I would say top end control is better than V6 due to compact clew design.
The micro cams also rotate smoothly and easily with the proper amount of outhaul and the upwind is great still.
Regards,
Chuck

Thank you all ...

I have decided not to go with new NP sail after all. I ordered a new "Challanger Fluido T3" 7,8m2 sail. Waiting for the 2014 model that should be here end of next week. I'll rig it with NS platinum 100C mast. It has 3 cams. Yes it is way more race sail than Hornet :D

Challenger are also top range sails (maybe more known in europe) and I have very good experience with them - own two of them allready. Fluido T3 is a derivate from race sail Aero+. It is a bit les technical. I'll let you know how it works when I get it.

Regards,
Gregor

I've never heard of the Challenger brand sails. I don't think they are sold in Australia.