I'm looking at the luff and boom measurements on the 6.1 elite and the measurements are pretty darn close to my 6.0 Naish sail, closer than the 5.8 Zeta. But still, curious what you all think on the Zeta or elite?

howdy, might be able to help. Been on a zeta 5.8 for nearly 2 seasons now and had a 6.1 elite before[ obviously not the new model] I would go with the zeta. It has a huge wind range and in my opinion works incredibly well in the light wind end of things which will cover your 6.1 me reckons. I am around 92 kg give or take a few beers and sail95% of the time on a quarto cube 95 litre board. With the sail set on min 1 i can keep the board on the plain in 14 kts [ bearing away thru the lulls] Have noticed the zeta was graeme ezzys go to sail when the winds got light at the aloha this year. It is such a versatile sail, i use it almost exclusively for wave sailing but it would be a sick bump and jump sail. My only warning would be if you carry your gear on your head a bit like i do down the stairs at margies beware as i have stuffed the stitching on the lower panel where my head is [ no fault of the sail but something to watch]

drdick said..
howdy, might be able to help. Been on a zeta 5.8 for nearly 2 seasons now and had a 6.1 elite before[ obviously not the new model] I would go with the zeta. It has a huge wind range and in my opinion works incredibly well in the light wind end of things which will cover your 6.1 me reckons. I am around 92 kg give or take a few beers and sail95% of the time on a quarto cube 95 litre board. With the sail set on min 1 i can keep the board on the plain in 14 kts [ bearing away thru the lulls] Have noticed the zeta was graeme ezzys go to sail when the winds got light at the aloha this year. It is such a versatile sail, i use it almost exclusively for wave sailing but it would be a sick bump and jump sail. My only warning would be if you carry your gear on your head a bit like i do down the stairs at margies beware as i have stuffed the stitching on the lower panel where my head is [ no fault of the sail but something to watch]

Why would you say that's no fault of the sail. You should be able to carry it on your head without damaging stitching.

NotWal said..

drdick said..
howdy, might be able to help. Been on a zeta 5.8 for nearly 2 seasons now and had a 6.1 elite before[ obviously not the new model] I would go with the zeta. It has a huge wind range and in my opinion works incredibly well in the light wind end of things which will cover your 6.1 me reckons. I am around 92 kg give or take a few beers and sail95% of the time on a quarto cube 95 litre board. With the sail set on min 1 i can keep the board on the plain in 14 kts [ bearing away thru the lulls] Have noticed the zeta was graeme ezzys go to sail when the winds got light at the aloha this year. It is such a versatile sail, i use it almost exclusively for wave sailing but it would be a sick bump and jump sail. My only warning would be if you carry your gear on your head a bit like i do down the stairs at margies beware as i have stuffed the stitching on the lower panel where my head is [ no fault of the sail but something to watch]

Why would you say that's no fault of the sail. You should be able to carry it on your head without damaging stitching.

Not forever, I've done the same thing, but it takes awhile, about 3 seasons for me, then I have to start to be careful with it. Where I sail, on top of your head works the best, we have to run between these big fat blobs for about 3 months of our w'surf season, and it's getting worse every year. We're learning to hate them, they breed like bacteria.

Yeah, I'd go with the Zeta also, they work better in the lulls.

5.8 would be my pick . My 5.8 se wave sail has just as much grunt as my 6.0 cheetah .plus if your doing more bump and jump 5.8 's a ripper size .

Put it this way ..
when I go on windsurfing trips I take a 6.0 &7.0
which is perfect
so in your case ....for sizing 5,8 &. 6.8 is perfect in my opinion .

Hi MagicRide. Have you checked the Sailworks Revo? I have been sailing them for the last 4 seasons in all conditions and can not fault them . You can check the full range on Chris Potocnik's website (windsurf systems): windsurfsystems.com.au/
Check out this review on the Revo if you want more info.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/Sailworks-Revo-5-7?page=1#7

Starting about 2 years ago, I love the Elites. They are so tunable. I have a 6.1 and 5.3. I primarliy wave sail.

So far:
Elite 1
Zeta 7*
* David must count for a valued opinion.

either of these can work for you. The Elite to me is not a bad option. The Zeta of these is the best.
6.4 Elite...no way .

Mastbender said..

NotWal said..

drdick said..
howdy, might be able to help. Been on a zeta 5.8 for nearly 2 seasons now and had a 6.1 elite before[ obviously not the new model] I would go with the zeta. It has a huge wind range and in my opinion works incredibly well in the light wind end of things which will cover your 6.1 me reckons. I am around 92 kg give or take a few beers and sail95% of the time on a quarto cube 95 litre board. With the sail set on min 1 i can keep the board on the plain in 14 kts [ bearing away thru the lulls] Have noticed the zeta was graeme ezzys go to sail when the winds got light at the aloha this year. It is such a versatile sail, i use it almost exclusively for wave sailing but it would be a sick bump and jump sail. My only warning would be if you carry your gear on your head a bit like i do down the stairs at margies beware as i have stuffed the stitching on the lower panel where my head is [ no fault of the sail but something to watch]

Why would you say that's no fault of the sail. You should be able to carry it on your head without damaging stitching.

Not forever, I've done the same thing, but it takes awhile, about 3 seasons for me, then I have to start to be careful with it. Where I sail, on top of your head works the best, we have to run between these big fat blobs for about 3 months of our w'surf season, and it's getting worse every year. We're learning to hate them, they breed like bacteria.

Yeah, I'd go with the Zeta also, they work better in the lulls.

So if you need to carry it on your head that's a legitimate design requirement. It shouldn't fail from carying it on your head.

forceten said..

MagicRide said..

forceten said..
So far:
Elite 1
Zeta 7*
* David must count for a valued opinion.

either of these can work for you. The Elite to me is not a bad option. The Zeta of these is the best.
6.4 Elite...no way .

You mean the 6.4 Zeta... no way? I talked to David and he told me the 6.4 Zeta is an option if I was not fully powered most of the time on my Naish 6.0 sail, and the 5.8 Zeta would work as well if I'm usually always powered up or sometimes over powered using my Naish 6.0. I'm still thinking zeta 5.8 for all these reasons, but hearing from all you guys too is a great peace of mind before I purchase. So when I'm on my Naish 6.0, I'm usually perfect for power, normally never over powered on it.

It seems the 6.1 elite has the power I want, closest to the specs of my Naish 6.0, but is not as stable and won't get me through the lulls like the Zeta from what I'm hearing. Again, I will be using the sail to bump n jump, carve in and out of big chop on lakes and on the Columbia Gorge and blasting around at times per ideal conditions.

Sorry, brain fade.
the gap from 6.4 to 6.8 is too narrow.

i have the Zeta in 6.4, while I still think wave sails are 6.0 and down, the current trend is 4or3batten sails in smaller sizes, the Zeta with 5 battens is a really nice sail.

i feel some thoughts on the other sails on either size is critical, I would want something that's rangy .
put another way, if your quiver is closely spaced, you could look harder at the Elite 6.1.

this doesnt means applies to all, but I go, 5.4 5.9 6.4, in the range your looking at. 5.4 5.9 are custom sails, 6.4 aZeta.

I kind of had a feeling the zeta 6.4 was too close to my 6.8. What's your thoughts on the elite 6.1 for lakes with lots of big chop great for jumping and of course sailing the gorge. I don't sail in the ocean, so I don't know if that's a deal breaker for the elite? How does the elite perform in blasting along? There are some lulls where I sail here and there. I just don't want the elite to loose power through some lulls. Plus I never sailed anything less than 5 battens. I guess I'm just looking for a happy medium closest to my 6.0 Naish sail. Has to be Ezzy and not the Lion, Cheetah or Legacy. I'm just concerned the 5.8 Zeta won't give me enough power for the wind conditions I need it for. The 6.1 elite will be perfect for power, no doubts there, but am I going to have issues in lulls and issues with stability? If stability is an issue with the elite, and if it doesn't excel in lulls, and blasting, I wil most likely get the 5.8 Zeta.

stonny said..
If you buy the 6.1 elite, you'll love how early it gets you planing. It won't be far behind your 6.8.
Problem is, when you become over powered and have to change down to your 5.2 lagacy, you'll find yourself under powered. Then you will have to buy another sail to fill the gap. Just get the 5.8 zeta. The 0.6 gap up to this is ideal, and the one meter gap up to your 6.8 is okay . And then all three sails are 5 batten ,all will feel similar, and to be honest , there is no point in having a 4 batten sail for bump and jump until you get below 5.0.
The 4 battened 6.1 elite will probably have the equivalent pover of a 5 battened 6.3. This will effectively give you 1.1 meter gap from your 5.2 legacy, and a half meter jump up to your 6.8.
Crazy. If I were in your footstraps, my fantasy sail would be a 5.9 zeta.
But 5.8 is close.
Good luck.

Awesome read here! Very interesting how you pointed out about a 4 batton sail is best used for bump n jump when using a 5.0 or lower.

Before I purchased my 5.2 Legacy, I was sailing my older 5.3 North Dr.X sail. The 5.2 Legacy has more range and power and is much more stable than my old Dr.X sail. So maybe the 5.8 Zeta will do the same or give me similar power to my older 6.0 Naish Alterain sail.

It's sounding like the 6.1 Elite is going to be too much power for the conditions I want it for. I guess I'm stuck on my Naish 6.0 sail range, because it's all I know currently in that size. I need to stop that thinking and focus more on these newer sail ranges. It seems like you can almost go down 1-2 meters in sail size and get the same power that the older sails offered that were 2 meters up in size. I'm almost wondering if the power of the 6.1 elite would be similar power to a 6.2 or 6.3 2009ish naish bump n jump sail?

gorgesailor said..

MagicRide said..
Before I purchased my 5.2 Legacy, I was sailing my older 5.3 North Dr.X sail. The 5.2 Legacy has more range and power and is much more stable than my old Dr.X sail. So maybe the 5.8 Zeta will do the same or give me similar power to my older 6.0 Naish Alterain sail.

It's sounding like the 6.1 Elite is going to be too much power for the conditions I want it for. I guess I'm stuck on my Naish 6.0 sail range, because it's all I know currently in that size. I need to stop that thinking and focus more on these newer sail ranges. It seems like you can almost go down 1-2 meters in sail size and get the same power that the older sails offered that were 2 meters up in size. I'm almost wondering if the power of the 6.1 elite would be similar power to a 6.2 or 6.3 2009ish naish bump n jump sail?

I don't think that newer sails necessarily have more Power, & it's very difficult when mixing sail models - let alone brands. Newer sails definitely have more wind range IMHO. My main point is that I think Stonny is right in that that the 5.8 Zeta would fit best between the 5.2 Legacy & 6.8 Zeta, whilst also giving you a consistency in feel which is nice. The only Caveat is *if* the 6.0 Naish really has more power than a 5.8 Zeta & that Naish was *PERFECT* - I mean ideal range for your most common winds then you could find yourself a tiny bit underpowered. My gut feeling is there is probably very little difference in power in those 0.2m...

Yes! So when I'm on my 6.0 naish, I'm usually PERFECT for power! To break it down, I'm 95% of the time perfect on power, 2.5% of the time I'm underpowered and 2.5% of the time I'm overpowered. Yeah, I need a 5.9 Zeta too. Wish they made one in that size. A 5.9 Zeta would seal the deal for me there.

Basically, when I'm maxed out on my 6.8 Zeta, I just start railing up, and that is when I hop on the Naish 6.0. I'm always 100% perfect for power every time then. It's when I start the day fresh with the 6.0, I am usually pretty accurate with sail size, but it's sometimes on those days when I might be underpowered some or overpowered some. If I had too, I'd rather always sail a little on the overpowered side than underpowered side of the spectrum because I can always sheet out a little and dump some wind and then of course if a lull hits, I can glide through it being overpowered. Being underpowered, I have to pump too much to get planing.

Thanks Gorgesailor. 5.8 Zeta looks to be the sail of choice here.

Thanks everyone for your comments and opinions on this.