Anbody using the current Ezzy waves sails? See they have reintroduced the Zeta for 2017. A Zeta was my first sail, a hand me down with copious amounts of delaminated myla.

Cheers,
Steve

The original Zetas were made by North Sails when Dave Ezzy worked for them, and that kind of lamination has gone with the dinosaurs.
Apples to walnuts.
I'd recco Ezzy sails to anybody, I use nothing else, haven't tried the new Zeta, but I'm sure it's just fine if you prefer a 5 batten wave sail.

Yes the Zeta returns. It replaces the Tiger.
The quality and durability are among the best .

Ezzy make great wave sails and you won't find tougher or better built sails. Although I have broken one of the "unbreakable" battens. They are well priced compared to the major brands.

I use the 4 batten Elites and don't miss the 5th batten. It has very good bottom end power when set full, feels light and still feels very stable when overpowered. The Taka might also be worth a look if you like a softer feeling sail. I reckon the Elite would also be great for bump & jump freeride.

Ezzy use one of the better battens, I have not heard of one breaking before.

I like the feel of carbon battens .

I am very happy with my taka3. Beautifully constructed and feels great for wavesailing and a bit of bump & jump. If you have any questions just email Dave Ezzy - he responds really quickly with great advice.

I have just picked up a 4.7 and 5.3 Taka2 and also have a set of Take 3's on order that should arrive late next month. i got my first session in today and I must admit i am very impressed. I just posted a review in the gear section.

Ezzy wave sails (prior years) pro's and con's

Pro:

Bomb proof, compared to most, this is a big deal, last a long time, cannot ever remember replacing a batten
Good workmanship, sound, solid, and functional
Do not age in the sun as fast as others or suffer as much from sand chafing.
Great range, esp. if using Ezzy RDM mast
Great aerodynamic shape for efficiency, forgiving, handle gusts well--when my 4.7 is downhauled to maximum, on beach, the luff looks loose just like a race sail
Vinyl window, strong and clear and long life, esp. compared to other brands
Usu. not as expensive as North, Neil Pryde, Gaastra and some others
A good sail to buy used, as it lasts
D. Ezzy and Co. are quite helpful and responsive to their customers!
Very good warranty service--they stand behind their product and so have the dealers in my experience.
Masts hold up very well. Interchangeable tips and bases
In the past, anyway, they rigged fairly well on other masts--not as finicky in this respect as some brands
Popular with Europeans and South Americans and S. Africans, and...
Appearance, recently they have started to add more color and more colors

Con:

Not the lightest
Sails have a noticeable pop in order to luff them; so, you can find yourself in the wrong position and have to make an extra effort to pop them, whereas most other wave sails luff with little or no effort--I guess this firmness helps with aerodynamics.

Not Sure:

A tack strap on a 4.7 and 5.2? Extra work to use, but handy to keep sail rolled
Could make them even more colorful?

I hear the new Taka 3's are awesome....Anyone want to sell their old set of Taka2's.

Select to expand quote

billekrub said..


Not Sure:

A tack strap on a 4.7 and 5.2? Extra work to use, but handy to keep sail rolled
Could make them even more colorful?

The tack strap can, and will, save you from a broken or released downhaul. Also it helps even out the leach tension above and below the boom.
They are on all my Ezzy sails, from 3.5 to 5.7, as well as sizes that I don't have.

Select to expand quote

Mickymoo said..
I hear the new Taka 3's are awesome....Anyone want to sell their old set of Taka2's.

Keep an eye out, my 4.7 and 5.3 Taka2's will be for sale when my set of Taka3's turn up in mid to late Feb. I've only had them for a few weeks and are basically brand new, so barring any catastrophes will be in mint condition. U can check them out on a gear review I did recently on them.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/Ezzy-Taka2-and-Taka3?page=1#13

So unless one of the local boys snatches them up, I'll throw them on Seabreeze. PM me if ur keen though and I'll let u know.

Cheers.

I tested a Taka2 5.0 twice, in a 2-3m wave, side to side-on Wind, quite powered...and the stability was amazing, way better than I expected and the handling of the sail is what got me hooked in!

Second day was in a very very side-off condition, from wait to chest high, schlog and surf and for those condition it's hard to beat!!!!

I'm hooked, ordered 2 taka3 and for 4.0 I picked a Elite...for more stability in big winds...but I Wonder if I should just go for a 4.1 taka3 as well....anyways, I recommand that sail!

Got a '16 Elite 4.5. So far I used it in 15 to 30 knots. I'm 68kgs. It did feel different not much looseness above but it does bleed off nicely when downhauled correctly. The profile is quite stiff, doesn't really "pump".

I only tried with little outhaul to get max power. It does require some tension otherwise I felt like the power moves around a bit. Still shy of min tension.

The stability is quite good, and our wind is crazy gusty. I had a Gaastra IQ before. Very different, I had basically just one setting for downhaul, and min range outhaul. The IQ swelled up with power and turbo rocketed me forward. Then it depowers insanely.

The Elite pull is quite smooth, a bit delayed but low and forward. Easier to manage. Easy to sail overpowered, the IQ not as much.

On a wave (sideon only here) the Elite has good drive (keeps speed up during bottom turn) and depowers nicely and is just not as throwabout as the IQ, it's more reliable.

I've had many sessions on the IQ so I know it very well, the Elite is still fairly new.

I've have been trying to find the max downhaul where it keeps gliding effortless through lulls but doesn't feel so heavy. It looks like medium is good used with low outhaul.

Can't edit a recent post?

Today we had extreme light yet gusty winds (12-23kts) and I felt like I couldn't go with 5.0 either way so I'd rather test the low end of the 4.5. So I released the downhaul (man do these things require such a soft downhaul, it's nice) and let the outhaul much shorter than their low setting but still somewhat firm. Immediately I noticed the increased lift and lull gliding abilities. Also, I felt like the sail was "breathing" more with more pumping ability, nice!

I was also surprised how composed it stayed in the gust. Now when I sailed yesterday in strong gusts, I did feel a bit of movement that would require a touch more tension but overall I seem to like the sail set a bit softer for lower winds. Looking forward to more sessions with it.

Alright after many sessions, here are my findings. First let me just say, the best sail I've ever used ?

Conditions: side-on, waves 1-2m, wind 15 to 28 knots, jumps and wave riding.

Let's start with the cons, it'll be over quickly:
- tack strap to tension foot of sail ? gimmick or useful ?
- the sail crinkles a little when pumping in low wind settings
- battens pop when rotating (crinkling and popping can happen when washed in the white water)
- lack of visual cues for rigging since it requires such little tension (hardly a looseness in the leech)

Pros:
- Rigs with little tension, requires little effort, may need a bit more outhaul than other sails (but easy with the little ropes system). I only use the light wind outhaul setting but our lulls are pretty bad even when it's windy.
- Thanks to its deep shaped battens and the fact that they go hide behind the mast, the control and angle of power is gradual and precise. There's less flapping left and right.
- Even with the light wind settings the pocket stays low and 100% usable, it creates great lift and is light on our hands in gusts or catches by surprise. For example I had light wind settings on and the wind was super strong and yet the sail we fully predictable, reliable while the sail was resting on the boom so much that I thought it was going to tear.
- Power delivery is soft and when we hang onto the boom to recover something, it's forgiving as it has a slight give to it. Therefore, we can stay on the water longer overpowered and it's easy on the body in general
- For 68kgs 15-21 knots I can plane, thanks to its strong lift, of course I'm underpowered but I have a small sail for everything else.
- High wind range I'd say 25-30 knots, it's fine.
- It's light (scale + in the hands).

On my first sessions I had killed the power a little, since then I've been running it looser (despite strong winds) and it's been a revelation.

It's a sail that's dependable. I made my first upwind 360 in the straps planing whereas I have only attempted like 5 in my whole life! (I do many non planing off straps though) and it was my one and only try that session.

Because the power is so usable, I can get away with less size (can commit more at the sightest gust) and stay overpowered at the same time.

Voil?, franky I'm a little in disbelief. It needs to be adjusted to fully enjoy its range but the behavior overpowered and low tensioned let us get away with lots even when the wind comes up.

I guess this is personal, but I'm the same weight as you and better have mid range downhaul and set outhaul baggy for low wind. I feel the sail lighter and more lively in the hand. When set it with low downhaul, and outhaul, it tend to jerk and pull me over the handle bar in gust, but this is just me.

Interesting and surprising. What outhaul exactly do you use?

This was yesterday with medium downhaul (for once) and low wind outhaul (meaning red rope). We had 15-25 knots. The sail was lighter but honestly could have gotten away with a Min 1 setting (the one tighter than the lowest one) just so I have a little more support in the lulls. At the end of the session I released 1-2cm outhaul and it was perfect, pulled pretty hard.

The previous days we had gusts up to 28 knots and despite the Min1 setting, it was fine (just a little heavy in the gusts). But I sail side-on so on the wave, the sail loses quite a bit of power and in the jumps it's never much of a problem as the waves are sheltered there too.

well, this is what I think, doesn't mean this is what it is in real life. ;-) I found that set at min downhaul, the pull is stronger I agree, but sit the nose lower and don't really give you the get and going of a medium downhaul and full low wind outhaul to ..mild medium wind, for me that setting gets me better result...but this might be only me? I feel it pulls less as a tractor...but does make you moving better.

Hard to tell, might depend on the wind of the spot. Today was pretty poor in terms of wind quality and I had almost medium downhaul and low wind outhaul. The sail felt unsettled and I had a hard time getting good drive out of it. The wind was changing between 14 and 26 knots with slight directional changes too.

In such situations I find it's better to have a bigger sail with lots of downhaul than a small sail with low downhaul because it'll feel heavy in the gust and slower to react. That said I was fine with the sail and it never pulled me or anything. I could have used a bit less downhaul to get more support in the lulls but kept good outhaul just to keep things in check.

I'm still impressed because I have been sailing near 3 hours for 7 straight days and I'm doing pretty well. Especially considering I'm trying fronts left and right which wear me down greatly!

What size is yours?

Select to expand quote

Manuel7 said..
What size is yours?

Yeah I saw that you're trying to pull the trigger on front, cool! Mine were 5.7, 5.0, 4.2 and 3.7. I usually use my 5.0 and less in good enough wind for the sail, the setting I'm referring to is for the 5.7, those days where it's very gusty and unstable wind.

5.0 is a great size, strong low end but maneuverable still, a friend of mine uses it exclusively and just changes boards.

I'm still so impressed with the sail. Love how it softens up when a sudden gust hits, easy on the arms and gives me time to recover, even in the lightest setting. With 81L + 4.5, I can't compete in early planing with 90L + 5.3 but I'm pretty darn close!