Just making some observations with gear I recon seems to be the most popular I see down here:
Boards:
1. JP
2. Starboard
3. Fanatic
4. Tabou
5. Mistral
Sails:
1. NP
2. KA
3. Ezzy
4. Goya
5. Severne
Well, that's my observations...... Find it very interesting. Perhaps just a representation of the brands that our shops sell.....
Laurie, can we do polls soon?
Rank brands by advertising budget and you'd probably get the same result.
...half of all advertising costs are wasted, just don't know which half...
to each country their own; in New Cal :
1 starboard
2 rrd
3 jp
4 fanatic
5 naish
1 pryde
2 loft
3 north
4 maui
5 gaastra
near sydney, up and down a bit included too. mostly in the waves
boards
1. jp
2. fanatic
3.Quatro
4. tabou/starboard
then a mixed bag i guess
sails
1. pryde severn
2.severn pryde
3. naish
4. North
5 . Maui
what i recon are the best (alot of this is purely on good looks as i haven't sailed them all).
boards
1. Nude, Fanatic, tabou- the jury is still out, have not tried the new tabous yet.
2.Quatro
3. then the rest, australian shapers like stone always up there.
Sails
1. Hot sails (bias here but the no.1 position in my eyes is waranted)
2. severn (mainly cause i see heaps of good riders on them)
3. Goya
4. naish
5. Pryde
edit:
my opinion only!!! if you disagree thats totally ok. i think we are lucky to have access to heaps of good brands and choice
I was out at my local on Tuesday, 3 riders and this was the mix...
Fanatic/Severne
RRD/Goya
OES/Pryde
......make of it what you want?
(WA spot predominantly wave sailing)
Starboard
RRD
JP
Nude / Stone
Euro mix (due to tourists - Tabou, Fanatic)
Severne (by a long way)
NP
Simmer
Ezzy
Maui
Euro mix (reason a/a - North / Gaastra etc)
Did some searches on GPS Speedsurfing for the dutch speedsurfscene. Ranking based on number of sessions posted in 2011.
Boards:
1. Fanatic
2. Starboard
3. F2
4. JP
5. Tabou
Sails:
1. Neil Pryde
2. North Sails
3. Loft Sails
4. Gaastra
5. Maui Sails
For Warrnambool Vic.
Up until last weekend...
1. Sailboard Australia/Sailboard Australia
2.Bombora/Wild Winds
Since last Weekend...
1. JP/ Neilpryde
2. Sailboard Australia/Sailboard Australia
It's easy to be sure when I've never seen anyone else windsurfing in here.
Big thanks to Luke from SHQ for his sound advice and willingness to answer questions and get me sorted with my new gear. I can't believe how different windsurfing is on gear that isn't 30yrs old. I'm still learning how to tune the sail properly but I'm having a ball with it.