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I'm convinced about 4 batten sails working for me. I have the 2012 swats and absolutely love them. I'm 70kg and used them for the whole WA season and am now using them in Tenerife. The sails have a great wind range, you can set them with good bottom end power, but also with a bit more downhaul/outhaul they handle really well overpowered - I find them very stable. I bought them last year partly because I wanted a light compact and maneuverable sail, but also because of the price!
I use 3.7 to 5.2. I really have given these sails extensive testing in very different conditions. Here in Tenerife the wind is quite gusty and we have to sail overpowered a lot of the time - conditions you would not think ideal for a 4 batten sail, but the swat handles it really well, and with the softer feel of the sail it feels really comfortable and easy to control.
My sails are effectively going into their second season and have seen a lot of use over the WA summer and the last 2 months in Tenerife, however it seems Severne didn't compromise with the construction, they are still strong and have not let me down! I am really hoping they continue in the range for 2013 
He Justin, how are you doing mate?
Ik am planning to come to Tenerife again soon.
Congretz with your promotion dude.
About the severne's, i always sailed S1's and has this year (0'12) for the first time bought a Swat 3.7 2012 and loves it , i still sails S1's (0'12) in the bigger sizes tho. I use the Swat in the netherlands in strong onshore winds and it remains super stable. I think it is an easier sail in the high winds then the 5 batten 2012 S1 because it has much less lift and it feels a little softer. It is still very very light and very strong on the same time. And i must add that i sail it with a 340/15 mast and still the profile doesn't move around or gets backhanded.
No, i can understand it completly why the 0'13 S1's are going to be 4 batten sails.
Grtz, Martin
2013 up on the Severne website!
Be keen to hear from any first hand eyeball, and use (on the S1 and Blade esp)
haha - how did you find them..better than the competition?!!
But on a serious note - should the selection of the 4 batten S1 have any bearing on sailor weight? Is the top end as high as a 5 batten?
Also - other than a slight change in weight and some materail tweaks on the Blade, is there any changes in how the new Blade will feel & react compared to 2012 / 2011?
Cheers Ben - looking fwd to your response - i fancy a change from Icons
check out the spiderfibre strip technology - under factory load torture tests these have tripled the strength from the mast across through the clew from something like 200 to over 600 kgs !
While moving swing weight towards the mast ( usually the centre of any rotation)
its a massive boost to what was already a super strong sail - which is also one of the lightest on the market - now thats real technological progress.
Keep an eye out for every one else copying this material use for next year - by which time i am sure Ben will have come up with something else clever.
(next time you are near some scales -go weigh some of your North gear - mast, sail and boom - then check out the weight specs on the Severne website - i think you'll be surprised)
Hey Jase,
I reckon this Spiderfibre tweak could put a real dent in wave sail repair volume ...
Hey R1der - some pics of the sails rigged up would be nice and any comments from using them even better!!!
Got a call today from my local shop that they may be able to get their hands on some S1's for me early!!!
Thanks to Ben and Matt for taking the time out to come over to Sydney to show off the their new gear. Their support for the the sport at a grassroots level was part of the reason why I decided to update for 2013. Plus the new 4 battern S1's look wicked! Just got to learn to bottom turn properly now - no more gear excuses
cheers
Tim
S1's are a bit lighter and stable owing to the higher technical nature of the materials. My old SWATs are quite 'grunty' and sometimes I would feel like I was being pulled over the front in gusty winds we get on the east coast. I also wanted a 5.3 and 5.0 spread and SWATs were only 5.2 and 4.7. There is a clear window as o need to see what the wave is doing - i dont yet have a zen 'feel' for the wave yet! I've got an older 4.7 S1 and wanted consistency in my quiver. But the SWATs I've heard that they are the preference of many WA guys and offer a great price!!!
Ultimately it was Sam at WindSurfnSnow (Sydney) who knows my riding style - light weight top to bottom 'old school' with delusions of greatness and convinced me to get something that suits me - the newer S1's will fit the purpose, light for an o/s trip and look damn nice. Ben Serverne gave me some tips last year too about rigging when he did his shop tour last year.
Hope that helps .... I should have them in a week!!
My quick summary on swat/S1, currently own '11, '12 SWATs and '12 S1.
'11 SWATS - good starting point but when they get near their upper wind range they get a bit wild, quite a 'forward pull', draft moves around a fair bit. Light and super cheap though.
'12 SWATs - massive improvement, way way more stable in the upper wind ranges and still the same grunty bottom end, still epic cheap
'12 S1 - Full baller spec, super light, super stable, look pimp. Not as grunty as the SWATs I don't reckon but they make up for it in stability and feel I reckon, priced as you'd expect for their premium sail but still way more competitive than a lot of other brands. Not as much as difference to the SWATs as pre '12 though.
Personally I've got some '13 S1's on order to replace my 5.2 and 4.7 '11 SWATs and i'll be keeping the '12 4.2 SWAT and '12 5.9 S1 as they are still sweet as. can't wait for them to arrive 
Note: have never sailed a blade, so can't compare, marketed as a bit more grunty, bit heavier, bit tougher?
Apologies for posting under NSW WA. I forgot I was logged in as I made a posting about the upcoming season with my president cap on. My post above was my opinion what does not represent the opinion of the club.
Cheers
Tim
If you look back through the years you will find your spider technology is at least 10 years old.
That depends on materials used, how they are used, where they are used ,whats taken away and whats put back in , the total net effect on balance and handling and overall weight and whether it has historically made a difference (or not)
So what does it do? Arrest a tear ( minimize amount of panels ripped) or add stability? The radial bits I mean.
