Anyone own, or have rented the Ezzy Taka sail? It's relatively new on the market for the last couple years. Any pros and cons on the sail would be appreciated. And would a sail like that work well at the Columbia Gorge, and in rough water lake sailing for bump and jump?
Kevin Pritchard won the 2016 Aloha Classic using it so it is great in full on wavesailing. The Ezzy Elite may be better on lakes and general blasting around, bump and jump including the Gorge. I have used the Elite and it is a great sail for waves, blasting and bump and jump. The Ezzy Taka is now in a new 3rd edition 2017 version but I have never used it but it would suit wave riding for sure but not sure if what you have in mind would be its best use.Correspond directly with Ezzy sails, David Ezzy often personally advises people and he or they can tell you what sails work best as I believe they have a gorge facility. The sails are very light, they also look fabulous, see specs below:
I agree with Mark.
I use ezzys all the time and have tried taka's in the past. They have great (amazing) low range and depower easily. They also overpower easily and are a very on/off sail.
If you are sailing gusty places and want to maximise the amount of time you spend on the water without changing rigs I would use a 5 batten sail. Especially if its super windy and gusty like the gorge. Otherwise you will spend about 10% of your time comfortably powered and the rest over or under.
My choice is actually the Tigers for the reasons above. Great wind range and very stable with good build quality and constant steady pull.
Email Dave Ezzy though. Very approachable and will give you an honest opinion.
I have a Taka 4.5 I, should be a 2015.
As usual I have a opposing opinion to others, it works great for bump and jump, 4.5 conditions in Hatteras, Hood River , and Rio Vista , Cally.
i have a 4.8 custom and 4.0 ,, both are 4B, the Taka fits that great. I had the Elite in several sizes and prefer the Taka.
i have a new sail delivered soon, if interested in the 4.5 , USA or Canada, pm me.
Don't own one but have tried them, they are primarily design for waves/air/tricks that need a sail that depowers very quickly (needed for many of those moves) but also work well for the non-tricksters out there. But the Elites are the best for wave sailing, IMO, that doesn't really require a need for instant depowering, but gives you solid power all the time. The older I get, the less I care about being a trickster, I love the Elites the best.
I've noticed the evolution of the Taka since the first edition, at first they were very short on battens, not just the number of them, but the length. Every year the partial battens (started w/ 2, and now have 3) have gotten longer, and this year the center one is just about 20 to 30cm (depending on sail size) short of being Elites, if it reached the mast, you'd basically have an Elite. Bottom line, they started off being very radical, but have evolved into being more of an all around wave sail, and not as specialized.
This kind of makes me wonder what will happen in 2018, will they still offer the Taka and the Elite?
They are both getting more and more alike.
I've never tried the Taka 3, but I'd bet it would suit my sailing needs better than the original ones.
All sails, you have to balance low end to top end, for the winds you face.
Sails with more low end, Taka, all 3 battens, and SuperFreaks, have to be used in smaller sizing that heavy, twisty, more battenned sails.
^ Yeah. Nah.
SuperFreaks are pretty damn good at venting too much power. I'd have to completely disagree with you there; their wind range is enormous, and they are super, super stable.
Their downside is they are a little dull, I guess. They aren't crisp and sharp; they're soft and easy.
If I had to sail in a gusty storm a SuperFreak would be my first and only choice.
/fanboy.
Taka's have good lower end power, poor overpowered, so they're similar to SFreaks, and other 3 batten sails, compared to sails with 6 or more battens and of the same sizing.
The more battens your sail has, the bigger you gotta, and can, use them.
The less battens your sail has, the smaller you gotta, and can use.
Too simple for the genius mind.
The legacy looks good too, and in the 5.2 size it is classified as a wave sail. The size I get will be around a 5.2-5.4 size. This will replace my older North Dr. X 5.3 sail. I will be sailing my new sail on my 115L Naish Starship by the way.
Still not feeling it.
All 3 battens are very on and off (like you want riding a perfect wave). But that translates to the same feeling when just planing along and especially if it is gusty. On and off is exactlywhat we all hate when blasting.
So much so, that I like them on a certain wave and when the wind moves 20deg more onshore and the wave changes a bit, or the wind varies by 5kn instead of 3kn I start to dislike the sail.
They are very specialised.
The reason we have things like a Sailworks Hucker, is the Gorge is a bit different. It is the most hardcore B&J spot, not cross-off wave riding and not speedsailing. To suggest a Taka for the Gorge is like suggesting a Hucker for Ho'okipa.
To me the Hucker was designed around Dale Cook, a Sailworks designer, who does huge aerials. I see some Huckers, but not like Ezzy Tigers and Cheetahs.
the Legacy, was introduced as a no frills freeride in larger sizes, and like all Ezzy morfs into a wave sail in smaller. It of course has quality as known from Ezzy.
the Taka, does depower, it was designed with that in mind. Since the first year Elites a lot of change has taken place on with the experience gained on both Taka and Elite.
the lightness of the Taka and Elite as appealing to me.
will have to research, but I recall the Tiger in 2017 is more Elite
The Elite will be on their website pretty soon, I think they might have dropped sails bigger than 6.1(biggest is 6.1) on the Elite.
A bunch of mates and I have been using Ezzy's for quite a while now, we all are currently on Taka 1 2 and 3, coming off Elites, Panthers, SE Waves and so on, go the Taka 3, it all gets better and better as the years roll on. The picture is of Taka's 1 2 and 3 last night.
So is it true that the 2016 Ezzy Taka 5.0 is equivalent to a 5.3 regular wave sail with 4-5 battens? I have been reading that the wind range is huge on the Takas.
The 2016 Taka 5.0 calls for a 370 mast bottom and a 400 mast top. I have a Ezzy 400 Hookipa mast. Would my 400 perform well in the Taka 5.0 sail?
The wind range is quite large, the sails prefer to be sailed in less wind, so yes the next size down from what you would normally ride, I have never put an 400 mast in the 5.0, the base is set at 20 for the 5.0 with 370/400 mast, so I don't think the head would adjust that far, I have rigged 400b and 370t couldn't notice anything. contact the guys at ezzy they will know it all, as what they say is what it is, the Taka 3 are even lighter than all the other years.
If I used less than 20 mast extention on the 5.0 Taka, that should make up for my 400 mast bottom being longer than the 370 recommend mast bottom right? If my logic is correct, what would that mast extention be set at if I use my 400 mast? Not sure how much longer the 400 mast bottom is in comparison to the 370 mast bottom.
All Ezzy sails come with top cap straps of a couple of different lengths, making it possible to rig them on a mast that is a bit longer than the preferred length, so it shouldn't be a problem.
However M.R., as the ad says "if you are serious about wave riding.....", so why not consider the Elite, or similar, for the Gorge? Many Gorge regulars say that the Columbia has waves, I've ridden those "waves" and they are not the same as real waves in the ocean which is reason behind the Takas.
Many friends of mine have taken their Takas up to the Gorge and have returned to say that the Takas work better at home (in the ocean).
"Travel air" (a very long jump) is popular at the gorge, and a 4 or 5 batten sail is going to provide that much better than a 3 batten sail, so you have to ask yourself, where are you going to be using it, and what type of sailing are you going to be doing.
Are you planning on spending a fair amount of time at Pistol River or Cape Sebastian? If so, get a Taka, if not ..........
Most of my sailing is in Klamath Lake,Or. The lake is much wider than the Columbia river, but the waves are smaller. 4 feet max tall waves when the wind is blowing 20-25 mph. The wind at Klamath tops out at 30 mph. The wind at Klamath is much more consistent then at the gorge, but not as windy as the gorge. I only go to the Gorge for one week out of the year for now. All of my other 40 sessions are at Klamath lake. I love to carve in and out of chop , jump waves from the wind shop, and have a light sail to throw around when I'm out their. I also like to blast around in between. That is the type of sailing I do. I thought of the Taka, because the price tag is pretty nice at my shop.
There are a lot of them for sale at Windance (used) for a reason, I was surprised that the shops up there got a bunch of them in stock when they first came out, they weren't designed for there. So yes, they are "on sale" at inland places.
Different subject~
I have a feeling that the re-animated Zeta from many years gone by, will be a successful sell, the name alone has a great reputation, I loved the ones I had.
This Zeta sounds like a new sail with the best of the Taka incorporated into a five batten layout. The Elite 6.4 and 6.8 are now redundant I suspect since the bigger sizes of the Elite were 5 batten and the new form replaces in the Zeta, then the 4 batten Elite is for sizes 6.1 and below.
For Magic Ride the best choice of sails are probably the Ezzy Tiger or Ezzy Legacy. The Elite is also good for b&j and free ride blasting and given the new models some good deals may be available.
I have looked at the Legacy as well. Looks like an attractive sail too. A lot of deciding here.
I've been using takas since they came out ghe original was good in consistent conditions but the taka 2 is awesome, i sail year round in southwest Australia, from great summer conditions to winter storms, the wind range is huge, i sail mostly a 5 and 4.5 , the taka 2 is very stable when rigged correctly, one off there big advantages is when the wind drops you can re tune them and use the huge bottom end .
Probably one of the easiest sails to jibe ive had .
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..
There are a lot of them for sale at Windance (used) for a reason, I was surprised that the shops up there got a bunch of them in stock when they first came out, they weren't designed for there. So yes, they are "on sale" at inland places.
Different subject~
I have a feeling that the re-animated Zeta from many years gone by, will be a successful sell, the name alone has a great reputation, I loved the ones I had.
Windance is a large Ezzy dealer, they have Ezzy in their demo fleet, so after a season they sell them. The number of Naish sails is equal or higher. The US distributor is located close by For a Ezzy, actually so is Naish.
curious ..what's your ' reason' a lot of them are for sale?
A sailor who who works for Chinok, sails Hood River a lot, uses KS3 HSM, testament that pure wave sails work just fine, 3B or nor.
this time of year, the shops , inland or seaside offer huge savings on gear, cause the 2017 are coming.
Forceten,
Like you said, this is the off season for windsurfing around here. Hardly any wind, and if it comes up it's all gusty from the east, but the prevailing winds from the NW don't blow until March or April. Right now it's snowing in the mountains here. A lot of windsurfing shops are also unloading their 2016 gear for less, making room for their 2017 gear. Would think that would be the same for all shops though.
Forceten, I understand and already know everything you said, I've been buying sails from Windance for about as long as they have been in existence.
Without looking in their books, I have a feeling that they have probably sold/demoed as many Elites as they have Takas. But there are many more used Takas for sale than Elites, so I'm simply exercising my freedom of deduction.
And yes, I know 3 batten sails work at the Gorge, my point was never that they don't, my point was there are better sails for the Gorge, that it, nothing more.
Hell an original Windsurfer battenless triangle sail will work at the Gorge, and you could even top it off with a teak boom. 
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..
Forceten, I understand and already know everything you said, I've been buying sails from Windance for about as long as they have been in existence.
Without looking in their books, I have a feeling that they have probably sold/demoed as many Elites as they have Takas. But there are many more used Takas for sale than Elites, so I'm simply exercising my freedom of deduction.
And yes, I know 3 batten sails work at the Gorge, my point was never that they don't, my point was there are better sails for the Gorge, that it, nothing more.
Hell an original Windsurfer battenless triangle sail will work at the Gorge, and you could even top it off with a teak boom.
True enough , more Taka than Elites, a lot more. Is the Taka bad then ? Their are also more Tigers than Elites.
you avoided answering , your freedom of deduction , Why their are More Takas than Elite For sale?
Actually you did answer , ^ they weren't designed for there^
but you know 3B sails work at the Gorge, but better sails exist, must be the Tigers,which outnumber the 4B Elites for sale.
course the Tigers have been out for some time where Elite only from 2015.
interesting
Well I made my decision. I ended up going with the 2016 Ezzy Legacy 5.2 sail. This will replace my 2001 North 5.3 Dr X sail. Thanks everyone for your feedback.
