Had a chance to demo the 5.2 and 4.8 S1 Pro two weeks ago and am a bit lost for words to describe the improvements Ben has managed to deliver in his latest offering. I have been on S1s since 2011 and have come to expect a notable improvement with each iteration but this year they are something else.
Only got to try them in the bay but over a big range of wind conditions ranging from fluky 15-18 knot on shore to 25 knot cross shore and everything in between. Had the '14 5.2m S1 rigged for a side by side comparison with a demo 5.2m S1 Pro both on a 90 rdm and one lucky team rider's 4.8m S1 pro on a Gorilla mast. Gave them a go on a couple of boards, 80L Nuevo, 84L Nude Chopper, 90L Starboard Flare, 89L JP Freestyle.
The experience left us scratching our heads a how much better, seriously better these sails were compared to last years model, and they were and still are great sails. Best way to describe the improvement is its like going from a 60% carbon mast and aluminium boom to a 100% carbon mast and boom or if you are into road bikes going from an aluminium frame to a quality carbon frame ride.
First thing you notice is how light they are in the bag, then how much lighter they feel carrying them down to the beach but its when you first pump on to the plane and hook in that the expletives start flowing.
On the beach they appear quite flat compared to the '13 and '14 S1s but on the water power and wind range is up noticeably from last year but the weightless feel, acceleration and instant but controlled response to gusts is what will leave you scratching your head.
These things must be a bugger to mass produce, each panel appears to be individually CNC printed with carbon fibre ribbon to get the loads precisely distributed and flex where its needed. The fibres lined up so well between panels we initially thought that the whole sail had been printed in one hit but they look like individually shaped and printed panels. I guess you get more control over sail shape that way.
I'm a relative light weight at 70kg so thought I would give the 4.8m S1 Pro a go on a 370 Redline after trying it on a 400, it definitely worked for me which was a bonus. Softened up the sail quite a bit but not too much. Had no complaints on the 400 mast but much preferred it on the 370. Probably stick with the 400 if you weight anything more or use a quad. The 4.8m worked so well for me I'm ditching my '13 5.3m and just going with the 4.8m as my biggest sail this year!!!
Outline looked very similar to '14 with the top 3 battens shifted up a little and the sail a bit taller than the '14 model.Ben has really come up with something special with these full CNC printed sails, I wouldn't be surprised to see the other big manufacturers following suit. Hopefully they can scale up the manufacturing process to keep costs down so us mere mortals can afford them ;-)
The Blade Pro has also gone through a similar transformation so if you like a more locked in power feel that might be worth a try.
Some pics below:
Yes, we hear this every year.
It is amazing that every year, every review promotes how much better the sales have developed.
Yet looking back at my 2004 wave sails, there really isn't any noticeable performance benefits compared to all the other sails I have used since ... 2006, 2008, 2014 years.
I would seriously consider splasing the upgrade cash on 2 weeks in Maui for 14 days of sailing vs an 'upgrade' in sails.
Had to use my '13 S1 in the waves yesterday. Not very satisfactory after having used the S1 Pro :'(
Waiting, waiting, waiting......
@jh2703 - price generally based on ability and how much you buy from my observations to date. Needless to say they are more expensive than last year's model, maybe a distributor can chime in with a RRP?
I've got a 4.8m s1 pro, I haven't used it enough to give a real opinion yet. But so far so good, feels really nice.
I can't remember exact prices I try to forget them as soon as I walk out of the shop... But the pro is around the same price or slightly cheaper than a north wave sail (expensive) and the regular s1 was to be around the same price as last years 850-950ish?
If you're in melbourne the Zu had them last time I was in there so would be worth going in and having a chat.
As much as these look and go awesome I would say the 2015 S1 (non pro?) would be pretty similar in performance if were looking to save a bit of money/ planning on putting it over the reef regularly.
But if anyone sees me around on the beach I'm more than happy to do a gear swap for 10 minutes and you can see what you think!
I think Severne may be snookering themselves with the pro models.
First it was :
Severne Sails - they're good
Now it is :
Severne Sails - Holy Sh!#
So where can they go in 2016 ?
Severne Sails - like better than like a gazillion buckets of awesomeness ??
Definitely an interesting approach Ben has taken with the 'Pro' model this year, car companies have been doing it successfully for years so Severne might be on to something.
Get customers drooling over an AMG, HSV, SLX, etc to get them into the show room, let them have a tyre kick and a test drive of the performance model then point them to the model they can actually afford. Not sure how many would opt for a base model when they could afford the top of the range, personally I'm all for choice.
Came across this interesting snippet recently
According to the figures, Volkswagen-owned French brand Bugatti’s benchmark-settingVeyron supercar makes a loss of 4,617,500 euros ($6.69 million) per vehicle.
Hope Severne aren't losing that much per sail but I imagine the margins on the S1 Pro aren't going to make them a whole lot given the involved construction process. If you can afford and realise the potential of premium products then they are actually a pretty good value proposition given the loss leader model. Even if you can't get the full potential out of a 'Pro' model there is something reassuring about not being able to blame your gear for holding you back.
With failing knees, back and limited talent I'll take any small advantage going . I make a point of trying everything I can lay my hands on, would hate to discover I could have been on something better....
Lots of great gear out there at the moment with wave sailing making a bit of a resurgence, couldn't believe the action from Pozo and Tenerife. Would find it hard to believe that it is all just talent. More forgiving and predictable gear has really helped me improved over recent years.
Boys on Goya gear were ripping at 13th on Sunday in pretty average conditions, might have me a little try on those too...
One would think RRP would be a legitimate question and answer in a gear review forum. It's something I'd want to know as a consumer.
.....It's not like your flogging a 2 for 1 offer?
This sucks .... the retailers on seabreeze who happily promote their products cannot even answer a simple question about the price.
Why would they avoid helping with an obvious important piece of info? how much?
First rule about severne sail prices -we dont talk about sail prices
Second rulet about severne sail prices - when people ask about sail prices, tell em to bugger off
I guess the lack of response is a simple justification to be annoyed with the severne sails retailers and hence stick with my NP gear and hence save money anyway without having to buy new masts anyway.
Plenty of pros perform well on NP and Maui Sails and etc etc