NeilPryde sails have a good amount of detail in
their fittings: the pads, clew, and batten tensioning
are all excellent. The actual sail itself does feel light
weight, and the monofilm is thinner than on some
of the other sails here. The Fly2 is one of the most
compact sails in test with the shortest luff and the
second shortest boom. Sail weight is on the lighter
side of this group at 3.12kg.
On the water
The Fly2 has a unique boom angle within this group,
and the clew position feels very low compared to the
other sails (particularly if you’re tall and have a high
boom). It’s something you get used to after a while,
but it does take a bit of adjusting to and gives this
sail a unique sailing position. Once you adapt to this
the Fly is really nice. It’s one of the most stable in
the group, and although not the absolute lightest on
the beach, it feels one of the lightest in your hands.
It’s very responsive and manoeuvrable and also very
predictable, controlled and compact through the turns.
First Impression
Once you’ve adjusted to the boom angle you’ll find
the Fly2 a great performer, offering the benefits
you’d expect from a 4-batten sail: compact,
manoeuvrable, responsive and light handling.
NAISHBOXER4.5m
Price: £479
Luff: 392cm
Boom: 160cm
Mast: 370cm Firestick
Weight: 3.02kg
On the beach
The Boxer isn’t only the lightest sail in this group
(even more impressive as it is one of the biggest),
but it also looks to be very well built, and the weight
saving seems to be achieved using some exotic
materials rather than just by reducing film thickness.
It’s fairly conservative in its measurements within
this group, with both luff and boom length in the
middle of the range. Rigging is fairly critical, and
care needs to be taken to ensure that just the right
amount of downhaul is applied (not necessarily
what’s recommended on the foot of the sail).
On the water
A favourite within our all-round wave sail test, the
Boxer is one of the most ‘all-round’ 4-batten sails out
there. While it offers all the advantages you’d expect
from a 4-batten sail (light handling, compact feel,
manoeuvrability and responsiveness), it manages to
combine this with a pretty decent wind range and
ease of use. The Boxer actually bridges the gap
nicely between a 4-batten and 5-batten sail. It has
plenty of power, feels nicely balanced and controlled,
and is relatively stable. It did ‘feel’ quite big (it was
one of the biggest sails in this group at 4.7m), but
was responsive and entertaining to sail even when
getting to the point of being overpowered.
First Impression
Well built, light and suitable for a wide range of
uses and demands. One of the best all-round
4-batten sails out there, and a good match for
many of the 5-batten sails on the market in terms
of overall performance. A well refined product.
SEVERNESWAT4.7m
Price: £359
Luff: 404cm
Boom: 162cm
Mast: 400cm RDM
Weight: 3.03kg
On the beach
This is definitely a ‘budget’ sail in terms of what
Severne are able to produce, and the price reflects
this, although quality is by no means poor and matches
many of the sails in this group. The weight is impressive
at 3.03kg, making it the second lightest sail to the
Boxer - both of which are 4.7s. The Severne looks to
have a lot of area quite high up in the sail, and the luff
length of 404cm (longest in test) reinforces this. The
foot is cut extremely high, and we actually found it quite
difficult to work out how to get the best set out of it.
On the water
We have to admit that we struggled with this sail. We only had limited time on it, so perhaps we're missing something, but it felt like the power was very high up in the sail and a bit unsettled. Despite rigging it a number of different ways, quite honestly we just didn't find anything that really clicked. It is however very light in weight, manoeuvrable, and looks stunning on the water in its black and orange colour scheme.
First Impression
The price and looks are stunning, but the
performance is unfortunately not quite as notable.
Perhaps with more time we could have got more
out of this sail, but we are struggling to see how. It
works, but not as well as the best within this group.
SIMMERBLACKTIP4.5m
Price: £485
Luff: 402cm
Boom: 154cm
Mast: 400cm RDM 10
Weight: 3.51kg
On the beach
The Simmer was by far and away the best
made sail within this group. It is well reinforced
everywhere and constructed mostly with excellent
materials. The obvious penalty is weight, and at
3.51kg it’s the heaviest sail in test. The Blacktip
sports the second longest luff of the group and by
far the shortest boom length, which made it feel a
little less compact than the other sails on the water.
On the water
The Blacktip feels manoeuvrable and gives good
drive through the turns, but isn’t as compact or
as light handling as some of the more extreme
designs. Nevertheless, it does hold power well
through the turns, keeping the board driving, and
has decent bottom end power. The top end is
limited (as with most 4-batten sails) and the sail
starts to get quite heavy on the back hand when it
gets to the limit.
First Impression
The best construction by some margin, but the
Blacktip doesn’t quite provide the lightweight
handling and compact feel that you might expect
from a 4-batten sail, but does benefit from being
able to keep the board driving well through the
bottom turn and depowering easily in the top turn.
GAASTRAIQ4.5m
Price: £445
Luff: 390cm
Boom: 163cm
Mast: 370cm RDM
Weight: 3.35kg
On the beach
Despite using the same designer, the Gaastra isn’t
quite as extreme as the Vandal when it comes
to dimensions (luff, boom or weight). It actually
has the longest boom length of the group and a
relatively moderate luff length in comparison to
the competition.
On the water
The IQ is very likeable and easy to use. It holds its
shape well but also has a forgiving and soft power
delivery. However, in a similar way to the Blacktip
the IQ feels like a little bit of a compromise
between 5-batten and 4-batten themes. It does
feel very light and is able to hold the power in the
turns, but doesn’t feel quite as compact as the
Vandal or Boxer.
First Impression
There is no doubting that this is a great sail - it’s
just not as extreme as some of the others in terms
of responsiveness, manoeuvrability and compact
feel. The IQ feels like a good compromise between
4-batten and 5-batten performance.
VANDALRIOT4.4m
Price: £359
Luff: 383cm
Boom: 160cm
Mast: 370cm RDM
Weight: 3.10kg
On the beach
Considering the price is so much cheaper than
anything other than the Severne, it’s surprising
that there was no obvious detriment to the quality.
The Riot looks as good as everything here (apart
from the Simmer) in terms of construction. The luff
length is very short (second shortest in the group),
and sail weight is also impressive (albeit this is a
4.4m sail and the smallest in the group).
On the water
This Riot was actually a bit of a gem in our opinion
and felt really good in terms of what you might
expect from a 4-batten sail. Initially the power
felt a bit back-handed, and it did shift around a
bit, but that was actually okay because it wasn’t
shifting too quickly (unless you wanted it to). Also,
once you got used to that feeling it wasn’t such a
big deal. The sail was quick to respond to inputs
and very responsive. It depowers and powers up
quickly when you’re riding, and that’s what makes
a 4-batten sail so manoeuvrable.
First Impression
Seems to do exactly what you’d expect a 4-batten
sail to do. It is very responsive, compact and
manoeuvrable, and has impressively light handling.
