RRD: ‘Power wave’ is now the generic name applied to these sails, but in truth our sail is fairly all-round – it just offers a slightly more locked-in and drivey feel with a bit more pressure in the hands to suit riders who like that kind of feel. Many riders – light and heavy – like a bit of grunt in the hands for their moves and riding, but we made sure this wasn’t so much that it pulls you off your feet. You can also get away with using a slightly smaller sail, which is always nice for wavesailing.

GAASTRA: They’re not just for heavyweights; lighter riders can also enjoy the advantages of the extra power in onshore conditions with a lot of current, or as a bump-and-jump sail when there are no waves.

SIMMER: It’s not only for heavier riders. It’s for anyone that likes to have more horsepower to control. Our power wave sail is also more lockedin than our other sails, and this gives a feeling of stability that many people like.

NAISH: The original concept was to blend shaping that produced early planing and speed with an outline that was ideal for wavesailing. This is primarily an advantage for larger riders (who tend to suffer at the bottom of the wind range), and a boon in onshore conditions. But the sails quickly proved themselves to be ideal for ‘power surfers’ of all sizes – guys with an aggressive, two-handed approach to waveriding. Robby Naish is a perfect example of this style. So I’d recommend the Force for most heavy riders and any sailor that likes to feel solid pressure in both hands (as opposed to relying on the sail to go ‘neutral’) while they’re riding. The early planing and speed are also a huge advantage for sailors who predominantly ride in onshore conditions.

SEVERNE: We don’t actually call the Blade a ‘power wave’ sail – we call it a control-oriented wave sail, as opposed to our manoeuvre-oriented wave sail which is the S-1. So it’s definitely not just for heavy riders.

POINT-7: Power wave sails can be for anyone. Having extra power in the sail can have advantages for all sailors depending on the conditions they sail in, their style or how they express themselves when wavesailing. A lighter sailor can enjoy a power wave sail as they may find the drive and pressure points better suited to their sailing. Also, they can use a size smaller rather than using a less powerful sail in a bigger size.

SIMMER: The Iron has the longest boom settings of all our wave sails. To keep the centre of effort in the same place on all Simmer sails (percentagewise) will mean that it’s further back on the Iron than our other wave sails. If I use the Iron with my harness lines positioned further back then I find it very balanced with no back-hand pressure issues. The power could be further forward, but that reduces horsepower and defeats the purpose of a power wave sail in my opinion.

GOYA: A power wave sail should never feel back-handed. Although the power delivery is centred a little further aft on the Eclipse compared to the Guru, if you position your harness lines accordingly there should be no back-hand pressure. As a side note, centring the power a little further aft on the Eclipse creates a richer, wider reaching power source that keeps lifting throughout a wide range of sheeting angles.

SEVERNE: The back-handed feeling can give the impression of power. A sail doesn’t have to be back-handed to be powerful, and our design focus is on making the Blade pull forwards rather than sideways.

GAASTRA: Rather than ‘back-handed’ we’re talking about a more direct feeling. A little backhand helps to give a more positive feedback from the sail, which is helpful when you’re sailing back out from the inside where the wind is gustier and you need to cross the white water.

NORTH: This is really the core question when deciding about your new sail. Therefore you first have to decide on which board you’ll use your sail on – single-fin or multi-fin?

TUSHINGHAM: Power on the back hand needs to be carefully controlled otherwise it’s just drag. A little back-hand pressure gets the board planing earlier though.

POINT-7: Our Sado 2G isn’t back-handed. It has a forward drive. Sails can be powerful without any back-hand pressure. It’s a matter of how the profile and leech work in the sail. Not having back-hand pressure gives great advantages on the cutback, and especially when sailing with multi-fin boards.

SIMMER: A sail has got to be tunable. One sail can’t do it all, it’s got to have a variety of settings to meet various conditions and rider styles.

GOYA: I recommend a single downhaul setting. This establishes the correct twist profile and control factor in the sail, which is always of prime importantance regardless of the wind strength. Then I recommend adjusting the outhaul setting to control the amount of power in the sail. With the sail fully downhauled and the outhaul neutral position, +1cm of outhaul will give a full and powerful profile and +3cm will give a finer, more neutral feeling profile.

MAUI SAILS: Our goal is to deliver a tunable sail for superior function and performance. Tunable sails deliver more range at higher levels of performance compared to ‘one set’ sails.

NORTH: We aim to have both: a wide ‘natural’ wind range plus a tunable wind range to squeeze even more out of our sails. We regard having a wide wind range as the most important performance criteria.

NAISH: A properly tuned sail rarely needs to be adjusted, but it is nice to be able to retune to extend the range of a given size. Naish sails have a pretty wide tuning range – the result of very balanced and evolved design parameters – and it definitely is an advantage.

GAASTRA: Sure, tunability is a plus. Not only for different conditions, but also depending on personal style and taste. Some prefer a bigger sail with a more tensioned trim, others a smaller one with less tension.

TUSHINGHAM: We’ve always tried to have a wide tuning range not just to allow sailors to adjust power to suit the conditions, but also to enable them to find the feel that suits their personal style.

SEVERNE: I think it’s important for this style of sail to have a wide range of performance on a single setting so that it’s as easy as possible for anyone to get maximum performance out of their sail. From our testing we’d say that while some of these sails are more tunable than others, the core characteristics of the sail don’t really change with tuning. For example, if the sail naturally seems to have the draft a little further back you can tune it a little either side, but you can’t make it a fronthanded sail just by tuning.

RRD: It’s more a question of feel. As said, the Super Style offers a more locked-in feel, driving the board better and generally moving around the break faster.

SIMMER: Power wave sails offer stability and control, and the possibility of using a sail size smaller.

NAISH: First off, I’d say that the power wave sail is the all-round sail – it has the widest range, and the low end is a big part of defining a sail’s versatility. Beyond that there are many good reasons to use smaller sizes. A lighter rider who surfs with a power style will need smaller sizes in given conditions, and a heavier rider will still need the low end in stronger winds to get through the lulls. Additionally, it’s nice to keep the ‘feel’ of the sails consistent throughout your quiver.

GAASTRA: Even in strong winds the conditions are gusty, so heavier riders will take advantage of the added power of this sail. The extra stability is also a plus for jumping.

SEVERNE: The Blade is our all-round wave sail. It’s designed for control, not power.

MAUI SAILS: The goal is delivering clear performance advantages in each sail range. The smaller sizes in the Global range are purpose-built to deliver all-round performance with an emphasis on power required for multi angle wavesailing.

GOYA: It’s the power delivery. The Eclipse delivers power very quickly when you sheet in after transitions, jumps and manoeuvres. There’s almost no delay – you sheet in and the sail just goes. Again, it comes back to a question of preference. If you like the feel of this style of sail, then they’re quite applicable even for well powered up, small sail conditions. They may even offer the opportunity of using a smaller sized sail, thanks to that extra power. However, once using sizes below 5.0m, lighter riders in waves may find that they’re better off opting for sails with the pull position further forward to give them more control. If you’re planning to use the sail for high wind bump-and-jump or flat water use, then the more locked-in feel, firmer profile and generally higher stability of these power waves tend to make them the most applicable option. While there’s no doubting that they’re generally designed for wave use, it seems that the characteristics that make them good for this purpose also lend themselves well to flat-water use in high winds.

NAISH: The wide range and excellent allround performance characteristics make them ideal for both, and in our internal testing we’re always looking for that magic combination of characteristics that delivers both specific wave performance and an all-around great sail.

GAASTRA: These sails are designed for wave use, but they’re also great in flat water for strong wind bump-and-jump. They’re light, stable and controllable.

RRD: The power wave sail is actually great for almost everyone. We tested these sails a lot with our freestyle-wave boards and found that the low end power helps get the bigger boards up and going quicker, and is also better at driving the board in classic bump-and-jump conditions too.

SEVERNE: The Blade has been designed specifically for waves, but the control and stability make it well suited to any high-wind use.