The Simmer Iron is the power wave sail in the Simmer range. Its sits above the Icon (also tested here) and the Mission for power, with this is its debut year in the range.
"Iron is our most powerful sail built for those who enjoy sailing juiced up, or for the heavier sailor that needs the extra horsepower to get going and stay going. Iron will jump higher, ride longer and power you through all the lulls with ease. Its power profile makes it the sail of choice for real- world environments where the fundamental thing is being up and moving at all times" – Simmer website
Like the Icon, the Iron is a great looking sail. Graphically it is very distinctive on the water and like the Icon, it's clear that Simmer have not cut corners when it comes to build quality and detailing. Luff length is notably the shortest in test (426cm), with a moderate boom length of 175cm.
The foot features a high quality integrated pulley block that takes the strain out of downhauling and the fixed head (without locating prong) makes sleeving the mast a fuss free affair. Other notable details include a height scale on the boom cut-out and a PVC badge to keep the luff sleeve open whilst threading the mast through the cut-out. Simmer don’t offer a visual trim system on the Iron.
We found the Iron to be versatile when it comes to tuning but not quite as versatile as the Icon. Downhaul adjustment works well through a range of settings but it's quite critical to match the outhaul accordingly. Too little and the sail can feel quite backhanded in the gusts, too much and the Iron takes on quite a stiff feel and the bottom end power is reduced. We definitely found the outhaul adjustment to be more critical than on the Icon.
It becomes quickly apparent that the Iron is built for heavier sailors, or those who have a fixation for backhand power. The sail feels crisp, sharp and stable and also surprisingly for a sail so powerful and with notable backhand pull, it is very light in the hands.
There is a huge amount of power on tap and as such the Iron scores first (jointly) for bottom end power which combined with its sharp power delivery, makes it a great sail for getting you onto the plane.
Our lighter Clones (under 80kg) found the sail a bit too powerful and with a lot of backhand pull - not in an unstable way, just simply a lot of power on tap. It seemed the heavier the Clone, the more they liked the sail.
Top end is good as the sail is very stable but it is a question of whether you like having backhand pull when well powered up. Many sails with this characteristic become unstable but we can assure you that the Iron doesn't. It has quite a stiff/rigid feel in the hands which of course helps the top end. It doesn't however feel the most manoeuvrable or playful in the hands as the power and positioning make you adopt a more committed stance.
Like the Icon, the rotation is very good, being smooth and positive.
The Iron does what it says on the tin; it's a power wave sail in the true sense. And a very good one at that. However, if you have any doubts about your need for maximum power, you will probably get a much bigger range of performance from the Icon.
Tuning flexibility
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PHOTOS BY: Simon Crowther
Official response:
"The iron is a personal favourite of mine, the most enjoyable sail I have ever used for freeride blasting and wave riding. Of course in tune of the majority of iron users I fit the profile of the rider in terms of weight and stature.
At approx rider weights of 80 kg plus the iron really comes into its own in terms of drive, twist and handling .Icon for most riders appears more versatile however if you are heavier rider or indeed prefer to sail powered up more of the time then Iron has the versatility to match!
Iron is not just a sail for the "big boys", it is also possible to compliment your quiver by adding larger sizes of iron, say 5.3, 5.7 or 6.2 to get even the lightest rider planing in the more marginal conditions . ie Ben Proffitt is using large irons to compliment his icon quiver in exactly this manner.
Kind Regards,
Farrel O'Shea"
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