Test Review - 28/11/2012

Naish Chopper Medium







Young Mr Jamie Blonde.. as he is known at his local beach of East Preston..has been sailing since he was knee high to a grasshopper and knows exactly what he likes.. and what he does not like. But like most fit and correctly sized 6ft-ish plus riders,  he was put off of the Naish Chopper sail by Naish saying "Up to 85kg riders only".  So, we gave him one to try (probably the wrong size...) and this is what he came back to us with!

Hi guys,

A big thank you for the Test ride of the Chopper.
I tried it on Sunday morning in very fickle conditions. It was West'Sou-West
17/23 knots (Steve was out on a 4.2 and Luke on a 5.0m). I normally take bigger than both of them, at 86kg I was thinking that the sail may not work for me. I rigged it on a Point 80% Carbon 370 mast.
First runs out were ok but the wind was always dropping and I had to slog back in.  30 mins later it returned to 20knots, Normally I would have used a 5m Session and been fine on that. Luke was planning earlier than me on his 5m, but I could get going with a bit more effort and a gust. Sailing on Sunday, I was definately under powered, no doubt. But considering that it is meant to measure up to around 4.2m it was bloody amazing I got going at all.
It did not feel like it had much low end to the sail, but somehow it just got you going in a non fussy, easy motion. The pull is from just in front of you, it doesn't pull from high or behind.. it just generates a smooth impetus from the end of your fingers. I think if I had taken the large to try (which is a 4.7) then it would have worked better, even though this would still be smaller than a conventional sail.

There is now doubt they are light, even though the supple material seemed thicker than on my session.
When the wind did pick up every now and again, the power delivery was so smooth and the sail gives a very settled ride, it seemed to improve and become more composed as the wind filled, I feel the higher end would still be as smooth. It did not feel as soft as my sessions but neither was it a crisp firm foil, rotation was also very smooth.

Overall I was impressed as I had my doubts when they put a rider weight limit on it. All in all much better than expected and they worked very well with my weight with no downsides coming to light. I think the longer boom on a smaller size may add to a less twitchy feeling that can occur on smaller sized sails.

I do have my worries about the durability of the screen printing on the sails as there is an awful lot of it, but maybe Naish have stuck them on well!

I would say that I would buy them as the single mast concept on a light compact, high performance sail is the way forward for me.(Just got to sell the house)


Cheers guys!
Jamie

Many thanks to Jamie..  and if you would like to see if a Chopper is the sail for you (they all fit on a 370cm mast) please give us a call on 01273 465366 to arrange a demo!

Reviewed by Jamie

Back to test reviews