Test Review - 18/11/2012

North Hero Sail 2013 (plus Shox extension and K4 fins..)













Phil Dobner is an exceptionally good sailor and one of the most amiable characters on the beach (many of you will know him from his Moon Beach Resort days) and he is also a pretty damn good Dad as well.. hence we have been waiting a while for this report :) . Phil has North Hero sails in 4.5 and 5.0m sizes, which he uses on a North 400cm Platinum RDM mast, and his board is a Witchcraft Tri Fin Wave design (he has promised us a report on the difference using the board with standard W-Craft fins against the K4 Carve and Stubbie fins...so check back in a week or two for that).

So, over to you Phil...

Hi Danny,
My ramblings....

After having quite a few sails on the 2013 North Hero I feel I can now give you a good bit of feedback.
I've sailed most brands over the years but have been using mainly Tushingham wave sails for the last 17 coupled with single fin freestyle waves and 70lt ish single fin wave boards.
I have found the Tushys to be solid in every way providing stacks of power and tune ability with a very easy going and forgiving feel , however I've recently started using Tri fin boards with one 15 cm and two 12cm side fins. The Tushys still worked well but I felt the board wasn't really performing as well as it could...

What was immediately apparent was that the Hero had been designed for multi fin boards, it made a board which I already thought was pretty special in to something just unbelievable.

Whilst going out over white water and chop the sail flexes and stayed perfectly tuned as the board changes speed , it helps the board release from the water almost bringing back that lively single fin feeling but with the control of the multi fin set up. It reminded me of skiing bumps, when you get it right your upper body is still and balanced whilst your knees are flexing and extending keeping the skis in contact with the snow. The Hero does the same, it allows the board to ride up underneath you when going out over chop whilst the body stays still (it does it even better with the Shox extension fitted), and  the flex in the sail just seems to react instantly to the boards deceleration when hitting chop,  stopping that feeling of being pulled upright out of your stance. This definitely gives you more speed and control.

The 4 batten set up combined with the power being further back and above the back hand when powering the sail up for a gybe or bottom turn really helps the inside rail engage with so much more bite,  it drives the board hard around the corner,  but whilst straight line sailing the power stays steady and balanced allowing for a light grip on the boom.

The 4 batten sail design of the Hero suits the multifin boards needs so well, it just feels sooo good to finally get a board and rig set up that's perfectly balanced, I really haven't felt this since my 420 dinghy days endlessly playing around with rig tension and spreader bar angles!

The 4 batten sail concept has been round before as have plastic moulded fins, like the ones from K4, but for some reason it seems that the design concepts of those days were bang on, it's just the boards didn't suit.

Ohhh.. and as for K4 fins on multi fin boards, get a set... without a doubt the cheapest way to loosen you board up, just awesome!

Phil


Pricing for the Hero 4.5m £509.00 and the 5.0m £529.00.
A North Platinum 400cm RDM mast is £505.00 and a Shox RDM Extension £249.00.

For more information on the North Hero, please Click Here

Reviewed by Phil Dobner

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