Neil Pryde Quality Reply
EDWARD
I sent an e-mail to the Neil Pryde URL commenting on the problems I have
had with NP sails and the mono falling apart very quickly.
Anyhow I got a reply via e-mail in less than 12 hours and a phone call
from Maui in less than 24 hrs from one of their designers.
He was very interested in the concerns that others have brought up on
this site and wanted a lot of feedback.
I am impressed that they replied so quickly and are following up to
complaints. If anyone has any comments please post to this thread and I
will forward.
The gentleman I spoke with was very forthwright and his comments were
without any sales fluff. He mentioned design changes that are taking
place and continued changes and his interest in speaking with schools to
see on durability. All good signs.
Regards
Edward
Stan Chandler
to the dealer and everything was handled with no hassles at all, even to the
point
of replacing a three year old cam that was going bad on a V-8.
Stan
TomBuckOb2
>The gentleman I spoke with was very forthwright and his comments were
>without any sales fluff. He mentioned design changes that are taking
>place and continued changes
One would hope that a company the size and reputation of NP would work out
these design changes on a $600.00 sail before selling them for an entire
season.
I would be really pissed to have a $600.00 sail which was falling apart after 1
- 2 seasons. I expect mine to last at least five.
Tom - Chicago
TomBuckOb2
I am a guy who wants sails to last at least 5 years. I also can't stand being
part of the NP Booster Club.
I am considering new quivers from three manufacturers:
Windwing (Synthesis)
Sailworks (Retro)
Aerotech
I want 4 sails from 5.0 to 9.0 rigging on no more than two masts. I sail
mostly in lighter winds, and early planing is a critical feature for me.
I weigh 185 and my big shortboard is an AHD 297 Free, my small shortboard is an
old HyperTech 275.
I am looking to replace both boards this year or next and am considering a
ProTech or Berkey board for my big shortboard and dont' know what for the small
shortboard. The small one will be around 268 and must handle big rollers and
chop.
Any advice on sails and boards is appreciated.
Tom - Chicago
Phil Morgan
against UV damage to my sails and equipment. Learned on Okinawa that UV damage was
main factor in sail deterioration. After at least five years of using NP sails,
exclusively, and my 10 years of sailing and talking to other Ws'ers, I'm absolutely
DISGUSTED with the quality of the film in NP sails. Too bad, as I have always
loved their design and stitch quality. I just threw away a NP 7.5 Race I had for
just over two years. Presently use a 7.0 V6 which I bought with a windsurfing pal
two years ago and BOTH of our sails (his is a 7.7V6) our now falling apart. Might
be great sails for the pros (who get corporate sponsorship and $$$) but they're
junk to me. Have some Gaastras (no, they're aren't made by NP anymore) and am
elated with my Naish sails. Too bad, NP, stick with boat sails.
ma...@my-dejanews.com
tombu...@aol.com (TomBuckOb2) wrote:
> Ray:
>
> I am a guy who wants sails to last at least 5 years. I also can't stand being
> part of the NP Booster Club.
>
> I am considering new quivers from three manufacturers:
>
> Windwing (Synthesis)
> Sailworks (Retro)
> Aerotech
>
I've been using Sailworks products since 1993. At the time, I bought a bunch
of used 91's and ended up selling half of them after a few months when I
realized they had way more range than I ever imagined (I had taken a couple
years off from the sport and didn't realize how far sailmaking had advanced
from when I had left off).
I currently own a quiver of 94 Revos that are still in very good shape.
They've been through a lot (I weigh in at about 200# and hate slogging, which
leads to my sailing overpowered and having fairly spectacular wipeouts quite
frequently) and still work like a charm. Last year, I bought a new 6.5 Retro,
and I love it to death. Great sail.
The build quality of Sailworks is way up there; I believe that building a good
sail involves some tradeoffs between durability, light weight, range, and
performance. I personally like where they came out on that set of spectra,
especially with the Retro.
I've seen a bunch of people here in the Bay Area on Windwing Synthesis as
well. Windwing seems to be on the bulletproof side of things. Their owners
swear by them, and from what I've observed, they have great range as well.
I think that Sailworks and Windwing have some of the most evangelistic
customers out there, and there's a ton of good reasons for that. Their stuff
works as advertised and presents good value for the customer.
Another smaller player eliciting that kind of response in the sailing
community here in the Bay is Ezzy. His stuff also lasts a long time, and
people like them for their performance as well.
Between those three brands, I would imagine there being something you would
like. I personally like Sailworks simplicity of approach. Other people like
incredibly beefy sails. Don't see much Aerotech out here; they don't seem to
have too much of a West Coast presence.
> I want 4 sails from 5.0 to 9.0 rigging on no more than two masts. I sail
> mostly in lighter winds, and early planing is a critical feature for me.
>
If you use a Fiberspar Reflex wave, the 460 should let you rig Retros from 5.0
to 7.0. I'm using one for my 6.5, and it is responsive like a race mast with
only a little bit of extra weight (hardly noticeable). As this would be you
main mast, it's well worth the money and can easily withstand some light surf.
You may want to consider making the 5.0 a wavesail for extra handling. They've
come a long way in terms of performance and stability.
Good luck,
Andreas
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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NLW TFW NM
direct sunlight fit into a 5-year life span?
Mike \m/
Rainer Leuschke
I bought a one year old NP in good condition last year and blew out two
panels on two consecutive weekends. First to go was a panel near the clew
- that hit nothing but water. Next was a big panel above the boom - I
landed on it. Also had some stiching come loose at the top end of the mast
sleeve.
I love the way the NP MPRs feel. Would I buy NP again? If I find 'em cheap
in almost new condition I might. I don't really land on my sails any more.
But I worry about them a bit when I loan them to friends and I'd love
to keep loaning them out and I wouldn't worry if they were North Zetas or
Sailworks or something. NPs are high performance, disposable sails. Their
price is certainly not justifable.
R!
-- ,--+___.
,/ | \
___ / | \. Rainer Leuschke
__ / | \. phone: (w) 206-685-0900 ,
__ / 14 |\ \ (h) 206-524-7887 |\ __
| ~~ | \ USA \ | \ __
| | \ 1111 \ | o\ -
| | \ \ If I liked pain when |~U'\
| | \ | sailing I'd get a |/(-'
+--o o--| \ | Finn so I wouldn't `------;-
.|_[]{ }_|------+======' have to share!
M|_______________| - Doug King
U H
U
Mark 'cecil' DeFriest
distance with me, and more. I sail in excess of 100 days a year, maybe
150, and sure, I've had the odd panel replaced on my V8's, but I'm still
sailing slalom and wave sails 3 to 5 years after purchase.
And this is down here in Oz where the ozone hole is (apart from the odd 2
month windsurfing vacation in Maui.... there again June/July this year
again with my NP's)
I have no doubt that other sails are as good... North, Naish whatever....
but I felt I had to be fair to NP and stand up for their product.
No, I have no connection with the company, just an obsessive amateur
windsurfer like 99.9% of the rest of us on this board.
--
__ /\ May the wind be at your side
Mark 'Cecil' DeFriest / \_/ \ since it's no good coming
ce...@netspace.net.au / \ from up front or behind
Windsurfing Obsessive \ ___ /
Melbourne Australia \_/ \*/ Windtech 9'4" custom carbon
__ HiTech 8'6" carbon/kevlar
\/ Pryde V8's (6.0, 7.0, 8.5)
Pryde NR's (5.3, 6.0)
http://www.pb.com.au/pb/homes/12000.htm Pryde Combat's (4.7, 4.0)
Duncan Lovett
offer my 2 cents worth. You might want to consider Arrows. My 5.7m is
about 4/5 years old and has taken a hell of a battering with previous
owners and me learning with it, yet there has been no problems with it. I
bought a new harrier 6.6 last year (98) because of the 5.7's quality.
Still having said that I love the 97/98 NP V6 6m, which I think is my fav
sails of all time, and I have a 92 ish NP RAF Wave 4.2 which has also
stood the test of time really well. I think that most modern sails can
last well, IF you take good care of them.
Duncan
--
Duncan W D Lovett
dun...@dircon.co.uk
If you would like to reply to me, please remove the added @no.junk.mail and replace with "@dircon.co.uk".
Anton
Mark 'cecil' DeFriest <ce...@netspace.net.au> wrote in message
cecil-20019...@dialup-t1-122.melbourne.netspace.net.au...
>I have nothing but admiration for NP - their sails have lasted the
>distance with me, and more. I sail in excess of 100 days a year, maybe
>150, and sure, I've had the odd panel replaced on my V8's, but I'm still
>sailing slalom and wave sails 3 to 5 years after purchase.
>
Do all NP sails come from the same factory? I'm just wondering if there is a
reason for these completely different experiences.
While they don't seem to last quite as well as some brands, I've never seen
any of the "fell apart after 3 sessions" kinda stuff either, and I'm also
happy with the ones I've had over the years.
Note that this is just my experience, and I'm not doubting anyone that has
had the opposite. I hope that the guys with the bad sails were "unlucky"
rather than the guys with the good sails being "lucky" - if you see what I
mean.
Cheers
Anton
JYBECITY
sailor. After 10+ years of only 6.0 or below I have given in and have gone
big. I can play with my 87 liter PT and the 7.5 Stealth very comfortably.
Just anotherangle-
CYA,
Danny
NLW TFW NM
price is certainly not justifable."
I hear that. Are they still asking about $650 for their recreational 6.5 slalom
sail (the V8)? Holy cow!
Mike
ptho...@my-dejanews.com
I have to say that I own all Hot Sails as of last season and am very
impressed with both performance and durability. I have a reputation as a gear
wrecker and sail 120 days/year and have been able to do little damage to
them. They have always been cheaper than the big name brands, and I think
that may give some people the idea that they are not as good (I prefer money
in the bank to prestige on the beach). I suspect that the difference in cost
might be related to marketing. It seems like smaller companies like Hot,
Sailworks, Ezzy, etc. don't spend the big bucks on marketing, but let the
product sell itself largely based on the merits of the product via word of
mouth, demo, etc. I suspect that a good portion of the price tag of a Neil
Pryde or an F2 product helps pay for sponsorship, big ads, etc.
I was lucky enough to meet Jeff Henderson, one of the owners of Hot, and his
wife Jennifer (team rider)in Maui recently. They are really down to earth and
it was nice to see my dollars going to real people vs. a big corporation/
marketing machine. Not that I'd buy gear just for that reason, but if I can
get good gear from good people at a good price, I'll do it.
Peter
Slalom
looks like a piece of crap.
Bye, Bye Neil Pryde!
Slalom
Concept
sails!! I have bought in my 12 years of windsurfing all top of the line NP sails
"at least NP 30 sails" and have noticed that they are not made as good or last as
long as they use to! I sail ONLY June to maybe September mostly on weekends and
feel I don't really over use them at all. On a different note though I keep on
going back EVERY year and buy more NP top of the line sails "at least 2" cause I
like they way they perform and want to go faster. I would hope that these
postings brings out many more sailors that have been unhappy with NP quality and
make NP change the way the sails are made!
win...@my-dejanews.com
were very negative with comments like you get what you pay for etc. These
comments made me think twice about a hot sail but then I noticed that most of
these were from the Pryde pushers and the more posts I read the more I
noticed that the complaints are about Pryde sails and not Hot or other
brands. So it looks like you don't get what you pay for in a pryde sail. In
the end I bought a nother Ezzy and I know it's a good sail that I can sail
for a long time even if I don't look after it. Plus maybe the shop that said
Ezzy was going bankrupt was pushing Pryde sails by eliminating the
competition through bullshit.
JohnMic
sail company
designer
prototype loft
prototype sailmaker
test riders
materials
manufacturer
shipping
advertising
importer
team riders
retailer
import duties and taxes
patents
Lots of mouths to feed in that chain,for what is essentially a few square
meters of cotton and monofilm.
So if the materials are one of the smallest costs ,what is the point of
skimping on these it surely wont result in a more cost effective sail? Even
if thinner materials make for quicker manufacturing it must be pretty
marginal.
Anyway my point is that with all the above overheads and a relativly small
market, I am suprised sails dont cost a whole lot more.
JohnM
Remove "no spam" and replace "evilempire" with "msn"
for email
NLW TFW NM wrote in message <19990120001156...@ng56.aol.com>...
Cris Pavloff
>Give Hot Sails Maui a shot... I tried the Stealth and now I am a born again
>sailor. After 10+ years of only 6.0 or below I have given in and have gone
>big. I can play with my 87 liter PT and the 7.5 Stealth very comfortably.
>Just anotherangle-
>CYA,
>Danny
I hear loud and clear on Hot Sails. I changed over to them in 1995
and will never go back. They are awesome - race, slalom, wave/bump
and jump.
More people should give them a try, cause they are great.
Anthony Hand
are spread across many sails.
eg R&D per sail (eg team riders/designers) is lower if you sell 10,000 sails
vis a vis if you sell 1000 sails.
JohnMic wrote in message <36a64...@139.134.5.33>...
TomBuckOb2
>"at least NP 30 sails" and have noticed that they are not made as good or
>last as
>long as they use to! I sail ONLY June to maybe September mostly on weekends
I sail the same way as you do and I have purchased 10 sails (including the
original 6.0 M soft sail which came with my HiFly 600 CS) over my 12 years of
sailing, and I sail in all weather from 9.1 M longboard to 4.2 M shortboard.
Lets see, 20 Sails x $600.00 each = $12,000. You probabaly recovered $2,000 -
3,000 on resale for a net of $9,000 to $10,000 difference.
1) How can you possibly go through so many sails?
2) Why do you keep buying NP??
Tom - Chicago
Concept
1) I have a total of about $15,000 plus I have spent on "NP" sails,masts,booms in
the last 12 years. I rotate my sails,masts booms so that I have that I get rid
of them in a time frame of about 2 years "if they last that long". I never
looked at what I got back in selling the old stuff, but not much.
2) I keep buying NP "like I said" cause I like to go fast and like the way they
perform. I don't like the quality they have had as of late though!