Sail Durability - North vs. Neil Pryde

Lehel Somogyi

unread,

May 26, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/26/96

to

In recent postings there was discussion on durability of sails,
specifically of North and NP. Some folks were arguing that one should
go for the five year warrany of North. Years ago I had a North and
indeed it was bulletproof. How these two brands compare these days, as
far as durability is concerned?

Lehel Somogyi, M.D., Ph.D.
Back to windsurfing soon (after five years of involuntary absence)
Sla...@ix.netcom.com

Wolfgang Soergel

unread,

May 28, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/28/96

to

In article r...@dfw-ixnews8.ix.netcom.com, Sla...@ix.netcom.com (Lehel Somogyi) writes:
>In recent postings there was discussion on durability of sails,
>specifically of North and NP. Some folks were arguing that one should
>go for the five year warrany of North. Years ago I had a North and
>indeed it was bulletproof. How these two brands compare these days, as
>far as durability is concerned?
>

From my personal experience (most recent sail : 95 Zeta),
North Sails are really bullet proof and their customer service has been good,
even without the 5 year warranty (at least in Germany).

Neil Pryde sails are also very well made but seem to be a bit lighter / less
reinforced. I saw some torn Neil Pryde wave sails (Wave NR, torn at the leach)
last year in Klitmoeller, no damaged North Sails. Both brands get used about
equally (and together with Ezzy they seem to be used by the majority of european
wave sailors), but don't take this observation too seriousely (small sample size,
maybe the Neil Pryde riders are more radical, bad luck,....).

I think if you can afford them, you won't go wrong with one of the two brands.

"Finally got a 5.0 day" Wolfgang

---
Wolfgang Soergel, M.S. (C.U.)
Chemin Benjamin-Dumur 6 Pirckheimerstrasse 4
1008 Prilly D-91207 Lauf
Switzerland Germany
wsoe...@desun1.epfl.ch wsoe...@cip.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de

Gary Wood

unread,

May 28, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/28/96

to

In article <4of58o$p...@info.epfl.ch>, wsoe...@desun1.epfl.ch (Wolfgang Soergel) says:
>
>Neil Pryde sails are also very well made but seem to be a bit lighter / less
>reinforced. I saw some torn Neil Pryde wave sails (Wave NR, torn at the leach)
>last year in Klitmoeller, no damaged North Sails. Both brands get used about
>equally (and together with Ezzy they seem to be used by the majority of european
>wave sailors), but don't take this observation too seriousely (small sample size,
>maybe the Neil Pryde riders are more radical, bad luck,....).
>
>I think if you can afford them, you won't go wrong with one of the two brands.

I've always felt that North had just a tad edge over NP in durability,
and NP had the edge in weight. Not that I know a lot about wave sails,
but his seems to hold true for the slalom lines anyways.

Further to Wolfgang's comment, during sailing in Caribbean some time ago,
U.P. sails (94's ?) were getting trashed daily and coming back to the beach
in shreds. Those on same year NPs and Norths were OK.
With sail companies changing lines and makers frequently, a line might be
a bad bet for durability one year and a good one the next. As I understand
it, U.P. now has a good rep for durability in their 95's and 96's.

P PAWLING

unread,

May 28, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/28/96

to

I've been using North wave sails for the past three years, and they've
been very durable through some intense thrashings. But recently I had a
panel blow out on a 5.3, and when I took it back to the dealer, he told
me everything is covered except the mono.

So, while I like the sails and their durability, I wouldn't count on that
supposedly bulletproof five-year guarantee.

Regards,
Pat Pawing

Jonathan M Richardson

unread,

May 29, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/29/96

to

P PAWLING (ppaw...@aol.com) wrote:

: I've been using North wave sails for the past three years, and they've

: been very durable through some intense thrashings. But recently I had a
: panel blow out on a 5.3, and when I took it back to the dealer, he told
: me everything is covered except the mono.

Snake oil!

What good is a warranty of "everything except the mono." 90% of the
sail _is_ mono!

That irks me...

-Jonathan.

USWA Member #US233
Boards: Seatrend 9'0" and 8'6", Mistral One Design
Sails: Waddell
Spars: Fiberspar

Wolfgang Soergel

unread,

May 29, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/29/96

to

In article 1...@world.std.com, jt...@world.std.com (Jonathan M Richardson) writes:
>P PAWLING (ppaw...@aol.com) wrote:
>
>: I've been using North wave sails for the past three years, and they've
>: been very durable through some intense thrashings. But recently I had a
>: panel blow out on a 5.3, and when I took it back to the dealer, he told
>: me everything is covered except the mono.
>
>Snake oil!
>
>What good is a warranty of "everything except the mono." 90% of the
>sail _is_ mono!
>
>That irks me...
>

Depends on the sail... there is no (pure, unreinforced) mono whatsoever in
my 95 Zeta. And the grid stuff looks like it will break last, not first.

This warranty should be still plenty good for broken chambers, battens,
grommets, batten adjusting systems, loose stitching,... but don't
expect any company to replace a mono-panel you just dived through.
I think North can give this warranty because their sails are up to it.
Others are following (Ezzy i hear, at least in Germany) or will hopefully
follow in the near future.

Wolfgang

mcki...@adcae1.comm.mot.com

unread,

May 30, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/30/96

to

In article p...@info.epfl.ch, wsoe...@desun1.epfl.ch (Wolfgang Soergel) writes:
>In article r...@dfw-ixnews8.ix.netcom.com, Sla...@ix.netcom.com (Lehel Somogyi) writes:
>>In recent postings there was discussion on durability of sails,
>>specifically of North and NP. Some folks were arguing that one should
>>go for the five year warrany of North. Years ago I had a North and
>>indeed it was bulletproof. How these two brands compare these days, as
>>far as durability is concerned?
>>
>From my personal experience (most recent sail : 95 Zeta),
>North Sails are really bullet proof and their customer service has been good,
>even without the 5 year warranty (at least in Germany).
>

>Neil Pryde sails are also very well made but seem to be a bit lighter / less
>reinforced. I saw some torn Neil Pryde wave sails (Wave NR, torn at the leach)
>last year in Klitmoeller,

I bet you did not see any torn NP Combat Wave sails...

Elan Melamid

unread,

May 30, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/30/96

to

I recently bought a Neil Pryde V6, which will be the last NP I ever buy.

While I like the sail a lot, a repair I recently had to had made was very
costly (2x what other similar repairs have cost me), poorly executed (big
crease in the new panel, lots of puckers in the seams), with really poor
customer service (almost 4 weeks to get the sail back, with little
response to my several inquiries). The problem seems to be with the
"horizontal tack radial" seams in the sails--complex cuts of monofilm that
supposedly can only be properly made by Neil Pryde itself. Hence, you
have only one place to go for repairs (NP in San Francisco), and that
place has very poor service.

One persons experience...

Peter Somlo

unread,

May 31, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/31/96

to

In Sydney, Australia, the life of the (monofilm) sail depends
primarily on how many hours did it spend in the sunlight.
If the sail were used every second day, IMHO it would last 2 years, no
matter how well you looked after it...

:-((

Pete
--
Dr Peter I Somlo FIEEE | M1: "Every coin has 3 sides - at least"
Microwave Consultant | M2: "The wind ain't gonna blow from where it
tel/fax: 61-2-451-2478 | ought'a, it'l blow from where it can"
Mobile: 041-926-3168 | http://www.zeta.org.au/~somlo