I've probably used this sail about a dozen times. (Hopefully I can at an upcoming 4th of July Race.) The nice thing about this sail is that since it's a practice sail, the rules are waved, so the maker can do what they want. Thankfully they decided to go with a bit of a heavier cloth, and its noticeable too, there is a severe lack of leech flutter, and the only main difference is that the sail requires a bit more downhaul than the class sails, which isn't a bad thing. I use tons of DH anyways, so it wasn't a big deal. At the end of the day the sail is a steal, you come away with a clew strap, two bags if I remember correctly, battens, numbers, and tell tales for $190. Far and away cheaper than a class sail. Buy yourself one every two years or so and use it for non-class events and you'll be happy.
I had some draft stripes thrown on the sail, they work quite nice.
*This will be an on going review, so stick around.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Intensity Sails Practice Sail-Full Rig
Intensity Sails Winter Pro Sailing Gloves
So I've used these gloves a couple of times, and gloves very similar to these a couple of years back. In theory a design like this should work. I mean, a wetsuit usually works well when surfing, and hiking pants seem to work well enough when sailing. And boots are halfway decent. That's kind of how these are. They are just ok. I think they would work really well if your a skipper on a big boat, or working a mark set boat, where your hands don't get wet too often, just a bit of spray here and there. If your sailing a boat like a Laser, its a different question. The problem is that since they aren't exactly form fitting, the water tends to build up so the gloves get heavy, and your hands can get cold. Also, the grip on these gloves leaves a bit to be desired, its a bit slick. I think if one were to use these with a fleecy type glove liner, and they were used in a not so wet environment, you could be very happy. 3 out of 5 stars.
*One should note that for Laser sailing, I don't wear gloves anymore, and if I do, they are the gardening glove variety, so for me its all about grip and not warmth. It is SoCal after all.
