Im starting to get interested in a carbon boom for my big sail, I want to leave the boom setup with adjustable outhaul kit, I have heard mostly good things about their alloy booms, but dont have any feed back to make judgement on the carbon booms. The size I am looking at is the 175-235 carbon slalom monocoqe at $785.00 ,they also have another boom in that size that is not monocoqe $695. Im a NP man so comparing it to an X9 at list price of $1400 the loft boom at $785 is hard for even me to ignore
Am I comparing apples with apples? Do they come outa the same factory as another leading brand? Are they finished off well? Any feed back would be great.
Hi Jman,
I tested a loft carbon non-monocoqe for a few weeks and used it at almost it's maximum range - it seemed really stiff (but I'll be honest I've never tried any other carbon booms so can't compare) in comparison to the alloy booms I have used in the past. As for finish it's very well made, grip is good, the twin pin locking worked well and the I've never had a problem with the Loft clamps over the last 2 years.
All in all a good boom but like I say I can't compare to any other carbon booms in terms of stifness.
Cheers
A mate in Bris had a Loft carbon....it blew up in his hands. Didn't seem that stiff! Don't know if they are 100% carbon either! Warrenty? Good questions to ask before buying.
I agree with Mikey. I saw the boom in question and there was a lot of white fibres on the inside of the boom. I doubt it is 100% carbon.
I use a chinook carbon - stiff enough and you can replace an arm if it breaks. The new maui sails booms look hot but at the same price as the pryde. If you are into a one piece the prolimit boom is very good - a little heavy for carbon compared to the chinook. both chinook and prolimit are at the $1000 price mark.
You could also try the prolimit hybrid - mono alloy with one piece carbon tail. I know a few guys running them on up to 8.4m race sails and they are very happy - i think they are sub $400. If you are set on carbon then for the extra 250 go the prolimit or chinook - definately 100% carbon.
