My 8.5 Ezzy Cheetah has been feeling a bit weird, just noticed that 490 SDM Chinook 40% carbon has a slightly bent spiget so am suss about using it and about to go on a trip to Burrum.
I have an old, not sure how old, SDM NP CK 95% race 490 NP mast sitting here which says constant flex.
Looked ok upon rigging.
Worth a try?
Not sure if the older NP masts mean constant flex when it says constant curve.
Keen to try it with the much higher carbon content than the chinook to see what that feels like too.
40% Chinook 490 feels like a bit of a heavy beast. 95% NP feels much lighter rigging. 
Rig it and see how it looks. IMCS on Ezzy website for the Cheetah 8.5 says 29, so close...
I've had mixed results in mixing sails with other brands. My large blade doesn't rig that well on a 460 ezzy hookipah, and the gator I have is kind of odd rigging on it too, but that mast is fine for foil glides.
Not sure if NP has more of a flex top or hard top. I think the problem in my case was the ezzy top was too flexy and the leech got way looser than it should be with the spec downhaul. If it has a similar looking loose leech it may be fine.
IT Will feel softer ,but it will work fine ,most NP mast are soft tops ,
have a good time at Burrum its great sailing there ,heres my cheetah rigged on a 100% NP mast
North,or duotone are a closer match for Ezzy's .
Sexy Cheetah Tardy.
You are not going to Burrum? I saw pic of trophy you made for it in a QLD thread. Nice!
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Queensland/Burrum-Windfest-2024-Divisions-Discussion?page=1
Maybe my big Cheetah is feeling a bit weird because i have been using the smaller Lions lately with Hookipa masts. They rig spot-on and feel great.
See how fast i am on my 7.5 Lion with JP SLW, faster than a 1800's junk 
The Ezzy Cheetah specs say it needs a 490 IMCS 29. The Ezzy Hookipa 490 specs say it is IMCS 30.2.
Your NP 490 is IMCS 28.
A local here used to have NP race sails and masts before switching to Ezzy Cheetah sails, up to 9.5m. He used his NP masts. The sails did look a bit flat compared to mine with the Ezzy mast, but he went fast enough on them. He is 100kg as well. Quite often he would be on a size 2m more than what I used. So the top end didnt suffer, but maybe the bottom end did.
I know when I switched to Ezzy masts from Simmer SDM, the 8.5m Lion set a little fuller and felt to have a bit more low end power, but comparing the top speeds I found no real difference.
Same for all my Ezzy Lions/Cheetahs after switching from SDM Simmer to Ezzy RDM, the top speeds were similar.
7,5 great size for Burrum ,Dude was going ,but ,i broke some bones in a accident ,totally pissed off ,in plaster now ,take the 8.5 too for sure, ,it really is a fun event ,im so disappointed,but theres always next year for me ,8,5 lion at Burrum ,490 North drop shape ,it has lots of light days ,normally ,but last year was over the top crazy winds ,
