Any reports on the new North monocoque ally booms?
As if I'll get any replies from WA crew this weekend ...
Short answer, no. I reckon there are better booms out there. However I haven't gotten my 2011 boom on the water yet.
I have a 2010 150-200 which i've used extensively and a 2011 150-200, which has still got the wrapping on it cause I haven't got around to getting it out yet.
Pro's:
- Probably the nicest front end of any booms i have seen. Really nice boom clamp with integrated RDM adaptor that locks into place so you never forget it (not that I've ever forgotten an RDM adaptor in the past, but I've forgotten everything else so it was a matter of time).
- Nice over-sized boom clamp, the clamp covers a large area of the boom so spreads the load, dunno if this is really necessary, but it seems nice.
- 2011 has nice 2 year warranty for everything including bending.
- 28mm grip
Cons:
- Not very stiff, at least the 2010 is floppy as, and has a bad reputation if you google a bit of bending. I haven't bent mine. And haven't used the 2011 one yet, but they did apparently beef up the materials used and the warranty. As reference it wasn't as stiff as my maui-sails ally, but that was like 32mm grips and a heap heavier.
Other:
- i front end with the suspension thingy, dunno never used this. I've got mine locked out.
- funky geometry, i think all the new school shapes work fine, just takes a little time to adapt to the shape.
Personally after having the 2010 boom, I was going to buy a NP x3 instead, as it was definately stiffer then the 2010 north ally, however a few things changed my mind:
- I was used to the shape of the north, not really a big deal to change to be honest.
- North 2011 has new alloy which is apparently stiffer, plus they now have a nice 2 year warranty.
- NP boom has that stupid polished aluminium at the front of the boom, right where you place your hands during tacks etc, and tbh its slippery as hell and a straight up retarded design decision in my mind. Yes I have used this boom and not just looked at it in a shop.
Long story short, if there was more different brands available on the east coast such as aeron, simmer or those technolimits booms I'd probably go for something like that.
Tell you what is an epic boom thou, is the streamlined carbon wave booms. Tested one next to my north ally, the streamlined was 140-190 I think. Had both booms set to 175cm extension, and then squeezed the boom arms together about 1/3 of the length from the back of the boom. The north boom, and np x3 both move about 20mm+ of movement at the back. The streamlined carbon, I reckon <5mm of movement, super stiff, and ridiculously light. $1000+ thou. Had it next to a chinook carbon as well 160 size I believe, and the streamlined was noticably stiffer and definately lighter.
Winds not in here yet.....
Had mine for a month or so and pretty impressed so far. Old carbon boom needed retiring and was curious to try one, given the price, the claimed stiffness and 2 year unconditional warranty even against bending it seemed like a good option.
Clamp is great, diameter and front end shape are comfortable and performance difference from carbon isn't that different until you get to your longer boom length sails and the reduced stiffness becomes a little more noticeable.
All up, at a third of the price of a top end carbon I reckon it's great value with good performance.
Agree with Twin man, great value, ideal for free ride sails or small slalom sails.Narrow tail end not ideal for larger sails were you wish to use adjust/outhaul systems.
As an all-round boom it has a lot of high end features for the price. If you want to up spec have a look at the Gold models, even better value and stiffness, or go the whole hog and get a Platinum north!!
I've got to north booms from 2009,and i am not to keen about the diameter on the i-front boom head.. With both my severne and point-7 masts,it's difficult to get the mast fittedpressured all the way in the rigid part of the clamp.There is a space between the mast and clamp on the frontside probably 0.5cm.This again leads to ekstra pressure on the 'sides' of the mast-Don't like it.....
Don't know for sure, seems weird that the north boom's did not fit three different mast from different makes..But the maui sails boom fits like a glove!!
Yep, can't answer that. But in my experience, not every one has $1K to spend on a boom and at a 1/3 of the price I reckon you get a lot for your money.
My biggest concern was having to call the North tech support centre in Calcutta when my "I Front" needed a re boot! On first look it looked a bit techno but so far it has been great.
I like the idea of 2 year warranty !!
Swoosh, was looking at a 2011 Silver line and it feels stiffer than a Tecnolimitz Ergal (king wave ally) which is really saying something for an ally boom!
Choices choices.
New North at $350 ish (warranty) or a secondhand Fiberspar carbon in really good nick at $400 from a mate (better boom)
You got me thinking with this thread, and I did a bit of looking around and ended up buying a Streamlined Carbon boom as it was cheaper then I originally thought, so I just put of getting a new 5.7 this year. If you are interested, I got a 2011 North Silver 150-200 for sale, flying to Perth on Wednesday, and I got space in my luggage . Still got the plastic wrap around the boom arms lol. Might just need to check if the warranty is transferable etc.
