Hey everyone,
in the market for a new 400 rdm and am split between the ezzy and the powerex.
What mast would be the most versatile in terms of rigging well with a variety of sails?
at the moment it will be rigged with gaastra sails but no doubt this will change over the years.
also i read in the classifieds somewhere that ezzys dont rig well with KA sails. fact or fiction?
at the moment im probably leaning towards the ezzy purely because ive already got a 430.
They are the same price so thats not a concern
Thanks,
adam
they used to be the same (or from same factory just rebadged) but now the ezzy is different. Powerex still has kevlar reinforcing around the boom clamp area but i don't think ezzy has, and the thin part of the ferrule is on the top half of the powerex and the opposite on the ezzy, if that matters at all
the powerex skinny didn't rig well with my 2006 5.6 combat, gave it lots of low power but no top end, but this was fine for me as all i wanted to do was get on the plane to practice stuff, but the same mast now rigs fantastic on the 2008 5.8 alpha with a much more even slackness at the leech between each batten alot like a race sail (plenty of twist and still lots of shape/draft), so i guess the new sails may be better suited to the skinnies than the pre 2006 ones, as far as the pryde brand goes
I think Pryde used to be fairly radical with their luff curves meaning that their sails really only rigged 'the best' on their masts. I believe Gaastra used to be in kind of the same boat.
I think the Ezzy's are now No-Limitz? re badged....not to sure. I have two Ezzy skinnies (400 and 430) and they rig perfectly on my Ezzy sails hehehe. I also used to run the Ezzy's when I had a North quiver and they rigged perfectly on those too.
I guess it will be hard to know until you try it out or find someone who has tried the exact same combo. Going by how the Ezzy's rigged on my Norths I'd say they have a curve gradient leaning towards a softer tip. Not 100% sure about the Powerex but I believe they might be more of a 'constant curve'.
powerex seem to be a good allrounder, prob the most common over here, followed by ezzy....didn't realise they were chalk and cheese though, now.
know my powerex go great on naish,severne,tushys....
have heard rumblings in the jungle that some brands,.... particulary pryde and maybe gaastra, like their own brand masts and maybe be gumby with other makes....maybe Mark Aus, could step in and confirm...
rig in shop b4 u buy!
i run No limitz masts on my combo of sails, north - Ezzy - naish and have for about 4 seasons. It goes so well i recently picked up a 4m from Alberto.
Yeah Ezzy RDM has been made by No Limitz for a while. Even the boom adaptor has No Limitz written on it. Ezzy used to be made by Powerex, at least 5yrs+ ago now. They are very similar in curve etc.... on my Simmers, the Simmer mast is a rebadged Powerex which used to be the same as Ezzy and now Ezzy are No Limitz but are the same so they work well in Simmer. Clear as mud? 
Anyway I can vouch for Ezzy / No Limitz / Powerex RDM's being a very "middle of the road" bend curve and working well on Ezzy, Simmer, Severne at least.
I don't know what KA recommend, but I'm pretty sure it is Powerex so an Ezzy should work well. Try and see I guess.
As to funny curves, yes Pryde and Gaastra were the worst offenders (now you can add Maui sails as the Spanier influence has moved over??). Having said that, I bashed NP for years about 'funny' bend curves but a 2003 5.3 Zone sets well on my Ezzy RDM...hmmmmm...
I'd say any "little brand" you'd be pretty safe on No Limitz / Powerex / Ezzy RDM's. Any "big" brand like Pryde, Gaastra, or Maui Sails, I'd rig it on your mast first and have at least 2 independent people (not the salesman( look and offer advice on how it looks.
Tip: if u have a NP, try Gun masts they use to be the same thing at $200 difference
Oh yeah and ferrule in the top section is supposed to be stronger... just about every wave mast ever made breaks in the bottom section, and usually near the ferrule. Go figure. I dunno why, but it seems to work for Ezzy / No Limitz.
This is really gives me the copious poos.
All this guesswork, all this mysterious unreliable anecdotal rig compatibility confusion should be totally unnecessary, and would be if the bloody mast vendors would just deign to add a simple bit of data to the mast spec. What bit of data? The fKN CURVE.
Pricks!
The fact that masts come from the same manufacturer with different badges is not in itself an indication that the different brands are just the same thing rebadged.
Dave Ezzy eg claims that he worked out the bend of his masts with the manufacturer. Monty Spindler says something similar. So does the Severne site. Of course this may or may not be disingenuous. Who knows.
Ezzy's allow you to buy just one section if you break a mast. Also you can mix and match different length top and bottoms.
