I am sure most people now know that Jesper Orth has joined the KA Team primarily to Race PWA Slalom but also to assist in the development and testing of the sails. Since he first tried out the Koncepts in the LOC he has spent most of his time on the Race and Slalom sails sorting out his quiver for the upcoming PWA season.
The Koncept is the sail in the KA range that gets most noticed so we were pretty keen to get him on the Wave sails to assess where he thinks we are with this range. He spent some time up the coast in WA and fortunately got the conditions to try out a few different sizes.
So here is what he had to say...
Jesper’s first test of the Kaos wave sails.
It was with great anticipation that I left Perth, driving 4 hours north to sail at one of my favourite places: Coronation Beach. With a good 4-day forecast I packed the wave gear of a few RRD wave boards and the new KA Kaos wave sails that I just received. I was hoping for varied conditions to test all the sails from 3.7-5.3.
When I arrived at Coronations the conditions were for a 3.7 and I could see descent waves rolling in - perfect! The next 2 days I got great conditions for the 4.7 and 5.3 Kaos. Couldn’t have had more luck for a testing trip.
Coronation is one of the best spots for jumping in WA. The wave riding is a little more challenging, as the direction of the wind is a touch cross onshore, but when the waves are bigger, then there is some descent waves to smack. You really get a good impression if the gear works well, because you have to work a little harder and the gear is a bit more critical for good wave riding.
After 3 good days on the different sizes on the Kaos, -
I was quite convinced about my verdict.
I really liked them!
All sizes have a similar feeling.
Rigging was easy, with a sleeve that allows RDM and SDM masts to be used. (I used RDM masts) Luff curve is moderate. As this was a test trip I played around with all the tuning on the sails. For me they worked best when you don’t over downhaul them, as it will kill the power and feeling. I also used a neutral (even a little negative) outhaul.
My first impression on the water was the great low-end performance and ease of getting planning. When pumping the sail it felt quite soft and springy, and always driving you forward. The power in the sail was very balanced. Sheeting in you could feel the acceleration, then sheeting slightly out and the sail gets neutral, great!
I was very impressed with the leech always had “grip”. What I mean is that the entire leech was balanced and fully engaged at all times, - you never had the feeling of the top section was just flapping around and doing nothing.
Jumping: Look most sails you can jump and make a nice forward or backie – no worries. But again there it is the small things that make a difference. When you hit the ramps I had great control in the air. When you land hard after back loops or front loops, the springy sail/ leech allows you to hold onto the boom and control the jumps. It doesn’t get ripped out of your hands.
Wave riding: The leech tension and balance in the sail also helped in the wave riding. It leaves you with some pressure in the sail, and allows you to go where you want, but when needed the sail can be sheeted out to go neutral. Like the landing after jumping the sails never pulling out off the hands in the top turns, it just was nice smooth and springy.
I believe the KA Kaos sails will suit most sailors. I say this as you can actually decide to sheet the sails a bit out and you have less power to deal with. As the low end is very good, you can get away with a smaller size of sail than with other brands. I like the idea of using a slightly smaller but more efficient size sails.
Jesper
KA Sails
