Planchemag Wave tests 2008 - Loft Lip Wave 4,7
Issue 303 November 11-09-2007 page 45
The Loft Sails Lip Wave 4,7 “Pure wave and high speed”
Apart from the freewave sails of this test, the Lip Wave is a pure wave sail. It still has last year's 100% x-ply construction and lots of xtras. In 2008, the features didn't change, except the central design with an additional eyelet for the outhaul.
Because the mast sleeve is a bit larger than on the other wave sails, the Loft Lip Wave offers a bit of elasticity on the front, which is really comfortable when you start planning, and above all a really good rotation of the profile around the RDM mast.
Concerning the sensations, it's a great compromise between nervousness and softness, for an improved wind range.
Neither flat nor hollow, it's a good average in terms of power, which allows it to get the planning quickly without workiing the arms. The other strong point of the sail is the way the leech opens to release excess of power while the profile maintains an awesome stability. The sail is really fast in on-shore conditions. We could even use it as a really fast freewave sail, with a really constant force on the back hand. You can really feel the overall stability while surfing; you get less
unbalanced than usual because of its natural neutrality.
The behavior of the Lip Wave 08 is really similar to the 2007 version… it is a very versatile wave sail meant for alot of different people in different conditions. Once again, it's hard to find a real weakness to this sail.
+: ratio softness/nervousness, comfort, ratio handling/neutrality, construction, wind range
-: nothing to report
Translation by Yann Terrien November 07
