Severne Foil Glide 8.0 m2 review

It is mid-April and due to the aftermath of the Corona crisis in China, many deliveries of surf equipment have been delayed. Severne’s sails are also being delivered with considerable delays this year. The sails we then receive are happy to deliver first to our customers. Jeroen Witte is one of the lucky ones in the Netherlands who has been foiling around with his Severne Foil Glide 2 8.0 m2 for a few weeks. This hero made his sail available to us for 1 day to be able to review it. In return Jeroen was allowed to foil 8.0 m2 with the Severne HGO (Hyper Glide Olympic) to experience the differences together with us.

Severne Foil Glide 2 8.0 m2 friendly freerace foil sail

Specs: Mast 494 cm (RDM recommended) | Boom 207 cm | 6 battens / 4 cambers | 4.65 kg | € 799,-

Sometimes you have these reviews that we’re really looking forward to. Trying out the Severne Foil Glide 8.0 m2 is one of them. Recently we wrote a review about the Severne FGOs (which are basically exactly the same sails as the Severne Foil Glide 2) and were already very happy about that. Only a large patch was missing for the heavier foilers and/or for the lowest wind range. High expectations for the Severne Foil Glide 8.0 m2. Severne designed this sail in such a way that it still fits just on a 460 cm RDM (with 34 cm extension). Compared to the smaller sizes, this sail has received 1 batten and 1 extra camber. Due to a cutout at the outhaul, the boom with 207 cm is kept nice and compact.

Light foil feeling

We go directly with the sail on the water, the comparisons with the Severne HGO 8.0 m2 will come later :). They are ideal conditions for this sail. The wind varies from about 7 knots to around 16 knots in good gusts. The nice spring sun with pleasant temperatures completes the party. With the first gust, we’ll be gone right away. What immediately stands out is that the sail feels surprisingly stable and light. With light pumping, enough pressure is generated to get away quickly. We were a bit afraid that 8.0 m2 on a 460 cm RDM would still give a somewhat unstable and soft feeling and therefore also feel a bit heavier / logger during wind foiling. We get a big wind gust of about 14 knots and let the set fly down wind. Without any effort we immediately tick over 44 km per hour! Wow, there’s really speed in this sail. In the same wind gustu we pushed the set upwind. Upwind with about 14 knots of wind we do feel that the pressure point goes a bit more backwards compared to the HGO 8.0 m2. High upwind, it the leash also vibrates a bit. Too bad, but almost inevitable as the space between the sail battens increases (The HGO 8.0 m2 has 1 batten extra).

Half wind also shows its easygoing side. Sure half wind with such a sail and quite strong wind is not the most nice comfortable course, but is fine to do. Tacking is a piece of cake. Despite the extra camber, the Severne Foilglide 8.0 m2 still rotates as easily as the smaller sizes. On all courses, the sail feels solid and reliable.

Severne Foil Glide 2 8.0 m2 vs Severne HGO 8.0 m2

Specs HGO: Mast 522 (SDM) | Boom 220 cm + 7 battens / 4 cambers | 5.89 kg | € 939,-

We are curious about the differences with the Severne HGO 8.0 m2;

• In terms of handling, the HGO is a lot heavier. The sail rotates less easily and is not only more than 1 kg heavier, but it also feels that way when pulling the sail out of the water. Let alone if the wide mast luff is full of water.
• As soon as you foil with the HGO, it feels more stable than the Foil Glide and this also translates into being able to wind foil more easily
• An expert (with good condition and pumping technique) gets more power from the HGO, with pumping, upwind and downd wind and the HGO can be kept a lot longer, again with the right technique!
• The HGO delivers more pressure and therefore certainly feels a bit more extreme, more specialized with more wind. That should appeal to you.
• A recreational wind foiler will be able to foil with the Foil glide earlier than with the HGO and will also be able to control the Foil Glide longer with more wind
• Especially upwind, the HGO is faster and more stable than the Foil glide
• With hard pumping, the RDM 460 cm mast feels not stiff enough, so much of the effort is actually lost.
• Slow pumping has more effect with the Foil Glide than with the HGO

In short, the Foilglide can be used widely, all-rounder where the ‘sharp’ edges of the HGO are shaved off. This makes the Foil Glide a more accessible sail than the HGO. The HGO requires more technique, specialism and commitment from the foiler than the FoilGlide.

Who is the Severne Foil Glide most suitable for?

We are pleasantly surprised by the Severne Foil glide 8.0 m2. Yes, there are certainly big differences between the Foil Glide and the HGO, but are not as big as we expected beforehand. We think the Severne Foil Glide best suits;

• The recreational funracer/freeracer is best off with the Foilglide, due to its fine handling and friendly character
• If you want to foil back and forth in the lowest wind range, without having to pump too hard
• Sail combines well with Freeride, Freerace and Race foils
• The wider the board (> 85 cm wide), the more relaxed this sail foil

What does Jeroen himself think?

“I have been wind foiling for almost 1 year now and have a lot of fun with it. Foiling allows me to make many more flying hours. I was looking for a sail with which I can also wind foil nice and relaxed in the lower wind range. Cruising around, taking small trips, that’s what I like to do. I was also curious what the Severne HGO feels like. Pulling the sail on the side and out of the water was very difficult for me and also the switching of the cambers is difficult. The sail is and feels heavier until you start foiling. Then the HGO feels light and more stable than my Foil Glide 8.0 m2 I have to admit.

It is the total package of features of the Severne Foil Glide, which makes me prefer my own sail; light, all-round and good handling. In addition, I personally find that the Foil Glide pumps in more easily than the Severne HGO. I just need more power to get the HGO going. The Foil Glide does exactly what I’m looking for. Nice and relaxed cruising and with little wind can already fly.

The profile of the sails

Back from the water, it’s time to take a closer look at the sails. If we lay the sails flat on top of each other, then the differences in shape are less large than we expected (top sail is Foil Glide). The main differences we see are;

• The mast is of course a lot shorter with the Foil Glide
• As a result, it has been expanded leash of the sail
• The bottom of the Foil Glide is slightly higher
• The outhaul of the Foil glide is more than 10 cm shorter
• The batten positions under the boom are similar
• Above the boom there is more space between the battens at the Foil Glide
• The mast luff is much narrower with the Foil glide