Severne has now introduced a dedicated wind foil sail, the Foil Glide, for recreational wind foils. The design is derived from the very successful race sail the Hyper Glide. With only 4 battens and 2 cambers this is an extremely light. Available in 3 sizes. We’ve looked at all three of them. Read our findings below.
Severne Foil Glide:
– Size 5,0m2 | mast 4,32 m | 4 battens + 2 RDM cams | 3,0 kg | msrp € 649,-
– Size 6,0m2 | mast 4,65 m | 4 battens + 2 RDM cams | 3.35 kg | recommended retail price € 715,-
– Size 7,0m2 | mast 4,89 m | 4 battens + 2 RDM cams | 3.6 kg | recommended retail price € 779,-
Super light
The Sevene Foil Glide is a freeride/freerace foil sail with only 4 sailpasses, 2 of which are equipped with a camber. This sail is designed for RDM masts and on all sides has been tried to make the sail as light as possible. And it worked! The 5.0m2 has the same weight as the 5.0m2 Severne Blade. The cambers rotate super well. As easy as a sail without cambers. Most windsurfing sails have 5 or more battens. This provides extra weight, but also for stability during windsurfing. So we are curious what the stability of these sails is, especially of the 7.0m2!
Hyperglide as a base
It is clear that the shape of this sail is derived from the successful Hyperglide 2. Relatively long masts with a huge expansion under the boom and a relatively short boom. To give you an image; the mast length of the 5.0m2 is 432 cm and the boom 162 cm! What stands out when you get the sail that the pressure point is right in front of you, right between your hands. Whereas other sails start pulling something on the back hand when busy in the sail, this stays out of here. The huge extension under the boom is comparatively slightly less than with the Hyperglide, making it less easy to pull the lowerpart of the sail on to the deck. In addition, the downhaul tension of these sails is a lot less than with regular windsurfing sails. As a result, there is quite a lot of flex in the mast, which makes it very easy to pump.
Lots of pressure and lift with little wind
For all 3 sizes, with little wind you can wind foil very quickly and that the sails give a lot of lift and pressure. Because the pressure point of the sails is right between your hands, it’s much easier to wind foil stable. Even with wind gusts we were more stable with these sails than with regular windsurfing sails (where the pressure goes a little bit more backwards). At each size we were equally surprised how little wind you need to get going and to come up and stay in the air. With these sails you can sail half wind and up- and downwind is also going very well.
Differences between sizes
We used all 3 sizes with different conditions with a Starboard Freeride 150 and the Starboard GT-R and Freeride foil. We also used the 7.0 m2 on the IQfoil 91 with the Starboard Racefoil. Roughly speaking, the smaller the sail is the better the sail and the most relaxed to windfoil with.
The 5.0 m2 and 6.0 m2 are the most similar in terms of feeling. They feel very compact, pump easily and are relatively stable. With the 5.0 m2 we could already wind foil with about 10-12 knots of wind. With the 6.0 m2 this already succeeded around 9 knots. Once at speed in the air, wind dips of 7-8 knots were not a problem for either size. The 5.0 m2 we foiled up to about 20-22 knots and that still went well. The 6.0 m2 has about 16-18 knots as the final range. With even more wind you notice that the sail is not stable enough anymore. More donwhaul yields little profit. In addition, the monofilm start flapping in the top of the sail.
The 7.0 m2 feels relatively much larger. From about 7 to 8 knots of wind we could already wind foil with this. Once in the air, the sail feels light and stable. If it blows harder (about 12 knots), you will notice that for a 7.0 m2 4 battens is too little. The pressure point then slides back and you have to pull a lot. On the IQfoil with the racefoil we had just a bit more control with more wind, but also on that combination it was not comfortable anymore. The strength of the 7.0 m2 is really in the lowest wind range.
Suitable for what type of windfoiler?
Severne positions this sail as freeride foilsail. And that’s exactly right. If you want to race, these sails don’t deliver enough performance compared with the Hyper Glide or a regular race/slalom windsurfing sail. If you just want to windfoil with a wind force 4 relaxed, both half wind and up and down. Then these are ideal sails and they offer real added value compared to a regular windsurfing sail.
Don’t choose too big
We have the luxury of having all 3 sizes. At each size we were amazed time and time again with how little wind we could already wind foil. That means that if you are considering buying such a sail, you have to think differently and not choose too big. The usual frame of reference when it comes to the measurement of windsurfing is suddenly even less true. For our experience, this comparison could be;
– 5.0 m2 Foil Glide = 7.5 m2 freeride / freerace sail
– 6,0 m2 Foil Glide = 8.5 m2 freeride / freerace sail
– 7,0 m2 Foil Glide = 9.5 m2 / 10 m2 freeride / freerace sail
Our favourite size is finally the 6.0 m2. In our feeling, this size has the widest range of bets. The 7.0 m2 is perfect for the lower wind range, but when the wind picks up the fun has gone. The 5.0 m2 is impressive, but feels very small compared to the 6.0 m2. That makes the 6.0 m2 our favourite.