Is KA any good ?

Gday Alex

Had one for 4 yrs, I sail avg twice a week... all good ..you would do well with this product

i usually get out once a week.

got all KA booms in carbon that are a couple of years old and all working as good as new.

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Why Arnold, I thought KA was Australian. "Get a decent brand", why, what is wrong with KA ? Where do you buy Maui Sails booms from ? Gosh, now I am all confused.

Read Arnold's posts before you listen to Arnold.

Edit: it seems he may have deleted all the anti-KA ones, but that's pretty much all he used to live for.

Beside KA is in Victoria, where you are Alex, and Hydro is in WA.
... if you want to get really local.

I am not really anti-KA, although it might seem that way because I am pro-good equipment, happy windsurfing dude

Moby, I bought a Hydro boom ($100 on ebay) but haven't taken it out yet, the clamp/rope type system looks a little old-fashioned, what's the verdict on them? Looking forward to trying it out this weekend...

Moby, when you say old fashioned I am assuming you bought an Enduro Boom which is our Entry Level boom.
This style front fitting has been around for many years and is simple to operate, cheap to replace and you can actually buy spare parts.
The arms, standard or skinny are the same as all other models in our range.

We have four different front fittings for different models of booms in different price ranges.

There is a carbon front fitting similar to the Enduro but is not popular because of the "old fashioned" view, however it is rock solid and we have been using it personally for a few years now with no problems.

Remember Moby, you only get what you pay for
You will probably only get 5 - 10 years out of that boom.

Let us know what you think after trying it.

Paul

www.hydrodynamix.com

Paul, I think you are referring to Sailhack.

I bought my Hydro boom in 1995, its a wave boom I guess max extension about 170cm. Its still in good nick but sometimes the length adjustment is a bit difficult to use. It uses a similar system to Chinook's thought not as easy to use. Has the system been revised since 1995?

My Hydro boom uses a twin loop of rope thats goes around a post and then clamped into place. No problems with this system. Its simple and works. Looking at your website its the Enduro front end.

The boom is now used by my wife and her small sail. Its perfect for the job, narrow diameter and easy to handle.

I am not in the market for a boom now but if there a retailer in NSW selling them I'd definately consider getting another Hydrodynamix.

PhilJ, No shop just the web site. www.hydrodynamix.com

We mostly sell direct these days as the retailers tend to only order when someone specifically requests a Hydro boom & the freight is a killer if you're not sending bulk quantities.

If you are in Perth 2nd Wind usually have stock of some models or you can drop into the workshop for a look & feel, just ring us first so as I can be there.

Paul

The KA alloy booms are excellent. They are not made in Australia but are made in Taiwan in a factory that specializes in supplying booms to many different brands. IMHO the fittings specified by KA are better and more user friendly then many other brands.
The KA booms have the best front end system of all the booms I have tried. Simple to use and great longevity. It also fits both SDM and RDM masts without a collar and is very secure. They are quite stiff for an alloy but only available in the 29mm diameter which is nice on the hands but probably not as stiff as 32mm diam. tubes. I have broken a few speed sailing (alloy tubes folded and snapped) but I think that is to be expected in 40 knots plus crashes. I also ripped my harness and harness lines apart in the same crashes. Actually, I would rather the boom breaks in that situation than my body which is why I stick with Alloy booms for the small sizes rather than go to Carbon.
The worst thing for alloy booms is corrosion and they all suffer from that eventually, no matter who makes them or what brand.