After ripping 3 Neil Pryde sails in 2 weeks I have decided to end the rocky realtionship between myself and NP. We've had some good times, but some bad too and I think it's time to move on. So will probs go for Blades. Had a sail of one one last week and was pretty impressed. They look a lot stronger too.
Yeah they were a few years old 3 - 5 yrs. 2 were me landing on sail, other was a pulley ripping out.
Severne are good in every aspect... except they use thinner mono and Xply than many.
Simmer X-Flex (or Ezzy if you must) all the way for durability
What, what? We use thinner monofilm and xply than other brands? News to me...
The Blade has a high density Dyneema xply in the foot panel, a Spectra/Kevlar blend in the window xply, then the upper panels have a twisted kevlar/polyester metalized xply. No monofilm panels at all.
Sorry to talk my own stuff up, but that comment got me! All good though...
Well dunno about now but I have been seen the mono and the X-ply in the 1 y/o S1 to be thinner than in my 3 y/o Simmer X-flex
I won't dob the guy in but I was shown at a sail loft. It was obviously substandard X-ply in the foot panels.
You make awesome sails but some models were let down by thinner materials that's all. As I said... dunno about now.
You can't ignore it when you have seen it with your own eyes.... 7mil vs 5mil is obvious when compared side by side
Zed... the mono film in the new Pryde Alphas doesn't seem to rip, it dents. Sounds weired I know. I am wondering if the flim is actually a three layer composite.
I don't think a 2-3 year old Severne would fare much better if handled like you handled you Prydes.
I became an "anti-Pryde" man cos they appeared more fragile than others in my past experience when a couple of them bust far too early, but then along came a great deal on a 5.0 2006 Combat and I just had to give it a go (well, it does look like sex on a stick). And i gotta be honest, sailing-wise the Combat 5.0 is my current fave. Having said that...
1) I'd never had a pulley rip out of the sail in 11 years of sailing until exactly that happened with my Combat on a 25knotSE and building day at Sth Ricketts (Melb) recently. Funny thing is that i'd changed over my hacked up old downhaul rope in the car park just that session, so when everything went "BANG!" and the sail went into severe limp home mode I was stuffed if i could work out what had happened...
2) Havent sailed a Severne Blade, but have heard great things about them from several people, and you cant swing a cat in Geraldton without hitting one. (Plus you get a suntan from the silver coating...)
No S-1 has ever used any 5mil monofilm. Dunno who was showing you that!!
(Unless it was one of the custom protos we build in the loft in Perth for ourselves - been known to slap together some superlight contest sails now and then! And we don't build those to last more than a contest or 2...)
if you want strong don't rule out Sailworks, the revo's are strong as hell, haven't seen one damaged for about 5 years and that one was from a head high close out onto some rocks, the most i've seen these days with the new materials is harness hook dents, some 1cm deep and no hole.. the "08" i got the other day are heaps powerful. but i did see some new severne sails the other day, they look pretty hot. it appears they have sorted the dodgy mast sleeve prob from a few years back too..
Severne for me, what great sails they are!
I have just purchased my first Severne sail (S1/4·2) from a good friend here in Adelaide. They are a well balanced sail hence they feel great on the water!
um im just going to put my two bobs in.... in the end its all in the sailior!!!new strong gear is really nice! and lets face it a 06 any brand kit is better then a 1997 kit. i sail with a guy who has a 2000 pryde... he overtakes me without even blinking an eye! fight all u like! al companies are out there to make MONEY. some more then others!!!
P.S i love pryde... all there sails look so sexy...... 
The pryde sails are excellent to sail but durability of their sdm masts and their mast bases that pull apart in the middle of the ocean are a concern. In the end I went to a RDM for performance and durability and was happy with the s1's for wave sailing. The blades are my choice for new sails.
For the average recreational sailor I would hope for two if not three seasons of use from a 5.0 sail.
