How long do they seem to last in the surf ? I've heard of people breaking them but only seen a couple of broken ones. Have you had one break how old was it? or do you know of others who have had then break and how old were they ?
I've had some nasty wipeouts with a 10-year-old carbon boom and it's still going strong.
I'm in the market for a new one because the outhaul cleat's broken off and the plastic head's got a split. I got an aluminium boom at the mo but as they say, once you go carbon there's no going back.
I get 3 yrs hard use out of a decent ally boom at $400. In fact, my last Chinook is still perfect after I broke my face on it, and it has been attached to 4 masts that broke in wave trashings.
I only buy new ones just to be safe (at the end of 3yrs there is nothing wrong with it).
That means I get at least 10yrs of use for the same $$$$$ as ONE carbon boom. Now I see heads on carbon booms break well before that and the cleats and grip will wear out in what, 5-6yrs????/ ...... who has heard of 10yrs heavy use out of a carbon wave boom?
They may be stronger but it is false economy
I think one of the big factors is the sail range you can get out of 1 boom . My Ka 162-222 Boom is good for 4.2 Wave sail through to 7.5 Koncept . At near full extension it is still stiff as . An alloy boom just can,t cope with the same range , they get too spongy and will break at max extension . Therefore 2 booms required for the given sail sizes . The economics start to change if you are a sailor who demands a big range of length from a boom . Just my 2 bobs
Nice to hear that someone thinks an alloy boom is better economically. Most people who try carbon booms won't willingly go back to alloy, especially if they are a larger diameter than the carbon one. Life and enjoyment isn't just about money......
I have seen carbon booms last for years, with just replacement of clips (have thrashed my carbon boom for 2 and a half years in the surf, and just replaced clips only).
Yet I have personally witnessed someone break 3 brand new carbon wave booms in 3 weeks! same brand every time (the company was excellent in their warranty back-up) and the arms were just continually snapping. He finally bought a different brand of full carbon boom and hasn't had a hint of trouble for over 1 and 1/2 years........
So, be aware, booms aint booms.......
i have used carbon for many years for racing , waves and freestyle and have never broken one ,carbon is better for racing but find that alloys are better for waves and freestyle ,the only problem with alloy is that it breaks alot ..... what do ya do ????
I wonder if a boom made from aircraft grade ally would be better than carbon?
It's lighter and way stronger than normal ally.
Is it too stiff and therefore would break easier?
Has anyone had any experiance with this?
Whoa there, c'mon back boys, that's it, lets get you back on track now, Ahhh Ok
So back to carbon room durability 
Ok so 3 people are happy with the durability of carbon booms but one of those people has seen 3 break Mr Bagus can you PM me the dodgy brand?
Like anything, carbon boom's can break... that said I have only broken one in the past five years.
The boom i broke had seen a heap of carnage and full heavy duty wash cycles in NSW, WA and Mauritius.
I landed on it, and across it... countless times wave riding and learning to push loop and back loop.
in the end I am fairly certain it only broke as a result of damage inflicted while on transit
- insert here -> dodgy baggage handlers/bag snatchers throwing my boom bag around and loading lots of heavy load bearing equipment on top of it
Couldn't tell you how many alloy booms I have snapped... more than 5 and less than 12, some of them less than 6 months old and from a range of manufacturers.
194cm and 90 kilo hanging off a boom certainly has it's disadvantages... disadvantages when it comes to alloy that is, no such problems with carbon booms !
Quite a few of the WindWarrior crew are on a range of carbon booms (and by crew I am referring to the guys we work and sail with NOT team riders or sponsored guys)
The only booms we have seen broken in the past 3 years are ALL alloy, although there were a few issues with clips wearing and back ends slipping on 2 unnamed carbon booms.
Check and replace your front end and outhaul ropes.
Check for signs of rust and/or excessive wear
Rinse off the boom every now and again and keep it out of the sun and not left in the back of a steaming hot car (to stop the grip from peeling) and you should get many years of service out of it.
The last carbon boom I had needed to be re-gripped after the grip wore through after years and years of faithful service.
Go carbon... you wont regret it
Kev
WindWarrior Australia
In the '80's I used to make my own booms out of 6000 series aluminum tubing. They were as good as most at the time and better than many. In comparison with todays booms they we very soft and bendy. Had to use 32mm diam. tube and limit extension length. Most of todays alloy booms are made with T8 tubes. I got some T8 tube (Highly tempered or heat treated to make it stiffer and I actually could not bend it to the boom shape so I gave up. It seems the best strongest and stiffest alloy booms are bent when the alloy is low temper, (T6?) and then heat treated to T8. Now, some alloy booms come in 29mm diam. and are still quite stiff in the shorter lengths, but of course 32mm in the same construction is stiffer and stronger for the same wall thickness.
For shorter booms, smaller sails I find good alloy booms perfectly adequate used in the shorter half of their extension range. For sails over about 6.6 there is no doubt carbon booms get an advantage with superior stiffness. I have been unfortunate enough to totally destroy two booms this season in speedsailing crashes with a 5m sail. I am glad I was using alloy booms for 2 reasons.
1. The boom broke and not me.
2. The cost of replacement was actually affordable.
Since it is very unlikely that I will have any 40 knots + crashes on the larger sails I would not hesitate to use good carbon booms for them. 
Is aircraft ally the same as cromolly? Don,t know much about these materials except that i picked up some hellicopter seat frames once and damn they where light and apparently really strong.I'm sure the dude said they where cromolly.
Hmm now where were we ?? Ah thats right the durability of carbon booms 
C'mon I know you guys can stay on track 
Ok just be aware that some carbon booms have an ally sleeve at the front piece which eventually corrodes and breaks 
.
i had a chinook carbon boom which was made in 99 according to the serial num under the boom head when i pulled it apart to check for damage. i bought this boom second hand and it was maybe 4 yrs old then. it was reduced diameter. and has copped a beating. nearly 9 yrs later and it was still goin strong.
When i last saw it.....I think i may have left at beach or been nicked outa my ute so if anyone has it, it be great to get it back... its got white strapping tape all over it as the grip has gone to ****...
I don't wave sail (FNQ) but sail rough ocean most of the time.
For me, it has worked out cheaper with my carbon boom (Chinook), I was going through more alloy booms (HPL, Pryde, Chinook etc) than hot dinners before. Plus with the narrow grip & stifness, my carbon boom feels heaps better to use.
But then I wouldn't know a wave if I tripped over it 
Troppo's the reason I went carbon, seen what he does, thanks mate
