Choosing a brand new windsurf board or quiver of windsurfing sails is never easy. There’re so many options that riders can be blinded by everything on offer. It’s even worse if you’re still progressing through the ranks and trying to figure the sport out. There are, however, a few points to consider when looking for gear, either new of used.
Know yourself
Honesty
Honesty, as with everything in life, is the best policy. And this applies inwardly as well as through general day to day living. If you’re the gung ho type then windsurfing kit that melds seamlessly to your personality is the first set of criteria to narrow your choices down to.
It’s no good perusing the latest high end big wave gear when you know deep down you’re a bump and jump sailor at heart with no intention of chasing epic swells around the globe. With all the will in the world if your head’s not in it then this would be foolhardy.
Know your sailing
Aspiration
How do you ride when on the water? Leading on from the above you may have aspirations of big moves and epic drops but as we’ve said you’ve got to really want this stuff. That said everyone has aspirations and want/need to push on with their skills.
Dialling your aspirations and ambition back a little is the best course of action. For sure, you may yearn to be a head turning double looper. But if you’re still trying to stick the basics of a single forward then choosing applicable windsurfing tools for the job will help rather than hinder.
Know your windsurfing location
More honesty
There’s a ‘thing’ within windsurfing to sometimes over egg the pudding and big up your general sailing location. Maybe this is to appear more hardcore when in reality you’re fooling no one. As with the other points in this article it’s best to be honest about your predominate windsurfing location.
If you hail from a moderately breeze spot, with super clean and glassy waves, then that heavily rockered surf orientated shred stick will be a great choice. It won’t, however, be quite as good if you’re a flat water sailor looking to crack that elusive carve gybe.
(Note: it might be worth keeping a sailing log over a period of time so you have a reference to look back at when talking conditions. Sometimes the mind plays tricks after all…).
Adaptability/versatility
Progressive growth
Once you’ve accurately and honestly (that word again) answered the above questions the next thing to consider is: does the equipment you’re looking at offer enough versatility and allow you, the rider, to adapt to new windsurfing locations when you visit or switch things up?
Can you grow into your gear and therefore have it last you more than one season? Are you getting a good return on investment and having fun with opportunity to increase this? There’s a degree of hard earned cash you need to part with for gear so it’d be a shame for a new board or sail to end up in the classifieds section after only a few outings.
Durability
Shelf life importance
Any new windy kit should give hours of fun on the brine. It may not happen all at once, as we can’t control Mother Nature’s moods. But upgraded boards and sails should have a decent shelf life, and if possible, offer further longevity when you eventually come to shift it on.
Witchcraft’s equipment, for instance, has an incredibly long shelf life as it’s well built, manufactured to last and ticks all the durability boxes. This isn’t the case with every other piece of windsurfing equipment.
These are just a few of the points to consider when in the market for new windsurfing toys. A few other factors may also come into play. Let us know what else you think about before pushing the purchase button.
