It is still warm in Europe but I’m preparing for the winter.

I have medium hands and wave windsurf and windfoil on small Slingshot Wizard.

I’m using slim booms Gaastra 140 cm – 190 cm and Duotone EPX 150 cm – 210 cm, both 26,5 mm diameter including the grip.

Previous years I tried all kind of gloves and mittens (or both) but this year I decided to concentrate me on the boom and its diameter.

I know there is in 2009 : www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Boom-diameter-and-forearm-pain-?page=1&utm_source=chatgpt.com

But by know there are the Mega Slim booms like Duotone Platinum Mega Slim 25 mm including the grip.

Does anybody know other 25 mm booms or even more slim ? I compared a lot and the Duotone Mega Slim is the most slim.

I know 1,5 mm difference doesn’t seem much but 1,5 mm x 3,14 makes 4,71 mm, nearly 5 mm circumference.

Would I benefit al lot from a (expensive) Mega Slim 25 mm boom for avoiding cramps and pain in my forearm wearing gloves ?

I also think the loss of strength and grip in the arms is not solely due to the diameter of the boom but also by wearing gloves your fingers are a little more broaden, wider, so with more space between the fingers.

Compare using a heavy hammer : grip with your fingers blocked and close to each other and compare with a grip with 2 mm between each finger.

Maybe this finger spacing is more or less important than the boom diameter.

Just a thought.

Last : I was even thinking of removing the grip from my old 26,5 mm booms to make a dedicated winter 25 mm boom.

Do we need (rubber) grip on the boom if we use gloves ?

Grip + grip > more millimeters and less strength in the hands and arm and less direct contact and control.

Anybody tried a carbon boom without grip (with and without gloves) ? Or would this be too slippery ?
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How to remove grip from the boom ?

I was told to remove it with petrol from a aluminum boom (just soaking it, not fire 😊), but don’t know if this works for carbon booms ?

Hi YH. I know what you mean. I have the same issue with gloves. I have Carpal tunnel syndrome, I find the skinny booms work for me too. The problem with booms is they are built for 85 kg guys, and thin booms flex too much for them. So there is only so much thin'ness they can get while still being functional. Good luck finding something. I measured my thin booms. My 2017 Chinook RDG is 27mm, and Philn complained that this model was a wet pool noodle some years back. So, I got his recommendation (I needed a backup wave boom anyway), and that was a 2021? Goya Carbon Skinny, which is 28.5mm (I'm measuring using my verniers BTW), and I am not a fan of it, because it is slightly thicker, and my Chinook is so nice. But with me, after a dozen summer seabreeze sessions on wave gear, my arm muscles tone up, then I'm golden for big speed gear. But, during winter, I should do what a lot of guys do here - go to the gym. Sails in winter here are few and far between. Work gets in the way of that most of the time. Had two golden sessions this month at a sweet speed strip, but got wasted due to fitness.

There is a chemical you can use to remove the cork from booms. But, I can't think of it. I don't want to say acetone. That strips everything.

Hello, YellowHelmet,

Long, old (2013) Severn video on boom regripping:

A different, shorter version found by Googling Boom Regripping, from 2022 : www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&q=severne+boom+regripping&sei=pjG2aubDO6anvr0Poe6P6As#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:26acbdde,vid:sh4u4p-zKzU,st:0

The links worked for me as I was preparing this reply, so I hope they work for you.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: The Severene video is in the text. Not sure how it happened but ........