Any experience with the severe S-1 as a coastal blasting bump & jump sail or is it a pure wave sail? Not many reviews of the 2020-2022 sails to go on as it seems the blade gets most coverage.
Im tempted to update a series of Gators to the S-1 (3,7-5,3) to pair with my 82l wave and 95l FSW boards. Used primarily in choppy coastal conditions and wind swell.

Thinking they would be more maneuverable, great for jumping and suit the trifin boards well. Everyone locally seems to go with the Blade, but I hear the S-1 can be just as good for these conditions,

any tips?
cheers

I have 2020 blades and 2021 s-1s, imo blades are better for b&j and blasting, s-1s are better for wave riding and probably doing tricks (?, not there yet).

S-1 has more back hand pressure, more twitchy, a little less mast foot pressure, still handles gusts very well (not the lulls). Bigger and more powerful/efficient pumping when unhooked and trying to catch a wave while non planing. You need to constantly make small adjustments to sail position and back hand pressure while blasting in straight line to go fast, and it feels like it has less top speed. Very good for dtl wave riding as you can move the sail around depowered and get instant power when you need.

Blade has very little back hand pressure, i guess this is what the reviews mean by "natural feel", you get the full power constantly (power comes smoother too) just from leaning with harness, sail is more stable in position, control in air after jumping is less effort and smoother, keeps power while jibing for speedy exits.

I think blades would be better for your spot, constant and smooth power delivery over choppy b&j conditions makes it more fun, but if you do wave riding or do tricks s-1 maybe, not night and difference at the end they are both great sails.

I have the S-1s because they are better for wave riding in onshore conditions.

This is really about the apparent wind in different wave conditions. If you sail in wind that is cross-shore to the wave, or cross-off, then you get the wind increase as you go down the line and you need to dump power - and the Blades are best for that.

But in onshore conditions you often lose wind power as you go down the lane and the S-1s tend to help in that situation, delivering constant power and being less top-end orientated. The S-1s also give you a bit more back hand feel to crank the turns - or more 'response'. With the S-1 you can also tweak the feel with minor alterations to downhaul and outhaul.
Despite all this detail, you can still use the S-1s for general use and blasting about! I love my 2022 versions!


The Blades are also slightly more forward-pulling and so that, along with their more neutral feel, makes them popular for general blasting and perhaps better for jumping on the way out. The extra batten is probably also useful in the larger, 5m+ sizes.

The Pro Blades vary a bit from the standard Blades in that they have a bit more power for the equivalent size.


I haven't tried the Pro S-1s recently but I understand they feel much the same as the standard ones, in terms of power delivery.