Ezzy Elite v Ezzy Zeta Review

Hi
This is not normally something I do but it is getting so hard to get an opinion on sails and boards these days and often we are outlaying significant sums of money in the hope that the gear we buy suits how we want to sail. Some of my first proper sails were North Zetas and they were great sails in the day, when David Ezzy set up his own brand I followed him for many years with waves, SE's freestyles, cheetahs, panthers and finally the early elites etc, all were extremely well made. I strayed a couple times and went back.

A couple of years back I strayed as it was a simple fact the other brand I moved to simply performed better, I did miss the build quality, attention to detail and ability to rig exactly how the designer intended them to be rigged - if you have not seen the rigging cords and marks for ezzys, check them out they leave every other sail manufacturer for dead

A friend and I were fortunate enough to back to back the elite and Zeta in the 5.2/5.3, initial appearance was that both are made to the very high standard they have always been made, superb stitching and detail. There's a lot of Velcro down the bottom of the sail which can make getting to the tack a bit of a chore and there's even instructions on how to thread the pulley !

Both sleeve and set easily using the correct ezzy masts (whilst I changed sail brand I have always retained ezzy masts), both set with a lot of profile, the Zeta almost looks like a camber induced sail !Sailing: both sails are very stable and definitely help pin the board down, they make the tracking of the board noticeably more stable through chop compared to my current 5 batten wave sails. We backed to back against a Blade as well and it is really noticeable how the ezzy's pin the board down- it makes blasting around in chop a lot easier

The Elite definitely feels a lot lighter than the Zeta (not a huge surprise) however it does not lose much in the way of stability compared to the Zeta in some ways the lightness compensates. The 4 batten Elite is really comparable to the 5-batten wave sails I am used to using (Blades). the Zeta is not so much heavy in weight but locked in the hands

The sails were only really tested in flat but extremely choppy conditions due to time constraints and other commitments. The elite is pretty easy to depower and goes pretty neutral through a manoeuvre, the zeta just pulls its super stable and it pulls ! I previously owned the Elite (and previously panthers , SE etc) but moved on because of what we would call the "trampoline" type feel the sails would give whilst sailing along, they always felt fairly elastic and pulled you around a bit - this trait is completely gone not sure what Ezzy has done but the stability of both the zeta and Elite is now superb, much more precise.

If I had not tested I would have ordered the Zetas as an all round sail, however whilst I don't get to sail waves as often as I would like I need all the help I can get and I think with the drive of the Zeta I would never get the sail down the wave ! - as a heads up the Zeta has a LOT of grunt, I like powerful sails but this was too much for me - the elite being lighter is easier to depower,is easier to handle overpowered in a transtition can power up nearly as early (and is easier to pump to the point I think there is probably not much in it.) if you were flat water only the Zeta would be fine, Both great sails but I am going with the Elite in a normal 4.7,5.3,5.7 quiver - big thanks to Mark at Surfsails for being so flexible in loaning gear out - its a cost to him and others and needs to be encouraged (hence this post)

I did and it's part of the reason I posted (I wrote it ages ago and didn't get round to posting) so I hope it helps, the zeta is really blasty and goes round the corners nicely I used it on the river one night and it got me going early and would be great for bump and jump - it does pull like a train, if you want to flick the sail around then the elite is a better option, the elite blasts well and is perfectly fine for blasting and bump and jump - it's not a bad choice as both are great sails, not sure about a 6.1 as I stopped going above 5.7/5.8. - I have sailed the Naish all terrain (some years back) and pull and grunt wise it is probably more simliar to the elite, the zeta would feel more blasty and grunty by comparison,hope this helps

Cheers, great review. I've been using the Takas (2,3 and 4) the last few seasons, but I'm keen to try the Elites as well - been hearing a lot of good things!!!

Trampoline = not enough downhaul.