The Redline is a new sail for the Naish line-up,
neatly filling the gap between their record-breaking
Stealth and their no-cam Sprint freeride sail.
Classed as their dedicated race/slalom sail for real
world sailors, it includes three of the brand’s new
‘SNAPCAMS’ to provide ‘serious race sail
performance in an easy handling package’. The
Redline incorporates some of the latest design
features (fold-over seaming in the foot, a strap-on
to hold the rolled sail in place, and an inset clew
eyelet), but we did think the overall finish of the
Redline wasn’t quite up to the high standards of
Naish’s wave sails. Little details (such as the foot
beading stopping before the bottom batten, and
abrasion pads only on the top three battens)
have been stripped out to lighten the sail.
Rigging and Set
The Redline uses two types of material in the luff
tube (a lighter weight Dacron above the boom
cutout and a more abrasive resistant Dacron
below), with a single pocket sewn into the
lightweight sleeve for the highest cam. Rigging
the sail was straightforward, requiring the sail to
be tensioned on both the downhaul and outhaul
before popping the cams on. There is a moderate
tuning range available on the downhaul (the roller
tack pulley helping to apply the tension), whilst a
positive amount of outhaul used to fine-tune the
power delivery.
Ride and Handling
On the water the Redline combined excellent stability
with crisp handling, making it very manageable in
overpowered conditions, especially for lighter sailors.
Adjusted for marginal winds, the sail is very light in
the hands, with a moderate amount of camber
locked low and forward in the draft. As such, the sail
generates a subtle, focussed amount of bottom end
power rather than real punch or grunt, requiring a
delicate approach to get the most from it. Once
going it is easy to lock into a comfortable stance,
feeling balanced and precise, the boom angle ideal
for this style of sail. As the wind strength increases,
the Redline relies on its tuning range, using more
tension to lock the centre of effort in place and allow
the leech to twist off smoothly. Very easy and
dependable in severe conditions, it remains
manageable even for the less aggressive rider,
instilling confidence as it accelerates through the
gusts and pins the board down. In transition the
sail’s excellent handling character is once again
apparent, being easy to manoeuvre and reposition
through the turn, although we did find the cams
sticking a little in rotation, particularly when the
sail is on its maximum setting.
For: Top end stability and light handling.
Verdict
With a more subtle power delivery than the rest
here, the Redline is particularly suited for riders
of 75kg and below, or anyone looking for a high
level of performance combined with superior
handling.
Against: Less detailing than expected.
