Ezzy Taka2 and Taka3

OK, so over the last few seasons I have been watching the evolution of The Ezzy Taka's with great interest.

Everything about them has appealed to me, quality materials and reputation for durability, dedicated wave sail with light handling and on/off characteristics, huge tuning range and the list goes on. So after much deliberation I finally bit the bullet and ordered a set of Taka3's - 4.1, 4.7 and a 5.3, but unfortunately they were out of stock, so they are currently on back order and due to arrive in the not too distant future - can't wait!!!!

In the meantime, I seriously couldn't wait, and managed to pick up a great deal on a 4.7 and 5.3 Taka2's from South Side Sailboards in Sydney (cheers Adrian). So the plan is to do some reviews on the Take 2's in different conditions and then later give an update on the New Taka 3's and run some comparisons. (by the way, when the Taka3's turn up I'll be selling the Taka2's, so if your in the market for near new Taka2's at a great price send me a private message).

First impressions straight out of the bag:

Quality, as you unroll these sails for the first time, it's clear that Ezzy has gone to great lengths to keep their standards high. You can feel the strength and durability that is built into them and I was surprised at how light weight they have been able to keep them.

Dry run rigging at home on the Ezzy Hookipa masts: Super easy to rig and tune with the built in calibration system they have, taking all of the guess work out of tuning the sail and giving great confidence to know that it is in the zone (it was really helpful to watch the rigging guide on their website). They are definately a different looking beast when rigged compared to a traditional wave sail with the massive fold in the luff and medium tensioned leech.

First impressions on the water:

So I got out today on my 5.3 Taka2, conditions were 2-3ft beach break with 10-15knts cross/cross on wind and lots of current on the inside - conditions that generally would have me heading home as it usually ends up being more frustratiing than fun. But today I was super keen to get the new sail on the water and anyway, it would be a good proving ground for it's reputed low end.

So I set the sail to the low wind Min 2 setting and the outhaul on the short cord and it really sets super deep. I hit the water and all that low end came straight into play and dragged me out through the strong current no problem. The low end power is really easy to manage and felt really light and balanced in the hands - I was concerned that with it being so bagged out it might be a handful, but it wasnt at all. It was really easy to pump the sail and felt like I was planing much earlier than with previous sails - giving the power of a traditional 5.6 or 5.8.

On the wave I had to keep reminding myself to think about the sail because most of the time it just felt so natural that I wasn't really thinking about it. It had great power when I wanted it and then really neutral off the top or in transition. It just felt like it did what I wanted it to do.

All in all I ended up having a really fun first session on it despite the average conditions and I can't wait to get it out in different conditions and see how far I can push it's range at the top end because clearly the low end is awesome.

Stay tuned for more updates as I get some more sessions under my belt, and later on when the taka3's turn up.

Feel free to chime in with your own experiences on the Taka's

Heres a few pics of the gear

Not sure why the photo is side on... it's straight on the phone!

Mate I've used Ezzy's now going on 17 years since I worked at what was Surf Sail Australia in 1999. They have always served me well, super high build quality and dependable in bigger waves.

My current sails are the Wave Panther and I went for the Taka3 because the name Wave Panther is pretty embarrassing. Well that is a partially true, there was the lighter weight, softer feel and smaller sizes that could be used in the Taka3 that all had appeal.

Look forward to trying them out! See you at Gerroa!

I got my 4.7 out yesterday and conditions couldn't have been more different to my first outing, which was great because I got to really test out the top end of the Taka2's range.

I have to say, they really haven't exaggerated the tuning range on these sails, it is simply staggering.

Unfortunately the waves were pretty much dead flat, but the wind was blowing and gusting up to 35knts at times (cross off). I could easily have been on a smaller sail and I'm thinking the 4.1 set on one of the middle settings would have been perfect. Despite that fact, the 4.7 continued to impress and maintained excellent handling at it's maximum downhaul and outhaul settings without becoming twitchy or back handed. The draft remained stable and I didn't get any fluttering on the leech. On the few small waves I did get it once again showed how it could switch all that power off in the turns and give confidence in generally overpowering conditions. I found myself dropping a hand for a casual drag at times when usually I would have both firmly on the boom trying to manage the gusts.

Once again, I have been very impressed and I am loving the sails. Hopefully next outing will be with some quality waves and wind at the same time :)

Well bigdaz, I got out on the Taka 3 yesterday at Gerroa...and mate the sail is sick. I rigged the 4.7 on a less than ideal mast (had 20cm poking out the top) because I'm waiting on a couple of mast pieces from Surf Sail Australia.

First impression when looking at the sail rigged was how different it looks to my Wave Panther 5 batten Ezzy. The leech is not very loose and the luff has a big crease because of the 3/4 length batten in the main area of the sail. It will take a few sails to get dialed to the best settings but the rigging range from 'Min 2' up to 'Max' is massive. Coupled with 3 positions for outhaul I was able to use the 4.7 in winds from 17kts to 25+ without an issue. I'm 82Kg and had a 88L board. Usually I would be using a 5m in these conditions but the 4.7 Taka 3 felt as powerful (if not more) but way sweeter.

Impressions on water... It sails very stable, better than I thought it would. It pulls much more from the front then my old sail which keeps the nose of the board down and makes it pop on the plane quicker, actually quite a lot quicker. I'd go as far to say I can get planning on the 4.7 in about 2-3 knots less wind (17kts) than the 5m Wave Panther (20kts). In the turns the force through the mast base engages more rail and I'm not kidding when I say it felt like I was on a different board the first wave i caught.....the board became way looser!! I was so stoked about that. The sails rotates easier and off the top the sail depowers easier for sure.

I also felt like I could sail upwind a few degrees more which was a surprise but I think it's because all the draft in the sail powers you upwind like a train. Off the wind the extra draft hauled ass too and I was surprised at the top end.

Waveriding a 4.7m versus a 5m is way nicer and you can throw the rig around more.

Another benefit of the sail and one that was another surprise was that I felt the Taka 3 was way easier to water start. The extra draft in the sail gave you more pull getting back up on the board.... This will be super helpful when in bigger waves and when the wind is light....gives you a lot more confidence.

I'm trying to think of any thing I didn't like about the Taka 3.... the only thing that comes to mind is that the sail is a little bit more tuning sensitive than the 5 batten...there'll be more tweaking on the beach if the wind changes much.... also there is a lot of forward pull on the sail so when jumping I landed nose first a few times and ate it. With time I'll adapt my sailing for it.

All in all the sail is a big step up over the 5m Ezzy Wave Panther I have and better than I even hoped it was going to be. I won't be using the 5 batten Ezzy wave sails any more....If you get the opportunity to try one I'm pretty confident you'll love it. I give the sail a 9/10.

Can't wait for the next session and I'll do a review on the 5.3 Taka 3 that will replace the 5.8 Wave Panther at some stage too....

Yeah mate I know what you mean about the smaller sail size thing.... was worried I'd struggle on the 4.7....I'm still amazed at the power these sails generate. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much power in the 5.3 on Min 2 setting.

So I finally sailed the 5.3 Taka3 the other day at Gerroa. Conditions were 1ft waves with winds 10-20kts+. I set the sail to the 'Min 2' setting & the minimum outhaul setting. I was using a 88L wave board & I weigh 83KG. As expected after using the Taka3 4.7, the 5.3 has amazing grunt to get you going..... It felt like the 5.3 provided the same power as my old 5.8 Wave Panther. Because it's 0.5M smaller, it's alot more enjoyable to sail on the wave board in general.
When I first got out on the water it was about 10-15kts. In this wind I was only planning in the gusts. When the sail is set at its minimum settings, the sail has a large bag in the luff area where the 3/4 batten is situated. It doesn't look pretty on the beach but on the water it fills up nicely and creates fantastic forward drive. Gybing was easy and the sail flicked around without a problem. I didn't get a chance to wave ride with it however I'm sure it feels light and driving in the turns. Likewise as mentioned in my 4.7 review above, the board feels much looser with the 5.3 Taka3 then with the 5.8 Wave Panther.

Later in the day the wind went to 15-20kts+. When the wind turned on I was expecting to head back to the beach to adjust downhaul & outhaul settings. To my surprise even though the sail was hugely bagged out it remained stable & controllable even when the wind gusted to 20kts. This gave me the indication that the wind range of these sails is great since I was still on the Min 2 setting with the 3 other settings (Min 1, Med & Max) still not utilised.

One downside when the sail is on the Min settings is that the large baggy area in the luff does make water starting a bit more labouring because a pool of water sits in there if the sail lands in the water a certain way. It just takes a bit more effort to fly the leading edge however it shouldn't be a problem when set on the med or max settings i assume.

All in all I'm very happy with these new Taka3 sails, I was worried coming from the Wave Panthers that I'd lose a lot of stability & top end wind range however I can attest to the fact that I needn't have worried as the benefits of the sails far out way any negatives from the change.

On a side not, I used the 4.7 in Botany Bay the other day & the wind was 15-35kts. In the 30-35kt range the sail was reaching the limit of comfort. Therefore with this in mind I'd say the following is a good guide to the wind range of these sails for my weight;

Weight: 83kg
Volume: 88L

Ideal windrange5.3 Taka3 10-23kts (marginally planing at 15kts, powerful slogging in 10kts)4.7 Taka3 18-30kts

You could add at least a few more knots to the top end of the wind range for both sails however it starts to get a bit overpowering for down the line wave riding.

I'd imagine the 4.2 would be good for 23-35kts.

If you aren't going to use them in waves I'd go with the 4-5 batten sails.... they have the advantage in stability...however it's tricky to answer because I also sail when the conditions are flat and the Taka3 sails are still great. The more battens will give you more of that locked in feel...it depends what you are more comfortable with I guess.

Northy,

I'm 94 kg and down in Margaret River where the wind tends to be lighter than further north I'm consistently using either 5.3 or 5.0 in the Taka2. The 4.7 doesn't get much of a look in down there because the 5.0 covers most of the stronger days pretty well, while still giving me flexibility when the wind drops during the late session.

Cheers, Jens

Hi Northy
I don't have any experience with Blades myself but there are plenty who do use them all along the WA coast. My observation is that I'm either using the same size or smaller than guys that are lighter than me so I think that the Ezzy claim of generating lots of low end drive is correct. Cheers Jens

Picked up my new Taka3's recently (4.1, 4.7, 5.3). I have had a couple of sessions on my 4.7 so far and once again I am very impressed with these sails. Over the last few months I have been enjoying the Taka2's and looking forward to the 3's wondering how they might have improved on what was already a brilliant sail. As far as I am aware, the only changes that have been made on the new sails is the luff material and shaping - giving a reported "softer power delivery and improved handling". In the limited time I have had it on the water so far I can confirm that this is the case. In all honesty I wouldn't say it's a massive difference - but it may become more evident as I experience it in a bigger range of conditions, none the less it is definately a continued positive move forward. I'm looking forward to getting all the sizes on the water to see how the changes feel across the range.... I'll keep you posted. Here are a few pics of my new kit