Hi,
I'm on the hunt for a new boom. Currently have a Hydrodynamix "Hydro 1700" about 4 years old. Will need something around 180-200 and fairy strong as I'm approx 95kg's. A couple of years ago people were suggesting Aeron but now Hydrodynamix etc. Would the new Hydrodynamix booms be the same as my older one, same stiffness, clamp etc?
Budget- not enough for carbon and only windsurf a few times a year now so dont want to spend too much.
Thanks,

Happy with Aeron Vgrip. It is very stiff. Mast clamp is excellent - best I've had. It is heavy though. I am not convinced that the v shape really helps to reduce hand fatigue, but it certainly does not detract from the experience and appears to be stronger.

I have Aeron MCT 26 and I love it. Very detailed craftmanship and I love reduced diameter grip :D

busterwa said...

What ever you do dont stear clerar of neil pride booms x****
, whatever They are a absolute hunk of under-enginnered ****.Buy one and within a week youll be swimming back to shore

Name and Shame = NeilPride Booms =hunk of **** Go Chinook* or areon. Pride have serious reliability issues with the products.

Not speaking from personal experience, but a few of my mates have had major problems with X3 Booms, would definately not get one of those!, one mate went through 3 of them (all warrantied), until finally he had had enough of them and swapped it for a Chinook.

Did notice today a second hand aluminium boom on Ebay located in Victoria, think it was $45 if you really really hard up on cash. Think it was quite an older one though and personally would not risk it!

windaddict said...

busterwa said...

What ever you do dont stear clerar of neil pride booms x****
, whatever They are a absolute hunk of under-enginnered ****.Buy one and within a week youll be swimming back to shore

Name and Shame = NeilPride Booms =hunk of **** Go Chinook* or areon. Pride have serious reliability issues with the products.

Not speaking from personal experience, but a few of my mates have had major problems with X3 Booms, would definately not get one of those!, one mate went through 3 of them (all warrantied), until finally he had had enough of them and swapped it for a Chinook.

Did notice today a second hand aluminium boom on Ebay located in Victoria, think it was $45 if you really really hard up on cash. Think it was quite an older one though and personally would not risk it!

Busta, you're only part right and a bit harsh as the X6 & X9 are good booms. I had an X3 and after using it only a couple of times found it too soft for my liking (we'll call it weight-related), but either way, the salesperson's excuse that it's "really meant for lightweight beginner-intermediate freeride" doesn't cut it with me. In my opinion, windsurfing gear should have a minimum strength rating (for safety reasons).

I did a "breadstick" break on an X6 and it was replaced, the 2nd one is still going strong after 4 years and it's a good/stiff boom compared to others I've tried...I've heard great reviews about the X9 also.

Bayblaster said...

Hi,
I'm on the hunt for a new boom. Currently have a Hydrodynamix "Hydro 1700" about 4 years old. Will need something around 180-200 and fairy strong as I'm approx 95kg's. A couple of years ago people were suggesting Aeron but now Hydrodynamix etc. Would the new Hydrodynamix booms be the same as my older one, same stiffness, clamp etc?
Budget- not enough for carbon and only windsurf a few times a year now so dont want to spend too much.
Thanks,

What's wrong with your current Hydro 170?
It should adjust out to 220 & being 32mm would be stronger than most new booms.
At your weight I would not go with any reduced diameter alloy boom, carbon only
By the way it is at least 10 years old going by that description

Sailhack said...

windaddict said...

busterwa said...

What ever you do dont stear clerar of neil pride booms x****
, whatever They are a absolute hunk of under-enginnered ****.Buy one and within a week youll be swimming back to shore

Name and Shame = NeilPride Booms =hunk of **** Go Chinook* or areon. Pride have serious reliability issues with the products.

Not speaking from personal experience, but a few of my mates have had major problems with X3 Booms, would definately not get one of those!, one mate went through 3 of them (all warrantied), until finally he had had enough of them and swapped it for a Chinook.

Did notice today a second hand aluminium boom on Ebay located in Victoria, think it was $45 if you really really hard up on cash. Think it was quite an older one though and personally would not risk it!

Busta, you're only part right and a bit harsh as the X6 & X9 are good booms. I had an X3 and after using it only a couple of times found it too soft for my liking (we'll call it weight-related), but either way, the salesperson's excuse that it's "really meant for lightweight beginner-intermediate freeride" doesn't cut it with me. In my opinion, windsurfing gear should have a minimum strength rating (for safety reasons).

I did a "breadstick" break on an X6 and it was replaced, the 2nd one is still going strong after 4 years and it's a good/stiff boom compared to others I've tried...I've heard great reviews about the X9 also.

Negative, both the X3 and X6 suffered the same issue as they have the same hydro-formed front end which is an extremely poorly engineered cluster*%$. We are talking about the model that was released in 2010/11 with the new 'flash' front end. Looking at this years booms they have made some revisions to remove the stress raisers that were present in the old design and it looks like the material thickness has also been beefed up (although hard to tell definitively). Of the 2011 revision front end booms I broke one after not much use and I've seen at least 4 others broken, it was 100% a design ****ter.

Previous to that there was the cracked mast clamp issue on the booms (08/09?)when they switched to the clear plastic clamp piece. Once again, happened to me but luckily the part from the older model fitted and I had a spare lying around, also saw heaps of others crack.

As swoosh said though to NP's credit they are very good with their warranty's, had no issue getting any RMA'd. All in all i've broken 4 NP booms, one I don't think any boom would have survived but the others were all due to poor design or manufacturing issues; 1 X3 and 3 X6's, I'm not sure why I kept buying them hahaha...they were nice booms to sail with but imo their QC department is up the ****.

What's wrong with your current Hydro 170?
It should adjust out to 220 & being 32mm would be stronger than most new booms.
At your weight I would not go with any reduced diameter alloy boom, carbon only
By the way it is at least 10 years old going by that description

The boom was good, never broke or bent on me.
Dont know how old it is for sure but if it's that old then it must have been sitting out the back of the shop awhile. Actually havent windsurfed in ages so who knows?Theres some corrosion on the tailpiece and the V Cleat in the clamp has corroded so wont grip the rope. I will hose down my next boom.
It was hard to get a real stiff lock/connection to the mast at the clamp though, seemed to be abit of movement (twist?) when using it.
What diamater alloy should I be looking for if not reduced?

Used about 8 times broke on a 5.9 (second one) Dont go out to far with them !!!!



Just pay a little extra it saves a big swim and a the headache. So what are the best booms for your buck? (0-1000$?)

K Dog said...

Anyone know what Prolimit booms are like?

Not the worst boom I've had but noticeably bendier than Aeron. They are cheaper so probably use lower grade tubing.