What is the smallest production sail for stormy conditions (40+ with 50+knots gusts)?

Brand/type and experiences.

My smallest is a 2014 Gaastra Manic 3.3 (2024 8x)
I have also an old 2000? North Voodoo 3.0 with like 15 battens that is delaminating.

With the 3.3 the last 2 sessions blown off the water...so, we need a smaller sail (instead of 'a bigger boat').

SurferKris said..
Severne Redback used to go down to 2.0, and the latest model goes down to 2.5. The Severne S1 goes down to 3.0.

What is your body weight?
I have used a Goya 3.1 sail at Pozo, and doubt I would ever need anything smaller than that.

Imho a very good small wave sail for a 70-75 kg guy was the Goya fringe 3.0 and in rare cases 2.8.. three battens but amazing stability and lightness. This means winds 35 -40knots and above. Unfortunately don't make them anymore. In such gnarly conditions you also need a sail built to last, not a disposable. I would point the Simmer Black tip Legacy 3.1 as an option.

I've seen some pretty small Hot Sails Maui, though not sure how small they go.

SurferKris said..


What is your body weight?

70 -73 KG and rig up a size smaller then others (4.7-> 4.5/4.2 ->4.0, enz.)

2025 all two sessions very overpowered with 3.3

The sail doesn't have to be a recent sail.
Preferable like 10 years because of the price...

Anyone tried junior sails for these conditions?

Icelake said..
Anyone tried junior sails for these conditions?

I'm about 65kg and I've fairly recently got myself a few of the Severne Redback sails (3.4 -4.7). I really like them, the range is much larger (for me) compared to regular sails. It is the low-end that is better, as they are softer, while the high-end is no problem (I feel overpowered/out of control, before the sail itself is out of range).

Regular sails in the small sizes always feel very twitchy to me, I think this is caused by the fact that us lightweights will be using them in wind strengths below their actual design. Using a softer mast can help a little bit, but not as much as the dedicated junior/women sails.

The Redbacks start going earlier, about "1/2 size" to me. I.e. when I would normally hesitate between a 5.3 and 4.7 (Severne Blades) the Redback 4.7 works just great.

I changed from Fringe 3.0 to Banzai Surf 2.8, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Fringe 3.0 worked amazing though, did not require too much wind to have a good session with it.

Taavi said..
I changed from Fringe 3.0 to Banzai Surf 2.8, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Fringe 3.0 worked amazing though, did not require too much wind to have a good session with it.

The Fringes 20/21, especially small sizes, were amazing. Stable, light, durable,3 battens, lots of low end, lots of high end. Goya didn't realize what a gem they had produced imho. Very, very hard to beat. I am not giving them for their new stuff-AT ALL. A pity they discarded it.

Hotsails Maui Superfreak was a 3.3 sail that surprised me in atrocious conditions (gusting well into the fifties), very manageable..usually detest below 3.5 as a 100kg lump.

Just remembered I have one more clip with a fair bit of Goya Fringe 3.0 action (the blue sail in the first half of the clip). So if anybody is interested in how a small sail handles in some waves, then take a look. Does not have to be 50 knots to use a smallish sail. Other sails used in this clip are: Fringe 3.5 and 4.0.