After have been using the Ezzy Elite for a few years, with great satisfaction, this year I wanted to test the new wave sail of the Hawaian brand, the Ezzy Wave. For a few months, I have tried this windsurfing sail (sizes 5.8 and 4.7), in different conditions, both at the sea and at lake spots. In this article, I will sum up the test result.

Windsurfing, sail test: Ezzy Wave 2021

First of all, let's see some technical data. Full technical specifications are available on the manufacturer's website.

In few words, the Ezzy Wave 4.7 has 4 battens, it can be rigged with the top 400 and the bottom 370, if you use an Ezzy mast (we tested it with the Hookipa Mast), with a rather narrow range as for the luff (398-402 cm), and a boom excursion from 152 to 162 cm. The declared weight is only 2.87 kg (I personally weighted the sail and found 3.0 kg).

The 5.8 has, on the other hand, 5 battens, and is rigged with the Ezzy 430 mast (luff range from 440 to 444 cm), and has a boom excursion from 169 to 179. It weighs 3.47 kg (weight personally sized: 3.5 kg).

It is important to highlight why the 5.8 (and 6.3) have 5 battens, instead of 4, like the other sizes. David Ezzy, in this regard, on the brand's website, declares:

"When I set out to design the Ezzy Wave, my goal was to make the best sail possible in each individual size. During the development, I found that the 5.8 felt lighter and more stable with 5 battens than it did with 4 battens. I found that all the sails need to hvae a roughly similar distance between the battens, which means that the 5.8 neeeded another batten. If I made the 5.8 with 4 battens, it would compromise its performance. The 5 batten 5.8 Ezzy Wave is actualy lighter than the 2019, 4-batten 5.7 Elite. And the Ezzy Wave is more stable and balanced as well. And when we introduced the 6.3 in 2021 (the sail is in production since 2020), the same principles applied".

Generally speaking, David Ezzy on the 2021 model also explains: "Reshaped for 2021, the Ezzy Wave is flatter in the batten above the boom, making the sail feel lighter and easier to move around. This makes the sail both much better for jumping maneuvers and easier to handle on the wave. The change also improves high wind handling". 

The sail, in the different sizes, has been made lighter, without penalizing the legendary construction quality of Ezzy products. As for the 2020 version, there is no vinyl window that is found in most of the Ezzy models produced so far, but one of Spectra with reinforced X-ply.

Test conditions

The Ezzy wave 5.8 was tested in wind conditions between 14 and 17 knots, sometimes gusty, with a flat water surface, or with chop within half a meter. It has been tested both in freshwater spots (upper Lake Como, Lake Silvaplana - Engadina) and at the sea (Porto Pollo and Stintino - Sardinia, Praia do Martinhal, Portugal).

The Ezzy Wave 4.7 was tested both in wave spot (Capo Mannu, Sardinia; Coudouliere, France), with 2 / 2.5 meters high waves, and wind just over 20 knots, and in flat water or choppy conditions, at the sea (Porto Pollo - Sardinia; Praia do Martinhal - Portugal), and in fresh water (Pra de la fam, Lake Garda). I tested it also with rather strong wind (from 20 to 30 knots - in the latter case, of course, I was overpowered).

Both sails were rigged with the recommended Ezzy mast, and with a Goya Super Skinny 140-190 wide tail boom.

Test result

Impressions for 5.8. In this size, the Ezzy wave turned out to be a wonderful 5 battens sail, which really thrilled us. It is very stable in straight ride, and it is as powerful as needed: 14 knots are enough to let me glide easily, when I match it with a Tabou 3s 106 LTD, and a 27 cm MFC K-One fin (my weight is about 70 kg). To achieve this goal, it is not even necessary to make the sail too bellied, thus leaving it very easy to handle in maneuvers (especially in fast tacks). You handle the gusty wind quite well, too, as long as it doesn't become too poor, as for its quality. Moreover, the sail was pleasantly light in the hands, a feature that I had already greatly appreciated in the Elite 2019. The 5.8 is also characterized by the usual wide wind range of some Ezzy sails, which we tested in these years (Tiger, the different versions of the Elite). In short, it is a very different sail from the Goya Banzai 5.7 2019, which I had in my hands until recently (read the test result), and which (the Banzai) I do not consider suitable, in the described conditions of use, for light riders, as me.

Ultimately, the 5.8 is the perfect companion for my freeride / bump and jump sessions, even with moderately unstable wind, in flat water conditions, or choppy too.

Impressions for 4.7. Despite the identical name, the Ezzy Wave 4.7 seemed to us a completely different sail compared to the 5.8: a 4 battens, which, in the water, almost gives the feeling of a 3 battens. It is really a great balance between power, and lightness in your hands (as well as being light from a physical point of view - see the weight, which we found). It is very easy to handle when surfing and maneuvering, ready to depower adequately, in the gust when on the lip, or in wave maneuvers. But if you need to speed up, pump a bit and you can count on it! Moreover, the battens under and above the boom are quite spaced. It seemed to us, in a nutshell, a sail designed to adapt its profile, continuously, to the frequent variations in the wind speed among waves of a good size, with a lower inertia in gusts, compared to the 5.8, but also with a lower speed in recovering the profile, at the end of the gust itself.

In this size, the sail seemed to us, consequently, to be less stable in straight ride, especially in gusty winds, in bump and jump / freeriding sessions. For this type of conditions, the Ezzy Zeta (5 battens wave sail, in all sizes - read the 5.8 test) could be a more suitable choice, as well as the Ezzy Elite 2019, a very versatile and balanced sail, which we liked so much (read the test). While in serious wave spots, the lightness feeling you get in your hands from the Ezzy Wave is definitely winning.

Good wind range, playing, above all, on the outhaul adjustment. The sail has also shown, within certain limits, to manage overpowering (up to 25 knots, for  a rider of 70 kg, like me). The sail was mostly matched with a 2016 Tabou Pocket 94.

I close the article, with a brief consideration. For some time now, Ezzy has placed a calibration mark, attached with Velcro, to the base of the sail. This mark helps to identify the exact position of the mast base, to be obtained by adjusting the downhaul, according to the different wind conditions. In the models of many years ago, however, this adjustment was obtained through some indicators positioned in the upper part of the sail, which helped to understand how much to loosen the leech. The calibration mark at the base of the sail tends to detach (I lost two of them). Therefore, I would suggest Ezzy to print these adjustment marks on the tissue at the sail base, to solve this problem.

Hang loose. Fabio