Airush Sector Light Wind Race Cruiser 60 or 52?

[FL Kiteboarder]

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I'm primarily interested in delving deeper into the realm of lightwind frustration/bliss.

I currently have a Nobile 143x48 XTR and Litewave 153 WING.
Admittedly, there's some capability overlap between these two boards.
My kites are listed in my signature below.

I'm about 210 lbs, and ride mostly in the ocean in Florida.

Was seriously considering the versatile 2010 Ocean Rodeo Mako King
(while waiting for the August debut of the Aguera-designed Cabrinha raceboards.)

Then this evening, a fellow enthusiast told me about the Airush Sector.

As per this Airush Sector Product Page,

• the 60's dimensions are 172cm (5'8") x 60cm (23 1/2")
  the 52's dimensions are 173cm (5'8") x 52cm (20 1/2")

I've read that both the 60 & 52 ship with the same fin configuration.
I've also read that the 60 & 52 ship with different fin configurations.
Which is the case?

I've also read some early concerns about QC regarding the fin boxes.
Has this been addressed by Airush as of yet?

The 52 is supposed to be faster and slightly more maneuverable
The 60 is supposed to have a little better low-end and more immediate planing.

Decisions, decisions....

Need to hear from those who have tried both back to back.

Anyone know what Airush was 'going for' when they decided to use that
grinder-scuffed black and white finish on the Sector?

It got me thinking about anti-shark graphic efforts such as this one.


Marc
Cabrinha - XBOW '09 16m / Naish - Cult '10 13.5m / GK - Trix '08 12m & 9m / Eclipse -Thruster '08 14m - Nano '09 11m
Kiteboarding Videos: Feat. Nobile, Mystic, GK, Litewave, Flyboards, Ozone, Naish, Cabrinha, & More

[FL Kiteboarder]

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Kiteworld Issue # 42 article about the Lithium Lightwind and Sector 60


Marc
Cabrinha - XBOW '09 16m / Naish - Cult '10 13.5m / GK - Trix '08 12m & 9m / Eclipse -Thruster '08 14m - Nano '09 11m
Kiteboarding Videos: Feat. Nobile, Mystic, GK, Litewave, Flyboards, Ozone, Naish, Cabrinha, & More

[Schmidy]

Hey Marc,

If you are 210lbs, hands down go with the 60 if you are using it for lightwind cruising and freeracing. I would put a smaller person (165ish<) on the 52 or you would have a blast in higher winds with the smaller board (I know that bigger guys are using it in South Africa as a high wind race board, no shark attacks yet with the sanded finish). The Sector 60 comes with a 22/18cm fin combo and the 52s come with a 18/15cm combo.

Cheers,
Schmidy

[droffats]

We'll post about the quality soon. Ours comes in on Monday.

- Droffats

[Clinton Filen]

Hi Marc

The 52 would come with a 15cm/18cm Combination, while the 60 runs the 18/22cm combination.

If you are looking for all out lightwind performance I would recommend the 60.

We did have some variation in the box size due to changes in the plastic mold causing variation in shrinkage of the final part. We did address this in our QC, if you do find any variation please contact us on info@airush.com.

The Semi finished look was done to reduce the weight of the final board, as done on our race boards. The boards have a lot of surface area and we save around 250 grams with this finish.

Thanks

Clinton Filen
Airush Kiteboarding

[plm]

Hey Marc,

If you are 210lbs, hands down go with the 60 if you are using it for lightwind cruising and freeracing. I would put a smaller person (165ish<) on the 52 or you would have a blast in higher winds with the smaller board (I know that bigger guys are using it in South Africa as a high wind race board, no shark attacks yet with the sanded finish). The Sector 60 comes with a 22/18cm fin combo and the 52s come with a 18/15cm combo.

Cheers,
Schmidy

Hi Schmidy,

What do you mean by "I would put a smaller person (165ish<) on the 52 or you would have a blast in higher winds with the smaller board ".

In higher winds it was supposed to be better with smaller boards!!

I was also interested on the Sector 52!

Cheers

PLM

[droffats]

Our Sector 60 arrived today...

In between lessons I snuck out on it with the 7m I was using for a land lesson. It was 12m weather, but I was able to go a mile or so downwind and back in only 4-5 tacks (to get back). I weigh 170 lbs, am not really good with a surfboard and was using a 2010 Blade Trigger 7m. Flat water.

I'll give it the full monty review when I get more riding time, but I pretty much soiled my wetsuit I was so happy with the board. I've given honest feedback on this forum in the past to the point that companies call me and threaten lawsuits and accuse me of slander etc. So far, this board is the real deal. The performance is there. the QC is good -- no problems with the fin boxes etc.

I will get out with a properly sized kite and see if it really will do 2.5 times the wind speed. My personal best is 38mph on a TT (I wear a Garmin Edge 305 GPS in an Aquasak) in a slick. I'd be ecstatic going 25 mph in 10 mph of wind, but I don't see that happening. Maybe 1.75 times the wind speed. 2X the wind speed would be enough to go off my meds.

- Droffats

[Schmidy]

Hey Marc,

If you are 210lbs, hands down go with the 60 if you are using it for lightwind cruising and freeracing. I would put a smaller person (165ish<) on the 52 or you would have a blast in higher winds with the smaller board (I know that bigger guys are using it in South Africa as a high wind race board, no shark attacks yet with the sanded finish). The Sector 60 comes with a 22/18cm fin combo and the 52s come with a 18/15cm combo.

Cheers,
Schmidy

Hi Schmidy,

What do you mean by "I would put a smaller person (165ish<) on the 52 or you would have a blast in higher winds with the smaller board ".

In higher winds it was supposed to be better with smaller boards!!

I was also interested on the Sector 52!

Cheers

PLM

Hey PLM,

Sorry for the confusion. I mean if you are a smaller rider looking for light wind freeride you can get away with using the 52. The 60 has the low end advantages of width and volume but a smaller/lighter person might find it harder to control if over powered compared to its little brother. As I said before, the bigger guys have so much fun on the 52 but it takes a bit more wind to get going compared to the Sector 60 especially in FL case being 210lbs. Either way, these things out do lightwind twintips hands down in comfort, planning, and upwind performance.

Cheers
Schmidy

[FL Kiteboarder]

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I will have a Sector 60 to DEMO in early JUNE.

I am located in Ft. Pierce, FL.

PM me if you are interested

or drop me a note at kiteboarding.demo (at) gmail.com


Marc
Cabrinha - XBOW '09 16m / Naish - Cult '10 13.5m / GK - Trix '08 12m & 9m / Eclipse -Thruster '08 14m - Nano '09 11m
Kiteboarding Videos: Feat. Nobile, Mystic, GK, Litewave, Flyboards, Ozone, Naish, Cabrinha, & More

[FL Kiteboarder]

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The Airush crew is on a tour up the west coast starting tomorrow! We will be featuring our new gear out at your local beach.

Schedule:

• June 1 – San Diego
  June 2 – Belmont Shore, Los Angeles
  June 3 – Santa Barbara
  June 4 – Pismo
  June 5 – 3rd Ave, San Francisco
  June 7 – Hood River
  June 8 – Seattle

They will be updating this schedule as they travel so please check back for any changes.

www.airush.com

Marc
Cabrinha - XBOW '09 16m / Naish - Cult '10 13.5m / GK - Trix '08 12m & 9m / Eclipse -Thruster '08 14m - Nano '09 11m
Kiteboarding Videos: Feat. Nobile, Mystic, GK, Litewave, Flyboards, Ozone, Naish, Cabrinha, & More