I was lucky enough to be given the New North SHOX XTR to test (Many thanks to Solent Sailboard, UK) and since it is way out of the sensible price bracket I thought some of you might be interested in the results. They do not support the sales hype..... Test Day was 17 knots of wind and the Naish Slalom 125 and 7m Redline were in use with a 36cm freeride Choco fin in the box. The SHOX had been tried before but there was no apparent difference. Yesterday defined what it does. AM Regular North XTR Fully powered with the 7.0 the 125 spent most of the time on flattish water at 26 knots on the GPS. Flat out. Sailed for One hour. SHOX Same. No apparent difference. Sailed for one hour. No GPS speed difference PM Regular North XTR After lunch the tide had come in more and the chop was hell. 26 knots in heavy short chop and my lunch was fully shaken and I felt like a beginner. I couldn't get comfortable and the board would not pop up on to the plane and it was the session from hell. I swopped this, adjusted that, moved footstraps, tensioned the downhaul. It was crap. SHOX I fitted the SHOX and WOOSAH. All settled down instantly. 26 knots. Over the chop. Everything smilie again !!!!!!!! CONCLUSION The SHOX did not make me sail better. It did not make me sail faster. It did not improve my jibes. If you are sailing on the edge maxed out anyway then it does bugger all. What it does do is make heavy chop useable. It makes impossible uncomfortable sailing possible so you don't miss the session. My stomach hurt yesterday after lunch. I was fed up with being bounced and shaken and having to work so hard on the chop. The SHOX took that hassle away and made me smile again. For that simple reason it is fantastic. Is it worth it ? It is fiddly. It is heavy. It is called the XTR but only has one pulley so is misnamed. The base is fiddly to insert and is very prone to sand. Unclipping the base WILL take your fingernail off and is not a good design. But it worx. In certain conditions it makes sailing possible. Would I buy one ? Too expensive. But almost worth it............
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