EXCEED

More planing, less restrictions

This ultra-easy to rig sail features a moderate mast sleeve with a prominent profile in the front that rises high, a nice leech opening, and a fairly short boom with two clew eyelets 8cm apart: 202cm with a short boom.

ON THE WATER: With its deep, high-rise profile, the Exceed makes decent power at low speeds and stays planing in the wind holes for a long time. This omnipresent power, softer on choppy water than the Vector, is well balanced in both hands thanks to the short boom and the well-behaved work of the leech opening, which protects against an overpower effect on the back hand. The Exceed is the ultimate in freeriding, as it is a clever combination of easy setup, light weight, maneuverability and power in the low to mid wind range. There's no need to rig a bigger sail, as it holds up well in stronger winds. Even better, increasing the boom tension, especially on the lower eye, reduces the pull on the back hand even more. This also makes the sail more manageable and softer in the leech, giving the feeling of having a 7.2 m² sail. A plus for lightweights and to sail with less power with narrower boards. Cruising speed is high, which is enhanced by the power, stability and breathing of the leech, so you can also tease pure freeracers if you ride into this group. In the jibe, the camber comes through very well, the profile is quickly brought back into position and allows a strong pull on the jibe exit.

CONCLUSION: Formerly Sunray, now Exceed, the 2-camber sail from Gunsails continues to impress with its simplicity in rigging/operating, its range of use and its surprising performance in the low and mid range to spend more time planing. And by the way, you also save a few euros.

+ Easy rigging/de-rigging, plug & play, controllable power, stability, good performance, camber rotation, range of use, price.
-  A little too much power in the higher range for lightweights, quickly switch to the lower clew eyelet.

As every year when we try the Exceed and formerly the Sunray.... we find how pleasant and at the same time very easy it is to trim and control this "engine" that has always allowed us to squeeze every knot of our thermals. Although the size has been reduced over the years in order to save weight and preserve our ever-aging backs.... even in size 7.0, the Exceed meets all expectations. For any hobby windsurfer (who weighs around 80 kilos, lately in our case `more over than under'!) I think there is no need to have more camber than the two available and more square footage than the 7.0, if you want 7.5 ... to have a great time with the spring-summer thermals! In my case, with the Exceed 7.0, I only need about the same amount of wind to get planing as my companions with the Wing need to get flying on the water.... and that's enough for me, also because in the end I don't know which of us has more fun.... ha, ha, ha!

I speak to you as a windsurfer who, out of necessity (or rather, with an excuse ready... ah, ah, ah... read the editorial!) has foregone foil and good company and limited himself to an old 125-liter slalom and a 7.0 freerace sail with two cambers to take advantage of the light winds. And the Exceed 7.0 is immediately appreciated for being so easy to trim, even with a 430 rdm.... All you have to do is adjust the tension of the battens with the special standard spacers from the sail bag (be careful, because without the spacers the camber tends to come out when pumping...) and you're done. The combination with the Reptile Fibra 100 rdm makes the sail "lighter" and does not reduce the performance of the Exceed, which on the contrary starts planing off immediately with a burst of air. It only needed two pump strokes and a more "active" guide to plane back and forth without any problems....

In fact, the Exceed is already a powerful sail and the combination with the rdm mast may not be appreciated by lighter surfers who will find it harder to manage a sail that is very hard on the back hand in strong winds. While I personally appreciate having a "lively" sail that I can manage when the wind picks up while still staying within reach of the old surfer, I can understand how very light surfers may find the power and "physicality" of the Exceed too much. That said, there are just a few things to say... the Exceed accelerates instantly, achieves excellent cruising speed, and if you have a bit of the old slalom spirit in your veins.... you could get your money's worth even with a high performance board in terms of speed, because the top of the sail "breathes" well in gusts. When jibing, it stays within reach of the average surfer, as the camber turns well despite the classic "slap" on relaunch.

At the end of the test, the great thing about the Exceed is that you can exploit its full potential without too much effort or too much technique... the usual GunSails bestseller at a price of 605 euros, for which you can't even get a 3.7 wave sail from other brands!

Plus: quality/price, easy trim, acceleration, versatility, great stability even in strong winds, good overall performance, wide range of use for experienced surfers,
Minus: a bit more "physical" than a freeride sail

GUNSAILS note: During the test, an RDM mast was used, but they did not switch to RDM cambers, but only extended the spacers behind the cambers as described. Nevertheless, we recommend to also use the matching camber when using with RDM.