RAISE 2022

DESIGN: The third generation of Gunsails' freeride foil sail shows a relatively conventional ratio by being rigged on a 430 mast and keeping the area on the boom. The wide mast sleeve with its solid fabric makes for a deep profile, which is held in place by two cambers on either side of the boom.

ON THE WATER: The Raise is a camber sail that is very easy to rig thanks to the open mast sleeve and the low tension. The luff trim support sticker is clear and concise, giving you a ready-to-go sail without much thought. Although the Gunsails has two cambers, it feels easy and light in the hand, even with its six battens. In a very light wind that requires pumping, the Raise moves well and delivers a good start-up with a pull forward. When the breeze has firmed up, the large motor naturally draws you in for a smooth start and a progressive lift. The rig is harmoniously balanced and shows good stability. The leech is remarkably calm. The comfort is that of a club chair, where you are happy to sit back and enjoy a smooth flight. The Gunsails offers a smooth ride with a noticeable suppleness. The reactions of the foil and the board are balanced to provide a relaxed foil freeride experience. The moderate feedback is reassuring, you ride without thrills, but at least you are at ease with your flight plan. When jibing, the Raise Camber shows the efficient change without destabilising the flight plan, a plus point for the Jibeing in flight.

CONCLUSION: With the Gunsails you will enjoy flying relaxed without striving for performance, just for the joy of planing without constraint. The deep profile and supple rig make the Gunsails a comfortable sail with constant power transmission. The Raise 7.0 is a energy-saving freeride foil sail that will feel at home on a freeride foil board with a foil of the same type.

+ Drive in low wind, Comfort, not demanding, stability, smoothness of reactions, camber rotation, price
-  Set back from the more sporty ones

Smooth and stable

The Raise 2022 is the least stretched model of the group with its 430 mast, while the others have 460 masts. It has a forward profile with a leech that opens over slightly at the top - much less than a windsurf model.

ON THE WATER: Very easy to set up and trim, this sail with two camber (half-width mast pocket) is light and very comfortable to pump, with a forward profile that provides stable support. It is softer, breathes more than other sails, is less peppy in acceleration, but has decent power that can be easily channeled in the mid-range. In flight, you enjoy a powerful forward pull and a light back hand, resulting in a breathable profile that allows for long flights at any speed. The whole can be refined by pulling on the downhaul to reduce pull and drag at higher speeds and revs. The Raise prioritizes support and comfort over performance compared to other sails, which are livelier and more planing like, and also offer a firmer pull on the back hand (leech) when sailing upwind. The advantage is that you can start relaxed, navigate on the water without effort thanks to a balanced pull, and even switch to windsurf mode when the wind picks up a notch for long planing sessions: The Raise remains versatile. In the jibe, the profile turns around well, even if it is a bit less fluid than a no-cam sail.

CONCLUSION: The Raise is a well-behaved sail that eases entry and progress when foiling, exhibiting a smooth and tolerant behavior and offering neutral and linear handling that does not destabilize when you fly. The heart of effortless freeriding, in other words. It is also one of the best windsurfers of the group, if not the best.

+ Smooth, easy to pump, rigging, efficient when windsurfing, easy/stable flight, price.
-  Performance a bit more limited than average, less handy than the No Cams.

And we also come to the test of the GunSails Raise, a freeride foil sail (very much in demand among amateurs and not only because of its attractive price compared to other sails in this class...), which will see its third edition in 2022. The 2021 edition we had already received the large size 9.0, and the range of four sizes (6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0) is also confirmed for this season. The choice of size 7.0 for the test is partly justified by the fact that this sail in this size is one of the few on the market that retains a mast size that can be fitted with the 430/21. The best combination would be a good sdm mast... which improves the preload of the sail, but no one forbids fitting the Raise with a 430/21 rdm (as in our case with the Reptile Fibra) and using it to its full potential, with the only trick being to insert the special spacers that GunSails supplies into the camber pockets. Once this is done, both the "work" of the two small cams that support the profile of the six battens and the rotation are optimal. Although the Raise is a pure foil freeride sail suitable for all skill levels, from beginner to experienced surfer, it retains a minimum level of smoothness that allows it to be used as a fin freeride sail as well, without too many limitations.

But back to the use with the foil. The Raise doesn't need too much luff tension to be perfectly trimmed. Also, thanks to the special mast bend combined with the limited leech tension, the rig, which has a fairly flat profile, remains stable even in sudden gusts, making it easier to control and navigate with the foil. Pumping is not among the most explosive at the beginning, but all in all, the Raise's performance is effective in the lower wind range. Thanks to the lightness of the rig and the very forward pull, launching with the foil is easy and smooth. The same goes for the performance in flight..... The non-excessive pull promotes a smooth, relatively relaxed sailing style that is immediately appreciated by less experienced foilers because in a short time you gain the confidence in the rig that allows you to focus on maneuvering the board. When running upwind the performance is decent, compared to more specific sails it holds a smaller angle, but the Raise pays off in terms of control, relaxed sailing, profile stability even in gusts and last but not least with an easier approach in gybes, facilitated by the smooth and optimal rotation of the two cams. The Raise 2002 proves to be one of the ideal sails for making fast progress with the foil, a sail with camber easy to trim and control, light in the hands, which makes sailing easy and not so exhausting.

More than a few qualities for a sail that, as GunSails traditionally does, is offered at a more than competitive price, even in this sector of windsurfing.

+ ease of trim, immediate feeling, smoothness, decent power, comfort, stability, price, light weight, good windsurf/foil compromise
-  peak performance lagging slightly behind more technical foil sails