ON THE BEACH: As always, the Sunray looks very solid and well equipped. The sail combines a deep profile quite far forward with lots of loose in the leech.

ON THE WATER: With the Sunray GunSails offers the perfect alternative to the merciless Vector. One trim is actually sufficient for the entire wind range, the sail is always mega locked and stable in the hand. For early planing it does not quite build up the backhand acceleration of a V8, but pampers with a lot of softness and very stable handling. The pressure point keeps the board down and well under control, unlike the Vector. The overall characteristics don't make the sail look playful, but with a boom length of 1.97 m it looks compact, the pressure point in the deep profile is comparatively a bit further forward and remains stabilized the whole time. The combination of a deep belly and a lot of looseness ensures a large, well-covered wind range without trimming - once the luff is pulled to "Fred" and the clew is loosely tightened and it works - the Sunray is by no means trim-sensitive. While shifting the sail in a jibe, the battens move a long way in the deep profile, but very smooth and without noticeable jerk - and without noise.

CONCLUSION: Full in the hand, but very comfortable and easy to surf Freerace sail with wide wind range and balanced performance from early planing to top speed.

PLANING WITHOUT STRESS

DESIGN: The Sunray has 7 battens and 2 cambers, which are accommodated in a medium width mast sleeve. The clew eye is offset a good 20 cm inwards. The sail top is made of ultra light x-ply material. For 2018 the luff curve and the sail twist have been revised to improve tension distribution.

ON THE WATER: The Sunray stands out due to its simple rigging. The easy insertion of the mast without resistance, the gentle mounting of the cambers and the trimming of the sail without trimming tool, everything is designed to offer the freerider a stress-free set-up phase. It's so simple that you don't even need the sleeve openings for the cambers. The trim mark is an unbeatable aid for a plug & play rig, even for camber sail beginners. On the water you don't need any adjustment period, the Sunray is one of the most gracious sails in handling. It's not the lightest thing on the scale, but you can't feel the weight when you're sailing. This is the trump card of the Sunray, sailing requires no effort. When it starts planing, the sail sets itself backwards and stays there without wriggling. The propulsion in the lower area is moderate, but the ease of handling allows uncomplicated pumping. When the wind picks up, the forward acceleration brings a smile to your face and gives you a good feeling without ever overtaxing you. In the jibe you’ll find again the freedom of movement of the sail, with a clack the cambers go around in automatic mode.

CONCLUSION: The Sunray brings a remarkable lightness to surfing without neglecting the hearty acceleration. Its behaviour is 100% freeride oriented, it will delight the camber sail newcomers at their first experience and makes all those who would like to surf with a preformed profile completely carefree.

+: Lightness, handling, stability, construction, trim marking, price
-: Lacks a bit of power in the lower range, Top Speed is slightly behind the sporty models

EASY TO CONTROL PERFORMANCE

The Loose Leech of the Sunray is one of the most distinctive, it also has a good profile. A thinner x-ply in the top makes the sail lighter, the mast sleeve leaves just room for the two cambers.

ON THE WATER: With a light camber rotation thanks to some elasticity, the Sunray moves forward and delivers a pleasant planing, equally not aggressive and well balanced: it accelerates naturally with little wind, without fluttering. It has a wide range of use and feels more and more comfortable with increasing wind.
It is super balanced and its profile has a good relationship between softness and dynamics. Due to its well-breathing profile, board punches on choppy water can be easily absorbed, especially in the sail top area. The power and pull on the hands is also easily controllable and can also be maintained in wind holes. In the middle and upper wind range it excels: with a very natural acceleration and one of the highest speeds at reach and down wind, without the more intrusive effect of the sail size compared to the test group. The Sunray is a sail that works all by itself, very stable with a lighter pull on the back hand than its competitors and a high tolerance in the settings: it tolerates better than other sails only an approximate setting on the clew and becomes lighter when sailing. In jibes you have the impression that it has no camber, it rotates very softly.

CONCLUSION: The Sunray offers an interesting alternative between the world of freeride without camber and freerace due to its easy handling (rigging/pull out of the water), its easily tamed power and its surprising speed. In the soul a sporty sail but without the associated restrictions. A very good sail.

+: Range of use, easily accessible performance, power distribution, easy to drive, softness, price
-: Nothing