TORRO 2023

For 15 years, the Torro has faithfully served its purpose and, as with the GA Hybrid, the larger sizes have been optimized more for planing power and speed, the smaller sizes more for handling and maneuvering. A trim mark in the top of the Torro also helps to find the right luff trim, the further adjustments to the respective wind range are pleasantly small on the Torro - the wind range in one trim is accordingly large. In the early planing phase, the sail stabilizes immediately despite the rather short boom, is well balanced in the hand - even less experienced surfers find it easy to quickly get into planing and achieve a good top speed with the sail. Even when powered up, the Torro convinces with its balance: The pressure point remains stable for a long time, shocks are pleasantly dampened. And how does it look in maneuvers? Here, too, there are no weaknesses, the GunSails lies easily in the hand, rotates nimbly through duckjibes, loops and glide maneuvers and is a lot of fun even for ambitious surfers.

surf verdict: The Torro has what it takes to be a mainstream sail - it works for speeding on fast freeride boards, but also as a playful maneuvering sail for use on maneuver-oriented freestyle waveboards. Only in real waves you have to make small concessions.

+ Range of use, wind range, price
o Protector
- nothing

DESIGN The profile of the Torro changes according to size with a design that varies from wave to freeride. In this compact all terrain design with a short boom, the Torro is equipped with a tube batten from size 5.7 rn2 onwards to further emphasise the freeride aspect and promote acceleration and stability. Designed for RDM.

ON THE WATER The 2022 version retains its outline while noticeably changing the distribution of X-Ply and Q-Ply fabrics. What we love about Gunsails is the simplicity of the trim. Follow the instructions, tension the sail to the guide mark, and you're ready to head out with an impeccably balanced rig. Ashore, the Gunsails shows a loose leech, tension on the boom and battens that are close to the mast axis. Once blown up, the Torro shows an elongated belly with a forward pressure point. Planing is progressive, followed by decent acceleration. The comparatively short boom for this range makes for easy handling. The profile is stable, not as rigid as most locked-in models and offers the desired freedom to play with the rail in turns. This playful motor is not at all bulky when you come to ride the waves or throw yourself into jumps. The 5.7 is the linchpin in this wide range and although it comes with a tube batten, it retains its playful side. The Gunsails is at home in all freewave areas, but can also be rigged on a freeride, freewave or voluminous waveboard.

CONCLUSION The Torro is tailor-made for the typical funboarder who wants to have fun with a single sail in all conditions as long as the wind gauges are spinning. Easy to trim, easy to sail and most importantly easy to have fun with, whether you want to compete, jump or just freestyle. Even though some brands are leaning slightly towards a more one-dimensional 5.7, the Torro remains 100% versatile.

+ Easy adjustment, easy riding, versatility, wind stability, price
-  Less fancy materials

Excellent for bump&jump

The Torro has a rather narrow profile in static, a tube batten (from 5.7 to 6.9 m ) that stabilizes the profile, and a slim geometry characterized by a homogeneous loose leech. It is made of 70% X-Ply, thinner and lighter in the head area with the upper window made of monofilm.

ON THE WATER: The Torro is a lively sail that reacts directly with the wind and develops a clear forward pull, with a little touch of smoothness from the Dacron luff. It is more maneuverable and lighter than a freeride sail and more stable/faster than a wave sail and covers a very wide range of uses. It is suitable for powerful planing and fun in "reasonable" surf waves as well as for jumps, without offering the smoothness or neutrality of a wave sail when riding waves. The Torro is slightly stiffer than a Loft or Duotone, but fits just as well with a freeride or freewave board with three fins. It gets lighter in the wind and neutralizes better when surfing and in a straight line if you increase the clew tension a bit: as if the boom was getting shorter, with the profile more blocked on the front. The Torro maintains good overall stability in the wind, as the profile self-regulates as the wind progresses, to plane like an autopilot. You sail more economically than with other sails and benefit from good cruising speed and leech work on choppy water. The medium trim adjusts to lower and upper wind ranges.

CONCLUSION: The Torro is a lively yet balanced sail in this group. It is able to adapt to a wide range of conditions, playing with a few inches of outhaul tension to create more or less propulsion on the back hand. Simple and effective, then.

+ Lightness, range of use, handling/performance ratio, X-Ply construction, price.
-  Nothing to complain about