Get an inside view about the test process of the revolutionary NorthSails iFront 2.0:
June 2014
The first pre-production parts are ready. After mounting and first dry runs we travel to Pozo/Gran Canaria. Promptly, Victor Fernandez is excited by the easy handling and the noticeable weight advantage of 250g but also worried about its stability.
Doing only smaller very conservative jumps at first, Victor more and more accelerates and is ripping hard with the iFront 2.0 mounted on a new Platinum boom. Good news: he uses the proto for several months now without any quality problems and is even taking the vice world champ crown in 2014 with it. At the same time we deliver the first samples to a windsurf center in Pozo for excessive usage and again: no quality problems, no breakages of any part of the new iFront.
July 2014
Creating on the one hand side a very stiff front end and on the other hand side, treating masts very gently (most of all mast breakages occur at the area where the front end is embracing the mast) was a nearly contradictory requirement oft he product brief.
This tough task has been solved by adapting the collar to the mast with a very big contact area in order to avoid any kind of point loading. To find our if practice matches theory we went to very spectacular conditions at the Arabian Peninsula for another test session. After 2 weeks of intense testing with extra produced wipe-outs no mast broke, the front end was flexing smoothly and provided no point loading tot he mast. Mission accomplished.
Next to the hardcore wave test we were also testing the front end in slalom conditions with SDM masts. It was not easy to define the right level of anti-slipping. When the boom is connected too tight with the mast it is hard to adjust the boom height. When the boome os too loose it is slipping down in rough conditions. After some material changes of the collar rubber we found the right compromise. All in all the perfect closure oft he mast and the very light weight was very much appreciated by all team riders being involved into testing the new iFront.
August 2014
From the beginning there has not been one single failure, so that the biggest goal now was to bring as many iFronts 2.0 as possible onto the water to recognize any potential symptons of material wearing. (Maui, Lake Garda, Alacati, Mauritius)
September 2014
For the final test runs the test team was meeting right after the Slalom World Cup in Alacati / Turkey. Also the final testing didn´t show any more weaknesses oft he new iFront 2.0.
November 2014
To secure the high quality standard the first booms equipped with the new iFront 2.0 had been tested in demanding conditions in Bretagne/France. The new iFront 2.0 was inspiring in terms of weight (250g lighter is also sensible without scales), easy handling and design the first real customers in perfect conditions.
So here it is. The new iFront 2.0.
Feel the benefits
– lightest front end and boom on the market
– fast and easy mounting / handling
– no more RDM adapter necessary (re-building from RDM to SDM and vice versa is possible)
– preserving your mast
– aerodynamical design
