North Power xt RDM extension?

[chophop]

A fellow at Third Avenue showed me this gizmo.
It was new to me and it looked handy.

He swore by it. I read here that they are not durable enough for heavy sandy conditions.

Any reviews?

[capetonian]

I currently have 2 SDM power XT extensions, and had one RDM power XT. They are fantastic, I love them. I no longer have the RDM as I snapped it in a heavy shore pound. Since I have also snapped a Chinook carbon RDM extension in the shore pound, I no longer use carbon extensions in the surf. As far as I know the North power XT RDM is only available in carbon. I highly recommend it, and would buy another one if they made an aluminum RDM version.

[joespeed]

I might be the fellow that showed you the extension, I still don't get why doesn't everybody have one at third and coyote; I can adjust the down-haul in the channel witch is priceless, I hardly ever come in to re-rig a second sail as I can trim it right there in the channel.
I've had mine now for about four years, no problem. I've only used it at Waddell 2-3 times, because I found out that I suck at wave ridding.
I had to order my 45 cm one from a shop in the UK, can't find anyone that carries it in the US/Canada, Kevin Kan told me he may carry it in the future.

Louis

[mat-ty]

I had one also, and really liked it, being able to adjust the downhaul on the water was great. But a few things drove me away, first the teeth in the clamping gear need to be better, the line would not grab often and drove me nuts. You would have to downhaul by hand until there was enough tension for the teeth to grab the line, (not a huge problem, but irritating). Second I broke off two handles, when they came down , and got hung-up on board. I would recommend small Velcro strap or something else to make sure handle stays up. Overall great idea , works well , just be careful of handles.

[mat-ty]

I just saw them at Ocean Air windsurf shop in Avon, NC.

[grayson]

I'm a huge fan of the Power.XT extensions! I bought my first one 4 years ago, added a couple more to the quiver as my budget allowed (they're freakin' expensive), and have been running nothing but Power.XT (RDM) for the past year or two. Where I sail most (from South End Burlington on Lake Champlain) there's generally a long schlog out to good wind. So coming back to the beach to tweak rigging is a major undertaking. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to easily adjust my downhaul in deep water!! I sail everything from 8.5 to 3.7 with Power.XT and I've had pretty much zero problems with 'em, except one time when a replacement line I used seemed not to get good purchase in the cam pulley and slipped under load as I was rigging. Swapped the line with something different and everything was groovy. FYI, my go-to replacement downhaul line ever since has been 4mm Marlow Excel Racing (available at any West Marine). Cheap, low-stretch, and holds great in the Power.XT cam pulley. I have heard one report of someone who started to have slippage problems and had to replace his cam pulley to solve 'em. But mine are all still going strong, including the one I've owned and used heavily for the past 4 years. I do sail mostly in freshwater, so YMMV.

Edit to add: I agree that finding these in North America has been a real pain, but it's getting better. I bought my last one from Kevin at Wind Power Windsurfing fairly recently. He stocks many sizes and models of the Power.XT in both standard and RDM.

[chophop]

Seems like he is out of the RDM US Cup long. If anyone knows somone in US who has them in stock let me know!

[sailingjoe]

A salesman demonstrated one of these for me back when Joe Jones was still carrying Windsurfing products on Comm. Ave in Boston. They are impressive but expensive. I felt I didn't need it and don't.

[capetonian]