Ezzy Tiger vs. the Elite

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

Hey all you Ezzy guys. Is it time for me to give the Elite a go. Just a bump and jump windsurfer. Not any real waves. Love the 5.8 Tiger but its time for a new one. I prefer to use the smallest sail per wind speed that I can. Low end power counts. The rumor is that The Tiger is gone next year. Any input would be helpful....I have all Ezzy masts

nw30 · Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 3:21 pm Post subject:

The Elite is primarily a wave sail, only 4 battens which is good for fast depowering needed for tricks on waves, the Taka even more so.
You would be better off with the Tiger for B & J, or lake sailing, more battens get you thru the lulls better.
Just because the Tiger may not be continued (if that's true), doesn't mean you still won't be able to get one on clearance, for even cheaper. Chances are that the Tiger will be replaced with another 5 batten wave sail, many people still like 5 battens for the ocean.
Why not the Cheetah?

rigatoni · Joined: 25 Feb 1999 Posts: 498

I sail almost exclusively bump and jump and love the Elite. Definitely has more range than the Tiger and has a much softer feel. Honestly you can't go wrong with either sail.

DW · Joined: 15 Jul 2014 Posts: 26

We bought our first Elite (5.7m 2015 closeout) about 2 months ago. We owned a full quiver of Tigers. The idea was to get a lighter sail for foiling. Better pumping, easier up hauling.

My wife and I were shocked by how superior the Elite was to the Tiger, in every way! More wind range, less twitchy, more comfortable in gusty wind, better pumping, smoothed out gusty wind, way, way lighter, etc....

We dumped my entire quiver of Tigers and grabbed every 2015 Elite we could find to build up a full quiver.

I let a friend try my 5.0 Elite on a gusty day. He also was blown away by the sail.

It's really funny now, because it's mostly Ezzy sails here, and all of us were pro Tiger because it had more battens. Well, we were wrong!

Ezzy should drop the Tiger.

gvogelsang · Joined: 09 Nov 1988 Posts: 435

U2U2U2 · Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 7:41 am Post subject:

The Elites are more mast specific, work best on the combos as specified.

The feel of the 4 batten is more direct than the Tiger, to most this is a good trait, I feel that the Tiger when really overpowered is better, but could be a matter of tuning and how you like to sail.

I would not rule against the Elite. FWIW my Taka is a fav in my quiver.

UncleRandy · Joined: 18 Sep 2009 Posts: 63

I agree i like the elites better than the tigers also i now have the 6.1
And a 4.7 will have 5.3 soon! My question has anyone tried the new
5 batten elites looking to replace my 6.9 tiger with the 6.8 elite!

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

Thanks boys for the reply. I went 6.1 Elite. Will let you all know what I think. If you care what I think....

U2U2U2 · Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 6:25 pm Post subject:

Yes, post your findings

hilton08 · Joined: 02 Apr 2000 Posts: 505

The Elite is a great sail with plenty of stability for freeride, bump & jump, and wave sailing.
After sailing the Elite, the Tiger feels more like a slalom or freeride sail - like a Cheetah but in the smaller sizes.
The Taka is now the true wave sail.