Vandal Stitch Freeride / Freerace 2010

You’ll like… the very fast, stable ride

You won’t like… this sail if ‘bling’ is not your thing

The Stitch from Vandal is an all new design for 2010 intended as a freeride/ freerace sail with top speed and power to the forefront. The designer is Dan Kaseler.

 

The glance turns double take as these surely are the loudest graphics on the water and they’re over gold monofilm on one side and silver on the other. This Stitch has seven composite tube battens (smaller sizes have six) with a fuller, more powerful shape and a medium to high aspect in a race-like profile. X-Ply in the luff and strong reinforcement in the head give stability and protection.

 

The Stitch 7.5 is the only sail in this test that sets on a 490 SD mast with a tiny bit of extension, just 4cm. We used a Vandal Axis 490 75% carbon mast but Vandal suggest that at a pinch you could rig it on a 460. Rigging it up is easy and there’s a tuning guide printed on the sail itself.

 

The Stitch feels powerful, it has good grunt to get you going easily but the extra batten and longer mast plus the aspect mean add a little weight to the rig it doesn’t respond as swiftly in the lightest of conditions. But once you’re up and running the sail feels well balanced and you get good feedback through the boom while blasting along. The top end performance is both fast and stable and it was up there as one of the best sails for top speed.

The power was plentiful to keep you going well through lulls and when gusts hit, the seven batten structure held its stability and accelerated faster thanks to a solid foil.

 

If you want to be noticed then this sail is for you. It is the loudest sail you can buy and going to be love it or hate it – we think it looks great! But it isn’t just a fashion statement, it is also a great freeride/ freerace sail with the emphasis more towards freerace. Best suited for advance riders though.

The Vandal Stitch is a freeride / freerace sail that will achieve top end speeds only dreamed of with other no cam sails. There are 6 battens in the smaller sizes and 7 in the larger ones.

All sizes have fixed head

We only supply this product to countries without a Vandal Importer / Retailer network, currently - UK, Ireland, Nordic and some Scandinavian areas.