Recently picked up a 6.2m evoq which is replacing a 2018 6.2m apex. I have to say the apex was an awesome sail. bucket loads of power, felt super light and ended up being my 12-18 knot daily driver..
However, the time had come so I took advantage of the evoq reloaded presale pricing and grabbed a 6.2. I had previously avoided this update as I wanted to wait a season or 2 for the new shape to be developed.

first thing to note is it's green and gold!! Ozzy ozzy oi oi. the sail looks epic. The other thing is simmer have redesigned their sail bags.. so straight out of the box I felt like I was dealing with a product that had every piece of the design considered. same with the team carbon 5.6 i previously ordered.

As is the case, with every new sail comes no wind. First opportunity was only a quick session at my local, middle of a week day in some of the flattest water due to a very low high tide. i am hoping this weekend I can hit some waves..

sail was rigged on an sx10 mast, boom and extension.. all simmer brand with settings as per the sail spec set to numbers on the sail. Second thing to note is the evoc has more luff curve than the team carbon and has a higher sail tension. Plus there is more draft and a more obvious twist towards the head. Compared side by side to an ezzy a mate was on the draft was very similar.

I thought it would be beneficial to do this review as a comparison between the evoc and the team carbon as those 2 sails are what most people looking for a simmer wave sail will be looking at.

On the water, The team carbon is light, nimble and very reactive. In comparison, the evoc is more secure, has a much smoother power delivery and responds more to back hand pressure. When gusts hit the team carbon the sail is very quick to respond so you feel it immediately.. With the evoc the gust hits, the sail takes the strain and then smoothly turns the gust into acceleration making it more laid back and friendly...

I also noticed the evoc heads upwind easier than the team carbon. Team carbon lacks upwind drive but there is none of that with the evoc.

Power wise the evoc has the edge over the team carbon. More profile translates to better early planning.. what was interesting about the evoc and something I've not felt from other wave sails is the acceleration off the mark. Pointing the board slightly downwind resulted in smooth and fast acceleration.. it was really noticeable. I think the evoc may have more speed than the team carbon too.

Whilst the evoc is a 5 batten sail it kinda sits between a 4 and 5 batten sail with how it feels on the water. I still need a few more sessions for it to stretch. First session sails do feel a little rigid so im excited as to how the evoc will soften up over time.

In transitions, the team carbon depowers immediately. Whilst the evoc went light and remained very balanced during gybes and tacks i need more sessions to get a feel for how it depowers. Through gybes I barely noticed the sail. It kind of got there without me realising it had so it's definitely smoother.

From a use case point of view my take is this. If you are predominantly into wave sailing or freestyle, are doing basic loops and tricks, an advanced wave sailor or lighter sailor even.. then the team carbon is probably the right choice. I'm thinking team carbon for float and ride too.

If your sailing has a mix of flat water, bump and jump and surf, with sessions blasting around finding ramps to launch from then the evoc is probably the right choice.. think wave rally conditions or wave slalom with more wave than slalom.. crossover, bump and jump.. i dunno...i had a wave slalom sail in the 90's. not sure how the current simmer enduro fits into the range now. The evoc is clearly a great wave sail looking at others using them. Maybe the evoc is for the older crew and the team carbon the new school crew. I dunno yet. Taking into account I've only had one go in very flat water it still felt like a wave sail in transition but with a bit more lock in comfortable feel in a straight line. Acceleration out of gusts was impressive.. Like the team carbon it goes where you point it and doesn't argue so it behaves like a wave sail.

I did tweak batten tensions straight out of the bag. i think the sail needs to settle a little before adjusting again.. some of the wrinkles i think will disappear and I'm yet to try try +/- downhaul settings. Will get more / better photos next session..certainly felt like the team carbon set better straight out of the bag.

I'm thinking I also like the snappy lighter feeling of the blacktips too . Just need more time on the evoq and in something more challenging then it's first run. It definitely showed signs of being brand new as i struggled to get full downhaul.. so that will stretch a little next time on the water.twist more, feel lighter in the hands etc. my previous apex for such a big powerful sail felt super light in the hands.

had not considered the Blacktip in the bigger sizes and evoq in the smaller sizes.. now you've pointed it out it makes heaps of sense. Would like to see a 6m team carbon for float and ride..

Also agree the 2 lines do complement each other. I can see a use case to have both in the quiver in certain sizes. i sail Currumbin in spring which is onshore bump and jump waves, backside riding, port tack jumps. for that I'll definitely use the evoq over the team carbon. At my local bayside bump and jump in 12-18 i think the 6.2 evoq is the best choice too..

I also rig with the battens sticking beyond the mast in lighter winds and a tighter leach.. the previous apex I set that way typically. Marc Par? has also said he rigs the team carbon that way sometimes too. Not aware of too many brands you can do this and have sail rotation remain smooth.. maybe hot sails?

apparently the 2027 evoq is due for release. Will be keen to see what got tweaked.. simmer are doing 2 year cycles.

my plan this season is to attempt to get away with 2 sails for most situations.. the 6.2 and the 5.6. Like in the 90's when I only had a 6.5 and a 5.7 to cover everything.

Nicko29 said..
Thanks for the report.

I wonder why you choose the evoq over the enduro in this size, especially for flatwater and bump n jump in this lightwind range (12 18kt as you mentioned)

I personally use a 5.3 for bump n jump, onshore, freestyle, when the waves and wind orientation is not good enough for float n ride with my 5.0 blacktip.
Then I have the vmax in 6.0 for lightwind blasting

I chose the evoq partly due to sizes. the 6.2 evoq is 0.6m bigger than the 5.6 Team carbon I have where as going to the enduro is 0.9m bigger. The blacktip 5.9 is too close.
also, I prefer more wave focused sails for lighter handling. lighter the better and the evoq has a shorter boom than the enduro. Another thing, one of the issues with longer booms on shorter wave boards is the balance with the fins gets messed up.

Beyond that, I've kinda always not really felt completely satisfied with crossover sails.. they don't handle like wave sails and aren't as fast as slalom sails. I'd rather just use a wave sail for it's handling and jumping and loose some speed and jump on a slalom sail when I want to go fast.

i have a 7.2m v max, and looking at getting either a 6.6 v max or the 6.5m s max. Most likely get the v max. It will depend on costs..to use on slalom boards. Just picked up a 105lt board.. I currently use the 7.2 sparingly on my large slalom board. I'm always trying to get on the smallest gear possible.

The evoq surprised me with how good it was on flat water just blasting back and forth.. I think it will surprise as a blasting sail. Went weightless during gybes and tacks etc.. stable in a straight line.

Currently I'm 100kg. Wind/sail below. 25-32cm fins. First run on the evoq I had a 120lt free move board w/ 30cm Flikka freewave fin. you can see the wind in the background.
12-18 6.2
15-20 5.6
20-25 5.3
25-30 5.0
30+ 4.5
'float - 6.2 or 5.6 depending on wind direction.

I'm probably on bigger boards.