Cedrus vs Katana vs NoLimitz vs Progression Project mast review and comparison
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- čas přidán 4. 12. 2023
- In this review I (Patrick Israel @foilwithme) put two masts I’m very familiar with, and think are very good both in their own right, the progression and katana masts from Unifoil, up against two of the best masts in the world: the NoLimitz V2 and the Project CEDRUS evolution surf.
Being a team rider for Uni, I’ve spent countless hours on both of our masts. And they’ve both served me very well. I’ve used the katana almost exclusively for the past 2 years, and recently started using the Progression.
I’ve always been a fan of the NoLimitz masts and was stoked when they said they wanted to get my take on it compared to the stock Uni masts. Project CEDRUS wanted in on the action, and we decided to make a not so scientific test to compare them all in weight, speed, bend, and twist.
I’ve always been hyper focused on stiffness in masts. I think it’s the most important piece in evaluating a masts performance. Speed obviously matters too, but for me, being a mostly surf foiler, a mast that wobbles side to side, or twists under the load of a turn will ruin a session.
Had some fun with great waves, dock starts, and a little Downwinding with each mast.
Hope you enjoy this review and it helps you make an informed decision before making your next purchase 🤙🏼
If you would like to purchase the Evolution Cedrus mast, you can do so here:
foilshop.com/product/evolutio...
Great review thanks , that's alot of work to put that all together
Great review! I always learn something new from your content. Impressive demonstration of surfing close in and among the surfers. Surprising that you don’t get beef for being close. 🥩 🔥🤙
Great review Patrick. Well done and organized. Just one thing would be the No Limitz adapters that Foilparts makes do not have that big area of drag for Unifoil and F-one. They are flush and do not create drag.
Great work, love the drone footage too
Thanks a lot!
Nice job Patrick.
Nice review !! I have been a fan of Cedrus for many years now. They also have the engineering data to back things up when it comes to mast stiffness. That information combined with reviews like this are helpful in navigating the mast landscape which seems to still be evolving. Keep charging!!
Thanks 🙏
Great review
I had the first no limitzs mast and found it very fast but way to flexi
The No Limits V2 is faster than the V1 and much stiffer. It holds up against the bigger wings like the progression 200 and hyper 2 250
Nice work, and I’ll add that I got a NL adapter for takuma 1 to takuma 2, and found there was so much flex that I never even tried it in the water. I’m waiting for a cedrus and this makes me feel nice and fuzzy.
Make sure and hit us up. We have a batch of Cedrus masts coming in about 4 weeks. We can make sure you get on the list and get your mast as early as possible.
Very true! Plus adapters=wobble/looseness rather than flex. I’d rather ride a noodle with a perfect fit to the fuse and progressive flex than a better mast with wobble/looseness in the fuse joint
@@mattllewhellin5996 but, in my experience, cedrus adapters are totally different. They are indistinguishable from the mast re wobble. I’m amazed NL used a famous lacking platform to make them universal.
Try the Foilparts ones. They are great and don't flex.
Amazing! Just missing the sabfoil puima 12mm or red devil.
Awesome video and nice drone work! Would love to hear your opinion on the Uni aluminum masts. I’ve been riding them for a while and purchased them entirely because they were like 1/5th the cost of the katana. I did a side by side comparison with a friends katana in my garage. Aluminum was only 0.1lbs heavier and both seemed equally stiff when tugging on foils on the beach. If anything, the al mast may have felt stiffer. I think more flex may develop in the connection system over time on al since it has two more connection points (baseplate to mast and mast to mast adapter). Al also seems thicker than the carbon masts.
Have you ridden Al and if so, what are your thoughts?
The Aluminum mast is a great choice! We decided to test carbon masts that claimed to be stiff. We should do another test comparing the aluminum. That would be fun.
Were you using the same wing with the 4 masts? If so, which one was it? (Brand and size). Thanks
Thanks for the video! Do any surf surfers ever tell you to go away?
Must be some totally-chill surfers there ! Great review - thanks !
The other thing to decide is Mast length for the various disiplines. I try and do every thing Foil: Kite, Wing, Wind, Prone, DWSUP, Wake. It's hard to have just one Mast length that does it all well. What are your favourite Mast lengths for every thing above (what is your weight) Nice Review!
We find that 82-87cm is the most versatile length. We can use it for everything you mentioned. The surf mast is great for all things foiling as well. We haven't experienced any venting on the surf mast even at high speeds.
Any chances you tried the cedrus evolution wind ? I’m only winging and as a lighter rider I tend to feel or to be more sensible to ventilations issues ? Had the NL v1 and cedrus original and both were bad with ventilation!
Thanks
Yes. I’ve ridden the wind a bit too. It’s about as fast as the surf. No vent issues ever felt, even when maxing the speed in big surf. Turns are a little more drawn out than the surf model, with the longer chord section. But it’s an amazing mast. And for wingers or downwinders, I would suggest the wind over the surf model 🤙🏼
The shop has two in stock right now that are ready to ship actually if you give a call we can get you sorted
Hello Patrick !! How all these mast compare to the code foil mast ?
The code foil mast is extremely stiff. It’s one of the best masts on the market and we don’t find anything wrong with that mast. However, it can’t be ridden on the Unifoil wings. So it’s hard to tell exactly how the mast compares, because the foil is going to influence speed/drag and flex. We will be doing a Code vs Cedrus soon.
Hello Patrick, loved your video, images and presentation and of course the surfing displayed, great level and so beautiful to watch. However I I have a question, in the beginning of the video you stated this are in your opinion the four best masts of the market. Have you tried (to Cite only a handful ) the new F-one HM 14mm /The new pro carbon axis high modulus/ The North Sonar CF / The Sabfoil carbon / Mike´s lab / Chubanga/ Allure HM mast??? ... There a a lot of ver very good masts out there. Of course also those you presented. Just wanted to say to state those are the best... I think a real test of all the market can offer would be ideal, wich I know is a very difficult task. Kind regards from Spain! Maybe a full test during the next Awsi 24 with many brands offering to try them would be ideal.
You’re right. There are many other really good masts out there. We have tried many of those. You bring up a good point. Contact us before AWSI next year and maybe you can help us test them =)
The main point of the test was to eliminate the variable of the foils, and test the masts. By using the same foils on all the masts we were able to isolate the feeling of the mast.
I've ridden almost all of those masts and some are very good, most are kinda meh in my opinion.
We also tested the masts using surf as our testing grounds. Most of those brands don't cater very well towards surf foiling, being more geared towards winging.
Great review weight is so important imo ,when i picked up the new armstrong mast I was blown away how heavy it was no way it was for me!
Hi, any thoughts or experience on the f one hm 14, especially compared to the f one alu mast or against these high end ones? Ripping, cheers
Actually yes. The 14mm mast is amazing. It is definitely going to be more efficient than the aluminum mast. But on totally different ends of the price spectrum. The 14mm UHM mast from F-one is a great mast if you’re only riding F-one.
Does the cedrus come with the set up to use progression wings and fuselage
YES! You can specify which adapter you want to use. The Cedrus uses an adapter for any foil system it connects to. So when you purchase, just specify that you're going to use with Uni, and it will come set up for Unifoil.
This is a great review. That 2 pound difference is huge for airs (especially flips). But being able to use any brand of foil is also huge.
The biggest other question for me is what will the durability be like once bigger riders start really throwing massive airs on these masts. Just looking at the NoLimitz and it being 2 pounds I don’t know…
Very true! The Cedrus is definitely designed to handle anything you can throw at it. And you’ve proved the Uni masts are strong. Exciting times.
Great review.
The wing version will likely be less pivoty more carvy in the turn then?
yeah, that is a concern of mine as well! The testing hasn't stopped, so maybe we'll do a follow up video with some extended use on all of them, getting pounded by my 200lb frame slamming down with air attempts. haha.
No one has ever broken a Cedrus and the Evolution masts are even stronger than the classics. The production version will be about half-3/4 pound lighter using an even stronger mount. To minimize cost and manufacturing time of Evolution prototypes, we used a common mast head among wind/surf versions which resulted in a significant weight penalty but helped our machinist and got masts to testing faster.
@@kylelobisser1962 I don’t think any of these masts will break within the carbon components. I put more force onto gear than probably 99% of riders evidenced by how many foils and boards I break. And aside from a superficial crack near the base which didn’t propagate or cause further problems, my 82 cm Katana has held up very well. I also ride faster than a lot of wingers and I’ve never had any issues with the flex. On the 95 cm with a wide foil I start to feel it.
What concerns me are the points of connection between different materials which only the No Limitz and Cedrus have. Cedrus has had issues in the past due to the adapters being attached only by fasteners. This new system seems much more solid to me, but time will tell.
The No Limitz system may be super solid it just doesn’t look that beefy at the base plate (where my katana cracked and is solid beefy carbon). They also rely on bonding the carbon to aluminum and had some issues in the V1 with a poor choice of adhesive. But that is said to have been fixed now. I just wonder if there’s enough material at those points.
In the end, if I was a smaller rider that didn’t break gear I would probably go No Limitz. But as a bigger rider, the Cedrus Evolution might be a safer choice. The projected weight is very respectable compared to other masts especially considering it is universal. However, as a wing foiler, I do think we might have different opinions on whether the Wind version made the right design choices. For the average winger, maybe. I do also like the Cedrus plastic/rubber leading edge technology as I think razor sharp edges are insanely stupid.
NO AFS OR MIKES LABS??
The AFS and mikes lab masts are great. However they don’t work with the Unifoil wings we used for the test, so they couldn’t be included. To make it equal, we wanted each mast to be ridden with the same foil and board. That way we isolate the mast, and we aren’t influenced by the flex and speeds of the different foils themselves.