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Lowind 170 (Paimpol Voiles)

With the Lowind, the French manufacturer probably wants to upgrade his image by proposing an average size product for light winds. The Lowind 170 sail is light polyester. The leading edges are made of Mylar scrim and woven just like the wing tips and the central fob in which passes the spar, allowing the frame to show. At the tips, the connectors are made from a small yellow line in transparent film, entirely attached to the slit tips by a "light" thoric joint. The leading edge's connectors, the spar/stand off and sail/stand off joiners are made of translucent plastic to give light impression. The sail/stand off fixing is done by means of a small hooked piece which goes in a ring set in the sail. It's a pity that this piece is neither fixed to the sail nor glued to the stand off because it falls off easily. The Lowind comes with a pair of handles mounted with an unsleeved polythene line with no marlin head to attach it to the rings. The line of 70 kg resistance seems rather heavy for light winds and not necessary in strong winds, since the Lowind does not develop any traction. Lastly, if the quality of construction and materials are good on the whole, the finishing touches and the fillings are crude. With lines of 45/50 kg and a length of 30 m, it takes off in 1 Beaufort, revealing a good flight quality. It is silent, slow, stable in its tracks, does not oversteer in turns, turn tight, its angles are sharp, it responds well to the pilots requests and stalls well in the hole window. It can do most of the basic freestyle tricks, but don't except too much as far as technical tricks and groundwork are concerned. It keeps all its qualities up to 3 to 4 Beaufort and pulls a bit. Its fine and pleasant piloting is suitable for those who want to make progress. With maneuvering qualities, good for the beginner or for a second purchase, Paimpol proposes a well-turned out product in its new catalogue. Well done!