Chinook Pro 1 Alloy 2010 Review - Windsurfing Robert

Chinook Pro 1 Alloy 2010 Review

In May 2010 Chinook launched a new aluminium boom, the Pro 1 Alloy. I was in the market for 2 new wave booms, so I bought 2 Pro 1 Alloy booms (150-212cm and 165-227cm). Because there is so little information on the internet about these new (2010) booms from Chinook, I decided to write a review. In this review I compare the Pro 1 with my old Neil Pryde X6 145-195cm (2007) boom.

Shape When you put both booms on top of each other, the most noticeable difference is the boom shape: the Pro 1 has a new school curve, where the X6 has an old shape. The front of the Pro 1 is straight. The widest point is a bit more forward than on the X6. The widest point is also a bit smaller: 47,5cm for the Pro 1 vs. 49,2cm for the X6. The tail of the Pro 1 is bigger than on any non-race boom I have ever seen.

Boom head If you ask me, the best part of this boom is the head. Well engineered, a solid feel on the water, very little flex. The snap-in RDM adapter is really good and feels solid. I don't think this will break. The shim is not as high as on the X6, but at almost 13cm it still gives a good connection with the mast. The only drawback might be the width of the head over the tubes: not even 9cm. This might put a lot of load on the boom arms, which could result in broken arms.

Tubes/Arms The tubes are 29mm, compared to the 28mm of the X6. You really feel the difference; I think 28mm is a lot better. I once had my hands on a 26mm Pro-Limit, which seems a bit too thin. 28mm seems just spot on, so 29mm is a bit too thick, but not by much. Most booms nowadays are 29mm. The tubes do not feel very stiff compared with the X6. I would have expected the Pro 1 to be as stiff as the X6, or even stiffer. With the shortest extension the difference is not that big, but at 195cm, the maximum of the X6, the difference is very noticeable. And at 212cm it is so much that I will never try this boom at that length; I think it is useless over 200cm. On the water, with 12cm of extension, the flex in the arms was not that noticeable. I still have to try the booms at longer extensions. Maybe the quality of the head makes up for the softness/flex in the arms. Chinook claims: "The Chinook Pro 1 is much stiffer than the Triple Clamp ever was..We use a much stiffer alloy on the Chinook Pro 1, and our testing proves its stiffness is greater." I still have to compare the boom with a Triple Clamp. The X6 and also the North X-composite are much, much stiffer. The grip feels good in your hands, also when wet. There is a nice blue line on the top side of the tubes, facing the rider, for positioning the harness lines. (Some of the better brands' aluminium booms do not have this.) This is really handy when checking that both lines are in the same spot.

Extension The extension is in the well-known Chinook blue. What is really, really nice is that it shows the absolute length of the boom, not the relative length as almost every other brand does. The clips are single pin, not double as is the standard these days. The pins are a lot thicker than most. The clips are very easy to operate, especially compared to the very flimsy handles on the X6, which are almost impossible to operate with very cold hands. I have only seen these clips on Chinook booms, so spares have to come from Chinook. That could be a problem when you break one in, say, 10 years. (North Sails had this problem with their carbon booms a lot of years ago: a very strong boom, almost none broke, but the clips broke so often that there are no spares left anywhere in the world.) The clips feel very solid, and the plastic is thick and doesn't have to bend that much, so they will probably not break as often.

Tail The tail is really something special. It is wide, a lot wider than most. It has the clam cleat molded into it, which looks really nice and seems stronger than the OEM solution where 1 rivet holds the plastic tail piece in place. But the construction around the clam cleat is really odd. There is no hole to thread the rope through. As soon as there is no pressure on the rope, it falls out of the clam cleat. That, combined with the fact that the clam cleat and the loop are on the bottom of the tail, seems illogical. Rigging the tail piece takes some getting used to, because the rope falls off easily when there is no tension. But with a bit of tension it works. The rope supplied by Chinook is very stiff and feels hard.

Conclusion I have some mixed feelings about this boom. It looks like a well engineered boom. Lots of parts are better thought out than on the standard OEM booms that lots of brands sell. But some parts just don't seem logical: the clam cleat in the tail piece, for example. And the stiffness is not what I would expect from it. Pros: - New school curve - Good boom head - Absolute length shown on the extension Cons: - Does not feel very stiff - Clam cleat in the tail piece - 29mm tubes Note: I'm not sponsored or paid by any windsurfing brand or shop.