New racing sail: North Sails brings back the Prisma

Back to the roots: With the new Prisma, North Sails is reviving a model name that the "old" brand's slalom and later freeride sails carried for many years in the 90s and 2000s. Now comes the new Prisma, a high-performance sail for fin and foil, developed by world champion Pierre Mortefon and North's new signing Alex Udin. Striking: instead of the black or grey 3Di design that North has used exclusively since the relaunch, the sail has a conventional blue and white look. The specially developed inflatable Aircam has also been dispensed with in favour of normal plastic braces.

"Every detail has been optimised to maximise performance on the race course," says North Sails. "The weight has been reduced wherever possible, the load distribution is precise and the aerodynamic profile is tuned to respond immediately to the rider's input. The result is a sail that feels direct and efficient from the first pump, while remaining stable and controlled at full power." The leech is particularly light for less swing mass, while the mast sleeve and new carbon battens are designed to support performance.

Maximum performance for the competition

Pierre Mortefon, who has often posted pictures with the new sail in recent weeks, comments: "This sail is simply awesome. I'm really looking forward to the coming season. To be honest, I can hardly wait to race with it." According to the manufacturer, the Prisma is not designed to be able to do everything - it is a sail for maximum performance in competition.

But the Prisma is not the end of the story: "In the medium term, we want to build a complete sail range that serves the market and includes everything from wave, freemove and freeride to slalom sails. By the end of 2026, all of this will be visible," said Product Manager Vincent Langer in a surf interview some time ago announced. Other classics from North's history are also to be included: "The reference to old, successful models will appear even more frequently in the new range, I can already reveal that much."

The availability of the North Prisma is initially limited. North Windsurfing is planning full availability for November 2026, with sizes ranging from 4.9 and 5.4 for speed use to 6.0, 6.7, 7.7 and 8.4 for fin racing and a complete range from 4.5 to 8.0 for foiling.