*Updated* 775 Miles in the Gorge - Reviewing the Cedrus Evolution Surf 77.5

*Update 9/2024* My original review is still posted in black, but due to a few ongoing struggles I have had I updated a few things and added some comments in blue.

~Intro~

I've been considering a Cedrus Evolution Surf (CES) mast for a while and finally pulled the trigger on it. I resisted this because I ride both 66cm and 80cm masts and didn't want to lose out on riding my short mast in the future. I went with the 77.5cm surf since I wanted something slightly shorter than my current 80cm, but also versatile and fully capable in a wide range of gorge conditions.

*I was not asked to write this review, am not affiliated with Cedrus, and I paid full price for my mast. Blue links take you to instagram. Here's my notes:

~Rider Data~

I'm a dedicated swell rider and use my wings to get me around. I commonly downwind for several miles while flagged out and then charge back upwind. Recently, I've gotten excited about learning some fun wing maneuvers. I'm 87kg and have been riding a Sunova Carver 5'10"x20" 85l board for all of my time on the CES. I ride in the Columbia River Gorge 150-200 days a year.

Total miles ridden: 775 and then retired.

Wind range for these test days: 7-62 knots.

Wing sizes used: 2m-4m

Swell sizes ridden: Flat to head high.

Foils tested with the CES:

Cloud IX: fs850, fs1150 - 50 Miles

Code: 850s, 980s - 100 Miles

AFS: Silk 650, 850, 1050, Ultra 750 - 500 Miles

Lift: 130 fx and 150 hax - 100 Miles

F-One: Sk8 850, 950, 1050 - 50 Miles

Masts I rode and compared to the CES:

AFS UHM 80cm and 75cm

Lift M2 F-One HM 14

Cloud IX high modulus.

No Limitz v2

Code Standard Mast

~Weight and Dims~

77.5cm (equivalent to 79-81cm depending on how adapter affects length) CES mast without adapter: 1511g

AFS adapter: 296g

Lift adapter: 226g

F-one adapter: 210g

Cloud IX adapter: 197g

2 M8 bolts to attach adapter to mast: 25g

Left to right: Lift, Cloud IX, F-One, AFS.

Mast Dims:

At foil (metal insert in mast here):

117.91mm chord

19mm thick

In center cutout:

107.75mm chord

16mm thick

At board (metal insert in mast here):

117.67mm chord

18.67mm thick

Weight in the mast and foil is of relatively low concern to me. I don't jump, I surf. As such I want the nose of my board to be light, but the foil and mast can carry a little extra weight without major to me. My primary foils are AFS which are very light so everything balances out. My CES weight swings from 3lbs 13oz to 4lbs depending on which adapter I am using.

~Stiffness~

"I bet that's so stiff!!!" This is the statement I hear from everyone at the beach. If we grab masts and twist them for the standard beach stiffness test I've found that the CES seems stiffer than a traditional carbon mast. It is about the same as No Limitz v2. The newest high mod masts from Lift, F-One, and AFS are all clearly stiffer to me on the beach as well as when riding them on the water.

I ride a narrow board at 20" (and have been riding narrow for 3000+ of miles) and am transitioning to 18" (although I think 19" is going to be the winner...). A narrow board does not allow me to create a great deal of leverage over the mast to bend it. I also don't ride foils with spans greater than 40.25" so I'm not creating massive leverage with the foil. In some ways, this means I can get away with the CES not being as stiff as other masts. However, I do find mast stiffness to be critical in a couple different situations:

1. Tip breaches. There was a point in time where I thought tip breaches were the coolest thing and I did them constantly. With the AFS Silk foils, bringing the tips out when using the CES could be felt and it occasionally results in crashes. I learned to ride the Silks on the AFS UHM mast which is arguably the stiffest mast I've ridden. On that mast, I couldn't feel the tip breaches at all, I could simply hear them.

   
   

2. Turbulent water. This is a much harder variable to check and control because "how turbulent was that whitewater vs this whitewater" is constantly running through my head. However, I do feel as though the stiffer a mast is the better it allowed me to cut through turbulence.

   
   

3. Radical maneuvers. If you are in the intermediate to advanced category and are pushing your mast hard in gybes, tacks, 360s, and other surf oriented turns you'll probably appreciate a stiffer mast.

   
   

4. Pumping. Pumping feels more efficient on a stiffer mast.

77.5cm CES vs 80cm AFS UHM. Both are great masts that are best suited for specific styles.

~Speed, Glide, Drag~

I spend the vast majority of my time foiling with my wing flagged out while I am gliding on swell. As such, I would say that I'm pretty in tune with my glide. On the CES my smallest foils glide a little better than on a traditional mast. My larger foils mainly benefit from increased maneuverability. However, the larger foils are also more susceptible to stiffness issues.

As for speed, when gliding I don't feel like I'm moving at a shockingly faster pace, but I do hit higher speeds when I am powered by my wing. I have also noticed that the increased speed and glide on my mid aspect foils when paired with the CES allows me to consistently glide and link swell easier than on standard masts.

At the time of this review, all of my riding takes place under 20 knots of speed which is also the limit noted by the manufacturer.

~Responsiveness: Roll and Yaw~

Peak performance in foil turns for me is related to having the best roll and yaw experience. A shorter chord increases the sensitivity of the roll axis at both high and low speeds. At slower speeds, the yaw axis is also opened up. Essentially, and simplified, this responsiveness makes my foils feel as though they are slightly more playful than their sizes would indicate.

~How it impacts the various brands I've ridden~

Cloud IX fs: 1150, 850

It simply enhances the already smooth and friendly characteristics of these foils. These foils also run dead silent on their brand mast but make noise on the CES.

I prefer CES over C9 HM mast.

Code S: 980, 850

Increased turning, pump, glide, CES was better in all ways with these foils.

I prefer CES over Code standard carbon mast.

AFS Silk: 1050, 850, 650

Better responsiveness, stall speed and glide. Decreased stability in turbulent waters and tip breaches. I compared the AFS 80cm UHM and CES masts more than any other since these are my primary foils. That added time on foil made this the most complicated impact of all brands I tried.

My initial impression was that the AFS mast was a little slower and not quite as maneuverable as the CES. However, the AFS mast was stiffer. As such, there were certain times when I preferred the CES and certain times when the AFS was better.

At the end of my summer I purchased the 75cm AFS UHM mast and by my measurements it is stiffer, thinner, lighter and has a shorter chord than the CES. It doesn't make any noise, it doesn't vibrate when riding, and the stability issues vanished when using it. As such, it has become my primary mast.

Lift: 130 fx and 150 hax

These are the highest aspect ratio foils that were tried in this test. IMO their turning is dependent on pitch activation instead of roll. This is a different flavor of turn that I would say is less enhanced by the CES.

If you only ride Lift then buy the Lift HM mast.

F-One: Sk8 1050, 950, 850

I didn't get access to everything I wanted to test from F-One so I can't be 100% sure about my opinion here. What I will say is that the Sk8 foil feels "tracky" in comparison to the other foils in this test. This "tracky" feeling produces a not so playful feel to the foil that didn't seem to be altered by the CES.

If you only ride F-One then buy the F-One HM mast.

~A comment on: Freestyle, Big Dawgs, Wide Boards, Wide Foils~

If you are hard on gear and have a history of damaging equipment I would encourage you to use brand matched foils and masts. Wide boards and wide foils are going to be hardest on any brands masts. Match that with freestyle and power maneuvers from bigger riders and you have a recipe for breakages. If you commonly break gear I think you are far better off dealing with a big brand and a big shop that can process warranty issues quickly. I quite simply don't know how fast a custom length mast could be reproduced and replaced? These aren't sitting on shelves by the thousands, they are made to order.

~No Limitz v2 vs Cedrus Evolution Surf~

I know lots of people want this comparison but I don't want to do a deep dive into this. So, here's my basics:

IMO after riding a CES I think it is better for:

1. People who want to use multiple brands, this is the only mast specifically designed to do so.

2. People who want the most maneuverability and don't mind sacrificing stiffness for it.

3. People who want a mast that fully disassembles for travel.

IMO after trying a No Limitz v2 I think it is better for:

1. People who value weight.

2. People who want to save money and put it towards their foils.

3. People who break gear.

I did see a friend snap his No Limitz v2 at the mast to board joint while riding small swell and it convinced me that CES was the right choice for me due to the more robust build. He is 104kg and was on a 25" wide board with a sk8 1050, no adapter. No Limitz had his mast warrantied and replaced within 2 weeks which seems quite reasonable but it was a bummer for him to be without for a bit. I do not know if CES would replace a mast.

The mounting plate sits tight with zero rock on the mast, even without the 2 m8 bolts securing it.

~What I'd like to see improved upon~

I think a basic cover should come with it. Cedrus is releasing a custom cover and it looks extremely well designed and functional. I assume this took time to design and release because of the variable length of the mast. Price has not been published on it yet but I've been told it will be similar to the cost of an adapter. Check out their instagram to see pictures of the design.

Second, I bought a zero degree shim to serve as a spacer to protect my board. I've always had a thin piece of rubber under my mast but Cedrus sells a $30 spacer to insert for protection instead. It didn't fit very well and made the baseplate bolts too difficult to slide in. Plus, the texture of the spacer actually imprinted into the bottom of my board leaving marks. I wouldn't buy these spacers or shims again.

~What I don't like~

Sound:

When I first got this mast I noticed that it sounded different. When demoing other peoples foils on the manufacturers masts some have a high pitch whistle, commonly from scratches and nicks in the foil. I found that on the CES the whistle is commonly converted into more of a low pitch hum or whir. You know the sound effect in movies of a submarine? A bit of a moaning sound. Cedrus informed me that this is likely due to the rubber in the mast. However, some of my foils that never whistled now produce this noise on the CES. This is especially noticeable in light winds when it's quiet out. I do miss the silence on light wind days when I'm not wearing a hood. Whistling is something that I could sand and tune out. The submarine noise does has not been something I can resolve.

Shared customer service:

This is one of the biggest drawbacks to getting a CES and it should be seriously considered. I have had nothing but positive experiences with customer service representatives when my mast and foil are from the same company. However, every issue that has arisen with my CES has been uncomfortable and resulted in me putting my CES up for sale.

Code 980s on the CES:

~Which mast to buy?~

This is really what it all boils down to isn't it? Here's some simple questions to ask:

1. Do you want a universal mast? If so then the CES, IMO, this is the main option.

2. Do you need a custom length? If so, CES is the only option I know of.

3. Does price matter? A CES mast is going to cost close to 2k for the mast with bag and adaptor. This makes it one of the most expensive options on the market.

4. Is the CES better? For some foils and riding styles, yes. For some foils and riding styles, no.

5. Will you do the required maintenance? If you are the kind of person who only rides 1 foil, leaves your kit assembled for months on end, and hates rinsing their gear after saltwater sessions, you would probably be best served by an all carbon mast.

My decision: I bought the mast for full price and I learned a lot while riding it. I have tested a ton of different foils on the CES as well as on their OEM HM masts. I've come to the conclusion that while this mast is better than a basic carbon mast it's not better than the best OEM masts available. Too many of my foils make strange noises on the CES and some foils are simply not ridable on it. As such, I had a fun summer on the CES but have now listed mine for sale.

Will I ever buy another mast?: I did purchased the 75cm AFS UHM mast and by my measurements it is stiffer, thinner, lighter and has a shorter chord. It doesn't make any noise, it doesn't vibrate when riding, and the stability issues vanished when using it. As such, it has become my primary mast. I'm tracking miles on that and will report about how it works out after a few hundred miles on foil.

~Thank You~

I hope you found this review helpful and/or informative. My goal is to inform and educate so we can all maximize our smiles per mile on the water. If there was anything I missed, or could have added, please don't hesitate to ask.

See you at the river,

Bryan Lee, M.S. Experiential Education.