Hola,
Hace poco le pregunté a Rik Jones, el importador de NP en Inglaterra precisamente por estos mástiles, ya que yo también iba detrás de uno pero quería despejar dudas. Sé que varios formuleros catalanes han roto algún que otro 550 del 2012, aunque a otros de momento les van aguantando bien. Te copio directamente el mail (en inglés) y puedes sacar tus propias conclusiones. Lo que está claro es que los palos X100 2012 no tienen nada, NADA que ver con los anteriores Ultra X9, a mi gusto mucho mejores pero que rompían que daba gusto también...
Hi Rafa,
I am glad the spares arrived last week.
X100 masts worldwide apparently have suffered higher than acceptable failure
rates, thus they have actually been withdrawn from production, although we
don't seem to have experienced many problems (less than any of the X9's)
here in the UK. Later Chinese made X9 and X100 masts are all built much
more durably than any of the Italian X9's. These newer masts react slightly
stiffer than those older X9U's, thus the sails set a little fuller and more
stable.
Like with any high spec mast, failure as a result of a manufacturing fault
or impact damage generally occurs very early in the life of the mast, in
fact normally as soon as it is rigged (always run a deflection test to be
sure:
http://www.rikswindsurfing.com/support/rig/masts/general/pro/type-fail.html)
.
Soon a new mast will be released to the market called F100, which as I
understand uses new filament wound technology. These will be much more
reliable (durable) and apparently perform better than any of the previous
high-end pre-preg masts ever offered. RSR Evo V formula sails have been
developed around the F100. Not sure when we will see stock available or the
prices, but I would assume it will be May at the earliest as they (I am
told) are yet to be signed off for production.
I know there is some special offer X100 stock in Europe distribution so I
might be able to get you a 550cm at a good rate if you're interested.
Best regards,
Rik