mine lines up really well and is pretty damn close to perfect, the photo makes it look a little off like yours. I’m actually very happy with how the uni adapter fits and lines up, that’s the only one I have right now.
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I think feel is the most important factor
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Here is an experience for you, my story begins with “My wife drove into
a carport with the foil board mounted on the roof rack”
When I got the phone call I was like 
Long story short, I was riding that same Cedrus mast the next day, here is how:
The aluminum baseplate sustained most of the damage. The non-structural
material of the Cedrus got pretty good dent but came back into shape the next day.
All I had to do is replace the baseplate with one from my Aluminum Cedrus and
I was good to go. Any other mast we’re probably talking about Total Loss.
How’s that for bang for your buck
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The old Cedrus masts are an excellent bang for your buck, that repairability is unmatched! Personally I’m only taking performance into consideration when pulling the trigger on that kind of money for the evolutions, but it’s definitely a perk to be that repairable. You got SO lucky!! I can definitely see where a lot of people would look at the polymer edges and removable baseplate as a perk. Not to mention Its a safer bet traveling on a plane with a broken down Cedrus in your bag than a one piece mast, especially if the bags getting thrown around
Dang dude, that’s super lucky. Did the board come out okay too?
I’m torn about the removeable baseplate. This is obviously a positive for repair and traveling with it is nice but I really wonder, especially after the recent progression podcast specifically stating that mast stiffness at the board is so critical, if it would be better if it didn’t break down right there?
When I bought into the Cedrus System it was definitely a consideration for me. The fact I could
use it with any foil I want is another.
As for performance, I also own the AFS UHM 80 and the NL/V2. When it comes to Downwind
and surfing the Evo Surf is my favorite. I like its looseness and it feels more direct pumping.
I’ve used it with foils over 100cm Pure 1100/800 breaching tips left and right with no ventilation,
with the exception of Lift Florence X 110 (96.5cm).
I can’t say I felt any difference regarding stiffness between the AFS and the Cedrus but I do feel
the flex with NLV2.
When it comes to Pure winging the AFS feels more stable but if I compare the AFS to the
Cedrus Wind, Cedrus is the most stable, reminds me the stability and stiffness of the
GoFoil mast only without the drag. It even solved the ventilation issues of the Florence 110.
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Interesting about the Florence/Cedrus Surf combo ventilating for you too since that was a problem for me. I wonder if there’s just specific foil/Surf mast combos that aren’t happy together? The M2 mast didn’t ventilate with the Florence foils for me. Do you ride the Silk 1050 or the Code S foils with your Surf?
It wasn’t a problem for me as the Florence 110 and Cedrus surf were never meant for
pure winging pushing high speed tacks but it just goes to show what might happen sometimes when you’re trying to use wrong gear for the job.
I’ve used the Evo Surf with many other foils for pure winging just because I was too
lazy to switch and it was ok but I can tell the difference right away when I ride the Cedrus Wind.
It allows you to push speeds and angles with more ease and confidence.
When I get very specific about what I want to do when I ride
I know it’s time to buy more specific gear… It’s much easier than improving my skills 
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Ah, it sounded like you were downwinding when it happened, not winging. I never did any high speed stuff on mine, at least I don’t see 13-15mph as high speed but maybe some others do?
As far as I can tell, the main issue with the Cedrus Evolutions is their finishing process.
It’s all being hand finished hence the variation with adapters and the shim in the baseplate
for some units.
That said, when I emailed Kyle asking if the blemishes in my mast will affect performance in
anyway down the line as in the case of my NLV1, his answer was No. Nevertheless, he
offered to refinish free of charge which included nicks and scratches I put in the mast.
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Kyle told me the blems didn’t matter on mine too, but that’s refuted by Kyle himself at this point:
“We’ve learned a lot as we continue to refine our finishing process, and what to look out for. I am sure that a little asymmetry and a low spots at the foot were not the cause of your vibrations, as my prototype wind mast has the same. But your trailing edge was stiffer than usual, so any imperfections may have caused some vibrations that we’d never seen before because other edges are softer.”
So, depending on how many blemishes you have and other abnormalities those blems can actually cause problems.
The struggle with the Evolution is that the blems don’t impact every foil the same and since they are hand finished, every mast ends up with a different blemish. So, you can get a mast that doesn’t seem to have any issues on your first foils, but then you change brands and problems appear which is super frustrating.
I didn’t see you mention what your blems specifically were, but of the 3 people I’ve now heard having ventilation on Surf and Wind, all 3 had blems of some sort. I don’t think a single person has mentioned ventilation that has a flawless Evolution mast, so I’d tend to think that blems do matter.
Respectfully, you realize you are doing exactly what you did prior to deleting your account for mental health right? Lets move on, all your findings are in your review, easily readable by anyone.
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I hear you. However, I would say this is a different situation. This is a conversation about issues and impacts. If someone has a flawless evolution mast then they seem to like it and that’s great. But, you yourself had a not so good experience on a foil that other people absolutely love and the one unique variable was your mast which seems a bit strange but hey maybe it’s nothing. In the situation here, someone is sharing that they have a heavily blemished mast and they are not having the same experience that others report.
Was the carbon sanded into on his mast and that compromised the stiffness? If his mast was replaced with a flawless one would it be stiffer like so many other people say? If I rode a flawless surf mast would it actually be magic?
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it again and again, if you like your evolution mast then that’s great and anyone is welcome to buy it. However, I think it’s really worth sharing experiences about it so that people can have a very realistic approach to buying, using, and accepting their mast or asking for it to be rebuilt or refunded.
I’ve tested a TON of equipment in my time. Even multiple foils back to back to back of the exact same model with different manufacturing issues that caused them to ride differently. Having repeatable construction and finishing is incredibly important IMO. Heck, listen to the most recent progression podcast and hear how they pointed out that when prototypes are made they might be perfectly designed, but if there was an issue in the layup and the stiffness is wrong than it botches the whole thing.
So, sure, maybe some peoples blemish’s don’t matter today. But if they change foils and ride something different in 3 months that isn’t compatible with that blemish it’s a really crappy situation to be in.
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For your three alleged people there are hundreds of folks shredding and sending
all day long with nothing but stoke. That’s a pretty damn good ratio, for any product.
Unfortunately for you, I was one of those who read your original review of the Cedrus Surf
which was based on “hundreds of miles of testing”. It was full of Rainbows and Unicorns.
Fast forward to your current review and based on my own experience with the same gear
you’re citing I know something is amiss.
I think it’s that time again…
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Sorry you feel that way but I appreciate your contribution to the conversation. Glad you love your mast!
I’m enjoying the Cedrus Surf quite a lot. I think mine is 78 cm. I’m using it with F-One eagle 1290, Jam 1600 and Skate 1080. Mostly winging, riding bay swell and on shore wind slop on a sand bar break. 200 pounds.
My impression is that it is quite rigid and reasonably fast.
So far my biggest plus for the mast is changing the adapter as screw threads age. The old adapter was showing its age with some corrosion on the screws and so I just replaced it with a new one. Aging connectors are a bummer. Now I have perfect fresh screw inserts and a perfect new foot on the mast.
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That’s a great report to add to the mix. That’s winging some beast sized foils and it sounds like it’s no issue.
Another stoked dude. We’ll see if ends up buying it
Circling back for my final thoughts after about a month of use as I didn’t want to put this to bed having so much of my own negativity out there on the cedrus mast. For starters, If you’re looking to purchase a Cedrus Surf, expect that it won’t be perfect and there will be repairs / blemishes, they are after all hand made, maybe mine was a particularly bad one, maybe it wasn’t, idk just don’t expect perfection and you won’t be disappointed. Flex… If you want the stiffest mast you can get, this might not be the one. With that said, It’ is stiff enough. however, it has more twist likely due to the shorter chord.
A hand full of surf sessions and dw runs later, I’m having a lot of fun on it, and I think that it has its place. The efficiency of this thing is pretty unreal so there’s very good give and take. If you compare it to something like the progression mast which is more or less bomb proof as far as how strong it’s built, the trade is that its super slow and takes more effort to get it through the water. This thing just glides, it makes turning easier on larger wings and generally brings a more loose, playful feel to the game. It feels like another way of “Loosening the trucks” and from a surfing background I’d equate it to adding a twin fin to your quiver. Fast and loose is fun and I also enjoy having a consistent chord length with a slow spot at the top, over a tapered mast right now. It’s more predictable at high speeds and a little more forgiving. I will add that you have to be conscious, I’ve found more so with down winding that in scenarios of being over foiled and getting low on the mast to anticipate dropping in on a bump (while already at high speed), sometimes if you hit that spot it can feel sticky quick, like tapping the brakes, and if unprepared it will shift your weight forward and can throw things off in a critical spot.
Durability… I don’t think i could break this thing if I wanted to… I hit a sandbar full throttle 3 times in one session the other day and once coming in from a DW run. The adapters are bomb proof and a tighter fit than my uni masts, bravo cedrus for that.
At the end, I can’t say I’m in love with it but I like it a lot and it seems to be growing on me more and and more. For me it feels like alternative surf craft which can and will breed its own style as the sport progresses and I’m excited to put more time on it as well as see how other riders style changes with it. Hopefully in the future they do a little better job with the finishes or compensate in some way for large blemishes, however, everything aside Great job Kyle for thinking outside the box, The cedrus surf is a lot of fun and I think you made something really cool. Knowing what I know now, I think the cedrus is worth the price tag for what it is. Being so different from everything else there will likely be as much haters as there are fans, but it is definitely something worth trying out for yourself. I look forward to see what the future holds for cedrus, I think they have an interesting spin on things and would recommend their products to a lot of people.
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I’ve come to the same conclusion with my many foiling purchases over the years across several brands and it still holds true today. It’s difficult to choke down after spending thousands of dollars on gear but it’s the reality. The manufacturing of this stuff is challenging to get right. I’ve had so many mast to foil fitment issues that I’ve blown through rolls of aluminum tape. Even though we are paying top dollar it’s just the way it is with complex and fairly low volume production. I’ve had issues with masts (ventilating), foils (gaps in the connection to the mast foot), fuselages (not tapped correctly so bolt don’t sit flush with the tail), wings (new bladders with leaks), and boards (delam, leaks, hard rails causing the board to track in unexpected way)… and I’m not even that picky about this stuff. I just want it to work and not cause massive yard sale wipeouts at the worst time (high speed, in waves, etc).
Good thing foiling is so much fun. But yeah, it is a bummer at times. It’s all about properly setting your expectations and you can only learn that through experience. It’s difficult to have a balanced conversation about it on forums. Several times I really wanted to share/ vent but decided I wasn’t going to get enough out of it (including my money back and didn’t want to pawn it off on some unknowing buyer) to offset all of the judgement and pissing about my statements not being balanced.
Literally every piece of foil gear I have purchased needs some tweaking or getting used to some finicky aspect (haha). So here’s an eff-you to all of the BS with foiling but it’s a worthwhile trade off imo.
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