I think a drawback to a Hall/Marstrom/etc mast would be durability. In use, I'd expect them to be about as tough as the current carbon stick, however since their masts are not as over built as the old stick, I wouldn't push it as far.

I can say from first hand experience, the M20 mast is LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT, in the realm of A-cat light. To get the mast that light, there is a LOT of material that's been left out compared to the Southern Spars/Omohundro stick. After a break on a M20 mast, while looking for a replacement, Ben Hall told me that masts in this range could be damaged by someone squeezing too hard with a bare hand on the tube! What are you going to do, start putting a sticker on it that says, "caution, don't squeeze"? While handling that mast, I know I have a little pucker factor and am extra careful. It just doesn't feel as robust as the I20 mast.

Now, if you go to Marstrom's website, right now the M20 mast with VAT is listed as 8,415.13 USD after the exchange rate (6,562.5 Euros). That mast is only three feet longer than the I20 mast. I'd not expect making the mast shorter to significantly affect it's price. For reference, the A and T masts are right around 5,100 USD. I think there was some agreement with the T class a/b locking a price in but I don't know for sure. Factor in shipping... another 1k USD?

You can't deny that the I20 sailors are going to want a heavier mast. Now, they may not want the weight, but they will need the strength. We put these boats in places where you really should just stay on the beach. Do you want to be on the water and have such a fragile mast as your partner?

I've seen a broken I20 and M20 mast first hand. Put them side by side and there would be no comparison for wall thickness of the tube. I think that as cool as the Marstrom/Hall/etc option would be, there's some inherent liabilities to Performance unleashing such a delicate mast on the general public.

I always wondered a/b the Riba/Bim 18HT tube. Beef it up...?? Seems like it's tube was a little tougher. Given the options, the Al stick sounds to me like the best option. Regardless though, PC is going to have plenty of people b*tching a/b a mast change, regardless, so they were damned if you do, damned if you don't.

-- flame on -- My turkey needs to be roasted anyway!