but I prefer a sock as well. I had the sail made of slightly heavier cloth so it could take a bit more wind then what you would expect because my kind of cruising is all about moving the boat above 4 knots. If we're going less then that we're charging the batteries and making water. We start to think about taking it down after we reach 20 knots apparent. We use a sock and drop it into a bag with a zipper top and three attachment points. Two pad eyes on deck and one on the front of the mast. I'll snuff the sail with the bag, disconnect the sheet and tie it to the lifeline, disconnect the tack and walk the bag back to the mast. I Z fold it into the bag as I drop it. It's all very civilized, simple and easy with not much to go wrong. It just seems to my that furlers for Aso's just put a lot of strain on the cloth. If your are racing with several sails to chose from and don't mind wearing them out sooner rather then later and don't mind the extra expense and have easy access to a sailmaker and, and and then I might consider one. But that's just MHO. I suppose using a furler would be quicker then a sock and sometimes that could be a real advantage. In the past I've made the decision to take the sail down when the wind reached 20 but by the time I got the it on deck it was blowing 30. Luckily, that doesn't happen very often so I like the sock just fine.