Sunday 25th Newgale - Fanatic 2014 wave board mini test

Sunday 25th brought some great Northerly winds (F3-F5) and some small clean swell - albeit not as much swell as hoped..id guess 1ft, with 2 ft on sets.

I was going to go to Freshwater West for the bigger waves, but decided
(a) it would be too busy with holiday makers as it was a Bank Holiday weekend
(b) Jim from Pura Vida was coming over with loads of 2014 demo kit to try out!

As well as my own kit, I did manage to try out a couple of the new 2014 Fanatic wave boards - one for a few hrs, the other for more like 30 mins.

First, a little about me to help set the context: I windsurf to ride dtl - that’s my main enjoyment. I quite like cross on days sometimes but im not a great jumper and where i live is often light and gusty. Typically you don’t plane off the beach.

And since about 2010 I’ve had Mistral twinzers - and use the 92 for about 90% of my sailing - im about 85kg and love wave sailing but not a particularly technical / gifted windsurfer!

First up - 2014 fanatic Quad 89.

Fanatic have dropped a "ninety something" litre model, which would be my go to "do it all" board size, in favour of a smaller 89 or a larger 101.

So - this year’s 89. Well the first thing to say, in common with all Fanatics over the last few years I’ve seen - the product / finish is extremely good!

Stock Fanatic pic:

On the Water - The main thing that will become apparent to anyone who has ridden a quad lately, is that this new 2014 Fanatic is a lot more lively feeling - doesn’t feel anywhere near as planted, but nice and reactive and free feeling.  This to me (personally - your miles may vary) is a massive improvement.  Coming from my Twinnys, this has always been the issue with Quads to me - they just feel too grippy and planted...sometimes feeling a little sunken / dead in the water on some models ive tried. 

I guess its just about familiarity. I have tried quite a few quads (2011, 2012, 2013), but this 2014 Fanatic alongside the Simmers (also highly rated!) definately feel more "free" feeling than most in my opinion.

On a wave it felt super - great mix of playfulness and reactivity (meaning you were not locked into a single arc) and great drive on the bottom turn....the top turn was super reliable - clearly more grippy than the mistrals twins, and im sure in better waves, you could really belt into the waves (we only had 1-2 ft waves)

 

It was pretty gusty and at times a very very marginal float and ride session, which is hard with the sporadic, small waves.   The volume seemed about spot on (89 liters), and despite the narrowish tail, the 60cm width could float me ok-ish (85kg) in the F3-F4 we had. Id actually prefer some more volume - maybe 95 and another 0.5cm width - to be absolutely ideal for me (i can wobble out, but I’d prefer some more support for my dodgy no wind gybes), but then id assume it would impact performance on a wave a little if any wider.

The rear strap does look pretty far back i guess, right over the fins...but this didnt feel alien, and in fact i really thought it felt right to me, with your foot right over the top of the fin cluster, and flying  / driving off the fins.

I really rated this board - and to be honest, it’s the best quad I’ve tried i think overall as a package (although i also loved the Simmer Quantum 95 i tested, which i would say maybe is a better marginal wind board?, but maybe loses out to the new Fanatic Quad in terms of DTL - where the flywave would be a more direct comparison, so perhaps unfair on both counts).

My only slight doubt is - is it still too small for me as a single board option? (see next for TriWave review), and due to this i think the light wind get up and go is impacted - as it is essentially only 4 litres more than my weight in KG.  

Or i could go on a diet i guess!  Or maybe not.....Mmmm - home made Banoffee pie!

 

Tri wave 95
This was a very brief test (as the wind picked back up so i went back to Quad)

Same comment as above for the finish and product - looks a really well completed / thought out product.

As its numbers suggest, It’s clearly wider than the Quad (61.5cm vs 60), with more vol, a wider swallow tail, and looks flatter rocker.  The outside fins are positions very much positioned near to the outside.

Stock Fanatic pic:

 

On the water - now this was much easier for me to bog around on - definitely felt larger than the quad (which it is) and more supportive at my weight - my 50:50 no wind gybes were a lot more effective!

Felt more of a natural blaster than the Quad - seemed to get planing much quicker and felt super comfy just reaching back and forth. Id say it was less nervous / reactive under foot.

On the wave - it really did feel very good (for some reason stepping off the Quad i wasnt sure what to expect).   It didnt feel quite as reactive as the Quad (maybe due to size) and less drivey and maybe a little smoother on the bottom turn, and less "radical"  (ahem - not sure im allowed to use that word with any authority!) on the top turn.   Loads looser  / turnier than a single fin no question, but didn’t quite have that extra "wow" factor the Quad had, with its extra drive and super-hooky top turn on a wave.

I’d say it sat pretty much right between the Quad and the Freewaves I’ve tried in terms of wave performance ie it definitely felt like a wave board when on a wave, but earlier planing and more blasting friendly than the quad.

Overall

Without wishing to be sycophantic - i thought both boards were great.

The Quad felt perfect as a dedicated wave board  for me  - but im not 100% (maybe 95%!) convinced its big enough for me as a single board option for where i live (you can maybe tell that i really want it to be - i really loved this board!) Can i sacrifice the smaller size and all that brings for more onshore conditions, for the additional wave performance when its firing?

The Triwave felt like a more universal wave oriented, "do it all" board - and i don’t mean that in any negative way! If it was head high 5.3m DTL FreshWest, id prefer to be on the Quad...but if it was more marginal, or cross on, i think the Triwave would actually be a more fulfilling option...certainly if you wanted to jump and blast about. But then when the conditions are more firing and just focusing on DTL riding aspect, the Quad would win out.

As im sure you can infer - i was really impressed with both these boards. And as a 2 board option (for me), then something like the Quad 89 + Tri wave 95 or the 103 version could be ideal and get you the best of both worlds.  Now where did i put that lottery card....