Although it is rather the time over here to plan the next snowboard trip I am thinking about getting the Falcon 14 Ocean for this season. But I am unsure about the width, either 24.75 or 27.25. Testing will be difficult. I am weighing 75 kg and I am on the older Naish Glide 14 (2011) right now. That is around 27 inches wide and has about 270 liters. I am very comfortable on that board.
I paddle on dead flat water on inner city canals but also on a large river which can be smooth, choppy, can have occasional side chop from passing ships and a bit of mini swell if it is howling from the right direction so you can downwind.
Would the narrower one be too challenging? I would be in for a bit of a challenge coming from the Glide but if it is miles away in terms of stability I would rather choose the middle version.
Any advice?

I'd be recommending the 27 regardless if the 24 is do'able for you or not.

There are plenty of guys who ride the 24.75 in the ocean here, so on flat water it would be fine.

I weigh the same as you, own the 2014 falcon 14/27.25 and am totally satisfied. Have not tried the narrower one but would suggest the 27.25.
On flatwater, it is very fast for its width , on rougher water it is very stable and controllable. Picks runners instantly. I would say the perfect board for a one-board-do-all scenario. What really impressed me was that the aerodynamic design of the front makes sure that side wind is no problem (considering that the bow is 9 months pregnant ) and it even performs very well upwind.
In my mind, the 27.25 suits everyone and all conditions whereas the narrow would only suit very skilled paddlers and would certainly not be a relaxed ride with the occasional passing ships you mention. I think the narrower sizes are better suited for flatwater displacement designs. If you can't try B4 u buy, go wide.
P.S. Take a look at the 2014 JP allwater if you can also. Being 14x 26.5 , it feels faster than the fanatic while still being very stable. Try if you can.

I own both sizes of the ocean boards and have ridden them extensively now in everything from flatwater to ocean swells. Considering you are 75 kg and paddle mainly on flatwater with occasional chop I don't think you can go past the 24.75. The 27.25 will be like an aircraft carrier for you. I am 83kg and only find the thinner model challenging in big off shore swells. The thinner model is also faster at your weight. In my experience there is anything from a 2-3 minutes difference over 5km. The ocean models pick up runners beautifully and in larger swells the wider board gives you more stability, however, in most conditions I find the thinner model much faster.

Another board you may want to consider is the 24 inch Falcon flatwater board. It is actually slightly more stable than the 24.75 ocean board. For the conditions you paddle in it might be another good option. It is certainly faster than both the ocean models on the flat. I haven't had it in the ocean yet but it will be ok in small swell and side chop.

Best to demo but at your weight in the conditions you paddle in the ocean 24.75 will be a good option.

Thanks for the input. I guess I should really find a way to test it.

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NNSUP said..

I own both sizes of the ocean boards and have ridden them extensively now in everything from flatwater to ocean swells. Considering you are 75 kg and paddle mainly on flatwater with occasional chop I don't think you can go past the 24.75. The 27.25 will be like an aircraft carrier for you. I am 83kg and only find the thinner model challenging in big off shore swells. The thinner model is also faster at your weight. In my experience there is anything from a 2-3 minutes difference over 5km. The ocean models pick up runners beautifully and in larger swells the wider board gives you more stability, however, in most conditions I find the thinner model much faster.

Another board you may want to consider is the 24 inch Falcon flatwater board. It is actually slightly more stable than the 24.75 ocean board. For the conditions you paddle in it might be another good option. It is certainly faster than both the ocean models on the flat. I haven't had it in the ocean yet but it will be ok in small swell and side chop.

Best to demo but at your weight in the conditions you paddle in the ocean 24.75 will be a good option.

I'd like to run the 24.75 FLAT through a 200m course and see how it stacks with other flat water weapons (sprint) ...sorry semi hijak. yes the 27.25 is slow in the flats I'd agree with NNSUP's times over 5km.

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skebstebamal said..

NNSUP said..

I own both sizes of the ocean boards and have ridden them extensively now in everything from flatwater to ocean swells. Considering you are 75 kg and paddle mainly on flatwater with occasional chop I don't think you can go past the 24.75. The 27.25 will be like an aircraft carrier for you. I am 83kg and only find the thinner model challenging in big off shore swells. The thinner model is also faster at your weight. In my experience there is anything from a 2-3 minutes difference over 5km. The ocean models pick up runners beautifully and in larger swells the wider board gives you more stability, however, in most conditions I find the thinner model much faster.

Another board you may want to consider is the 24 inch Falcon flatwater board. It is actually slightly more stable than the 24.75 ocean board. For the conditions you paddle in it might be another good option. It is certainly faster than both the ocean models on the flat. I haven't had it in the ocean yet but it will be ok in small swell and side chop.

Best to demo but at your weight in the conditions you paddle in the ocean 24.75 will be a good option.

I'd like to run the 24.75 FLAT through a 200m course and see how it stacks with other flat water weapons (sprint) ...sorry semi hijak. yes the 27.25 is slow in the flats I'd agree with NNSUP's times over 5km.

The new Falcon Flatwater is actually 24 inches wide. It's wide at the tail with a very straight outline. I'm managing to get 4-5 extra strokes in per side. Very stable and great to kick turn. Definitely faster on the flat.

There are photos of it on Instagram @ "fanaticsupaustralia"

Well I tried the new Falcon flatwater 24" in perfectly still conditions and found it far too tippy for my liking. But a friend of mine who is lighter and paddles a 25" wide All Star found it was OK. The deck isn't sunk so it felt a bit like standing on a log to me. But my balance isn't that good. It did feel fast and smooth though. So if you have any qualms at all about your balance skills I'd make sure I demoed before buying one. I would be slower on it than on a wider board because I wouldn't be able to fully commit to my stroke. If you are quite a broad build I suspect there is a point beyond which going narrower doesn't really convey much of an advantage, and may actually handicap you in less than perfect conditions. As ever, it underlines the importance of demoing in the conditions you intend to use it.

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Area10 said...
Well I tried the new Falcon flatwater 24" in perfectly still conditions and found it far too tippy for my liking. But a friend of mine who is lighter and paddles a 25" wide All Star found it was OK. The deck isn't sunk so it felt a bit like standing on a log to me. But my balance isn't that good. It did feel fast and smooth though. So if you have any qualms at all about your balance skills I'd make sure I demoed before buying one. I would be slower on it than on a wider board because I wouldn't be able to fully commit to my stroke. If you are quite a broad build I suspect there is a point beyond which going narrower doesn't really convey much of an advantage, and may actually handicap you in less than perfect conditions. As ever, it underlines the importance of demoing in the conditions you intend to use it.

Thats why they make a 26inch one as well , if the 24 feels a little to tippy then 26 should be sweet.

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paul.j said...

Area10 said...
Well I tried the new Falcon flatwater 24" in perfectly still conditions and found it far too tippy for my liking. But a friend of mine who is lighter and paddles a 25" wide All Star found it was OK. The deck isn't sunk so it felt a bit like standing on a log to me. But my balance isn't that good. It did feel fast and smooth though. So if you have any qualms at all about your balance skills I'd make sure I demoed before buying one. I would be slower on it than on a wider board because I wouldn't be able to fully commit to my stroke. If you are quite a broad build I suspect there is a point beyond which going narrower doesn't really convey much of an advantage, and may actually handicap you in less than perfect conditions. As ever, it underlines the importance of demoing in the conditions you intend to use it.

Thats why they make a 26inch one as well , if the 24 feels a little to tippy then 26 should be sweet.

I'd very much like to try one. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who has one. I'm going to GPS the 27" ocean board soon against a load of other boards so I'm looking forward to see how that goes. If it is substantially more stable than the 26" flatwater then for me it might actually be faster even on lakes and canals. How does the Fanatic Ocean 27" compare to comparable other well-known boards like the Bark Dominator in terms of stability?

Area10, nice to hear some actually feedback on the 24" wide. I'm pretty light, paddle All Stars and was really wondering about that "high" deck. Really curious still about the nose, is it partially cutting and piercing?

NNSUP, it sound like you got yours? I would love to hear more. I ordered a 12'6" x 24" Custom Wood, but it was a no go. I was told Cobra is having a hard time keeping the weight of the CWs in the reasonable range.

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baddog said...
Area10, nice to hear some actually feedback on the 24" wide. I'm pretty light, paddle All Stars and was really wondering about that "high" deck. Really curious still about the nose, is it partially cutting and piercing?

Yes it is. You might call it a "Blunt displacement". I was only on it for a short while because I didn't want to fall in but it seemed to be very smooth through the water indeed. It was clearly very fast in the perfectly flat water I was in and I was quite envious of people who can stand on it. I tried the 27" Falcon Ocean downwinding today and liked that. I'll try it in flat water tomorrow because it felt pretty fast. I like the very narrow tail on the Ocean 27 and hope that that gives it some pace in flat water. The Falcon Flatwater 24" has a very wide tail for it's width. I wonder if that's such a good idea. It will help tracking and stability I guess but there is going to be a trade-off with drag at the tail and that may make the speeds you get quite sensitive to your weight and positioning perhaps. But this is just a guess and I'm sure there are people here with more experience of riding both boards.

We tried the same board with a narrow tail and the speed difference was zero, so for this board the benefits of going to a nice stable square was well worth it. Here is a vid that might help a bit.

Thanks. Interesting vid. If the wide tail doesn't slow the flat water board down, and brings benefits in terms of stability and handling, then why has the ocean board got such a narrow tail?

What are the weights of the Falcon HRS and Carbon 14x27s? The data isn't on the Fanatic website. There's a big difference in price and the HRS fly surf SUPs seem a pretty good weight for their volume to me, so I'd need to see a real weight advantage to pay the extra for the carbon, especially as I don't like the brushed look much and presumably it is more fragile (?). It's pretty impossible to choose without the weight data though. A couple of kgs can make quite a difference IMO.

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Area10 said..

Thanks. Interesting vid. If the wide tail doesn't slow the flat water board down, and brings benefits in terms of stability and handling, then why has the ocean board got such a narrow tail?

Good question.. I'm guessing that they started with a wider board with the square tail and when making the narrow version the narrow tail was born so the outline stays pretty much the same because if you kept the tail width the same the rails might not have enough curve towards the tail to assist in turning on runners.. You don't need to be turning in runners on a flat water board so it doesn't matter if the rails don't have as much curve and end up more parallel.. in fact that would actually help a flat water board.. I'm also guessing that future narrow ocean boards will have a wider still because others can/have done it.. Another reason they might have gone with the narrow tail is to make it more 'Ace like' ..

Thanks DJ. Actually the tail looks very similar indeed to the K15 rather than the Ace, but I get your point. I recently downwinded the Falcon 14x27 and was surprised at how far back you can stand and still catch the bumps (the conditions were small).

I've got a decision to make. I have a DW run near me which has a flat section in it that connects two different runs. In that section the wind is directly side-on and there are hazards to avoid, which can be a challenge in 40 knots. I've been doing this run for several years and each year I try to go a little faster than the previous one. So I'm on the hunt for a board that will help me achieve that. I don't race other people, this is a self-improvement thing.

I've identified two obvious choices: Naish Glide GS 14 and the Falcon 14x27. I tend to be faster when I have a secure platform to paddle from, so tippy boards are a waste of time for me. My DW conditions are very rippy and confused.

So I want a board that combines good DW speed in confused waters with decent flat water speed. I liked the Falcon and it was about as tippy as I could handle in small-medium conditions. I wouldn't even think about using it in big conditions (shoulder to head-high+) round here. No doubt that is just because I don't have the balance skills but there's no point wishing I was someone else because it ain't gonna happen. I'm also not keen on dug-outs since for me the essence of DWing is the footwork and I need something I can get back on fast after a fall without drama. I have never tried the 2014 Glide 14x29.

So, I can imagine what the forum's collective opinion might be about this: that the Glide would be better for me in bigger conditions and maybe the Falcon in smaller ones. But how are these two boards likely to compare in the flat water section? Thanks for any opinions or information you can offer.

Well I reckon the Glide 14x29 is really good in terms of speed and stability. I paddle it in choppy surf, downwinders and flatwater. The nose does go under a fair bit, so you have to be reasonably quick on your feet to optimise your trim. I had the 2012/13 version for a while, and the 2014 version is way more stable and faster in all conditions. It is a big beast though and heavy if you get the GS version.
I haven't ridden the falcon, but they sound like great boards - interesting that they don't publish weight information.

Yes it is odd they don't present the weights. I've got a Falcon on demo at the moment and it is very nice and light, and last week I tried a 2014 fly 11-0 in HRS and was surprised at how light it was. So you'd think they'd make a selling point of their weights.

The Glide GS is a little shy of 16kg I think. That's pretty heavy by today's standards. My Nalu 10-6 GX is a bit resonant in chop and I wonder if a similar construction in a big board might be a bit flexy perhaps. I recall DJ making a related comment about it.

I GPSed the Falcon 14x27 carbon in perfectly flat water today. There's no doubt that for a big ocean board it goes well in the flats. It seems to push a bit of water with the big nose at the front but the very narrow tail seems to reduce drag at the back. It tracks well and is easy to turn - you don't have to step back much. I managed speeds as fast on it as I have managed on some similar width dedicated flat water boards. Pretty good, eh?

But I've been impressed with the time trial data that PeterP has quoted for the Glide 14x29 so I'm hoping that someone on this forum has tried both in the flats and can tell me how they compare. Obviously the Glide is wider, but the nose is more like a flat water nose. It's probably going to be a close run thing.

I've got a 24.75" falcon and a 27.25" falcon and there is about 1/2 - 3/4kg weight difference between them.
Funnily enough the 24.75" is approx 13.5kg and the 27.25" is approx 13kg.
This is due to the fact that the 27.25" was one of the first run CNC ones rather than moulded.
Me personally, I'm finding that the more I paddle the 24.75" the more I like it. It just seems to flow more naturally than the 27.25" on the bumps. Bearing in mind that I'm relatively light weight at approx 74kg. I actually thought I'd made a mistake buying the 24.75" initially. Now I'm stoked with it.
The idea with the tail so I've been told is that rather than be lifted up from the rear as with a wide tail the tail sinks in a bit into the bump behind and you get pushed forward rather than down first.
Also makes it very very agile for foot steering from the tail.
The more you practice it will feel better and better.

I've paddled both in the flats and there's not much in it between the two.. IMO.. The Falcon feels faster being slightly narrower but it needs to tip over further before you feel the stability kick in and that nose does the big boof thing into any size chop.. The Glide feels slower being wider but it feels more stable.. and because it slices through and chop so much better it feels like it maintains its speed better.. I'm thinking if your DW run has a section of side on wind with hazards to avoid I know I'd rather be on the Glide in those conditions because it sits low in the water and is not effected by side winds.. You might need to toss a coin to decide between the 27" Falcon and the 29" Glide.. Both great boards.. If I got the Falcon the first thing I'd do is take those two big handles off.. As far as top speed on flat water goes it's so much more about the paddler than the board.. We had a big race here yesterday and I was passed on the upwind leg by friends on old crappy boards just because they were putting in slightly more effort than me even though I was on a much better board.. I was pretty stuffed and happy to plod along along at that stage.. and it shows that having a faster board doesn't nessesaraly make you faster.. I went really well on the DW leg and one thing I noticed while racing along side friends on the new Falcon was the way their board surfed little bumps like the Ace does and they'd get away from me on the little ones but as soon as a bigger bumps came along I'd catch right back up and felt much faster.

Thanks very much guys, that's very helpful.

One obvious drawback of the Falcon is that it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. For that reason I wonder about resale when it's no longer the new thing. The other issue is that loading it with other boards on a DW run is made a bit tricky by that big bulbous nose and the spine in the deck. Since DW is most often done with other people and I quite often have a stack of 4 boards it become a consideration. The Fanatic I have been lent has a divot in the rear of the nose area where the deck spine is - I presume someone crimped down too hard with some straps.

But it's a hard choices made harder by the fact that I don't think I can demo the Naish in the UK. I swore to myself a while back that I'd never buy another board without demoing it. Long story...

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Area10 said..



I've identified two obvious choices: Naish Glide GS 14 and the Falcon 14x27. I tend to be faster when I have a secure platform to paddle from, so tippy boards are a waste of time for me. My DW conditions are very rippy and confused.

So I want a board that combines good DW speed in confused waters with decent flat water speed.

A10: If you can get access to a DC/NSP 14 x 29 give one a try. I have the 14 x 29 in coco/carbon - perhaps not the fastest in flat but upwind and in chop it's the best-behaved board I've ever been on - compared to 14 x 29 Glide which would go very close, 14 x 28 Allstar and 14 x 27 and 14 x 30 Falcon...have tried all these boards in a range of conditions from glass to knee-high slop. For all-round tractability I'd (subjectively) rate them:

1) 14 x 29 DC/NSP,
2) 14 x 29 Glide (very close, almost too hard to call. I find the Glide easier to step back on & pivot than the DC/NSP but the generally more mellow " feel" of the DC/NSP is more to my taste)
3) 14 x 28 2014 Allstar (feels quicker to me than the other two straight up and down but noticeably more twitchy in side chop)
4) 14 x 30 Falcon
5) 14 x 27 Falcon

These are my subjective impressions but I am somewhat heavy and balance-challenged, your preferences may well be different. Got my first moderate DW run on the DC/NSP yesterday and it was super easy (when I was expecting it to be a lot more technical)

Re the falcon and the spine along the nose: I agree. It is a weak spot. Not structurally or anything just a magnet for bumps and scrapes. I've run some rail tape along it as I kept hitting it with my paddle shaft if I fell forward. Problem solved! :)
We also found that 60mm rail tape that wraps up over the rails is a good idea too.
Can't stress enough how important it is to demo, demo, demo, demo!!!!

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Area10 said..


One obvious drawback of the Falcon is that it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. For that reason I wonder about resale when it's no longer the new thing. The other issue is that loading it with other boards on a DW run is made a bit tricky by that big bulbous nose and the spine in the deck. Since DW is most often done with other people and I quite often have a stack of 4 boards it become a consideration.

.

Good point.. I've noiced that being an issue.

hello all

My weight is 96 Kg and I am 1,87m in height. I want to buy the 2014 falcon carbon 14x 27.25 and i am wondering whether I am too big for the board or not. I am looking for an all around race 14footer board... The other choice is the Falcon 14x30...

Any help? Please?

Thanks

antonis

I'm 6'4'' and 95kg.. You will be fine on the 27'' Falcon.. and it would be a better choice than the 30'' wide board.. IMO.

Yes, I'm wiith DJ. The 30" wide Falcon is a fine all-round board but it is not really a racer - unless perhaps you are in the seriously big weight category. The 27" 2014 Falcon is substantially faster, and will be perfectly stable enough for most people in most race conditions.

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd throw in my experience with the Fanatics as I paddle most of the Falcons. I am currently riding the Falcon Flatwater 24" for flat waters, the Falcon 14' x 24.75" for rough enclosed water conditions and the 14' x 27.25" for downwind conditions. I also occasionally ride the 12'6" x 27.25" for BOP play and surfing small waves.

Here is my thoughts for the following boards. I am 92 kilo's and 6'3" and consider myself a fairly competent paddler in most conditions and usually finish in the top third of the pack when racing.

Fanatic Falcon 14' x 24" Flatwater - The Flatwater has a square tail and has quite a parallel outline. The rails are also quite boxy which give this board exceptional stability for such a narrow board. Although it has a piercing bow, the hull is designed as a planing design. When I paddle the board the water strikes the bottom of the nose approximately 3-5 inches back from the nose. I need to stand quite a bit forward to get the nose to "engage" in the water and this feels to me to be slower, even though the water releases almost neutrally from the tail. The water tends to wrap up over the top of the deck and makes all sorts of noise and turbulence.

My trials with the Flatwater have proven it to be faster than the Falcon Ocean model in calm waters in the order of around 0.4-0.5km/hr which is extremely significant. The real strength of the Flatwater is the top end speed. Most boards tend to hit a "resistance barrier" at around 11-12km/hr. The Flatwater will continue to accelerate well past this speed if you are powerful enough. At sub planing speed the board is fast and competitive with the best of them. However, planing speed isn't difficult to achieve and the "resistance barrier" just isn't there. I wish I was a better paddler to see what it is really capable of. My fastest speed with 10 knot tailwind gust was 16.6km/hr!

Fanatic Falcon 14' x 24.75"/27.25" Ocean - I ride the 24.75" for everything other than wild DW conditions when I choose the 27.25" instead. I figure any gains made on the narrower board in terms of speed against the 27.25", would be eaten up by the odd fall. The 14' x 30" is a rebadged 2013 and is really onlsy suitable for the heaviest riders. In fact I think the stability of the 27.25", would almost equal that of the older style 30".

There has been plenty written about the Ocean Falcon so I won't go into details about shape and such. The downwind ability is awesome, it has the ability to pick up almost imperceptible bumps be they from boat wash or wind swell. The beauty of the Falcon is that it is super stable making downwinding for all levels a breeze (pardon the pun ). What makes the Falcon easy is the narrow tail and blocky rails. A wide tail board's tail is lifted by the pushing wave which "teeter totters" the board forwards and spears the nose down into the back of the forward trough. This can be countered by some fancy footwork to the back of the board, raising the nose, but footwork creates fatigue. On the pin tail, the tail is enveloped in the wave, still giving the "push", without raising the tail more than is necessary. This results in generally only a simple "hop" to the back of the center part of the deck pad rather than needing to get right back to raise the nose. The bulbous nose is difficult to submerge and when it does, it tracks fairly straight rather than broaching and high siding the rider like a displacement nose board.

This all helps when doing long DWers as you don't need to move about on the board very much at all, couple this with excellent stability and the ability to pick up almost all runners and you have the makings of a legendary DW board. The Falcon Ocean board is more stable than it's width implies so skilled or smaller more nimble paddlers would have no problems on a 24.75" board. The narrower board is a little easier to paddle through the wave in front when racing.
The Falcon Ocean 14 will opposite foot steer a little during sub planing speeds, but when on a wave and planing, it will surprisingly surf steer quite easily. I didn't believe this until I learnt to do it myself.

I enjoy all of these boards and have sold plenty to happy customers who have improved their downwinding experience significantly since switching to the Falcon 2014 boards.

I hope this helps

DM

Area10 pop over to Jersey and you can try out my 14 x 29 glide