Just bought a Fanatic Blast 145l today and was wondering if anyone has ridden one of them. What are they like in light winds, are they easy to get planing? Do they handle the chop well? I weigh 90kg and use 7.2m and 8.5m sails. Used to have old naish nitrix 145l and struggled in lighter winds, sure it is a lot better than this. Was also looking at JP Magic ride and gecko but hard to know what to choose they all look good ??

I have the 130L version and love it. I have sailed with everything from a 5.5 in close to 30Knots to a 7.5 maybe 14Knots. I can up haul it easily it gybes well and i can tack it easily when the wind is lighter.They get on the plane super easily with no reed to pump or work it. The stock fin I find a bit prone to spin out but a weed fin or state rake fin make it less so. It hangs in there well in chop and it recovers from any air getting under it. It is only slightly slower than dedicated slalom boards like the falcon (which I found very hard to sail except in ideal conditions). My only gripe is paint chips coming off the base inspite of being super careful, Fanatic blame storage in a wet board bag but I rinse and dry my board after every use and only bag it when even the footsteps are dry. Im sure you'll love it.
PS come up to narrabeen lake some NE day there are a fair few blast riders and we like to have a bit of a fun dice together.

I have a Blast 130Ltd and have sailed the 115 as well. Really like it.
It replaced a RRD Firemove 120 for me and it planes at very similar speed (or maybe a tad earlier and definitely 'easier' to plane ie less pumping).
My thoughts vs Firemove 120:
- planes the same
- much better in chop
- very good jibing (firemove is different but also very good)
- faster
I use it with an 8.0 and 6.3.
I sailed the 115 In Lake Garda and really liked it as well. The short lengths and the wide tails are something I really like.
I'm sure you'll love the 145.
Joe

Years of holding back on the holy grail of fun boards.......holy textreme $&@"

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greenleader said..
Years of holding back on the holy grail of fun boards.......holy textreme $&@"

Noticed that your mast is set reasonably far back, wondering the merits, I can never decide so I just slap it mid way most times.What volume is this one, I have 130 and 100 but use the 130 nine times out of ten!

Great boards, I had the 130Ltd & the 115 Textreme models & moved them on for rockets beginning of this year.

I found

They plane easy & early, particularly with a better fin & can handle bigger fins then most boards of a similar volume, surprisingly faster then I was expecting with a good salom fin

super comfy pads for when you are belting across chop (what I miss the most)

Pretty easy to turn

I felt like I sailed with a fairly upright stance, not a negative just an observation

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G30ff0 said..
Great boards, I had the 130Ltd & the 115 Textreme models & moved them on for rockets beginning of this year.

I found

They plane easy & early, particularly with a better fin & can handle bigger fins then most boards of a similar volume, surprisingly faster then I was expecting with a good salom fin

super comfy pads for when you are belting across chop (what I miss the most)

Pretty easy to turn

I felt like I sailed with a fairly upright stance, not a negative just an observation

Reason why you moved onto Rockets?

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GazMan said..

G30ff0 said..
Great boards, I had the 130Ltd & the 115 Textreme models & moved them on for rockets beginning of this year.

I found

They plane easy & early, particularly with a better fin & can handle bigger fins then most boards of a similar volume, surprisingly faster then I was expecting with a good salom fin

super comfy pads for when you are belting across chop (what I miss the most)

Pretty easy to turn

I felt like I sailed with a fairly upright stance, not a negative just an observation

Reason why you moved onto Rockets?

A few reasons,

As I started using the SLW more (bought a van so could take everything with me) the early planning aspects of the 130 were redundant

When sailing on the blast fully powered up to over powered I have caught a rail crossing chop 15+ times (over about 25-30 sessions), apart from once I managed to recover every time, but when that bullet hit I was always thinking Fark I hope not this time. I have never caught a rail on a rocket & usually hunt out the bullets.

On the rockets I can lock the foot of the sail down more / the stance is not quite so upright & ride out the gusts

For me rockets are easier to recover from a tail walk

I've got the Blast 100 and its a great board. In very rough water you do need to be careful with the board trim otherwise you can go over the front I think is because of the short and low rocker nose, there is also a bit of a knack sitting it on its V. Once you have that sorted it is fantastic, sails on auto pilot and a keeper.

-peterowensbabs

I had the paint coming off the bottom side of my Blast LTD 130 as well (never stored the board wet or in a bag). After a bit of back and forth with the dealer, Fanatic acknowledged that there was a production issue with the series, and they replaced the board with a brand new one --actually I paid the difference for a TXTR. Great service on behalf of Windsurfing-Hamburg.de!

I'm very happy with this versatile board, although as mentioned earlier in this thread, the stock fin is a bit prone to spin-out. I just ordered a Drake R2R DW 44 to match my Evo X 8.6. We'll se how that goes..

If anyone have experiences with different fins on this board I'd love to hear about it!

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peterowensbabs said..

greenleader said..
Years of holding back on the holy grail of fun boards.......holy textreme $&@"

Noticed that your mast is set reasonably far back, wondering the merits, I can never decide so I just slap it mid way most times.What volume is this one, I have 130 and 100 but use the 130 nine times out of ten!

Looks like it is in blast mode. (or in the middle?)

Forwards for more control, and for earlier planing. With mast base pressure further forward you can push the nose down, and pop it onto the plane easier. Not unlike having more weight at the front of a power boat.

Set mast back for blasting. But basically, set it where it feels right for you, and the conditions. I leave mine in the middle.

How are these in chop, compared to a FreeStyleWave board?