The Review .... The Fanatic is pretty good....

My first thirty minutes was in very light wind (not foilable) sorting my balance on my knees and standing. The deck grip is weird. Side to side it grips. But front to back, pretty easy to slip off the back if you lose balance.

The overall balance of the board on the water is good. I end up sitting quite forward of the mast (which is in the forward most position). The volume at the front of the board is great, making it quite hard to nose dive the board.

The problem with having so much volume forward is you stand forward of the mast to balance the board. Once you start pumping to get on the foil you need to start shuffling the feet back almost four inches to get balance against the foil (AXIS 1150/340). I would like to have the foil box elongated forward another 2 to 4 inches. Same with bottom handle.

You can generate a lot of board speed on the water simply through wing pumping. Despite being forward of the mast, it is pretty easy to get great board speed to pop onto the wing.

The shape of the bottom of the board is really superb. I had twenty or thirty touch downs and the board skips/skims without getting stuck... really really nice.

My foot positioning is much closer on the Fanatic verses the Naish.

Haven't quite figured out whether I prefer the concave deck of the Fanatic or flat deck of the Naish..

I will ride the Fanatic exclusively for the next few months before I compare against the Naish again.

Have the 5.4 Fanatic and love it!!, deck fine , no slipping .
Dont think i will go much smaller in a hurry as like to dog back to shore.
cant wait to screw in the straps and get some jumps..

What's the weight of the 5' 8" like. A lot of the new production wing boards seem on the heavy side.

These boards (Moses apparently will be selling the 118 and 98) also look nice but seem heavy to me -- 118 litres at 20+ pounds and 98 litres at 17+ pounds.

www.mb-boards.com/e/products/wing-foil-surf/albatros-balz-muller.asp

I have the 5.8 as well .No grip issues on the pad although I would like to have a non slip paint on the nose for when climbing up (I Probably ad Hexatraction soon).
With a Go foil Maliko200 and 188x95kg and learning it isnt as stable as a supfoil board like the JP 7ft, but I,m getting more and more used to it. Slogging is is like sailing a windsurf waveboard when not planing, too small to be confortable, but mannagable as log as you have a little momentum. Mastposition with the M200 seems to be the best just BEHIND the mid. Probably that is due the different foil. With the mast all the way to the front I need to go with my toes over the edge of the pad when powered up. When flying I really really like the concaved deck. I also tried the Starboard 6.7x28x115l with flat deck but the main reason to buy the Fanatic was that that deck felt soo much better.
Right now i,m on holiday. When i.m back I will put it on a scale, but for its size it is heavy compared to a wavesailboard with 104l

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dejavu said..
What's the weight of the 5' 8" like. A lot of the new production wing boards seem on the heavy side.

These boards (Moses apparently will be selling the 118 and 98) also look nice but seem heavy to me -- 118 litres at 20+ pounds and 98 litres at 17+ pounds.

www.mb-boards.com/e/products/wing-foil-surf/albatros-balz-muller.asp

I have not weighed it, but it is definitely heavier than the ultra carbon Naish 110.

Just brought the latest batch of the 6ft Fanatic sky wing yesterday and weight is super light - also felt the 5.8 and 5.4 also light as. About six months ago I picked up the original production version of 5.4 and was a brick. They have sorted original weight issues with new batches. Got the 6ft sky wing as I love going out in super light winds and have to be able to glide home when wind drops out. Also I've found a board that size and light is easy to handle in 25/30 knots. Love the sky wings strap set up as I ride switch 100% and getting into jumps and spins. I ride straps super loose so moving foot over centre is no issues if doing down winders or riding waves ??

Hey Johho - was interesting to hear your thoughts on the 6 footer. Any chance you could put it on the scales? Cheers

Johnno, I'm interested in the 6 footer too, can you do a review once you have sailed it a bit?

Will do - had a session this arvo but need a few to get it dialled to give solid feedback

Will do - had a session this arvo but need a few to get it dialled to give solid feedback

Fanatic 6ft Sky wing IMO perfect shortish allrounder from 10/25 knots. Light - super stable - easy to get up on foil - Bogs about easily when wind drops and you waiting for next gust. I'm 90kg and 1.93 tall. Also love the strap positions makes board/ wing feel way more solid cranking upwind. Sweet as bro.
Y straps do take a bit of getting used too, and a bit fiddly in transitions at first - but if you want to ride super powered switch they are next level.

Fanatic 6ft Sky wing IMO perfect shortish allrounder from 10/25 knots. Light - super stable - easy to get up on foil - Bogs about easily when wind drops and you waiting for next gust. I'm 90kg and 1.93 tall. Also love the strap positions makes board/ wing feel way more solid cranking upwind. Sweet as bro.

Y straps are a bit fiddly at first - but if you want to ride switch and super powered they are next level.

Oh, also paid for my own board and not a shop or brand (spono) slut

@bigtone667 Any more thoughts on the Fanatic 110L now that you've had it a few months, especially in comparison to the Naish? I'm deciding between the Fanatic and the Naish Hover 110L with corresponding 2000 foils.

I'm 75kg, a surfer and windsurfer, but with no foil experience. Will be learning to wing in probably windy / choppy conditions.

With the Naish board's pulled in nose and more beveled rails, it seems that it won't be as stable as the Fanatic. Not sure how much of a problem that will be for me as a beginner though. Unfortunately, the Fanatic boards are hard to come by here in the US.

Thanks!

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TredAvon said..
@bigtone667 Any more thoughts on the Fanatic 110L now that you've had it a few months, especially in comparison to the Naish? I'm deciding between the Fanatic and the Naish Hover 110L with corresponding 2000 foils.

I'm 75kg, a surfer and windsurfer, but with no foil experience. Will be learning to wing in probably windy / choppy conditions.

With the Naish board's pulled in nose and more beveled rails, it seems that it won't be as stable as the Fanatic. Not sure how much of a problem that will be for me as a beginner though. Unfortunately, the Fanatic boards are hard to come by here in the US.

Thanks!

I am still running around on the Fanatic 110L and loving it. I decided to pop back onto the Naish 110 after a few months and I did not enjoy riding it at all (it will be sold).

I would think a 2000cm2 foil would be un-necessarily big for you at 75kg ......... maybe look at 1600 to 1800.

Both have more then enough volume for you.a friend of me has the Naish 110 and I would be as happy with it as with the Fanatic5.8 that I own. I,m happy with my fanatic, but imo the naish looks better and is lighter too.My Fanatic 5.8 feels slightly more stable to me as the Naish but that is a very tiny bit, even for my +20kg more as you carry with you.
The main difference in balance is that the Fanatic has more volume in the front making it easier to lean a bit forward as I,m used to from my supboards and windsurf waveboards. The Naish has the volume more under the feet so no need to lean forward and it might even get easier up to plane. If you have to buy everything I would consider buying board+foil from the same brand as some gear doesnt seem to work that well together due different box positions.
For example, we tried the Starboard Etype1700 and with the Naish its really really sketchy while with the Fanatic it works already better.
And like bigtone already mentioned, 1600 is plenty. If you get a too big foil it is gets you quick out of the water, but after that it will be one big fight to prevent foil outs.

I picked up the latest Fanatic 5'4" Skywing a few weeks back after just been learning to wing foil over Christmas (on a 6'7" Fanatic Sky SUP). I am 189cm and 85kg... Riding Duotone Echo 6m, Axis 1010 on 83cm Mast. The 5'4" has been amazing - I have been learning on the flatwater in really light and gusty winds, and I can get up and going with a good pump in 10 knots. And the board is no problem to dog it back to the beach in almost zero wind. My experience from stepping down to the smaller board is to go as small as you can while still being able to dog it in almost no wind. I found the 5'4" so much easier to pump up onto the foil than the bigger board, just lighter and faster, especially with the front straps on, and the feeling underfoot of the smaller board is worth it. I felt like I went from a VW campervan to a Ferrari when I switched boards... didn't think it would make that much difference, but it did! (BTW I am a very experienced kiter and windsurfer, but new to winging and foiling).

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DrSeanR said..
I picked up the latest Fanatic 5'4" Skywing a few weeks back after just been learning to wing foil over Christmas (on a 6'7" Fanatic Sky SUP). I am 189cm and 85kg... Riding Duotone Echo 6m, Axis 1010 on 83cm Mast. The 5'4" has been amazing - I have been learning on the flatwater in really light and gusty winds, and I can get up and going with a good pump in 10 knots. And the board is no problem to dog it back to the beach in almost zero wind. My experience from stepping down to the smaller board is to go as small as you can while still being able to dog it in almost no wind. I found the 5'4" so much easier to pump up onto the foil than the bigger board, just lighter and faster, especially with the front straps on, and the feeling underfoot of the smaller board is worth it. I felt like I went from a VW campervan to a Ferrari when I switched boards... didn't think it would make that much difference, but it did! (BTW I am a very experienced kiter and windsurfer, but new to winging and foiling).

How much does the board weigh?

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Jeroensurf said..
Both have more then enough volume for you.a friend of me has the Naish 110 and I would be as happy with it as with the Fanatic5.8 that I own. I,m happy with my fanatic, but imo the naish looks better and is lighter too.My Fanatic 5.8 feels slightly more stable to me as the Naish but that is a very tiny bit, even for my +20kg more as you carry with you.
The main difference in balance is that the Fanatic has more volume in the front making it easier to lean a bit forward as I,m used to from my supboards and windsurf waveboards. The Naish has the volume more under the feet so no need to lean forward and it might even get easier up to plane. If you have to buy everything I would consider buying board+foil from the same brand as some gear doesnt seem to work that well together due different box positions.
For example, we tried the Starboard Etype1700 and with the Naish its really really sketchy while with the Fanatic it works already better.
And like bigtone already mentioned, 1600 is plenty. If you get a too big foil it is gets you quick out of the water, but after that it will be one big fight to prevent foil outs.

Thanks, Jeroensurf. Super helpful.