Great review🎉 I recently upgraded my AL kit to the carbon kit and agree on most of the differences. Three remarks coming to my mind after using it for quite a while now: First - installing the carbon mast in the boxes can get annoying, as you need first to put in the nuts and then try to fit in the M8 screws through the mast holes. For that reason I switched to these locking t-nutz called „grab nutz“. Super easy to place and lock into position - no more fiddling. Second - the lighter & more expensive collab mast can only get used with max front wing size of 1500. Third - for the different front wing sizes, you require different screws in terms of it length. The profiles are getting thinner the smaller in size, hence you require shorter M8 screws (included in wings or fuselage package - sorry don‘t remember). Cheers, Frank
Thanks for you comments and feedback Frank - great to see. Agree on the Carbon mast attachment - its is annoying, but I guess this helps make a stiff system?! Great point about the Colab mast, thanks for sharing this and YES, different bolts needed, but Fanatic do seem to supply bolts with each wing set supplied. Thanks again Frank for sharing your feedback. Cheers, Will
Been watching your reviews of late..this Fanatic carbon vs aluminum was very timely for me as I am shopping around. Also you sold me on the Naish S26 Hover 95 liter board. Which I just bought. Your reviews and presentation are great! So informative and you pretty much address every question or concern I have. Thank you so much for posting these videos.
This is great to hear. So glad you are happy with the gear you have got. Remember theres loads more extra content on SUPboarder Pro our subscription service supboardermag.com/pro/, it also helps fund what we do as-well. Thanks and happy riding. Reuben.
i've been using the aeroglide 1310 for a couple of months now and super happy with it. I use it in 12 - 18knot in flat to small wave conditions and previously used the HA range of foils. I'm gybing and sometimes tacking to give you an idea of my level. I found the transition from HA to aeroglide was fairly easy and actually the aeroglide is easier to turn as it glides a load better giving you more time to get your feet in the right place. The wing has changed the way ride, rather than just mowing the lawn I'm seeking out every little bump and riding it for as long as i can, boat wakes are great for this! This is something i couldn't do on with the HA wings. I find it is a bit more tricky getting up onto the foil in light winds compared to the HA wings but doesn't stall at low speeds so much so is forgiving. Anyway cheers for the info in the video, off to buy a carbon mast!
This is a great video. I am an 75 Kg intermediate - make 99% of jibes and just starting to make about 50% of toe side tacks on foil. I am currently riding the Aero Free 1250/250 with the AL3.0 90/68 mast fuse and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I am mostly riding swell in 18 - 2 kt winds in SF Bay but not waves - although I want to take some trips to visit wave locations (Peru, Maui, etc) soon. Anyway, I have been thinking about upgrading to the carbon mast/fuse and I think I will do that after watching this video and reading the comments. Also looking for some more speed/glide from the foil to help me extend swell rides and was thinking about going down to the Aero Free 1000/216 but now also considering the Aero Glide 905/180. Any opinion?
Hey Mike - great question - got me thinking!! I have not used the glide but my prediction would be that it ill certainly have more Gide and speed BUT it will be a lot harder to use ( more for advanced use) to get more glide and speed the foils stall speed is higher and stall angle lower, so it just becomes more tricky. The smaller Aero free will have a similair ride style but with less lift.... maybe a bit more speed as lower drag. .... I don't think it would be as fast or glide as the Glide. In my experience the Aero free is a pretty straight line foil, its not so good at carving in the waves due to its lack of curve on the wing.... I compare to what I use mainly which is an Armstrong 1250HS or 925HA....which both have some curvature. I think if you are looking for wave riding then you should look at the Aero Carve range, but if you want to be riding bumps the glide is the one to aim for, but will take some learning. Perhaps consider the Glide 1085 to be a bit easier to learn on if you are in winds less than 15/18 knots as it will have more lift. The free will work, but as I say its a lovely easy foil to ride, just not that good at turning compared to some others. Its all a trade off! Cheers, Will - SUPboarder
I normally ride the Aero Free 1250 and love it, I do have an Aero Glide 905 for demo at the moment. I've only used it for a single run out to sea, gybe and back in when the wind suddenly died, ending the session abruptly. I am currently waiting for more wind to have another session. My initial concern was, weighing 86 kg, would this be too much of a foil for me and should I be trying the Aero Glide 1085? Skill level, I would say, depending on conditions, I am making around 75% of my gybes on the foil, with a foot switch or riding 'fakie' to the next gybe. The Aero Glide 905 initially felt very sketchy for the first 60 seconds, it took more board speed to come up onto the plane and following the advise of Sam at Worthing Watersports, I concentrated on building board speed initially without pumping the wing/board. This technique works and the foil, for it's size generates a surprising amount of lift and SPEED! It flies! The sketchiness, soon became familiar and not an issue. After a gybe, on the run back to shore, the foil connected with South Coast wind chop and just provided incredible glide flagged out. The session was far too short and I am praying for wind to give it a proper test. Maybe I will buy the 905, rather than the 1085 I was thinking of getting!
Hey Jeremy, these higher aspect foils do generate more lift, so you can go down in size a bit as you go more high aspect. As you have found they get a little technical to ride but in time you will learn. We have not tried the Glides yet, but they look nice. 100% agree with Sam, more board speed as the HA foils don't work so well with pumping ( they stall out) . If I were you, I would try the 905 when you get some good wind before making the decision , but for your weight I think it does sound a little small and you will probably get more riding time on the 1085 - particularly over the lighter airs in the UK summer! Cheers, Will - SUPboarder
I had another session on the Fanatic Aero Glide 905 yesterday. Conditions were NE'ly, which for us at Worthing on the south coast is cross offshore. Some massive holes in the wind ( as always from this direction) but some really solid winds in between. I had thought the 1085 cm would be foil size of choice if I went down this road, but having worked out to initially track off the wind to get the board moving quite a bit before trying to engage the 905 cm foil and get on the plane makes a real difference, and once it is up an flying, WOW. I think this is now firmly on my shopping list, thanks again to Sam at Worthing Watersports for the loan of the demo!!
Hi, what is your Fanatic foil recommendation in low wind (sub 12 knt) and intermediate rider (92Kg, 6m2 Duotone Unit, 95 lit. Fanatic board).? I mean, it's not clear to me what Fanatic should I buy. FYI... I have a Aero High Aspect 1750 (slow, not impressive) that I don't use much and a Aero Free 1250 that is fast, carves well but challenging in sub 12 Knt.
Good question. Will is going to be the best person to answer that. He is off this week but I will get him to get back to you on his return. Thanks Reuben
Hey @franpinyol8500 - great question! Looking at the range, there is not many more options. I feel the range is perhaps lacking a 1500 / 1600 Aero Free really. The Aero High Aspect is a bit slower, but this is a trade off that you have to sometimes take when you are going in sub 12knots. You need the lift to get going, but that often means the foil will feel a little slower. Regards, Will - SUPboarder Team
HI thanks for the nice Video! I am wondering how the Aero Lift 2400 performs in terms of Lift in low winds (8-13kts) at a weight of 110KG (beginner) compared to the new Slingshot Phantasm E1090 and to the new North Sonar 2200R. Do you or anybody have a comparison? Thanks! :)
Hi, REALLY hard to comment unless used back to back. BUT, looking at aspect ratios, bigger AR will generally give a liftier foil ( but a little harder to use) - this would prob make the Aero Lift the most lift foil due to the AR of 5.1 and the extra surface areas - its probably slower too though. The Sling shot would be next with 2200 and 5.4, then the North, which is Oly 3.8 ( so probably turnier and super easy to use). A a PREDICTION and many factors at play here... Cheers, Will - SUPboarder
The old Aero 2500 lifted my 87kg up very early and helped me so much in the beginning! Flying with only 10kts wasn't a problem at all. It is slow as fuck but super easy to pratice the jibes. Recently I changed to the 2000HA, which is a bit faster but wants to go straight only.
Hi! thanks for the video... Im a 77 kg rider, beginner (come and go in stable flights), and I have a 80 cms carbon mast, 1600 middle aspect cabrinha front wing. Im thinking about a high aspect front wing to complement and progress with my actually gear. What size of front wing do you recommend with the same mast? 1000? 1200 maybe? the goal is have only two gears, one for ligth winds and the other for harder. thks again!!
A good next wing would be a 1200/1300 size - higher aspects tend to give more lift for lower area, but will be harder to ride as you say. My first foil was a 1600 NP Glide surf and then I stepped down to a 1250 Armstrong HS which is still a medium aspect wing, but much faster as a thinner profile yet still manoeuvrable. I hope that helps a little. Cheers, Will
Hi Olivier, Fanatics foil range is certainly focussed around surf / wing, flat water pumping often needs large low drag wings which they don't have that many of, for Downwind the Glide or High Aspect Range in larger sizes would be their best products. Cheers, Will
Recently switched to Carbon Mast [75] and Fuselage [68] - big improvement for me ! Everything else stayed the same BUT with the Carbon set up I felt the upgrade instantly, easier to get up on the foil [same wing, same board etc] more responsive, comfortable ride AND at speed much quieter. The Aluminum Mast and Fuselage would whistle in the water once I reached a certain speed, the Carbon Mast and Fuselage makes no sound at all, great improvement for me and well worth the extra $$$ - more great gear from Fanatic ! Do agree with @frankbingel5504 regarding the install in the box, will try the 'grab nutz' from @foilsleeve8906 for sure.
Hi Ramiro - Will here from the SUPboarder team. We have seen a bit of the earlier Gong foil gear, it was low price gear and the quality was also rather low in our opinion. They may have improved things now as I see they seem to have lots more products but we cant be sure as they are a brand who firmly refuse to let magazines like us test their gear. Frustrating as people like you want to know feedback from people other than just the brand themselves. Last year we purchased a few of their surf Sups in for our SUPboarder PRO head to head test, but for this years tests we have planned they do not want to be included, they will not let us even buy their gear to include in test. These boards last performed well, but they are were not the best performers. We would love it if Gong would let us feedback on more of their gear, as we feel the market really want the insight. I hope that helps a little bit. Will - SUPboarder
Thanks Will, it is a real shame. I used your channel to get my starter equipment from Aztron, and my new board from Naish (thanks for the great reviews). As an end consumer it’s really difficult to get a proper overview with so many brands and constantly new equipment coming out.
Hi - would be really hard to comment unless we could try them and compare them back to back. We have been trying to get Sab to send us some gear, but no luck so far! Sab look like they have some nice gear with good design and finish, also some innovative features for removing mast etc. Cheers, Will
