On about 10 sessions on this foil, so time for a detailed review as I don't see much written about this foil, and in my mind its one of the best foils in the price range, and Fanatic being one of the bigger brands, the availability should be good. If I was to buy again, I might consider spending an extra $1000+ and getting something full carbon, but within its price range for the foils currently available it would be my pick. I've got a technical background, so if you don't like detailed reviews, turn away NOW!
For reference, here's the review for its bigger brother the Flow 1250 from Windsurf Magazine.
www.windsurf.co.uk/test/fanatic-flow-foil-1250-stingray-125-ltd-2019-test-review/Overview:
This is the follow up to the Flow H9 which I think Fanatic should honestly be a bit embarrassed about, luckily the Flow 1000 definitely addresses all of its predecessors shortcomings. The key differentiator I think for the Flow 1000 is that it is higher aspect then most of the other available foils from the mainstream brands in its price range, which in my opinion is positive in every aspect except 1. Its more efficient, faster, foils just as early with less area. But this may make it undesirable if you are chasing swells as its much easier to accidentally outrun the swell. They do have the Flow 1250 and 1500 if you want a higher aspect wing, but at my weight and in our conditions I can't see me wanting one. And I'd be happy recommending a beginner to start on the Flow 1000.
Similar to how all the main prone/sup foils brands (Axis, Armstrong, Gofoil, Naish) are now bringing out high aspect wings where they were previously only selling low-aspect foils. I think we will also see the windsurfing brands follow as the advantages of high aspect are even more prominent in windfoiling then sup/prone.
This foil is perfect I think for everyone from beginners to intermediate free-riders who just want to a stable foil that's on the quicker end of the spectrum to blast back and forward on. It's also great for carving and I've also been jumping it a fair bit. It comes with the 4 bolt plate glued to the mast, but you can get a tuttle adaptor for it, which is what I use on my Alien 115.
For me at 75kg this is now my one foil solution from 8kts to 20kts+, with 3 sails on my Alien 115.
- 7m Foilglide from 8kts up to 14kts. (is there any wind out there??)
- 4.8m S1 from 12kts up to 18kts. (when you start to see the dark patches on the water from the gusts)
- 4.0m S1 from 17kts+ (whitecaps)
I'm selling my 5.7m Blade, 5.3m S1, 4.7m S1, and 4.2m SWAT, to condense my quiver as the foil just gives that much more bottom end range. I'm foiling now with my 4.7m S1 in conditions where I would still be slogging on my 5.3m S1 on my 100L freestyle board, heck I might even foil earlier on the 4.0 then the 5.3 would plane.
There's definitely still room for improvement for Fanatic (check out the Cons list), but I think they finally managed to put it all together and put out a product that the average punter should be happy to hand over their hard earned. Its much better then the Flow H9 which I haven't sailed but honestly looks like a kids toy, and its about a stiff as a noodle.
Dimensions:
I got the tape, verniers and kitchen scales out and took some measurements. For some reason manufacturers seem to all have decided its easier if we don't tell our consumers the numbers.
Mast length (inc. plate base): 905mm
Leading Edge of Front Wing to Trailing Edge of Rear Wing: 930mm
Main Wing (1000cm2 claimed): 861mm Span x 151mm Chord x 17mm Thick
Stabiliser (215cm2 claimed): 357mm Span x 74mm Chord x 8mm Thick
Weights: Fuselage and Wings 2690gm + Mast 2980gm = 5670gm
Elephant in the room here is obviously the weight. I haven't weighed every foil out there but if you take the Windsurf Magazine numbers, this is one of the heaviest foil out there, with exception to the Slingshot i76. I was pretty surprised the slingshot was so heavy so got my mate to weight his i76 with the 90cm mast, and whilst not the same set of scales it also ended up at 5.67kg as well. The NP Glide, Naish 1150, Starboard Supercruiser are all lighter some significantly so based on Windsurf Mag numbers. Haven't seen or weighed the Redwing, but I'm pretty sure it would be lighter as well. I'd take strength and reliability over light weight, but light weight definitely is nicer when you are carrying your gear. If you aren't jumping it or doing silly stuff, maybe take the a lighter option?
Pros:- High aspect so its fast, no surprise it's was quicker then a Slingshot i76 and Severne Redwing when I lined up next to them last weekend, probably by 2-3kts. No real magic here, a thinner, high aspect foil will be more efficient then a thicker lower aspect foil with more surface area.
- High aspect so its efficient, stall speed was similar to my friends Slingshot i76.
- High aspect so it gets me foiling early. I can get this thing going in around 12kts, and foiling through lulls probably down to 10kts. Had a friend (same weight who's been foiling a little bit longer) come in who was a bit underpowered on a Lift Freeride 6.6m and Slingshot i76, I went out on a 2012 4.7m S1 (definitely not a powerful sail) and was able to get foiling, sail upwind and do clean gybes. He wants to sell his Slingshot.
- Small high aspect rear stabiliser, again this contributes to how efficient this foil is, its probably one of the smallest rear stabilisers out there at 215cm2. Small, high aspect and thin means fast and efficient.
- Easy to pump, its longer fuselage then surf foils, so its not the jack rabbit rapid pumping of the prone foilers, its more like a longboard skateboard pump. Super fun, I was easily able to pump over 150m back into the harbour probably 50-60deg off the wind in - Nice and stable and predictable. This is mostly down to the fuselage length in my opinion, most foils with similar fuselage length will be similarly stable.
- With the stability, I'm finding it super easy to gybe, and even in light wind I now have enough control that I'm comfortable pumping the foil through the gybe if required, especially in light conditions where you are underpowered and get a bit backwinded as you turn through downwind.
- Nice stiff mast, along with NP and Starboard, they've really upped the size of the mast extrusion. Naish has also beefed theirs up a bit too but not to the same extent. The only outlier is the Slingshot which is surely due for an upgrade.
- Mast is sealed from water ingress (this is must be standard on all foils now).
- Really well built, all connections heli-coiled so corrosion is much less of an issue.
- Quality fasteners, well at least they are all marked A4-70.
- Connection designs are all sensible, the mast is spigotted into the fuselage. And the way the wing connections are designed, they won't wear out and get loose with use.
- Plate mount has some rubber/hard foam to protect the bottom of you board.
- Rear stabiliser adjustment is easy with the shims provided. As the mounting interface is flat, it would also be super easy to make your own if you lose one, or you need more adjustment then the supplied shims give you.
- Good easy to understand foil family. Its the same back wing for the 900, 1000, 1250 and 1500 front wings. I'm pretty sure this is all compatible with their surf wings too, so something for everyone. Personally I don't think I'll need another wing, cause the 1000cm2 with my sails does me from 8kts to 20kts+
Cons:- Heavy, probably one of the heaviest out there, along with the Slingshot i76. In the case of the Flow 1000 this does actually contribute to the Pros as well, as its also probably the most solidly built foil out there. For the same weight its much stiffer and solidly built then the Slingshot, in particular the mast is much stiffer. That said I do think just by my eye, that they probably could take a not insignificant bit of weight out of the fuselage without compromising the overall strength of the foil, I think they erred maybe a bit too far on the side of caution there, its a seriously heft hunk of alloy.
- Stall behavior is fairly sudden. Stall speed is pretty slow on par with my friend on the i76. But when it does finally stall its fairly sudden and just drops you. This is probably inherent to high aspect foils, and isn't an issue, but I wouldn't call it a pro, so its here in the cons section.
- Those trailing edges are pretty sharp. So watch out.
- Mine whistles a tiny bit at speed, I've sailed around a few others with Flow foils which don't seem to do it.
- Fasteners of front wing aren't perfectly flush. If you were pedantic you would want this perfectly flush for max speed. I think the race guys usually tape over them too.
- Wing bags are pretty flimsy, I've had mine only about a month now and where the wingtips are the bags are already wearing through. The main kit bag however seems to be made of more sturdy material.
- The anti-seize stuff they supply is rubbish compared to Tefgel, just use Tefgel. It's probably not as critical with all the connections heli-coiled, but this stuff is lucky to last 1-2 tightening/loosening cycles, whereas Tefgel is obnoxiously sticky and hard to get off even if you want it off.
- Tools supplied are cheap, the allen keys are plated steel, they will start to rust almost instantly if you go near salt water. Dunno why they can't supply stainless, it'd make like $2-3 difference to their BOM cost.
- Metal zip on the kit bag, again not sure how long Fanatic have been around (are they celebrating 40 years this year?) but they should know better. It's probably OK here, but again area for improvement that would cost them very little.
- Allen key fasteners, personally, I think Torx are better, but both are better then Phillips. I'm lazy and like to get on the water fast and put everything together with an impact driver. The countersunk fasteners in particular, always seem to flog out pretty quick and get stuck, whereas Torx don't.
Comparisons:
If you want a high aspect foil in the similar price bracket, probably only the new 2021 Naish 1150 is comparable out of the offerings from the main stream brands. The Naish would be lighter, and they have beefed up their mast, and have got good connection designs, but windsurf specific wing range is limited to the 1 size, bad luck if you want something bigger or smaller. Otherwise I'd compare it against the Starboard GTR, but they aren't in the same price bracket, and I suspect the starboard is probably a touch faster and lighter too.
As far as low aspect foils goes, there is definitely a different philosophy which makes direct comparisons difficult. I'd say if you are sailing mostly flat water, you will definitely want an efficient high aspect foil. If you are sailing where there are a lot of waves, then something thats lower aspect, and a bit draggier will make sense to stop you outrunning the swells. Thats the best thing about foiling, its actually made going slow fun. I don't think anyone really enjoyed going slow before foiling.
Board Compatibility:
I think this foil honestly has a pretty good chance of working with almost any board out there. It has the plate mount, deep tuttle adaptor (sold separately), and shims for the rear stabiliser. On my Alien 115, its good from between 0deg to -0.5deg rear stabiliser depending on if you want to sail back footed or front footed. It will obviously work with the Fanatic Stingrays, and can't see it having compatibility issues with any of the other majors like JP or Starboard.
On my previous Naish Hover 122 which is probably a bit on the extreme end as the Naish foil mounts further forward then most, I had to run it right at the back of the tracks with the -0.5deg rear stabiliser to keep it from leaping out of the water. But once set up like that it was OK. One thing to mention is that the plate mount is too wide to fit in the channel on the bottom of the Naish boards, I made a DIY shim out of a few sheets of vinyl flooring and got some longer bolts to make it work. I think Naish are the only ones with the pointless bottom channel, so you should be fine with most other boards.
Photos:
What you get in the kit
. There is a bag for the mast as well
.
Closeup of the platemount with the hard foam
Front wing connection
Rear stabiliser connection, with shim installed. (0deg is just no shim)
The shims
Took it over to Moreton, it looks fast even on the beach.
Set up on the hover, a photo to show the relative position of foil to footstraps etc.
After a light wind session
Jumps
Next to the Naish 1150, I think this is the 2020. Not sure if the 2021 is actually different except for the new mast?
