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Fanatic Stingray + Flow Foil 681px

FANATIC FLOW FOIL 1250 & STINGRAY 125 LTD 2019 TEST REVIEW

Stats Price FLOW FOIL 1250: £1249 - FLOW FOIL 900: £1149 - STINGRAY LTD: £1699

 Fanatic Stingray + Flow Foil 480px

FANATIC
FLOW FOIL 1250
& STINGRAY 125 LTD
2019 TEST REVIEW.

THEY SAY
From your first take off to frequent flyer in no time! Our Flow windsurf foils got completely redesigned for the new season to cover your windsurf foiling experience all the way from beginner to performance level. As a special release for the 2019 range, the all new Stingray is a dedicated windsurfing foil board with an incredibly easy and fun character. If you thought windsurfing foiling is too technical for you – the Stingray will prove you wrong!

WE SAY
Supplied in a padded bag, the Flow Foil 1250 slots together easily, using the supplied allen keys to apply tension and the tube of marine grade lubricant to protect from corrosion or seizure. As you connect the components, you get a real sense of its engineering detail and consideration – a notion and feeling that continues out onto the water. In our in inaugural foil test last year, we described how the Flow Foil’s predecessor (the H9), had stability issues when pushed. Move on a year and we’d place the Flow firmly at the other end of the stability spectrum! Using the pedestal plate on the Stingray, there is an incredible amount of tuning versatility to get the position of the lift just right for rider weight, ability and sail size. Start from the middle and then adjust to suit, moving forwards for more lift and back for less. The lift itself is very smooth, easy and progressive, giving the Flow a truly user-friendly and forgiving nature. It is a great match for the Stingray, which itself is incredibly plug and play for a first time foiling experience. In marginal winds, the extra waterline of the Stingray provides the opportunity for more conventional sail-pumping techniques, before moving back, into the straps, to work the foil. The gently domed deck and adhesive contoured deckpads feel comfortable underfoot, with plenty of feel and connection to the foil provided through the rider’s heels. A wonderfully rewarding freeride foil setup, Fanatic have certainly done their homework here, giving their riders the tools to learn to fly comfortably within a matter of hours. Gybing on the Flow Foil is also incredibly smooth and intuitive, the thickness and surface area of the front wing allowing it to still generate lift at slow speeds and critical angles. Requiring relatively little input or finesse, it can flatter the rider and forgive any mistimed or clumsy footwork to get through the turn. Taking the Fanatic setup into powered conditions and turbulent seas, the height of the 90 cm mast was a welcome asset, providing the extra margin for any error in flight control. The size, or more accurately, the length of the board does begin to become apparent compared to others in the group, giving it a more progressive than immediate response to foot pressure.
The foil’s speed and slipperiness certainly put it in the cruisy freeride category, rather than performance focussed. And yet, for an extra £399.00, you can buy the extra front wing to convert the Flow Foil into the 900. Feeling looser, with significantly more speed and pointing performance, the modular flexibility means Fanatic’s new foils can nurture your foiling development right from first flight to high wind competency. What a difference a year makes!

VITAL STATS

FOIL
Head: Pedestal Plate
Mast Length: 90 cm
Mast Material: Aluminium
Fuselage Length: 90 cm
Fuselage Material: Aluminium
Front Wing Span: 74 cm
Front Wing Chord: 21 cm
Font Wing Area (Quoted): 1250 cm²
Tail Wing Span: 35.9 cm
Wing Material: Carbon
Weight: 5.98 kg

BOARD
Length: 228 cm
Width: 75 cm
Volume: 125 L.
Foil Box: 2x US Box 10 / Deep Tuttle
Sail Range (Quoted): <9.0m
Sizes Available: 125, 140L

www.fanatic.com


Also in this test:

• AFS W85 FOIL
and AHD TOPAZ 127

• FANATIC FLOW FOIL 1250
and STINGRAY 125

• GA SAILS HYBRID FOIL

• MFC ONE7 FREERIDE / RACING PRO

• NAISH WINDSURF MICRO HOVER
131 BOARD
and 1150 FOIL

• NEIL PRYDE GLIDE WIND
and JP  HYDROFOIL 120 FWS

• RRD WH FLIGHT ALU 85 V2
and POCKET ROCKET 122

• SLINGSHOT HOVER GLIDE FWIND
and WIZARD 125

• STARBOARD SUPERCRUISER
and FOIL 111

• TABOU AIR RIDE 81 CED

 


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