After some board on board testing with the two 8'10" 's from Fanatic recently, I have decided that my quiver will consist of both! I have ridden both boards in a variety of conditions and they most definitely cover all bases.
2012 Fanatic AllWave 8'10"
I am 85 kgs on a good day. This board is so stable, when paddling it you start to think that there is no way this thing will shred on a wave cause it feels like your on 9'6"+ board. How surprised I was. Such a sweet rock, the board responds instantly to your foot positioning, and is amazing off the tail. At the last SPSC even some of the crew mentioned that I was surfing better on the AllWave than the ProWave, and it was definitely easier! In the conditions that finished the event this was definitely the case. Windy, choppy, hard to catch waves, the AllWave comes right out of it's shell. I've ridden up to about head high on this board and it has never felt a handful, I am interested to see it does as it is 31 wide. It is super loose and easy to get up into the lip. Carving is a dream, and it makes fun out of absolute mush. I could quite easily have this board as an only board, and it is most definitely suitable for the intermediate rider. Stepping forward a bit, you engage the mid rocker, allowing the board to be turned and steered, but also using that width for stability and lift to get you through those fat sections. Loose, responsive, fast, easy.
ProWave 8'10"
If your looking for the next level, this is it. I was lucky enough to have this board with me in Hawaii this year, and scored some awesome waves on the south shore. And this board amazed me, when juiced up she responds like she's glued to your feet. You can really smack the lip in ridiculous sections, and Fast doesn't begin to explain the board speed available on the wave. A really tight pulled in tail gives total control and awesome bottom turns at full speed. In conparison to the 2010 ProWave, this board is looser, faster, more controllable, lighter and way more smackable. The key thing with this board for me is getting that power behind you, I guess at my weight I am pushing water a little bit until shoulder height, but once you get that wave under you, OMG!! This board really is a Pro board.
All up, I am stoked to be lucky enough to have both boards in my quiver, but I do think I'll be riding the AllWave majority of the time unless we have an absolute cracker of a summer. I strongly suggest getting a demo organized at your local dealer because the bar has been lifted again this year.
JB
Must be quite difficult testing a 2012 board when its september 2011.
Surely you must be testing a 2011 board?
Standupper, Yes, I love the 8'6" ProWave, she a little rocket. I found that 8'6" to feel like a high end fish. It has a slightly flatter rocker, so she get's up to full speed really quickly. Excellent for powering fast waves, and at 8'6" fits into the sections very nicely. I was amazed at how easily I could paddle the 8'6" (as I'm 95kg), when i used to ride the 8'4" Naish it was "really" hard work, the 8'6" Fanatic ProWave is easier to punch through whitewater, and far more stable. When your belting down the line on the Fanatic ProWave you feel like you want to go for airs, it feels that light and sticky to your feet. If I was a few kgs lighter I would definitely have one of these in my quiver, but getting old and unfit like I am, I am little lazy these days and the 8'10" is awsome.
GizzieNZ, You must be new the world of production time frames. Generally every company have there next season gear proofed and ready for order by July, and first shipments generally arrive about now. So GizzieNz, no mistake, 2012 is here!!
JB
JB - I picked up my 8"10 Prowave on the weekend and had a mushy surf at Avalon.
Coming from the Fanatic 9.0 from last year, i found the 8'10 to have less paddlability,(i guess the improved nose rocker) but on the wave its looser, faster and takes drops and closeouts heaps better.
Looks good too. Just wish it was a little smaller in volume. I have a feeling the width is gonna be an issue in stuff over head high??? wait and see.
Just gotta get out in some decent waves now and try the carbon 12'6.
Be good to catchya for a surf soon to bro.
Hey CheeseStick,
The ProWave doesn't really like small mushy stuff too much, but some of that might also be my weight. You'll find she is a whole different beast as soon as the waves turn on. It is quite a bit smaller smaller in surface area than the 9'0" is, so your going to notice it when paddling, especially in crap waves, and yes the rocker makes a difference also. And as you've noticed, she is one loose goose on the wave, wait till you get some good session right back on the tail pad. Play with the fins also, having the quad option is good for some conditions, however I prefer the thruster running Lopez thrusters and a G1000 trailer in small stuff and a M3 or 5 in the bigger stuff. This board won't disappoint when the surf is on.
Your gonna love the Carbon 12'6", just so easy to glide along on. I need one of those back in my quiver.
I think I get my boards back of Quinny this week as he's finished his south tour, so should be surfing this weekend, Sunday looks like it'll be offshore, so hopefully a good session.
Thanks for your feedback,
JB
i managed to get mine off him before he left.
Ill try get up north and have a paddle with you two sunday if its looking good.
On the fin, side of things, im a big fan of mixing it up.
I found the stock thrusters to be ok, but i have a sweet set of kinetic quads that i wouldnt mind trying in it.
Cheers
Catchya
This is a great review of both and I like your solution of getting both.
I'm currently using a 2011- 9'6x30" Fanatic Fly. Both of the new 2012 models look pretty nice. The Pro Wave looks more aggressive and the All Wave looks more fun. I need to get them both on the water. My local shop has 9'2 versions of both models which should make it easy to do side by side comparisons.
I was worried about the Prowave range not paddling mushy or small surf well.
I rode the 8"10 in 1-1.5ft onshore last night. There was a few bowly sections but pretty average.
The board flew. Bumps weren't to much of a problem either.
As a quad it climbs white water like a backpacker at bondi.
Thanks for the fin advice JB, changed the board heaps.
Cant wait for the 3-5ft onshores on the weekend.
yehooo
The 8'6" floats me pretty well, it's volume is really well positioned and stable. I'm 95kgs on a good day, and have no troubles in good conditions, when it get's choppy and windy it is a decent challenge, but manageable.
JB
I tried 9'2 versions of both in the surf and the ProWave was a better fit for my my surfing style.
The stock fins are nice. I'm looking foward to trying it with Quads.
Pic below
Hey Wilanz,
Yes the Pro-wave is a beast! and you'll get that versatility in the 9'2".
I just rode my 8'10" yesterday in the SPSC event as a quad and really liked it. the first time I tried it wasn't so stoked, however I have some better fins this time and it really blew me away. I was running Gerry thrusters and some NKB tail quads probably about equivalent to a G-1000 but in a performance core. This board is just so adaptable, and slight fins changes really bring out different performance. I really urge to try all/any fin set up you can get yours on!
Enjoy.
JB
I really enjoyed the 9'2" Fanatic ProWave this weekend. South Florida had winds in the 30-45mph winds. My little 4.0 Sail did great but I changed the center fin from the stock 5.75" to a 10" fin. This board really powers up and gets skipping. I may have to add some foot straps if we continue to get wind like this.
Pic of the set up I used this weekend. Very happy with my new toys.
I rode the 8'6" today in 2 foot waves and the thing goes unreal im 90 kegs and knocking 50
Looking faward to riding the 8'10" this weekend !
JB is the 8'10" as loose as the 8'6' as it looks to have more outline curve ?
RIK
Hey Rik,
I found the 8'10" more carvey. The 8'6" is a little flatter in the tail rocker, so it surf's a little bit more like a performance fish, great for smacking the lip, snapping fast tight turns, and acceleration through fast sections. With a little more tail rocker the 8'10" rides more like a traditional shortboard, awesome carves and drivey cutbacks. The 8'6" feels so sweet under your feet and the volume is perfectly distributed making it easily rideable at 95kg (my fatboy weight). This is one thing that Fanatic do extremely well, their volume distribution is spot on making their board stable and easy to paddle with out over bulking rails and mid areas of the board.
Stoked to hear your enjoying the ride!
Regards,
JB
I had a demo on the 9'2" Prowave today in strong side shore conditions and a 2-3 foot swell. It is very well made and nice and light, I would say that I'm fairly competent to experienced, but at 6 ft and 100 kg struggled to stay upright once the wind picked up. I also had to stand in surfer stance most of the time to get the flotation right. I found it hard to paddle into waves and had to slip my foot forward on every wave I caught. It was very loose once on the wave but very energy sapping to keep paddling. I found the deck grip to be really slippery when I was kneeling and found it actually easier to stay on when I was standing up. Even though paddling out through the white water was quite good, stabilty was definitely an issue, at 53 and with a crook lower back it became really difficult after about an hour to stay up. I also chafed the skin off my toes, presumably due to the deck grip? I actually went down to RPS to demo the 8'10" Allwave or Widepoint but there was a mistake and they were both out. I'll demo the 9' 6" Allwave in two weeks and see how that goes. It's a bit longer than I wanted but hopefully will give me an idea of how the 9'2" or 8'10" will perform. I would say the Prowave is a great board for an experienced surfer up to 95kg, but I think most people will struggle with it in choppy conditions if used as a SUP.
Hi Leroy13. Im 6'2" 100kgs and a bit younger than you I demoed the 9'2" allwave last weekend it was very stable and plenty of float for your size. coming off a 10' Mana i didn't have any problems in wind chop conditions, i think the 9'2" would be as big as you need to go on the Allwave.
The only thing i noticed was how hard the deck pad is on your feet.i could just be soft
Thanks for the review Leroy13.
I like to read you posts about different boards. I can kinda judge how I would like the board by your comments.
It's good to read reviews by somebody other than a nimble ripper (No offense).
I know you have the 10'2" PSH Hull Paddler. Have you ever tried out the 9'7"?
Keep up the good work and I want to hear about the 9'2' or 9'6" Allwave.
Yes Matt they were pretty average but you still caught a couple of nice ones!! And thanks Southwesterly for the encouragement. I have a laminectonmy coming up in Feb and a divison of assets coming up from a rather acrimonious seperation (Why do women have affairs with their bosses and then blame the husband?) But I digress. I want a lighter, shorter board as increasingly I find the Paddler very heavy to carry. It's rail to rail transferrance is not bad, but it really doesn't hold into the face very well on suckier waves, although I still find its ability to get vertical quicly amazing. I'll let you know how the 9'6" Allwave goes and hopefully how the 8'10" Widepoint and possibly even the 9'5" Widepoint goes. Hopefully my wife leaves me enough money for one decent board after the demoing!!
Ill attach a picture that one of the local surf reports (Rasta-Eastward) took of me taking of at a local peak. about three seconds later I managed to hit that lip. Why didn't he take the photo then??
I will echo southwesterly's comment. Thanks for the reviews Leroy! Allwave seems to be getting allot of attention. I wish I could demo but I am seriously thinking of a 9'10" to float my 116 kg. arse. I do have a 11'6" fly that I started on this passed July and I think the construction is a great and also a great beginer board. Tempted to take the flyer on the 9'10 based on the dimesions and the good reviews it is getting.
Thanks!