Have seen the 130 in the flesh and looking forward to taking it for a test ride. Its a sweet looking board. Will let you know how it goes.
Looks great!
They know precisely how to create a fun easy board.
No cutouts
Diamond tail
V into concave
Reduced surface area to keep it down easier
Includes board specific fin
Not a detuned piece of rubbish like other brands are trying to brainwash you with
Where are all of the Tuttle Boxers on this board?
It's OK. Power box is better.
Looks great and has some similarities in outline to the no longer in production Tabou Thunder from a few seasons ago. If the Blast is anything like it .... I want one
Looks good on the 3D package on the website. Or do all board manufacturers have this these days?
www.fanatic.com/windsurf/boards/freeride/blast-ltd
What I hope I would like about these kinds of boards is that I would expect that they would be stronger then a slalom board and would hold up to many years if bay sailing.
Seems what is was old is new again! Anyone remember the AHD 'Diamond Race' boards, I had a small AHD Max ride it had a Dimand tail and lovely soft recessed deck pads, awesome board, till I left the screw undone one day.....
Google the AHD current website and they still do the diamond tails on some of their boards.
Blast looks interesting, they always make them look good in videos, Surprised they don't throw some GPS data in the marketing with boards like this to 'prove' that they are actually faster than say the hawk that it replaced or gecko Etc. Car manufacturers alway (even if dodgy!) put numbers to the claims..x Ltrs per 100km, 0-100 in a nano second.
We just get , 'better than last years , take our word for it' Maybe weight reduction data if we are lucky , but no performance data.
Same as the new 'red Fox' .as the Tom cruise windsurfer would say ' show us the numbers!'
Least the new KA GPS has some numbers on the board to back up the theory!
Seems what is was old is new again! Anyone remember the AHD 'Diamond Race' boards, I had a small AHD Max ride it had a Dimand tail and lovely soft recessed deck pads, awesome board, till I left the screw undone one day.....
Google the AHD current website and they still do the diamond tails on some of their boards.
Blast looks interesting, they always make them look good in videos, Surprised they don't throw some GPS data in the marketing with boards like this to 'prove' that they are actually faster than say the hawk that it replaced or gecko Etc. Car manufacturers alway (even if dodgy!) put numbers to the claims..x Ltrs per 100km, 0-100 in a nano second.
We just get , 'better than last years , take our word for it' Maybe weight reduction data if we are lucky , but no performance data.
Same as the new 'red Fox' .as the Tom cruise windsurfer would say ' show us the numbers!'
Least the new KA GPS has some numbers on the board to back up the theory!
Yes the KAGPS does have numbers to back it up...an 8.9 for my dismount at Sandy Point
These boards look interesting, love to take one for a spin.
description or review is under the video "the board picks up and goes in a sparrows fart"
and my post on the board:
joewindsurfer.blogspot.com/2017/03/fanatic-blast.html
So, over the weekend I gave the Blast 100 and 115 a go.
I have not sailed proper freeride gear for a long while, more than 10 years, so read my findings as from an experienced sailor who has lately had a lot more focus on wave sailing rather than freeride. However, I did sail the Gecko 112 and RRD Firemove 110 as well, so have a couple of similar and contemporary designs to compare with.
Mainly used sails where Simmer's Enduro 6.5 and Apex 5.7, with a bit of the V-Max thrown in.
I must admit that I really liked the Blast boards. It was much like re-discovering the feeling, and sailing, that got me hooked for windsurfing in the early days. Just plain fun open water sailing. The 100 is more agile and responsive than the 100, which is expected since it is thinner and more narrow. A real fun board that was perfectly matched with the 6.5. Excellent control and just accessible speed on tap. Even if there are faster boards out there, I think that this is a board that you can go fast on all day which really is quite a lot of fun. The 115 feels fairly similar with a bit more settled ride. I think that it suits the board quite well and at my 78 kgs I could easily see myself getting this board as with 7.2-7.8 sail for some lighter wind cruising combined with a 6.0 for just plain flat water fun. Sail wise the 100 felt really sweet with the 6.5 and I can easily see the 115 being real nice with a 7.8.
I think that both boards went upwind quite well and really covers a big range of conditions and wind strengths. The shorter length might mean that they are a bit more trim sensitive, but personally I found it fairly easy to dial things in. One thing that I really appreciated in fairly choppy conditions is how both board just go through it. Just keep power up and these things will help you keep going with good speed even if it the water is messed up. Gybing is also nice and I managed to get a couple of nice carving ones out of them. It is very easy to initiate the turn considering the fairly wide tail on these things. I think that the longer and straighter rail really helps to support a nice carve. Compared with the Gecko 112 and RRD Firemove 110, I must say that I liked the more narrow design of the Blast. It just feels more responsive and right, at least for me. The one thing that happened a couple of times is that when sailing downwind the front side of the nose got "stuck" a little bit on the downhill side of the chop, which feels a bit scary but is not much of an issue. It only happened twice to me, and I think that it can be related to my inexperience with these kind of boards but also see it as a result of the fairly wide nose.
Overall, two fun boards with tag that perfectly describes what's inside the tin - Blast.
20.06.2017 I took out a blast 130 with a Gastra 8.3 and it went like the peverbrable. Brilliant for blast and turn, had a bit of tail slip on chop landings here and there. Also nose sinks sometimes if not concentrating at low speed/ starting off. For me it was fast and certainly smoother at speed than the gecko 133 ltd.
Hi All,
I ended up getting a 130L LTD which I haven't had a chance to get wet & planning yet (I have just floated around sub planning getting use to the board), looking forward to the westerlies tomorrow if they come through.
I also hired a 115 TXTR for a couple of day's in Maui last week (used it with a 7.5 legacy mostly) & loved it so much that I brought it back as they gave me a new fin & took the board hire off the price.
My thoughts on the 115L TXTR so far
Really really light
It handles bigger fins I used (47, 46, 42, 38, 36 cm free ride fins) better then the other similar L boards I tried (3S & Bullet which is a tough skin rocket), though this might be due to the foot straps being closer to the rail
Volume distribution was better for me around the foot straps (being 105kg) then the rocket & 3S meaning I felt I could step back sooner than I normally would
Seemed to release onto the plane easier, though that perhaps might just be better tuning & the fin.
Felt like I was on a much bigger board, water starting was easier then on the 3S
Turned/carved well down wind going into the jibe/avoiding turtles
Will post again after I get some more TOW
My thoughts on the 115L TXTR so far
It handles bigger fins I used (47, 46, 42, 38, 36 cm free ride fins)
Stopped reading your feedback looking at the above size fins .
42 is already huge but 47....