Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 & Fly Air Premium 10’4
Fanatic are one of the world’s leading watersports brands – established in 1981, they have over three decades of board riding experience, priding themselves on their attention to detail and constant evolution. Their team loves board riding in all its forms, and as such they understand the needs of SUP enthusiasts – from their Brand Manager to their Product Engineer, they are truly invested in their product. Their design team work tirelessly alongside international athletes to put them at the forefront of technological and design innovation, allowing them to produce paddleboards that provide an effortless and rewarding experience, as well as being as eco-friendly as possible. It would seem then that Fanatic is a fitting name for a brand with such a dedicated team, and as such their 2017 range of SUP inflatables are top notch.
The subject of this week’s Boardroom Review will be the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4, one of three board sizes they offer in the Fanatic Fly Air inflatable paddleboard range – we will be discussing the board itself, the differences between the different construction types they offer, and all the goodies the package includes.
The Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 is the medium size in the Fanatic Fly Air SUP inflatable range; suitable for rider weights up to 105kg, it has a typical allrounder board design, generally meaning it’s pretty good at everything – you can take it in small surf up to 4ft, but is just as proficient at straight forward flat water cruising. Its 32” width provides it with a good deal of stability, making it perfect for those new to stand up paddle boarding, and remains wide towards the tail, giving you that all-important stability whilst you execute your turns. It’s length of 10’4” and its gently curving nose and tail mean it’s very manageable and easy to manoeuvre, which assists its rider a great deal when venturing into surf, but also services novices in providing them a SUP they can easily get under control. Despite its great manoeuvrability, it retains enough glide to get from A to B effectively – as such it is incredibly versatile, making it an excellent choice of board for riders of any skill level. We at the SUP Club particularly like this inflatable, mainly due to the fact its thickness is 5.5” – about an inch thicker than equivalent-sized boards by rival brands such as Red Paddle Co and Starboard. This extra thickness equates to an overall increased volume of the board, giving you sense of being much more ‘on top’ of the water, rather than pushing the board through it – as such it feels easy to move around.
The versatility of the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 is carried on in its fins, which consists of two fixed side fins and a removable centre fin, creating what is known as the ‘2 plus 1’ fin setup. This fin configuration is a common feature of many medium to large sized surf SUPs, a category that the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 would fall into. The side fins, or ‘sidebites’, work by channelling the flow of water towards the larger fin whilst riding waves, thereby speeding it up and providing the board with more power during bottom turns, as well as holding the board tight against the face of the wave as you move across it. The larger fin provides the board with stability, making it less wobbly and more predictable in choppier conditions (always handy in surf), as well as improving the board’s tracking significantly. Being detachable and all, you can swap this fin out for another – the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 uses the US fin box system, so rest assured that you will be able to find a fin suitable for your needs.
The drawback of multiple/larger fins is that, the more you have, the more water resistance is created, thus slowing the board down on the flats. We can assume though that, if you’re buying at the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4, you’re not exactly looking to take it to the races – there are plenty of more specialised paddleboards for that. As an allrounder, the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 does the trick – providing enough versatility to enjoy a wide range of paddling environment.
The Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 inflatable is available in two construction methods – one is the standard Stringer Technology, which is the more basic of the two. It uses the best Drop Stitch material available on the market (which Fanatic call the V Drop Stitch Core), followed by a single tarpaulin-PVC layer and a strong tarp stringer for reinforcement, the deckpad and two PVC rail reinforcements; the result is a SUP inflatable with an unmatched ratio between price, durability and weight. The ‘Stringer’ part does wonders to increase the boards rigidity, improving the boards’ effectiveness, whilst maintaining the extreme light weight of single layer construction.
Ultimately though, this is still a single layer construction at heart; as such, we at the SUP Company feel Fanatic’s premium construction – Double Layer Light – far surpasses it in most other ways, and is well worth the extra few hundred quid.
Double Layer Light Technology consists of the V Drop Stitch Core, followed by the first tarpaulin layer and a second, lighter layer (with printed graphics), that is welded directly to the core layers and Drop Stitch material. This is typical of many brands’ premium construction technologies, and vastly improves the strength and durability of the inflatable paddleboard. This is followed by the deckpad, and two PVC rail layers and additional rail reinforcement – result being an inflatable paddleboard with unsurpassed durability and premium quality, as well as not adding on that much weight compared to Stringer technology – and with the added bonus of looking a bit more snazzy.
Additionally, Fanatic inflatables that utilise the Double Layer Light Technology feature a mast insert near the handle, allowing you to mount a windsurf rig, although the absence of a centreboard fin does nothing to minimise downwind drift (however, this can be remedied with the additional purchase of drift stopper). The deckpads used in both construction technologies are diamond grooving, assisting in shedding water and providing more grip underfoot – as well as this both constructions feature an integrated deck net for attaching luggage, high quality towing eyelets, and a comfortable handle.
The Double Layer Light constructed boards’ fins are also of a higher quality – they are a hexagonal structured fibreglass construction – fibreglass fins have a great flex characteristic, which assists during turns. The Stringer Technology boards just have plastic versions of the same fins which, although less fragile and expensive, don’t have the same pep as the fibreglass fins.
As we’ve stated before, for the SUP Company, the Double Layer Light construction is worth it in every respect, providing a 20 – 25 % reduction in weight, and around a 25 – 30 % increase in stiffness when compared to standard Double Layer Technology. Needless to say, it is far stiffer and more durable than the single layer Stringer Technology; however, Stringer Technology has the edge with regards to weight, although only by 0.7kg. But at the end of the day, Double Layer Light Technology is superior in most other ways, as you would expect of a premium SUP inflatable construction.
At the end of the day, the Premium construction was always going to surpass the Standard, so if you can afford it, we would suggest you opt for Double Layer Light instead.
The two construction types offer two different bags – the Premium Backpack and the Standard Backpack, for the Double Layer Light Tech. and Stringer Tech.’s, respectively. The Standard Backpack is just that; standard. It features a large extra compartment added to the ‘outside’ of the bag for additional storage – this is the only thing that it has which the Premium Backpack doesn’t.
On the other hand, the Premium Backpack features robust wheels and an additional handle at the top of the bag, allowing you to transport your inflatable with greater ease. Should the terrain demand that you carry it instead, it also features backpack carry straps, although these are padded, allowing you to carry your SUP bag far more comfortably. It also features an additional round-the-waist strap, allowing you to carry more weight from the board on your hips, dispersing the load carried and helping to prevent tiring or injury.
It also features additional loops on the outside of the bag, we assume to secure paddles too large to fit in in the main compartment, so really, the Premium Backpack outdoes the standard in almost every regard.
Again, it comes down to a matter of price – if you can afford to upgrade to Double Layer Light, we suggest you do so.
*****
The standard paddle for the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 is the Fanatic Alloy 3 Piece SUP Paddle, which appears to be a cut above your regular Alloy SUP paddle – it has an anodised finish, protecting the metal parts against corrosion, and it also features the Fanatic Union Joint System, which works to create a more seamless connection between blade and shaft. The blade tapers to an RDM joint, which creates constant flex, enabling spring and response in each stroke, maximising power transfer.
At The SUP Company, we offer a great range of paddle upgrades for all our SUP inflatables – this couldn’t be truer for Fanatic, whose paddles all feature their Union Joint System, increasing their effectiveness, as well as having some of the best-looking graphics around. To find out more about the paddle upgrades available for all Fanatic boards, visit our Fanatic Paddle Upgrade page.
The pump included in the package is the Fanatic Power Pump HP2. This is a brilliant and compact addition that can work as a single-action or a double action pump. The reason for this is, because it’s just a high-pressure cylinder, you need to use the double action pump to get the air in fast, allowing you to fill up the bulk of the board’s volume quicker. However, at some point it will get too hard on the upstroke, so you switch down to a single action pump to get it up to pressure. As such, the pump has a very compact size – one of its biggest benefits – meaning you can easily fit it in your SUP bag with your inflatable paddle board, whilst still having a very effective pump that can get you up and paddling in no time.
Other bits include the standard orange cylinder with repair kit, common to most inflatable SUP packages on the market, and we at The SUP Company include an OverBoard Waterproof Phone Case, to round off the package. And naturally, we always include a leash – in this case, our very own SUP Co Leash.
In summary, the Fanatic Fly Air 10’4 is an excellent inflatable stand up paddle board, with great flat-water capabilities that mean anyone should be able to enjoy it – regardless of skill or intent – but also with numerous features which we think makes it ideal for messing around in small surf.
The Premium construction is the stand out of the two – not to say the Stringer Technology inflatables do not serve a purpose; as they are far stronger than conventional single layer inflatable paddleboards. Rather, you get so much more for your money by opting for Double Layer Light as they are a great deal stiffer, as well as a better deal across the whole package.