Got the option of the 98 or 102 second hand - Need a B&J board in between 92 Evo and 112 skate - something wave rideable and a seabreeze blaster (87-92kg's dependant on the season and how much Coopers I've been drinking)
Liked my 96 Kombat and should never have sold it
Like the fanatics - hear good reports - like the JP not sure about the long term reliability of build as I keep hearing and seeing breakage and easy damage.
Any thoughts from those that may have experienced both.
Cheers
Russh
not tried any - but i seem to remember the freewave98 getting a good write up - i think it was the1st or 2nd release after goya parted company. They were saying out of all the test boards at the time that this one was the more 'wavey' of the lot....especially for it's size
saying that not sure what kinda jp ur comparing it to,,,
I was investigating the exact same thing last night, although I'm looking to buy at the end of this year. I can't help window shopping. Bump & Jump, Blast, spin tricks, early planing and moderate wave use, both sound like practical weapons.
I've just been googling things like: "+review fanatic allwave 98"
I'm leaning toward the Fanatic just because they are CAD shaped. I like the idea of them all coming out of the production line exactly as expected. That and the NP/JP antidisestablishmentarianism turns me off a bit (there I used it in a sentence).
That said they both get excellent reviews. I'll dig some up from mags I've got. I'll be following this thread with interest.
oh yeah forgot to say, My dad uses it mainly with a 6.4 and 5.7.
Goes really well with the 6.4 with the 27cm fin that comes with it. Prob wouldnt go too much bigger than 6.4....
Thanks for feedback - I am sure some JP fans will add a few comments - prob after ive gone with my gut feeling - I think the 98 Fanatic might be the way - I'm heading down the shop in a minute and hoping no one has bought it yet.
I know three guys with the Fanatics - they all love em.
Hope I can get some waves on it like the Fanatic on KA222's avatar in the future!
20-30 knts this afternoon on the local waters so hopefully will get a blast.
cheers
Got the 98 Fanatic in the end - it's like new - but sailed the EVO and 4.7 in one of the most powered up enjoyable sails for months - heaps of jumps some backhand waves at Snapper point - and some weird water sucking over the edge of the outside ledge as you were crossing it as a bigger - thought the reef was gonna bare it's teeth as the waves broke on it
maybe today I'll get it in the water - another sailor Bob was riding his Fanatic 98 with a 4.7 and was flying and he reckons it's the only board he uses now.
Can't wait for the seabreeze today!
Took four weeks but finally got a sail on the 98L fanatic freewave - 5.8 poison 16-23 knts occaisional 1-2 foot reef break waves.
Thought I would struggle to get goin but it was pretty easy to plane and pointed nicely
The tail is narrower than the Evo I have - gybe was a bit unsteady after the flip at first but didn't take long to adjust.
I just feels slick and glides through the water almost silently it's easy to sail and as the wind got a bit stronger and briefly over powered it remained in complete control I am very impressed.
Only had a few little waves - couldn't time any decent sets - felt super easy to turn - pretty slashy and cuts back easily - lookin forward to some decent cross off waves.
There's my little wrap on the 98 Freewave 06 what i now feel was something I should have bought a long time ago.
Not sure if I'll need the 92l Evo any more!
While the purchase has been made I thought I'd add my thoughts:
JP Freestyle Waves 2006 and older, as well as the current Fanatic FreeWaves, are quite comparable (and they're great boards). I own one of each...I'd say the Fanatics plane a little earlier and the JP's may have a tiny bit more top end. No trouble with durability on the JPs unless you get a pro edition (in which case plenty trouble...but they are light!)
The 2008 JP FSW's are said to be much more slalom oriented. The 2008 Fanataic FreeWaves come with rather narrow footstraps...if you have oversized feet or wear thick booties this could be an issue.
