Fanatic Fly Air 10’8″ SUP Review

Fly Air PURE Edition: In a nutshell

The Fanatic Fly Air, are inflatable all-round SUP boards which are available in 9’8″, 10’4″ and 10’8″ lengths. In addition to the standard version, Fanatic also offers these boards as high-quality premium boards. Besides a slightly different construction, the Fanatic Fly Air Premium boards feature a mast base insert. With this, the SUP can be equipped with a windsurfing sail. For those who can do without, the standard version is a SUP that convinced us mainly because of the excellent quality and the chic design. 

The set is optionally available with or without paddle. The scope of delivery always includes a double-stroke air pump, fin and high-quality backpack. A leash is unfortunately not included. 

If you are wondering which length is right for you, your body weight is crucial. The recommended rider weight for the different versions is as follows:

• 9’8” up to 85 kg
• 10’4” up to 95 kg
• 10’8” up to 105 kg

If you are a beginner and still a bit wobbly on the board or want to ride with your child from time to time, we recommend the Fly Air 10’8″. However, if you are already confident on the board and will never use it with two people, you can also choose the shorter versions. You will get a little more maneuverability and easier handling. However, the differences are minimal. 

If you are a SUP pro and like to go fast and long, the Fly Air is not the right board for you. We rather recommend you to have a look at our detailed review of the Fanatic Ray Air. 

However, if you want to make your first attempts on a SUP and can invest some money in a good quality board, we can absolutely recommend this board. Check Prize and buy here

Also for those who use the SUP mainly for leisurely cruising, splashing around with the kids, sunbathing on the lake or yoga exercises, the Fanatic Fly Air is an absolute top board. 

Pros and Cons

Fanatic Fly Air Specs

The Fly Air is the allround board in Fanatic’s line up. The 10’8″ version used in our test has the classic proportions of an all-rounder with a length of 325 cm, 86.4 cm width. This overall impression is rounded off by the shape (Shape) with round wide nose, in the true sense of the word. This makes the SUP very tilt-resistant and therefore ideally suited for SUP beginners.

With a thickness of 14 cm (5.5″), the board comes to a total volume of decent 306 liters. Fanatic states the maximum recommended user weight as 105 kg. This means that you can use the ideal driving characteristics up to this load. The maximum load, which other manufacturers usually focus on, should be a lot higher for the Fanatic Fly Air 10’8″. 

For this reason, the board can also be used in pairs by rather lighter adults or by an adult and a child. 

A top value reaches the Fanatic board at the weight of just 8.5 kg. Packing and transporting in the included backpack is therefore extremely uncomplicated.

Construction and build quality of the Fly Air SUP

Fanatic stands for absolute quality SUPs, which is also reflected in the price. The Fly Air even in the standard version is no exception. From our first inspection, the board and material felt very high quality workmanship. 

However, the main difference between the Fanatic Fly Air and the Fly Air Premium lies here in the construction. While the Premium version uses a double layer, meaning the hull of the SUP consists of 2 layers of PVC material, the Standard version consists of a drop stitch core with a single layer hull where the sides (rails) are reinforced with a second layer.  

The double layer method results in a slightly more robust SUP board, but this comes at the price of higher weight and generally more cumbersome handling (e.g. when rolling up).

For the longevity of an inflatable SUP board, however, not only the construction is crucial, but rather how carefully the SUP board was manufactured. In this point, the Fanatic Fly Air 10’8″ can absolutely convince. 

Thus, you get a very light SUP of just 8.5 kg which impresses with an excellent build quality. 

The design also matches this. With the new look of the boards from 2020 Fanatic meets exactly our taste. A rather minimalist SUP, which still stands out from the crowd by a modern color palette. 

Handling and Rideability of the Fanatic Fly Air

During our test rides on the lake, the Fanatic Fly Air 10’8″ behaved exactly as you would expect from an all-rounder. If you are looking for a good-natured board, also suitable for beginners, for calm paddling and switching off from everyday life, you will be well served here. 

Thanks to the wide footprint and the round tip, it offers a high tipping stability, which helps especially in the first attempts not to land constantly in the water. 

Nowadays, most SUP boards are 6″ thick because this is an important factor for the stiffness of a board. With the Fly Air, which is “only” 5.5″ thick, we didn’t really notice this missing 1 cm while paddling. The board feels very solid and does not flex in the water. 

Pleasant under the feet felt the very large deck pad. Who would like to use the SUP also once for yoga, Pilates or other fitness exercises and tricks, will have his joy with the Fly Air. 

With the all-rounder characteristics of good maneuverability but not too much speed, this board can be ideally used on flat water, rivers or in light waves. 

Fly Air Features

The base of the Fanatic Fly Air is covered by a diamond pattern deck pad, which ensures good grip even when wet.

The board has a D-ring behind the valve (for the leash) and one in the front area of the bottom which can be used as a tow ring. 

A luggage net in the bow area and a carrying handle complete the equipment of the SUP board. 

From our point of view, this is the only point that clouds our enthusiasm for the Fanatic Fly Air. Other manufacturers clearly pack more in this price segment. A camera mount or second carrying handle are not essential features, but would still be nice to have.

Accessories of the Fly Air Set

The Fanatic Fly Air 10’8″ SUP comes either as a set without paddle or optionally with the 3-piece Fanatic Pure paddle. Unfortunately, we can’t say more about the latter because we used the Fanatic Carbon 35 for our test, which is available separately.  

Included is a large fin, which can be mounted without tools in the standardized US fin box on the SUP. 

As a pump, the Fanatic Power Pump HP2 is included. For fast and efficient inflation, you can easily switch from single to double action. This means air is pumped into the board not only when pushing down the lever but also when pulling up.

A highlight is the backpack. Beautifully designed and high quality workmanship, the lightweight Fly Air SUP board can be transported effortlessly with it. Another plus point which we like, the size of the backpack fits the board. With the 9’8″ board you get a size M backpack, with the 10’4″ and 10’8″ you get a size L backpack.

Our recommendation for you

The qualities of this board convinced you so much that the small disadvantages didn’t stop you from reading our article until the very end. Thus, there is only one thing for you. Grab the board and go out on your favorite water. You will have a lot of fun with it. 

FAQ

• For whom is the Fly Air suitable?

  For those who want to make their first attempts on a SUP and can invest some money in a high quality board, we can absolutely recommend this board. 
  Also for those who use the SUP mainly for leisurely cruising, splashing around with the kids, sunbathing on the lake or for yoga exercises, the Fanatic Fly Air is an absolute top board. More Infos >>

• Which Fly Air lenght should I buy?

  The recommended rider weight of the different versions looks like this:
  9’8” up to 85 kg
  10’4” up to 95 kg
  10’8” up to 105 kg
  If you are a beginner and still a bit wobbly on the board or want to ride with your child from time to time, we recommend the Fly Air 10’8″. However, if you are already confident on the board and will never use it with two people, you can also choose the shorter versions. You will get a bit more maneuverability and easier handling. However, the differences are minimal. More Infos >>