Fanatic Shark 135 LTD

Photo: Stephan Gölnitz

Surf recommendation: The Fanatic Shark is recommended for beginners looking for a planing board for their first speeder experiences and simple jibes, as well as for ambitious heaters who want a real speed feeling even in light winds. An additional fin for high winds should be added to extend the smaller range of use towards strong winds.

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Photo: Stephan Gölnitz (Board) FANATIC Shark 135 LTD : [Tester] Manuel Vogel : [Spot] Dahab

On land: The range of use of the Shark can already be determined by the strap options: In addition to a moderate and a far-out freerace position, the straps can also be mounted further forwards and inwards, which definitely helps intermediates. Pads and straps are excellent, the fin is comparatively large at 48 centimetres and can be attached without tools using a tommy screw.

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Photo: Stephan Gölnitz

On the water: On the flat deck, you are already very secure and stable when dampening, the transition to planing is harmonious and without a planing threshold. Even in the lower wind range, the Shark runs very freely, directly and quickly - get tight, accelerate, fly. The fact that the Fanatic gets onto the fin quickly and thunders freely over the chop is also a result of the large fin, which was probably designed more for the heavier construction of the Shark. At the other end of the scale, with a lot of wind and chop, control becomes problematic more quickly, which is why a second fin with a length of 42 to 44 centimetres is definitely worthwhile with the Shark - we tried it out. This noticeably improves control and top speed and significantly extends the range of use - as with other boards with large fins. While tight radii are less successful due to the wide tail, the Shark glides great through medium and wide gybe radii and also offers gybe students plenty of safety for the odd misstep.