Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Carbon Fiber illusions tower cheap


Soundsational

Recommended Posts

Every time this thread comes up I hear how the Blade's broke and were all replaced by Malibu. I still have one, I approached Malibu after reading the first thread a few years ago and there is no automatic swap out. Funny I've never heard or read about one breaking just the poster's speculation. The side to side movement is very rocky but the backward and forward movement is none existant. I'm not posting to protect the reputation of Blade towers but these threads always turn out to be more bull schidt than factual so someone produce some concrete evidence and call me out.

Below are some factual reasons Blades aren't made anymore.

Choosing a tower for the WakeWorld Malibu was a tough chore. The Blade was definitely the most eye-popping and unique tower I had ever seen, so I really wanted to find a reason to get that one. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anybody that owned one to get some feedback to help out in my decision. Despite the lack of info, I went ahead and got the Blade tower anyway.

As you you've probably seen from some of the pics we've run on the site, the Blade tower looks amazing! It is also a very sturdy tower and flowed well with all the accessories installed in it. Unfortunately, Malibu was having trouble getting enough of these towers to meet the flood of demand for them. Because their supplier was not keeping up, Malibu decided to stop offering the Blade tower.

Since Malibu didn't want us promoting a tower that they don't offer, they brought our Wakesetter in and swapped out the Blade tower for an Illusion X tower. The Illusion X is the other (now the only) forward-sweeping tower that Malibu offers. Although I have no experience Malibu's third tower option, the Titan III, I can give you a brief rundown on how the Blade and the Illusion X towers compare.

So far, I'm not missing the Blade all that much. The Blade is an amazing tower and I do hope that it makes another appearance at some point in the future, but it's main appeal is it's looks. It's got that sleek Batman styling with color options that just aren't available on other towers. However, once I got over missing the wow factor on the looks, I really started focusing on the advanatages of the Illusion X.

The coolest thing about the Illusion X tower is the way it folds. In order to make it incredibly easy, they've spring loaded the tower. What that means is that there is an internal cable and spring system attached to the folding upper piece of the tower. When the holding pins are removed from the tower for folding, it doesn't just drop with the weight of the tower. Since there is an addjustable spring-loaded system involved, the tower lowers softly as if it weighs next to nothing.

You can even adjust the spring tension depending on the weight of the components you have loaded onto the tower. The more it weighs, the more tension you want the springs to have in order to keep the weight from breaking your back when you're trying to lower it. My spring tension is currently set to where I can rest the tower on the folding passenger backrest cushion when it's in the up position. That cushion is pretty easy to push down, so you can imagine how light the tower is.

Another big advantage of the Illusion X is the number of aftermarket accessories available for it. There was very little available out there for the Blade and since the speakers were built into the tower, I was definitely limited there as well. With the Illusion X, you'll find that just about every rack, light and speakerbox manufacturer offers something for this tower. The variety makes it a lot more fun to customize your tower.

In the end, I'm glad I ended up with the Illusion X. It's still got a pretty unique look and the features make it a much easier tower to work with.

Wake Outlaws Review CFT Blade

Wake Outlaws Review by: Loc

Product Reviewed: 2006 Malibu Boats Carbon Fiber CFT Blade

Purchase Location: MN Inboard

Purchase Price: N/A

The CFT Blade was an exclusive tower from Malibu that was available on some 2005 models, and some 2006 models. Depending on your dates it was either an option or not. The tower itself is revolutionary in design, close to the Illusion and IllusionX - it's still like nothing else out there. It's distinct batwing look and integrated speakers offer a supreme focal point of your boat.

The biggest faults in the blade were it's exact selling point, the design. The racks (no options, single racks only) are very, very poor. You cannot add or upgrade to any other manufacturer. The racks lift off at an angle which houses a lip that slides over a bolted aluminum plate affixed on the blade. As expected this tears up the tower every time you mount or remove the racks. The speakers are integrated so you have one option 6x9 only. Lastly the tower loved to dance as even the smoothest of water caused the tower to swing 4-6 inches on each side.

Obviously Malibu has recognized the faults in the tower and apparently have separated from the company manufacturing them. Malibu under warranty has exchanged the tower for a comparable Titan III or Illusion X at no charge, we did have ours replaced. The rubber stripping peeled off the pinch points, see pic, and increased the risk of having a passenger injured. The dealer did not have replacement skins so a new tower was offered.

After it all I loved having the tower, it was extremely heavy but it grew on me. The speakers that came with it, Kicker KX series were surprisingly loud and clear. The tower always got a lot of looks and every picture is just awesome. In the end the functionality and support was missing. Bad racks, bad design, expansion limitations and a spotty vendor, the tower is put to rest.

If you are shopping a Malibu with a blade that is out of warranty I'd price a Titan III or Illusion, as you'll be upgrading sooner than later.

Link to comment

Geez,, didnt mean to stir up a hornets nest! Good info though. The one I saw a friends boat had extensive sun fading on top.

well, anyway, likely will look damn good on someones Bayliner this summer! (:

MY BOATS DONE!!! Hurrah! towing into boat show this morning!

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...