Dave Kalama Spotted surfing his new line of stand up boards

After his high profile split from one of the biggest stand up paddling companies around - Naish; Dave Kalama has been spotted surfing on his own branded shapes in Hawaii this week. 

When Dave Kalama split from Naish - the entire Stand up paddling community was rocked by the news. Nobody knew what was happening for days, until Dave himself came out of the woodwork and admitted he'd left the company on good terms, in order to develop his own brand of stand up paddling equipment. 

Many fans immediately jumped to support Dave in the move, while others condemned the split saying that it was another critical blow for the already stricken company. Naish had only just lost their only SUP shaper Harold Iggy weeks before, when he sadly passed away. Kalama was good friends with Iggy, and the death was said to have played a small part in his decision to leave the company. 

Back the new boards however - and it's hard to tell whether it's the boards, or the rider; but you could certainly say that there's something amazing about the surfing you'll see in the video below. Kalama takes stand up paddle surfing to another dimension with critical turns, tight carves and some great barrels. Fans commented on the boards after seeing them for the first time: 

"Kinda hard to believe how well it holds the bottom turn. One of the things it took me longest to recalibrate from prone to SUP is that in waves of any size (that’s overhead+ for me), I’ve really got to go easy off the bottom or I spin out. You, however, are slashing at it with no visible slippage. However you’re doing it — rails, fins, side-channels, a thinned-out tail? — it’s definitely working."

That's exciting news for those looking for that 'short board feeling' from their SUP boards. The range from Dave Kalama is set to be released for the US summer season this year - so stay tuned and talk to your local stand up paddling retailer to find out if they're coming to a shop near you.