Hi all,

Well the Naish 10'6" Sup finally arrived yesterday, and what a sweet looking board. Very nicely profiled rails with a nice thin tail.

I had a quick paddle yesterday in some onshore wind about 10-15 knots and was very surprised how well the board kept it's speed even into the wind. Paddling speed was very good, I have been on the 11'6" for several month now and thought the 10'6" would be a lot slower than it was. Stability is also surprisingly good. I weight about 95 kg, and had no troubles manouvering and stationary balancing.

This morning I got a really session on the board in waist to shoulder surf. This board loves to carve! Very amazed at how tight an arc the board will carve and still keep speed. The difference between the 11'6" and 10'6" is amazing, the 10'6" nearly feels like a short board on a wave. Other short/small SUP's I have tried felt very slidey and stalled when turned on smaller waves, the 10'6" Naish seemed to engage the rail and drive at even the smallest amount of pressure. Board rode very fast and stable, and nose riding felt very sweet. Foot steering from the middle of the board is very easy, and you can actually do some quite radical turns from this position.

All up, I am very impressed with this board. I would probably say that it is a bit advanced for beginners over 80kg, but smaller riders may be able to use this board to learn on if they have good balance and co-ordination. Other riders over 80kg or absolute beginners, I suggest the 11'6" or a board of similar size. The 10'6" board will defenately suit riders wanting an advanced surfing board, or to get the best surfing performance out of a board.

A very impressive ride, best performance board I've ridden yet by far.

Regards

JB

Hope its good i'm getting sick off sharing the 11'6 with ang and looking for another one so i'll have to give it a go.
i,ve ridden quit a few 10 footers lately so will be good to see how it compares.

Paul

I too pulled out my new 10'6 on the weekend for the first time in the surf and was absolutely stoked with the performance of it. After surfing the Kalama and Naish 11'6 i was amazed at the manouverability of the board. It surfs like a 9' longboard once you are on the wave. It has the most amazing cutbacks.
I also use the board on the river for mid-week fitness and find it suitable enough for that too. I have a really good deck grip from supnoosa.net.au/ what adds an extra centimetre of height to keep your feet out of the water.

Overall a cracking board for a good price. Definently for someone who is after performance but an easy board to master.

Two Cons - Handle isn't balanced with the board but the board is pretty light to carry on your head.
The Naish paddle is pretty ordinary and not worth purchasing. bite the bullet and purchase a better carbon paddle.

Sandy

So is the 11'6 stiil fast through the turns on swell? Small waves?
Or does it need a good sucky breaking wave?
Im looking at the 11'6 and will be testing one this weekend but unfortunately they are only allowed on the river.
Ive read and re read the 11'6 review but really need some personally experiences.
All the pros and cons

To add more fuel to the fire, after a few sessions on the Naish 10'6, Naish 11'6 and the Kalama 11'6 i decided to trade my 10'6 for the kalama. Which means i now have a naish 11'6 and a Kalama 11'6. Sups needs friends..

The reason i swapped was that on a session on the weekend at SouthPort Spit, QLD, in onshore 4ft waves i found the naish 10'6 incredibly difficult to handle in wave positioning and general paddling. Catching waves wasn't overly easy either as the balance was a big issue. When i swapped iwth the Naish 11'6 everything just felt much more comfortable. I could balance, rest and power up and glide onto waves much easier. Ok, sure i couldn't do the radical cutbacks like the 10'6 however i just had a much better overall experience.

The same goes for today when i had a session with the www.standuppaddlesurf.com.au guys at Noosa. I swapped with the Kalama 11'6 and overall just had a much better time on the more stable platform. I just felt on the edge with the naish the whole time and it took from the experience a little. Therefore the Kalama came home with me... :)

So, my two bob, if you aren't hardcore into progressive surfing and just want a fitness and chill surfing board i would go for a Naish 11'6 or Kalama 11'6. If you aren't into windsurfing i would definently go the Kalama. Much better value and a better surfing board.

Greenroom,

No the Kalama is just a surfing SUP. Made by GSI. The Naish has more volume, speed, and the mast track for windsurfing. I find the Naish 11'6" can do some pretty impressive cut backs, a lot more aggressive than you would expect! But I haven't tried the Kalama yet so can't comment. But the Naish 11'6" out turns the Starboard 12'6" & 12'1", and the Jimmy Lewis 11' in my opinion. Get out for a demo, best way to decide. The naish 11'6" is just too much fun, the 10'6" rips but is substantually harder, and definately for the more advanced or lighter rider.

Regards.

JB

Just had an awesome session on the Naish 10'6" SUP out at Longy. Good size waves, about head high on the sets, nice long rides, super hollow inside section. One of the best sessions I've had SUP so far, that 10'6" carves like a demon! you can smack the lip hard and tight, and then drive out of it at full speed! Highly recommended for the performance inthusiest!

JB

Hi Mike,

The 10'6" sails really well, I am 95 kg, so I found the 11'6" easier to sail in the light stuff, but the 10'6" definately surfs better. I use a 4.7m because it is the lightest sail for the amount of power you get. 4.5's are not really all that much lighter but have significantly less power, were as a 5m, although has more power is significantly heavier than the 4.7m. For wave sailing in the light winds, you don't use the sail all that much so you want the sail light. when your standing on the tail doing your turns the sail will be weighing down the nose and working against you, so the lighter the better. So much fun! Sup rocks for giggles.

Regards,

JB