Any open ocean board will paddle flat water pretty well.. but not every flat water board will handle the open ocean (unless it's very calm) or do serious down-winders.

My vote goes for the 14' Glide and with the AST version being only about $1800 it is a bargain price IMO.

I've never tryed a C4 Vortice or Starboard Point but I'm sure they'd also be very good but both are much more expensive than the Naish and not nessessary any better.

The new Surftech 14' Bark is another option but I don't think it comes close to the 14' Naish as a down-wind board.

DJ

akhawk

checkout DJ's thread on the two boards it has some nice pics that show the 2 boards and it is eazy to see the difference

akhawk said...

Cheers DJ, thats what I was after
Is there much Difference in the design and intended purpose with the 12' and 14' glides? Are they both open ocean boards?

AKhawk

In my experience in WA unless you are doing Rottnest to mainland open ocean downwinders the 12 foot boards are the go. Not much other options/routes for the big open ocean swell riding given our geography and prevailing conditions.

So your only real option is river/bay downwinders which is a totally different beast to the OC stuff. Bumps much smaller and closer together. A 14 footer would be unsuitable in these conditions.

My vote is the 12 glide (have not ridden but heard good things) or 12'6 pin (have ridden and love).

The 14' glide is definately more of an open ocean board that the 12'. It picks up runners much more easily, the increased rocker allows it to cut through chop more easily and the narrower width allows it to get greater speed.

In flat water, this difference is less noticeable, however i feel that the 14' is definately faster than the 12' in the flat as well (mainly because its a couple of inches narrower). The extra width in the 12' board however makes it very stable and a good all around board.

If you are wanting to get into downwind/ocean racing, i'd recommend the 14' for sure, but if you're wanting to mainly flatwater paddle with the occasional recreational downwind paddle, the 12' might be more suitable. (If you wanted a pure flatwater racer then a custom board for this purpose might be the go).

I know you're not so interested in the surfing side, but for the benefit of others, if you're considering using these boards for surfing as well, I found the 12' glide fun in small waves (too small for my shortboard SUP) or in big fat waves when i couldn't get up enough speed on my shorter board to catch them, but I probably wouldn't consider taking my 14' out for a surf at all!!! Obviously neither board are ideal for surfing as its not what they're designed for and if you want a surfing all-rounder you're probably better off looking at something else or getting a 2+ board quiver.

Cheers & hope this helps,

Ali

DavidJohn said...

Any open ocean board will paddle flat water pretty well.. but not every flat water board will handle the open ocean (unless it's very calm) or do serious down-winders.

My vote goes for the 14' Glide and with the AST version being only about $1800 it is a bargain price IMO.

I've never tryed a C4 Vortice or Starboard Point but I'm sure they'd also be very good but both are much more expensive than the Naish and not nessessary any better.

The new Surftech 14' Bark is another option but I don't think it comes close to the 14' Naish as a down-wind board.

DJ

i have paddled it in flatwater, but you only have to look at it and see the ocean is it's field of play.