Naish 2009 Board and Paddle Lineup

The folks at Naish have been very busy, and there’s some very interesting new toys as a result. We’re posting the boards and paddles individually to the review section, but we’ll show them off as a complete line here.

Considering that the Naish lineup consisted of finish variations on two boards last year (the 11’6″ and the 10’6″) this is a substantial expansion.

First up is this wicked touring board, the 12.0 Glide. It’s a flat lake cruiser or a fine race board in the stock classes. It’s light, fast, and fine for small waves though it’s designed as a flatwater point-to-point board.

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Next is this gun–a big wave charger. Aimed at the strong intermediate or expert, it’s a big, powerful board with enough shoulders to suit big guys to 220#. The pintail design should make it swoopy and loose–fun in the smaller stuff, capable in big waves.

Then there’s the venerable 11’6″. available in epoxy/wood or in this new AST form with a EVA deck. Should be a very robust board for anyone that wants to share with family and friends, or for rental fleets. The wood board is prettier, but a little more fragile.

New for 2009 is the 11’4″ which might seem like an odd addition since it’s only a pretty small increment shorter, and a quarter inch wider than the 11’6″. But it’s also an inch thinner, which should make it a more responsive board. the tail is a little more tucked. This should be a much surfier board than the 11’6″ but still stable enough for beginners. Seems like a progressive refinement that might eventually replace the 11’6″.

The 10’6″ was new last year, it’s a good carver, and an excellent first board for smaller people (under 175 pounds) or a good surf board for intermediate/experts to 220#.

The new 9’6″ looks like a real performer, with a quad fin setup and a batwing fish tail. It’s positioned as a shortboard style SUP. With it’s extra width and thickness it should accommodate a range of aggressive intermediate and expert surfers.

And finally the smallest board in the lineup, a 9’3 with a rounded squashtail and pulled nose and tail provides extreme maneuverability. This looks like a standard shortboard shape translated into nine feet of SUP. It should be a great ride for the highly experienced surfer.

Along with a new carbon paddle and a revised version of their popular alloy-shaft paddle Naish looks like a very serious contender in the growing SUP marketplace. I think they’re here to stay.