Sam, This board seemed surprisingly stable for a 23" when I paddled it on the weekend. It really slid through the water. What a year for choice. Thanks for the demo ...and the use of your Ace in the race.

yep their all getting skinny.

we had bop training last saturday in some really rough onshore close period chop past the rocks at the alley.

except for the 'gun paddlers' most of us started seeing a guy on a 'old naish glide' get more in front as the session went on.


choose wisely, most races are held later in the day, not in morning glass

These things look unreal in the flesh. This one arrivred today, if you're on the Goldie drop in for a peek.

How's the new board go paddling upwind Sam? Reckon with it being light, thin and the nose shape it would go alright compared to other boards.

camo hosk said...
How's the new board go paddling upwind Sam? Reckon with it being light, thin and the nose shape it would go alright compared to other boards.

Hi Camo,
Cut out the video footage of heading in to the wind for the vid as it was a lot more boring than the downwind stuff. All in all though it seemed to go in to the breeze and chop well. On this day though I kind of thought my Ace may have done it better.
The bigger chop this day seemed to throw the Naish off line a little when the big Ace I thought have just stayed dry and smashed it's way through smoother.
Less chop and in to the wind the Naish seems very good and cut more cleanly than any board I've paddled.
Sam.

we want a DJ review..we want a DJ review!

Apart from the obvious colour, construction and cost, what is the difference between this LE Javelin and say the 2010 white Javelin. Is it a new design, tweaked or just a re-make?

It heard it has DNA from the 2012 Glide and the original Javelin mixed into a very narrow 23 3/8 shape which is supposed to excel in both flat and downwind.

Very keen to hear what would be the upper rider weight limit. They say 85kg - have any heavier riders been able ride it?

Also keen to see if this board will be competitive against dedicated downwind and flatwater boards. Fanatic is going the same route with a "hybrid" one-does-all shape.

Starboard seem to be sticking with dedicated boards with perhaps the All Star being the "hybrid".

Kai Lenny's been quick on this thing - imagine what damage the 18' could do - even on a flat course?

It will be at least another month before we see the 14's here in SA........

I have read what I can online...here, SUZ, Naish site, and google.

What is so different about the LE from the MC OTHER THAN width,volume,fragility and price?

Do they have different rockers?

Is the LE way lighter?

Can anyone compare these to the Falcon or the 2013 Starboards?...which you would go with and why.

Thanks!!

I've only had a cursory look over this puppy, but I have to say that it looks to have been designed by a bunch of scientists in lab coats - whereas everything else from Naish could have been hand shaped by a craftsman in a beach shack.

This is not a negative !

It's just that this thing looks extremely technical - right down to the perculiar nose. Wish they made one for fat fellas like me

PeterP said...
The LE rocker is different to the Jav - LE has more lift in nose which allows it to go downwind in stronger winds than the Jav.

Weight is similar to MC but because it is not hollow-core it will be more fragile. (Hollow means less foam more glass/carbon ie stronger at same weight)

Rails are harder in tail on LE - helps with stability and release on runners.

Our pricing will have LE at a little less than MC.

Thanks Peter.

From the sounds of it the MC would be a better choice in flatwater paddling even though it is wider and the LE is geared more to downwinding.

Would this be correct?

PTWoody said...


Haven't paddled them in a head-to-head test but I don't think this is right. I suspect the LE is faster in flat water, chop, downwind and whitewater. The only time the MC would be as quick as the LE is falling off a truck.

LOL!! Ok, so the LE is a faster board all around.

How about stability?

Is the LE way more tippy? A little?

I know it's hard to quantify but for a light rider around 75kg the LE seems to make more sense having lower volume but, I'm curious if you need to have the balance of a tight rope walker to paddle it.

Hope to see them around here to be able to demo.

Anyone who has paddled both feel free to chime in.

Still interested if anyone compare these to the Falcon or the 2013 Starboards?...which you would go with and why.

The LE is a lot more stable the width let's on. A subtle single concave on the bottom running from about 80cm from the tail through to about 1.3m from the nose gives the board a very solid footing on the water. The much harder release in the tail of the board, the very full rails and now standard Naish subtle deck recess and you have something you can stand on.

Compared to the MC at rest I think stability is about the same but once moving and particularly once downwinding the stability and ease of use is higher. Just step back a little and she's fast and relatively easy to manage.

On the flats she feels faster the MC. No solid testing yet so nothing conclusive but with a GPS on doing a run each way I got numbers that I don't think I could have got with the MC or wider JAV.

Don't get me wrong, this board like the skinny Ace won't be everyone's cup of tea but if you get a chance to paddle it, do it as it'll probably surprise you.

Sam.

WINDSURFnSNOW said...


Don't get me wrong, this board like the skinny Ace won't be everyone's cup of tea but if you get a chance to paddle it, do it as it'll probably surprise you.

Possibly the most accurate description I can find, well up until "it'll probably........." getting wet wont surprise me, even on the calmest day on narrabeen lake!

Surf4fun - I'm 85kg and ride the MC/Jav. We have lighter guys riding it as well 65kg, 70-75kg, you are never too light for the board, you just have to move forward until the nose just engages. If the water starts going over the nose you are too far forward.

Wrt the boards going too narrow - I'd also caution against the trend to some degree as what we're experiencing is the need to go narrower increasingly favours smaller riders to a point where the competition scene is at danger of becoming a teenage-feast.

Case in point is last weekends Stand Up World Series in Hawaii - not sure if anyone over the age of 20 made the top 10? BOP, I think, had 6 teenagers in top 10 and it's only going to get worse as more kids get into the sport.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the kids competing, its great for the sport, but if their 20th birthday means their careers are over (like gymnasts) then it's too specialised.

The solution is a couple of quite simple rules - minimum width and minimum 14ft.