10'6 Naish Alana (Nalu) Video Review

[supthecreek]

The Alana is the same exact board as the 10'6 Nalu GS... just a different color scheme. I like the blue girly board... yellow is soooo yesterday

This design has been around for a long time, so I hadn't thought about doing a review.
One day I realized that I have never seen one in my area... or on road trips down the East Coast.... and not much chatter on the Zone either.

Seems like every SUPster in Australia has one in their quiver, so I thought.... what the hey... do a little "reminder" vid.

It's easy to overlook the longer boards in the current frenzy to go short, skinny and zero volume.

Big boards are fun

I left out a lot of specs cuz this model is the biggest selling model in the Naish line (just not around here )..... the specs are available everywhere.

On with the show....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39p16QOfFFs

[KiwiSupGreg]

Thanks man, great vid


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[standuped]

8:02 Boo Jaahh !!!

[SUPJorge]

Creek,

Thanks for the video. In addition to info on the board, as someone fairly new to this, I enjoy watching the vid for tips and insights on happens once on the wave.

   

[linter]

creek: what a great video.  love all the talking.  and the riding was pretty spectacular too.  some great angles and points of view.  you are really good at this stuff!

[BigSlaveDave]

Nice Vid,man.  I want one of those!

[surfafrica]

Love your reviews creek!

How does the Alana compare to your old 10'6" Hobie CMLB Raw?

[supthecreek]

Thanks for the nice comments 

It is easy to do a review of a product that I really like... they provide so much joy to me, that I like to share what I learn, especially if it is off the radar, or new.

My other SUPs kept me so happy, that I wasn't looking for a longboard SUP at the time, but I saw a great deal on one and jumped at it. The local dealer wouldn't take my 3 month old mana in trade... the next day, a friend bought it for his wife, so I asked to try it and was blown away... I ran right past my local shop, to New Hampshire and bought mine by noon the next day 

Now... how does it compare to the 10'6 Hobie RAW?
It's 10 lbs heavier... but turns much easier.
It noserides better because it is slower and stays in the pocket better, the RAW was very fast, so noserides were just a quick trip up and back.
The RAW seemed to be a great board...light, fast and super fast off the paddle... it caught waves with very minimal effort. Everything seemed in place, but the tail rocker just didn't let it perform the way I wanted.... I liked it, but traded it in the water during a session, for the 8'11 RAW that I absolutely loved.

One wave on the Alana and I knew I had found a keeper. It will surf with old school grace, if I can just dial myself back a bit.... and at the same time, it is easy off the top and solid off the bottom, so it can be ridden as hard as a much shorter board.

Thanks linter my friend... coming from you, that means a lot! I hope SoCal is treating you well, and your water time out there, is as good it was for me. I had some great winters in that zip code 

[surfafrica]

Now... how does it compare to the 10'6 Hobie RAW? It's 10 lbs heavier... but turns much easier. It noserides better because it is slower and stays in the pocket better, the RAW was very fast, so noserides were just a quick trip up and back. The RAW seemed to be a great board...light, fast and super fast off the paddle... it caught waves with very minimal effort. Everything seemed in place, but the tail rocker just didn't let it perform the way I wanted....

I always struggled with weight and longboards when I was proning.  I always *thought* I wanted the lightest board possible, but end up liking the ones with a bit weight to them.

Moving to stand up this year has been a whole new world of discovery for me when it comes to gear. I love the lightness of my SIMSUP so far (as I did with my smaller surfboards), but wonder if I'll appreciate a little more weight when it comes to a bigger board.  As I look for a second board to round my quiver, I find myself gravitating towards my old patterns of eyeing lighter boards (including the CMLB Raw).  This review reminded me to keep an open mind (and to remember to be patient and make sure to demo demo demo).

One wave on the Alana and I knew I had found a keeper.

Best...feeling...ever!

I liked it, but traded it in the water during a session, for the 8'11 RAW that I absolutely loved.

Do you take your Raw out much, or do you find yourself going with the Prowave most of the time?  From what I've seen in your reviews and comments, that Prowave seems to a pretty good balance between stability and maneuverability (the holy grail we all seek).

I'm really looking forward to hearing your take on that new 8'5" Allwave LTD (when you get your hands on it) compared to your Prowave and older HRS Allwave.

[supthecreek]

Africa...

The weight didn't make the Alana good....and "light" didn't make the RAW better. It's all in the shape... The 10'6 RAW needed more tail curve. The rocker was good by numbers, but the lift started more towards the middle of the board and the tail appeared to be cantilevered. If the rocker was more like the !0'6 Nalu, I would have liked it better. I think it's the same reason that I was disappointed with the 9'4 RAW.... both RAWs seemed fantastic for a while, but never matched the performance of my 8'11 RAW or the Alana.

note : if the Alana was 10 lbs lighter... I wouldn't be upset.... I think it would be pretty danged sweet

About my 8'11 RAW.... I could only ride it in summer... and this summer I was so stoked to have a good longboard again, that I rode the Alan exclusively from August through September. Wetsuit time was upon us and I decided it was a waste to have a board I only rode a few weeks a year, so I ordered the all new 8'5 Allwave in carbon. Smaller than the RAW, but probably not quite as light. Only 3/4" wider than the RAW, but I am betting that it will be MUCH more stable than the RAW... I expect to be able to surf the Allwave all winter in the right conditions.... we'll see  This summer I demoed a bunch of 8'5's to 8'8 within 8 liters of the Allwave.... they were all easy compared to the RAW.... so I sold a board I loved to get one I could love year round.

I am still very happy with my 9'6 Prowave in all conditions... it would be ok, if it was the only board I owned.
I am just looking for a bit more shortboard magic for the really clean, performance waves, so I am replacing the 8'11 RAW with the new Allwave .  if it doesn't hold water, I may go to a 9'3 Prowave... but that would be getting very iffy... 23 liter jump down from my 9'6; The other option would be to get a 9'6 Prowave LTD.. up the performance a bit... keep the stability.

[surfafrica]

 

The weight didn't make the Alana good....and "light" didn't make the RAW better. It's all in the shape... The 10'6 RAW needed more tail curve. The rocker was good by numbers, but the lift started more towards the middle of the board and the tail appeared to be cantilevered. If the rocker was more like the !0'6 Nalu, I would have liked it better. I think it's the same reason that I was disappointed with the 9'4 RAW.... both RAWs seemed fantastic for a while, but never matched the performance of my 8'11 RAW or the Alana. note : if the Alana was 10 lbs lighter... I wouldn't be upset.... I think it would be pretty danged sweet

I did use to find that a bit of weight in my longboards added a certain feel that I couldn't get with the lighter longboards.  But I hear you about rocker.  With the size of SUPs, they might all have enough weight behind them where even the lightest are heavy enough (if that makes sense).  Man, I'm just hoping I don't have to cycle through a lot of SUPs to find "the one" (like I did with my surfboards before I found my ultimate two-board quiver).  demo demo demo

I am still very happy with my 9'6 Prowave in all conditions... it would be ok, if it was the only board I owned. I am just looking for a bit more shortboard magic for the really clean, performance waves, so I am replacing the 8'11 RAW with the new Allwave .  if it doesn't hold water, I may go to a 9'3 Prowave... but that would be getting very iffy... 23 liter jump down from my 9'6; The other option would be to get a 9'6 Prowave LTD.. up the performance a bit... keep the stability.

I'm a custom junkie, but my buddy is looking at either a 9'2" Prowave or an 8'5" Allwave for the summer or next fall, so I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion on that new Allwave.

[coldsup]

STC .....was I right in hearing you say that you get in earlier on your Prowave than the Nalu and it is a slo board to paddle? Interesting.

[coldsup]

STC - ignore above - you've answered the question 

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

Creek, I really enjoyed that video. I almost didn't care what you were saying. The back and forth on the waves was almost hypnotic.

Damn this winter's been rough.

[supthecreek]

Icky, I'm glad you enjoyed the video, I have a blast on that board.

ha ha, I talk to viewers while shooting for reviews... too much? I hear that sometimes