Naish Glide 14' vs NSP Touring 14'

[jegt]

I have a choice between buying a Naish Glide 14 AST (2010 model) or one of the new NSP touring 14' flatwater boards. The price in this instance is about the same.

I'm going to do mostly flatwater paddling with possibly some chop but would like to be able to do some downwind too.  I will not be in the open ocean, it will be relatively protected waters, wind but no big swells.

I have found very little info about the NSP board, almost no pictures.  Does anyone know where I can find more info or have an opinion on which board I should choose? Unfortunately I will not be able to try any of the board before I buy. These are also the only two boards available to me so I'm not interested in other alternatives right now.

[DavidJohn]

Come on!!.. The choice should be easy.... Not that there's anything wrong with NSP's.. 

DJ

[jegt]

Come on!!.. The choice should be easy.... Not that there's anything wrong with NSP's.. 

What I'm mainly concerned with when it comes to the glide is pure flatwater speed.  No doubt it's one of the best downwind boards out there but isn't that big rocker going to impact flatwater speed? The NSP seems to be more of a flatwater board to me.

Is the glide going to be as fast as the NSP on flat water?

[DavidJohn]

The 14' Glide is a great flat water paddler.. and I've used mine for many flat water adventures.. http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=5880.0 .. IMO it's a classic board.

That nose rocker on the 14' Glide has more advantages than disadvantages compared to a displacement nose board in fact the only disadvantage that I can think of is a very small loss of top speed when paddling in glassy conditions (compared to some cutter type nosed race boards) but it's still a pretty quick board.. and IMO it's not just about top speed.

I'll try and demo the new 14' NSP for you and take some pics.. I was told that it's available here any day now.

DJ

[XLR8]

DJ you are making me stoked to pick up my lightly-used Glide waiting for me in Wilmington, NC, in a couple of weeks.

[gorgebob]

The Naish Glide 14 for a lighter person pushes a bit  due to the extreme rocker in flat water.
The water line is more like 12' for me at 160 with the nose just sticking up sniffing the wind. Off the wind in swell its a different board. It slips right into the swell catching everything and cruises. Haven't heard any news about the NSP 14, or the 12 for that matter.

[Pureadrenalin]

Hands down for the money the Naish is the best production SUB money can buy. All I can say it's a proven time testesed design that works time and time again. If you are lighter step to the front of the board it's like switching gears not a real big problem. The Naish is so user friendly and bullet proof it's not funny. Iggyy knows his stuff and we never question it.

[1paddle2paddle]

In my opinion the Naish Glide 14 is a fantastic downwind board.  But the design characteristics which make it great for downwind reduce its flatwater performance.

As gorgebob noted, its significant nose rocker reduces the length of its waterline, and the nose does not cut through chop coming at you (or side on) at all - you have to paddle over the top of each piece of chop.

If flatwater and tiny chop is what you are going to be paddling primarily, I think there are better flatwater boards than the Naish Glide 14.  I know nothing about the NSP, so I can't make that comparison, but if I were only doing flatwater paddling I would try to get a displacement shape as narrow as I could handle.  As DJ noted speed isn't everything, but for me it is important!

[Takeo]

I agree that the Naish 14 is a pretty decent downwind board, very fun to paddle.  It aint the greatest in very strong side winds though, that rocker and thick profile gets blown around and a lower profile board..or one with a rudder would fare better. 

For flatwater, I'd get a board designed for that, one with a lower rocker, and a true displacement or paddleboard type nose. 

[jegt]

I'll try and demo the new 14' NSP for you and take some pics.. I was told that it's available here any day now.

That would be great! There is so very little information available for this board.

[jegt]

I'm about 185 pounds.

I have been looking at a lot of pictures of the glide and where you stand on the board seems to make a big difference. On the pictures where the rocker looks smaller the people are all standing pretty far forward, forward of the handle.

[DavidJohn]

I'll try and demo the new 14' NSP for you and take some pics.. I was told that it's available here any day now.

That would be great! There is so very little information available for this board.

I can get my hands on the new 12'6" next week to demo but the new 14 wont be available here till next month... btw.. They have both of them up at Noosa right now so I hope to get some pics and feedback from friends up there for the big Noosa comp this w/e.

DJ

[jegt]

Any news on the new NSP boards?  I found a picture of them at least.

[rkdjones]

I went to the NSP website but was disappointed with the lacke of detail.  It would be nice if NSP would provide some specs (weight, volume) on their flatwater boards and a side-on picture to show the rocker.

[jegt]

There are side on pictures here:  http://www.globalsurfindustries.com/surfboards/nsp_sup_distance.php

Almost no rocker as far as I can see.