Demo'ing the 2012 9'5" Hokua.

[DavidJohn]

Yesterday I checked out the new 9'5" Hokua at my local SUP shop and they said that it's a demo board if I wanted to take it for a spin.. My friend was their with me and he wanted to demo the 9'6" Coreban so we took both boards so we could compare them at Big Left the next day (today).

It was cold a crappy weather today at Big Left.. We were there at dawn and there were only small waves.. JC joined us on his little Starboard Pod'thingie and I think his paddle was longer that the board.. I had an ice cream headache after a couple of hours from falling in so much but it was still great fun.. (it's the middle of Winter here now).. Here's a short vid from today.. and some pics that I took yesterday of the new 9'5".. Both boards were great.. JC's little pumpkin seed board was amazing and way too small for me.

DJ

[newton333]

nice your review and pics are always top notch good job...

[Reid SUP'd]

the tail on the new hokua seems a bit wider than last years models, closer to a mana, is this accurate dave?

[DavidJohn]

the tail on the new hokua seems a bit wider than last years models, closer to a mana, is this accurate dave?

It looks wider in the pics and maybe it is but sometimes it's the camera lens.. It is a very different board to the old 9'6" .. It's also very different to the Mana.

I like the new tail shape much better than the old deep swallow tail and the deck shape and grip is also much better.. Plus the new handle is a bonus.

I felt faster than the 9'5" Mana and seemed to accellerate once tipped on a rail.

DJ

[DavidJohn]

what was the coreban like? weight, volume, ride  length?

I'm a big fan of the Coreban boards but to be honest I liked the Naish slightly more but it's a personal thing.. The Coreban had more of a long board feel to me (btw it's 9'6") and felt more corky.. I liked the Naish grip more but the biggest thing that makes me choose the Naish is the deck shape.. It's flat .. The Coreban's more domed deck felt a bit awkward to me but I'm sure you would get used to it.. We didn't have good enough waves to really test their surfing performance but they were both stable and about the same weight.. and oh yeah.. the Naish had their great new handle.

DJ

[tautologies]

 

Drooooool!!!!

Is there any change on the 9'0'' Hokua compared to last years?

[DavidJohn]

Drooooool!!!!

Is there any change on the 9'0'' Hokua compared to last years?

Yes.. The graphics.. 

DJ

[Nemo]

the tail on the new hokua seems a bit wider than last years models, closer to a mana, is this accurate dave?

It looks wider in the pics and maybe it is but sometimes it's the camera lens.. It is a very different board to the old 9'6" .. It's also very different to the Mana.

I like the new tail shape much better than the old deep swallow tail and the deck shape and grip is also much better.. Plus the new handle is a bonus.

I felt faster than the 9'5" Mana and seemed to accellerate once tipped on a rail.

DJ

How does it differ? is it closer to the hokua 9'0 I have i 9'6 and are planning to by a 9'0 or the new 9'5

[DavidJohn]

the tail on the new hokua seems a bit wider than last years models, closer to a mana, is this accurate dave?

It looks wider in the pics and maybe it is but sometimes it's the camera lens.. It is a very different board to the old 9'6" .. It's also very different to the Mana.

I like the new tail shape much better than the old deep swallow tail and the deck shape and grip is also much better.. Plus the new handle is a bonus.

I felt faster than the 9'5" Mana and seemed to accellerate once tipped on a rail.

DJ

How does it differ? is it closer to the hokua 9'0 I have i 9'6 and are planning to by a 9'0 or the new 9'5

I have the new 9.0 Hokua and found the new 9.5 Hokua only slightly more stable.. It also seemed to turn quicker and I think that's the chunkier fliers making the board want to turn more the the subtle fliers on the 9.0.. The 9.0 nose seems a bit pointier and feels noticeably smaller.. The new 9.5 feels slightly bigger than the old 9.6 .. You should demo the new 9.0 and 9.5 before you buy.. I think I'll be keeping my 9.0 even though I struggle a bit on it.. I have my 10 Mana for when it's choppy.

DJ

[Nemo]

thanks DJ I'll try to, try before I by, have you surfed the 9'5 in both quad and truster setup. I have a Nalu 11'4 for shoppy waters and use the hokua 9'6 in quad setup when its in between and i trfin setup the few times here in scandinavia when its glossy. I want to force my self down i size I feel comfteble on the 9'6 in almost every conditions so maybe its time to scale down.

[tautologies]

thanks DJ I'll try to, try before I by, have you surfed the 9'5 in both quad and truster setup. I have a Nalu 11'4 for shoppy waters and use the hokua 9'6 in quad setup when its in between and i trfin setup the few times here in scandinavia when its glossy. I want to force my self down i size I feel comfteble on the 9'6 in almost every conditions so maybe its time to scale down.

Moving from the 9'6'' to the 9'0'' was not a problem....and a good decision for me.

DJ: Did it feel like you paddle into sloppy waves with the 9'5''? Was the paddleability very different from the 9'0''?

[Nemo]

the tail on the new hokua seems a bit wider than last years models, closer to a mana, is this accurate dave?

It looks wider in the pics and maybe it is but sometimes it's the camera lens.. It is a very different board to the old 9'6" .. It's also very different to the Mana.

I like the new tail shape much better than the old deep swallow tail and the deck shape and grip is also much better.. Plus the new handle is a bonus.

I felt faster than the 9'5" Mana and seemed to accellerate once tipped on a rail.

DJ

How does it differ? is it closer to the hokua 9'0 I have i 9'6 and are planning to by a 9'0 or the new 9'5

I have the new 9.0 Hokua and found the new 9.5 Hokua only slightly more stable.. It also seemed to turn quicker and I think that's the chunkier fliers making the board want to turn more the the subtle fliers on the 9.0.. The 9.0 nose seems a bit pointier and feels noticeably smaller.. The new 9.5 feels slightly bigger than the old 9.6 .. You should demo the new 9.0 and 9.5 before you buy.. I think I'll be keeping my 9.0 even though I struggle a bit on it.. I have my 10 Mana for when it's choppy.

DJ

If you compare the new hokua with Mana 9'0 then? I think maybe 125 l (hokua 9'0) is to small it's alway choppy onshore crappy conditions here in sweden...the old hokua 9'6 has never felt to big at home in Sweden. there is no place to demo the boards around

[250SUP]

David John,

Have any of the Naish inflatables arrived down you way yet?

Interested in adding one to the quiver as a travel board and would be interested in you opinion of them if you get a chance to demo one.

[DavidJohn]

David John,

Have any of the Naish inflatables arrived down you way yet?

Interested in adding one to the quiver as a travel board and would be interested in you opinion of them if you get a chance to demo one.

I'm also keen to check them out.. Some of the new 2012 range is here.. The new 14' Glides just arrived and should be in the shops anyday now.. Maybe the new inflatables will come in with them.

DJ

[250SUP]

Nice....interested in seeing how the 6" compares to the 4".  They make bombproof kiting gear, so it only seems logical that this will transition to their inflatable SUPs as well.