Naish Hokua XC32 LE review

[Caribsurf]

Ok first let me preface this review by saying I would never pay $2,400 for a performance Surf Sup, which is the MSRP of the new Naish Hokua XC32 LE.   I special ordered it and Mark at Liquid Dreams in Ogunquit Maine gave me an amazing deal so with a trade of a couple of older obsolete SUPs it cost me $480.00  I can live with that.

My go to Surf SUP board is my 8'11" x 28" 118 liter Hobie Raw.  I love this board and can't say enough about it and I doubt if I'll ever find a board that surfs as well.  I am 6' and 182 lbs. advanced surfer SUPer

I was interested in the Hokua XC32 for choppier days when the balancing act of the Hobie Raw can get tiresome after a few hours.  This Hokua XC32 is 8'8" x 32" x 4 13/16 and 141 liters…I guess it's some kind of  limited edition SUP and hence the LE (at $2,400.00 I would say it is quite limited) 

When I first saw this board I thought, "uh'oh I made a mistake "  This board looked huge sitting there on the rack in the shop.  With the drawn in nose and tail and  32" wide it looked like a snake that ate a rat…
The second thing I noticed which alarmed me was a tiny "Made in China" sticker..I thought Naish were made at the Cobra factory in Thailand. 

It's very light and guessing 16 lbs although they say 19 on the Naish website but sure feels lighter than that and almost comparable to my 14 lb Hobie.  It has as a really comfortable and deep deck handle, easy to hold onto.  Has a great kick pad, comfortable deck pad and comes with a day bag which is nice.  The fins are marginal especially the plastic side bites and will be replaced eventually.  It has many fin options, tri, quad , twin ( I rode it as a thruster)

Although I have owned this board almost a month, I didn't ride it until this morning.  I guess I just love the Hobie Raw so much, I was afraid of  wasting a session on a different board.  This morning in York Beach, Maine the surf was 2-3 and very clean so I figured today is the day.

Stepped on the deck and paddled out.  VERY stable, with the drawn in nose it easily cuts through waves and white water, and the 32" width makes it incredibly stable.  You almost have to want to fall in to fall off.  It did feel bit slower than my Hobie paddling out, and I got caught by a few breaking waves which normally would have made through cleanly.  Again thanks to the wide board it wasn't that big a deal.  The most uncomfortable thing about this board was straddling it while talking to friends in the water it's that wide.

It was clean this morning but I know this board will be stable on choppy days, exactly why I bought it. 
Ok so how does it surf?

Pretty damn well.  I think Naish is onto something with this shape.  I can compare it to some other wide boards I have surfed, 8'10x32" Wide Point, 8'10" x 32" Allwave and 9' x 34" Hero and this board BLOWS them out of the water. NO comparison, this is a performance SUP with width and volume. This board really surfs well and hard cut backs, off the lips and general carving was smooth and felt natural.  Definitely not as fast down the line as my Hobie Raw nor did it have the glide, but it does all the other things really well.…..  I didn't measure the nose or tail but no question their narrowness allows this board to surf so well.  The nose rocker is very evident and the photo doesn't really show that.  I really never expected it to surf as well and radically as it does.  It surprised me for sure.  It catches waves reasonably well for an 8'8"  I see no reason why I couldn't sit out in the lineup with the longer SUPs and catch al the waves I want.

It won't be my everyday board, but on those choppy, messier , windy days when balancing is a chore, this board will be my SUP of choice…a few photos below...

[pguidry]

You mentioned your Hobie is faster.  Do you ride it as a quad or a tri?  Also, what fins do you have on the Hobie?

[Caribsurf]

 my Hobie has Jamie Mitchell SUP thruster tri fin set up

my Hobie is 8'11" by 28" wide so faster and better glide

[Sup-position]

That is the 2014 Model.
Very cool.

There is a limited number of 2015's available now.

Yup Pricey...

[Caribsurf]

not sure what year it is but how can you tell?    when I ordered it there was a 6 week waiting period as Naish was waiting for a container from overseas..so whatever the year, this was the latest model available.

[PDLSFR]

Board looks and sounds awesome.

The Naish website has a slightly different looking deckpad for this board:

http://www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-88-x-32-le/

[Sup-position]

Board looks and sounds awesome.

The Naish website has a slightly different looking deckpad for this board:

http://www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-88-x-32-le/

PDLSFR,

That one is the 2015

[PDLSFR]

Sup-position other than the deck pad where there any changes from the 2014 to the 2015 ?

[mdsurf]

I really do like this shape and nice to hear it surfs good and is stable.  I have seen these boards in a fine sup shop but the price tag choked me.  Hard to swallow for not being full carbon.  Is the 2015 full carbon?  Or just a strip spike the 2014.  I see they changed up the pad for 2015.

Carib,  does the rocker in the nose slow you with wind?  Does it help with late drops?  Does it feel durable?

[Caribsurf]

Carib,  does the rocker in the nose slow you with wind?  Does it help with late drops?  Does it feel durable?
[/quote]

hey MD, there was no wind to speak of this morning so I cannot comment on that, but I don't think it would be more of an issue than any of my other surf SUPs.       2-3 ft surf today so even if I had  a late drop it wasn't much of a drop but I imagine in more critical surf the nose rocker will help for sure.
It feels durable, but again that "Made in China" sticker worries me.   I know Naish windsurfers are rather fragile and not sure of their SUP reputation, but sometimes you have to sacrifice some things for the light weight

[Sup-position]

Sup-position other than the deck pad where there any changes from the 2014 to the 2015 ?

Only available in Carbon LE for 2014.

All of the Dimensions are the same for 2015.

Available is Carbon LE ($2599-$2999) and Wood GT ($2099-2199) for 2015.

[supthecreek]

Hey Carib... thanks for a great review!

Knowing how well you surf, makes it all the more interesting and useful.

Nice picts as well.... I love good board porn!

Keep that thing handy... I'm gonna want to test drive it this fall.

[Sup-position]

Hey Carib... thanks for a great review!

Knowing how well you surf, makes it all the more interesting and useful.

Nice picts as well.... I love good board porn!

Keep that thing handy... I'm gonna want to test drive it this fall.

Creek,

Looking forward to your review on this board..

[DavidJohn]

Great review.. Thanks.. I love mine.. It performs well even in smaller waves.

Mine feels noticeably faster since changing from the thruster to the quad.

These are a double sandwich and very durable compared to many other height priced performance light weight boards out there these days.

[mdsurf]

Thanks Carib and DJ for the response and info and video.

According to the info from the web site and Sup-Po it looks like I can get a full carbon for $3000 or a wood for $2200.  Still like the board.... 

Looks like 2014 was testing the waters with the Model and now Naish has decided to go full on with Carbon and wood models and added the 9.6 to the lineup.