Naish Hokua XC32 LE review

[SUPJorge]

Carib, thanks for the great review..

I'm 5'10" 190 and an intermediate in Miami, which means that I mostly surf wind-driven mushy choppy waves up and down the Fla coast with the occasional swell from the sideswipe of a tropical storm, so I opted for the 9.1.  It handles these local conditions very well.

DJ, I've been thinking of switching from the thruster to the quad. Am I right that that should loosen up the back end and give me some speed but potentially at the cost of hold (drive?) on a hard bottom turn (not many of those to worry about here)?

[Caribsurf]

Creek when you come up later in Sept for the Grain party you can try it out.

went back out for an afternoon session but took the Hobie RAW  this time in 3-4 and clean...

DJ a couple other people suggested I set it up as a Quad and will have to try it out.  Unfortunately the fins are FCS so will have to invest in those..  I have tons of Futures

[Sup-position]

Should come with the Stock Quads too...

[Caribsurf]

SUPJorge according to Naish, this board surfs best in choppier conditions.  I have a home in Delray Beach and face many days of sloppy wind chop surf and one reason I bought this board.  All too familiar with the sloppy musy Florida surf and for those conditions I think this board would be ideal.  Comes in different sizes too so you can go shorter or longer

[SUPJorge]

Carib,

I'm an intermediate surfer who just got back from Costa Rica where I surfed a rented 9.0 Mactavish and an 8.0 Chelu. I know now I can surf a decent wave when I find it.

I've had the 9.1 XC32LE for a while now, surfed it from SoBe to Cocoa Beach and all points in between in as broad a range of conditions as these spots will offer. Have had a few good, clean days at Juno, Jensen, and Cocoa but if I want to get in a couple of hours before or after work I have to make do with Miami mush (which explains the 9.1).

So far the board works great for my needs. I'm thinking about switching from thruster to quads but don't know what I can expect to gain/lose. I'm thinking that in Florida waves I can afford to lose "hold" (drive?). The bottom turns are mild around here and I can't imagine the tail sliding out. It's also be nice to gain some speed and maneuverability. Am I thinking about this correctly?

Anyway, hit me up next you're in Delray and there's a swell in the water.

SJ

[Board Stiff]

Nice review, Carib!

If you don't mind me asking, how much do you weigh? I surf similar waves up here on the seacoast (last night at Jenness was great!) and am interested in what size boards others are using relative to their own size. I'm 5'8" 165, and currently ride an 8'11" Allwave or an 11' Oxbow cruiser.

[Caribsurf]

hey Board Stiff, I weigh about 185…(178 after Cape Cod Bay Challenge last week)  I could go much smaller on the Hokua XC32, but wouldn't want to lose what glide it has, so I settled on the 8'8"

ya last night's session was great 3-4 and clean up at Libby's (York Beach)
I surfed my 8'11" Hobie Raw as conditions were perfect for it.

[jondrums]

I have the same board.  I really love how well it surfs, and the step up in stability is really noticeable.  I agree that it is quite slow to paddle and I don't always get over the wave I know I can get over with other boards. 

I disagree that you can sit out in the SUP line-up.  In my experience, this thing wants to catch waves at the last moment like a true shortboard.  It is truly effortless to  take off late, almost no paddling - just a slight shift forward with my feet and I'm off down the wave.  On the other hand, if I'm trying to catch it early, I have to really work at it.  The downside of this is that the cleanup sets will often get me cause I'm hanging out inside with the shortboarders but I can't duckdive like them.

This is a great board, and I wish I had gone smaller now.  I'm #205 6'2" and I have no problem staying completely dry even on choppy days.

[Caribsurf]

Jondrums do you have the 8'8" and what fin set up do you have?   What were you riding before?

I admit I had to paddle harder than on my Hobie Raw, but no problem getting into waves early on for me and I was hanging with other SUPs.  I'm about 180 so maybe that helps.  I also paddle a ton of long distance to keep in paddling shape.

I can't wait to test it in sizable surf and try those late take offs. Maybe the next few days with the swells from hurricane Cristobal....

[jondrums]

I've tried the lopez quads, but settled on the stock side bites with a bit smaller than stock center fin.  What makes you say the stock sidebites are crap?  I don't ride enough fin setups to know how to judge them.

The board has a lot of rocker, so it does seem to plow water instead of glide for me.  Might be my weight in comparison to you.

I only really spent a lot of time on one other board before this - an older starboard 8'10 x 29 pro.

[APPST_Paddle]

Bringing back this topic, just wondering if anyone has had further experience with this board in a quad setup, and if so, what fins? I'm thinking of switching up to see how it performs.

[Zooport]

Bringing back this topic, just wondering if anyone has had further experience with this board in a quad setup, and if so, what fins? I'm thinking of switching up to see how it performs.

What are you hoping to achieve by switching fins?  Are you wanting to improve the way it turns? 

[surfercook]

has anyone had further experience with this board in a quad setup, and if so, what fins? I'm thinking of switching up to see how it performs.

I don't own a Hokua32, although it's def a board I've eyed up since it's release, but ALL my sups are quads. LOVE em! I like how quads make boards looser and give them drive throughout turns. The side slipiness can take some getting used to though and surprises me sometimes when I actually pull off a good one! I'm not dialed into the specifics of fin design but I like putting good fins on to replace the lame @ss plastics some boards come with.

[APPST_Paddle]

has anyone had further experience with this board in a quad setup, and if so, what fins? I'm thinking of switching up to see how it performs.

I don't own a Hokua32, although it's def a board I've eyed up since it's release, but ALL my sups are quads. LOVE em! I like how quads make boards looser and give them drive throughout turns. The side slipiness can take some getting used to though and surprises me sometimes when I actually pull off a good one! I'm not dialed into the specifics of fin design but I like putting good fins on to replace the lame @ss plastics some boards come with.

Yeah, basically just want to see the difference on a SUP, all SUP's I've had have been thrusters or single fin. I've ridden a quad kiteboarding, but that's not a great comparison. Looking to see the difference in grip, speed, and turning all-around.