New Naish 7'10" LE

[Fanman]

It's been a while since I oderd a production board, but I am excited to give this one a go! I think it will work well in East Coast beach break conditions for me. I've been riding similar size for a while with a few less Ltrs and a bit narrower. I'm hoping to be able to ride this on most days including back wash, side wash and chop. I've been using a 8'4" x 31" custom for those conditions and my smaller board stays on the side line until it cleans up. At 121 Ltrs it has plenty of float!
I am 55' 170 lbs on my 4th year SUPing and surfing Prone since I was a tad pole.
The 2014 models are on sale and got a great deal from my local shop, plus they come with a nice bag, so all and all it is close to the price of a top of the line custom! Hopefully it wil perform and work out just right?
I will keep you posted!

[Fanman]

photos

[kayadogg]

Brett send that RAW out to the west coast now that you have a new toy!

[Sup-position]

Tell us about your fins.
How they are working and how you decided on these..

[Fanman]

KD,
Keeping it on the Right Coast, Lol!

Ralph,
So far it is the only set up I have tried. Those are the fins that I have been using on my other 7'10" + the Nubster, because the waves were larger than usual. I think it will be great as a straight quad, but I will definitely try all of the options and keep you informed. I've only surfed it once, today, and got out late after work and only had a few waves in bumpy head high conditions.
So far so good!

[Dave B]

Do you mind sharing the price you paid?

[Caribsurf]

I traded for a new 8'8" Hokua X32 LE for a back up to my 8'11" Hobie Raw when conditions are windier and choppier.

Took it out for the 2 nd time today in 2-3 ft semi clean surf.  Rode it as a thruster first day, today as a quad..really couldn't enjoy it either day.  It's loose and turns easily, but it is terribly slow down the line. It seems so slow and sluggish compared to my Hobie which seems so, so much faster and alive.  I had to keep paddling the Naish to keep up with the sections even while pumping the board ,and I had trouble connecting with inside sections as the glide is minimal at best.  It was an exhausting session and my shoulders are killing me.  It catches waves ok, but after that it was a lot of work keeping up with the wave, and paddling back out was a chore as well.

I've owned and surfed many high performance boards , but maybe it's the 32" width, but this board has been a great disappointment.   The sales pitch is that it's perfect for mushier east coast  surf, but I think this board needs more juice and bigger waves to work.

How do you find your 7'10" ? Is it slower than other boards you have ridden?

[firesurf]

Caribsurf,  interesting that so far you've found the Naish 8'8"LE to be more work and slower down the line.  Will be watching for follow up reviews from both you and Fanman on his new 7'10" LE. Those boards just may require more juice to really perform. 

Sort of looking for the next board purchase and considering going shorter.  Was looking at the new carbon 7'11, or the 8'3" Allwaves.   Just was concerned with the 32" width and the possible same  issues you are experiencing with your LE. 
 
The closest board I presently surf to what you are riding is the JP 8'8" x 32 widebody pro which feels like it really takes off like a rocket after making a hard bottom turn.  The difference may be the JP has less rocker and a fuller nose than the Naish which help it perform in small waves. Have not ridden the Naish LE series.  I do have the 9.5 Hokua which seems to be a great all around travel board for me when restricted to bringing a single board.

[Caribsurf]

Ya Firesurf  really pissed off with that board.  I couldn't believe how slow it was and I kept expecting it to switch gears down the wave but it never did.  I just rewatched the Naish videos associated with the Hokua X32 LEs and saw how Robby got caught up top on a couple of waves and had to paddle hard to get back into it.   I can totally relate I felt like I was in slow motion the entire time  ..I also think the video while it is in slow motion is actually real speed 

Never had a more frustrating session..it literally felt like I had 10 lbs of kelp draggin from my fin.  I was using FCS Mayhem quad set and not sure if they contributed to the drag and slow ride.

Before I scuff up the board or just smash it out of frustration, I have decided to sell it.  Even if I got more in tune with the board in the future, it would still be more work and slower than I like.

[Supperson]

so much volume for a 170 lb er that surfs :-/

[firesurf]

Fanman, Congrats on the 7'10" LE and really hope you like it!  Also, didn't intend to highjack your thread.

Caribsurf for what it's worth, The JP 8'8" came with cheap plasitc fins. I replaced them with Rainbow Quad Heaters. Completely changed the ride, felt like I was dragging an anchor.  Now have Lopez G1's on it and so far so good.

[Fanman]

So far I havnt really got to get it dialed in yet, but I'm not giving up on it yet either!
I've only gotten to ride it twice. The 1st time was in bumpy head high short period beach break, it did ok as a quad + a nubster. I didn't notice that it was to slow for the conditions. I thought it rode like a little bigger board, but not to bad for the conditions. I rode it Monday in some very small but pitchy bumpy shore break stuff and tried it with 3 different fin set up's. Quad=ok but a little stiff, Thruster=ok, but not much drive, Twin fin, with a Nubster and that was my favorite so far. It was looser and faster! I had a 31 1/2" Skip Smith 8'6" that I rode in the worst conditions that would come my way, and that was also my favorite set up on it!
I like the longer or wider side fins, bigger that a standard quad and a smaller Nubster or very small rear fins. There is drive + some looseness and the ability to slide the tail around if you want to?
I hope to get it out tomorrow, it looks like it might be decent w offshore winds, so keeping my fingers crossed!
I'll keep you posted!
Thx