Naish Hokua 7-3 impressions

[sharksupper]

I bought a 7-3 Hokua (100L) and surfed it in Kauai last week.  This board is a blast, the nice waves and warm water didn't hurt in making it a great experience    I'm coming from a JL Mano 9-0 (110L+) and Hokua 8-4 (100-105L?).  I usually weigh in the range of 165-175lbs @ 5'10", however during my visit I must have been enjoying myself a bit much and came up to 180lbs while I was there!    I've been paddleboarding about two years now(surf and flat), but skateboarded and windsurfed competitively with 20yrs experience each.  I feel I have decent balance on a board.    In calm/clean waters I could float ok on the board, not having to paddle too much to balance.  However, once the wind(15-25mph)/chop came up it was definitely pretty demanding, I fell in quite a few times just from getting used to the balance (or lack there of).  The yaw while paddling was a pretty big step up from my other two boards, it took a day or two to get used to that, still perfecting it, especially when paddling for a wave.  I lost quite a few at first to sliding sideways down the face from too much yaw/not knowing the technique yet.  It definitely paddles slower than the other two, feels like zero glide!  This board requires dropping in a little later than the others.  I found at slower speeds the tail was fairly loose, no sharp turns possible without slide, a little more so than the other two in this respect.  However, once it has dropped in on a steeper chest high or bigger wave the bottom turn sticks like glue and the board rockets out of the turn, very fun!!  It has/holds an amazing amount of speed once it's there.  It's agility in turning I'd decribe as litterally "on a dime", way more responsive than the others.  Even with the relatively low nose rocker I had no problem dropping in on very steep waves, just step back sooner, the shortness makes up for it.  Besides the speed and agility, one other quality I noticed was despite the wider tail (similar to the JL 9-0 width) I didn't ever find myself stepping around from side to side during cutbacks and such, very interesting!  This was the main thing holding me back from buying it sooner, well, that and not knowing if it would float me!  I'm really stoked on the board and can't wait to try in on my local waves!   

pics...

[Waterline]

Sweet quiver! Cool to see the channels on the bottom so clearly.

I've got the 7'8 Hokua on order without ever having seen one in person.  Hope it comes with the complimentary M3 like yours...

[sharksupper]

Such a sexy board, it looks like it belongs naked on the hood 

[maui wave warrior]

I just picked up the 8'5 after trying both it and the 7'8. The 7'8 floats me but I prefer a bit more glide so decided on the 8'5 for my small to medium wave board. At 200lbs this board is about as small as I will ever go. If you can get your weight down to about 145lbs then you can ride the 8'0 which is absolutely remarkable according to Kai and others. I can only dream of riding it.  Best of sessions to ya with your 7'3. Enjoy!

[sharksupper]

Update.  I've had a chance to ride the 7-3 in my local conditions several times now.  It's a crappy time of year for waves but I gave it a go. 

First a word about rider weight.  When I'm about 180lbs + a full suit it's a bit challening to balance on waiting for waves, and catching them... I'm not sure my skill could ever get good enough to overcome that limitation... even on relatively smooth days I was having noticable difficulty.  Once I'm at about 170lbs or less with a full suit I'm able to balance much better, especially in chop.  I still fall in a bit, even when on my knees, but falling less and catching more waves.  I think the 165lb recommendation for this board is pretty good.

Riding waves.  I'm finding the smaller fins on this board really need a bit of speed to grab, which means steeper waves.  I rode some mushy stuff and wind chop and it was pretty tough.  If the wave is super sloppy and mushy the fins slide a lot.  They really need good shape and clean faces to shine.  Once moving this board is sweet, it really holds it's speed/tail well once there.

I switched back to my 9-0 Mano one day and wow, I really noticed just how awesome that 7-3 is to ride/handle.  Nothing bad about the Mano, just no comparison, totally different.

[Dwight (DW)]

Went I got rid of the slidy stock fins my speed increased without any stiffening of the board. My wife likes the medium H3s in her 7'3 and I run the large H3s in my 7'8.

I found all the thrusters combinations I tried, beat all the quad combinations I threw at it.

I'd like to hear what you think if you try thrusters.

I surfed her 7'3 once. It was tough!

[colas]

Biggers fins (especially at the rear) help a lot coming to grips with these kind of boards (I have a Drops 7'10" which is the same kind of board for my 100kg) for your first sessions.
I am experimenting now with big (XL) C-Drive fins which seem promising, the wide base adding control while paddling and on slow waves, while the low-area tip handling well at speed. But hadn't really good sessions yet to really make an opinion.

Also the progression curve in unbelievable on each session. It motivates a lot to perseverate, being able to progress visibly each time...

[tautologies]

NICE!!! It does sound a lot like its bigger brother the 7'8'' I think the weight recommendation seems to be pretty on. I found it turned as long as I pushed down my toes or heel when turning..making sure it set the rail.  It does like the cleaner waves but it isn't a requirement on the 7'8'' :-)

I think you mentioned that the board takes off later...I think the 7'8'' might have a little better speed when paddling it...but the late take offs is a blast. I've had a few freefalls down on the  board, and it just sort of kick into gear and you still retain control to not come to far in front of the wave.

TOo much wind is a challenge, though it is entirely possible to paddle it in 20 mph....it's just more fun in glassier conditions...