Review Naish Maliko Light X27 14'

[SupSimcoe]

I purchased an inflatable to allow me to take a board on vacations or other treks that I do not have a car.

Stability: This board is incredibly stable. I have not tried to see how far the primary goes until the board flips but I will get this soon.

Pitch: The board is very stable not only in rolling but front to back pitch stability. The board does flex a little but it still does not have issues with 2-3 foot waves. I took this out in a upwinder/downwinder on my first day and had no issues.

Flatwater Speed: In my latest flat water trial I had a load of gear on the front but I was still able to hold 5mph going into the wind and a good 5.3-5.6mph with the wind or no wind. I did start to do race pace near the end of my paddle and the board responded well. Race pace is 60-65 spm and a lot of up down motion which did not cause the board to go into spasms like some other inflatables I have tried. The speed I was able to hit was 6.3 mph.

Upwinding: It is not a hard board but still punches through waves pretty well with minimal flex. I could still feel the water hitting the front of the board and even a little shudder like a flexing hard board.   have had this going into 2-3 foot waves and 15-20kph winds and was still able to keep up a 3.5 mph average.
Again pitching was at a minimum and I was easily able to apply power in adverse conditions.

Downwinding: The first day I took it out was an upwinder/downwinder the wind increased to 20+ kph for my return so I had 2-4 foot waves. The board was surprising. I could feel the water beneath my feet and was able to really have fun with the waves. The board accelerates fairly so I was catching just about every wave with ease. I did find that I had to move back pretty far to prevent a pearl but if I was not fast enough the board was well mannered and did not slow so much that it would throw me forward and did not steer side to side. The front would just go into the water and slow a little and then come back up and continue on. The only issue is moving with jumps flexes the board and causes it to slow a little so a smooth step technique is best.  Overall I would rate this a 10 for downwinding and since it is so hard to damage the board and myself I may just use this for messy wave downwinders in the future. Linking bumps possible as well effortless as I could easily power over any small bumps to get to the next set in front of me. I can also say that this board actually planes and foot/rail steers.


Sidewinds/sidechop: The board is so wide and so low that side waves were not much of an issue. I have not yet been in high frequency boat wake but I update if I fall in.

Boat wake: I have many boats on my lake and have had anything from 2-6 foot wakes. So far I have not had any issues with wakes but I will update if I do.

Pivot turns: the boards now have a kick pad at the back and it is pretty stable back there.

Sprints: This is still a inflatable so it does start flexing when you really want to go for it but so far I think it may still be able to get up and over 7mph.

Stiffness: This board is the stiffest inflatable I have ever been on. I even tested an Airline Gen 1 a while ago and had that in major spasms when really applying power. I think that the carbon stringers on top and bottom are better than just a bottom stiffener.

Overall: This is a great board for an inflatable. I am really happy with the purchase. It will not replace my Hard boards for fast paddles but it definitely does its job and gets me out there when I am not able to have a car around.

[DavidJohn]

How heavy are you?

[SupSimcoe]

155lbs and generally 30lbs gear on board as well as I use it for motorcycle based adventures