*This blog post was moved from our old blog, dated 7-11-211
First, welcome to our first blog post!
Now to the good stuff. A few weeks ago I stole(such a good price it felt like I was stealing it) a 2012 Naish Glide 12'6" from a guy on the Sunshine Coast. The seller said he literally just put it on seabreeze minutes prior to my text to him. The board was only a month old too. I doubt there is another second hand board of this make at the moment anywhere. I think you can tell by now I was stoked. Well two weeks later and having two SUP sessions under my belt, I have decided to attempt a blog post to share my experience with the board.
I have not owned a flat water, race, cruise, BOP board or anything else you may refer to this type of board before. When I found out the 2012 Naish Glide came out in a 30" wide model, I knew it was the one I wanted. I read it was geared to the larger rider that wants to get onto this type of board. Larger rider? Yup that's me, all 105kg+. The Naish website states that the 30" Glide is optimal for riders up to 113kg. Cool I can still eat more! The Glide I bought was the AST version. The Naish website states that the AST version weighs 14kg(31lbs) which is 1kg heavier then the Carbon version. For me that is no big deal especially for the $700 price difference.
My first impressions of the board was, "wow those rails are thick". They are thick but with the raised edges on the top deck it just makes the rail looks even thicker. I am impressed with the raised rails on the top deck as your feet feel very comfortable wedged up against them. The deck grip is pleasant to stand on for long lengths of time too. I had a 9'5" Naish Mana before and the grip felt really firm. This Glide was the opposite.
Previously I liked boards that had the carry handle off center as to allow the board to sit under your armpit but soon found you could only carry the board one way. Ive reverted back to liking the carry handle in the middle and Naish has done just that on this 2012 Glide plus updating their handle to what they call a "Ledge Carry Handle". This new handle curves inward and it feels very comfortable to where I could carry it long distances without my finger tips feeling like they were going to break off.
I took the Glide out in Corlette NSW on a calm morning, so I cannot comment on how it goes in chop. The board was very stable from the beginning, I didn't have to adjust for anything. I had quite a few boat wake waves hit me from the side and the Glide handled it well. Being that it's my first BOP style board I can't compare the speed to other boards but the Glide was smooth and did what its named after, it Glides like crazy. When I stop paddling it glides forever it seems. I did find that the 11.5" Naish fin that it came with was stable but it didn't track as well as I thought it would. I noticed I was swapping sides every 5-6 strokes. Luckily I had some surfboard fins in my car and I decided to throw in a Nineplus 10" Keel Fin. That was the right choice. The stability was even greater and the tracking was much better. I was able to get close to 10 strokes per side. Speed was about the same as the Naish Fin, though I don't have any way of proving that.
Overall, the 2012 Naish Glide 12'6" was stable, faster then what I am used to and most of all, it was fun!
History lesson: Did you know Stand Up Paddle Boarding came from Africa where men who worked on canoes would stand up and paddle to propel forward. Also, this method was used in combat by warriors to sneak attack.