Are we on the verge of another gear race? Can foiling ever have a place in a surfing line up? And, do we even need our paddles anymore? We spoke with Naish SUP product manager Michi Schweiger about this and the refreshingly simple applications of the new versatile Hover boards and Thrust foils….
It looks like the new Hover SUP board will have more compact dimensions compared to the Malolo board which kicked off the Naish SUP foiling story. Can you tell us what significant things led you to move beyond the Malolo?
The Malolo board was created as a dedicated downwind foil board and still stands for that purpose. The 2018 Hover SUP line actually includes a couple different models. We have: the ‘2018 Hover 120 SUP’ which is designed as a sup hydrofoil board, but can also be ridden as a normal stand up board. It’s based on our previous Raptor shapes and works exactly that way when ridden as a normal sup with its quad setup fins. As a foil board, it has the advantage of offering good stability, low swing weight and a wide tail area which makes it easier to push off at the lift point and remain stable when the board does come off the foil. We’re also offering it as a 95 litre version which is called ‘2018 Hover 85 SUP.
