HYPR NALU PONO 10’0 TEST REVIEW
HYPR NALU
PONO 10’0
TEST REVIEW.
Verdict
The Pono is a striking looking board, reminiscent of the beautiful traditional balsa construction and it brings some welcome Hawaiian heritage to the scene. This voluminous board can handle heavy riders and is one of the most stable and balanced boards in the 10 foot realm that we’ve stood on. It paddles smooth and straight, picks up even the smallest waves and has the versatility of bungee lugs for day touring. Hypr Nalu are bundling it with a carbon paddle at a very attractive price too.
Overview
With serious bottom concaves in the hull design, tie plugs in the deck for securing stuff, a nose GoPro mount and a hard edged rail in the nose it certainly makes its presence known. We felt the relatively featureless deck pad didn’t match the thoughtful design of the board itself but this doesn’t affect performance and is somewhat offset by the clever use of clear griptape on the forward deck. Comes with a 2 +1 fin set up.
Brand Claim
Hypr Nalu boards marked by the Hawaiian lifestyle; exclusive, fresh, colourful, warm and unique! They have fantastic performance characteristics as a result of long experience and are manufactured with strict quality requirements The Pono is our entry level high-performance all round surf and paddle board in applewood with nose and tail woodblocks. It carries our patented hull design with sloping chines for the least amount of “wetted surface area” to give you more speed.
Performance
Hawaiian brand Hyper Nalu make some interesting boards and this one certainly follows that philosophy – creators Ian Foo and Lauren Turnbaugh began designing and building high performance carbon Outrigger Canoes and Stand Up Paddleboards in Kona, Hawaii in 2003. This was our favourite of the test boards to paddle, almost as stable as the floor and surprisingly nippy, characteristics that translated across once on a wave – we did wonder what the two deep concaves of the hull bottom would achieve and can confirm that it is down-the-line speed. The Pono is a Swiss army knife model in that it’ll cruise along nicely in the flat water and ride small waves well when required. Hypr Nalu have packed some serious volume into a 10’ that is relatively truncated compared boards half a foot longer. What this means is an appreciably more stable experience for bigger paddlers, contrasted by a slightly more muted feel in surf than smaller all-round boards – but if that extra stability is what a paddler needs to catch waves in the first place then it you can easily live with it. The Pono brings something new to the all-rounder market – unique looks and plenty of speed. If you want to stand out from your mates at the beach and not get left behind, you should give it a try.