NAISH MANA 8’10 GS
NAISH MANA 8’10 GS TEST REVIEW
Verdict:
From Naish’s easy wave board range, the Mana’s narrower nose and tail than the stubby boards gives a more traditional controllable feel. At home in smaller mushy waves as it is dropping into the chunky stuff too. A proven recipe that would make an ideal first time wave SUP for the average build rider.
Overview:
Compared to the new school shapes this board has the most nose and tail rocker and also the narrowest nose and tail. It still managed to be second quickest in our glide test on the flat too. The GS has a smooth lightly textured pad, (the GTW has a chunkier pad), the pad felt a bit basic compared to the others in the group. Naish have a great deep ledge handle for easy transporting and underneath a shallow single concave moving through to vee in the mid section and tail. The rounded square tail comes with 3 glass fins; all tried and tested stuff that works nicely together.
Brand Claim:
The Mana 8’10” GTW/GS features a compact surf design for lighter riders in everyday wave conditions. It fuses an exaggerated tail rocker with a wider platform for extra stability and incredible manoeuvrability in the surf. This compact design can fit into minivans, sport utility vehicles and station wagons.
Performance:
Naish know what they’re doing with wave boards and this chunky, slightly compact wave board hits the nail on the head. For starters, it’s easy punching though surf with its higher narrower nose shape. It was really easy catching waves and never felt like you would pearl the nose. The bottom turn was smooth but you could turn it a fair bit tighter than the other boards and crank it off the top too. The harder rails also gave the board a sprightlier feel on the wave. Although the shape has been around for a few years, it still has a very broad appeal; you don’t need to move about as much on the tail of this board when riding a wave. This is the board to buy to learn the basics on, whereas the shorter stubby boards would seem to be an addition to this type of board or as a replacement when your technique has improved. This Naish Mana may not be the most radical looking board in the carpark but as far as smooth and easy first time wave boards go, you can’t go too far wrong with the 8’10. If you can afford the GTW 8’10 then all the better!