Hi Guys.
This is another newbie question about what board to buy.
I'm 85kg and looking for a board to cruise bays and headlands with a kid on board sometimes and eventually get into the surf after I get the basics. A good allrounder basically.
(I do surf but not as much lately due to kids etc)
Anyways I like the look of the Naish 11'4" nalu ast and the price is around my budget mark but having researched it a bit on the web i have noticed a few remarks that the build quality for the ast models is on the weak side, even snapping on mediocre waves.
This has put me off a bit as I don't want to spend this much money only to have it trashed by the kids or myself.
Is there any merit to these comments?
if so, what are some other options for a good all rounder in that price range.
CHeers,
JD
ps. I like the look and description of the Simon Anderson water buffalo but i think that is out of my price range.
I've had a few Naish boards and not had any build problems so far. In fact they have been quite impressive. Naish now have a warranty system where your register the serial no. of the board on their website so make sure you buy from a proper Naish dealer and take up the warranty. Not that you should need it if you don't do anything ridiculous with the board.
Have fun. You will love it.
Hi mate - I too have had and ridden quite a few naish boards and cannot fault the build or finish of the boards in any way and have never really heard of any real problems. And to be honest with you I have had AST boards from naish and reckon they are in many cases better than the full wood version because they are now lighter and cheaper and every bit as strong as the much more expensive wood/bamboo model.
Thanks heaps guys.
I've spoken to a few more shop guys and they all say pretty much the same thing.
You know how a negative sometimes sticks in your mind more than the positives and so I just wanted some unbiased opinions.
I just found out there is a demo day this weekend so I'll give a few a try.
Thanks again,
Cheers,
JD
Hi JD,
I have been researching these long boards too and must have come across the same articles, blogs and forum posts as you...
Cam...
I don't know for Naish, but most manufacturers that have been making SUP for years have progressively enhanced they building process, losing weight and gaining strength over the years.
So, if you hear that brand X had reliability problems, try to find out the building year of the board, a 2007 board breaking may not mean anything on the quality of a 2010 board, even the same brand and model.
This also means that pioneers in the sport have more relability stories about them: they have been there longer.
This is what happened to my 2 month old Naish MANA 10' AST a couple of weeks ago.
my 55kg wife in 4 foot point break, she is not a surfer and was hanging to the out side of the main break to practice her paddling onto waves and her surf stance, had a couple of waves break and she bailed off but nothing too big, she said it was great fun.
after returning to shore with no problems, I walked down the beach to go for a paddle and was shocked with what i saw.(pictures below)
This board has paddled my 100kg 6'2" frame around in the same conditions with no problems.
after returning the board to my local shop, on the same day.
The shop contacted the Naish Distributors and sent Pictures.
Return comments where "NO WARRANTY" it has had wave impact "WHAT"
So if you buy a Naish MANA 10" make sure if you take it out of the lake that it's only very small waves
.Maybe lighter is not always better, i guess i am looking for a new board.
I am glad i paid the extra $ for a top Brand 
That is a bummer and I would also be pissed off.. Not with Naish for not warrantying it but because of the freaky way that the wave must have hit the board to do that.. All boards and all brands can break and I've got pictures of at least half a dozen different brand boards that have broken.. I will never post them because I don't think it's right and could make the brand look bad.. It could happen first surf.. after 100 surfs.. or last forever and never break... You could have that board repaired and although it will be heavier it should paddle and surf ok if repaired right.. btw.. I've had my 10' Mana out in well over head high waves many times and had plenty of bad wipeouts and so far all's been fine.
DJ
I agree the damage is unfortunate and you have every right to be pissed off about the board getting banged up BUT 4ft is not a small day and especially for a non surfer to be out on a sup - AND 4ft is more than big enough to break a sup or any other kind of surfcraft if the wave hits it the wrong way IMO. Just out of interest 2 out of the 3 sups I have seen broken actually happened in 1ft shoreys, so you just gotta get the wrong wave at the wrong time and it all goes pear-shaped quite quickly.
