New Naish S25 Maliko 14' x 26" has just turned up at WSS Boards.
Same great allround shape as last year but just a shade lighter at 11.1kg. Price is pretty sharp compared to some more fancy race brands at $3699.
Haven't paddled it yet but plan to steal JB's personal board very soon to try. JB will probs chime in soon with his own feedback as he's had a couple of sessions on it already.
I'll post some more pics later when I have more time.
Sam.
www.facebook.com/WSSBoards.com.au/photos/pcb.1497872093734500/1497871980401178/?type=3&theater
Looks good. But does the new one have a condom on it (a plastic shrink-wrap-like layer) like the 2020 one, rather than a top coat?
And is it more durable? I don't think anyone was complaining about the weight or price or design of the 2020 Maliko, but there have been criticisms of the construction.
Construction is similar with the exception of the top coat that has a matte finish to it. I'll double check with JB about the construction details tomorrow and take a closeup pic or 2 Of the finish to show more detail. Sam.
I might be wrong but it looks like from your picture talking about the graphic sticker set that is common on a pretty broad range of boards? Sam.
I'm amazed at how useful bungee attachments are like on the Bullet/RS or Hypr Gun (which has them at the rear for touring).
Very useful for hydration or clothing etc while training. It is these little things that you hardly even think about at first that become so important if you paddle most days.
And yeah, Naish have a long history of putting their fins too far back. The fin position on the very first Glide 12-0 (their first distance SUP) was like that. Naish: STOP IT!!
I respect your hesitation, but I think it is fair in a thread about a particular board to compare it to its nearest competitors. Otherwise it might as well be advertising.
Fair enough. If the price was not an issue, for a two boards setup and my conditions, I would pick the 25.5 Torpedo to complete a 27 wide board like my Sunova Allround.
For one board setup I would pickup the Maliko as where the 25.5 Torpedo is funnier/livelier in downbreezing, the Maliko would have a bit more range I believe for bigger and colder conditions but I would buy it only when there is a change of season discount. At the same price than the SIC, Sunova and One (middle range PVC sandwich construction) offers, the value is just not there on the Naish offer. Which is a great shame, as it has the best design for a true all-around board for somebody under 200 lbs (26 wide) that paddles in confused water with a variety of conditions.
I have not tried yet the 27 wide Torpedo, which might be the exact equivalent of the Maliko.
Naish released a small video for the first time on the Maliko 2020/2021 iteration.
Nothing really informative in its content:
Well, you can determine a lot by what the promo video *doesn't* say. They do not mention anything at all about design or construction changes for 2021. So i will assume there are none. You wouldn't make a promo video and not mention any useful changes you'd made to the board, to tempt owners to upgrade to the latest model.
Not sure how Caspar can say with certainty that the Maliko is the fastest sprint board in the world. His results on one in sprints are very impressive. But that could be him, not the board.
www.supracer.com/2019-icf-world-stand-up-paddling-world-championship-sprint-race-connor-baxter-record/
The 200m sprint record was not set on a Maliko.
Kai Lenny's incredible performance was over a short course, but it was not a sprint event.
Quite frankly, what is the relevance of the fastest or second fastest 12.6 board for sprint for any recreational paddler looking for a 14' fun board with a wide range? I was more interested by the comments on the same video but for the Javelin speaking about having a really good average or maintained speed over a long distance. It was a little bit marred by seing how much the board was tipping during paddling.
Looks great.. It's a shame they couldn't show it in some real wind and bigger bumps in that promo vid.