Naish bullet

I'll be really curious to hear your review since it's a board I've considered in the past.

Hi, I haven't ridden the Bullet, but I have the 2024 Hover (wing foil ascend) 72L, it has the same design concept as the Bullet ,( but not so extreme). Compared to the 2023 Hover, the 2024 has a straighter rail outline, sharp bevels down to a relatively narrow planing surface with no tail kick or tail rocker, and a gradual nose rocker into a flat planing surface. (much like the Bullet).
My 2024 72L Hover gets going, quicker than my 2023 85L Hover, and the 'touchdowns' are much smoother.
From that......I reckon the 85L Bullet should do what you hope it will!!
It just won't 'slog' home, like your 110 did if the wind dies.
Hope that helps.

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jonysan said..
Hi, I haven't ridden the Bullet, but I have the 2024 Hover (wing foil ascend) 72L, it has the same design concept as the Bullet ,( but not so extreme). Compared to the 2023 Hover, the 2024 has a straighter rail outline, sharp bevels down to a relatively narrow planing surface with no tail kick or tail rocker, and a gradual nose rocker into a flat planing surface. (much like the Bullet).
My 2024 72L Hover gets going, quicker than my 2023 85L Hover, and the 'touchdowns' are much smoother.
From that......I reckon the 85L Bullet should do what you hope it will!!
It just won't 'slog' home, like your 110 did if the wind dies.
Hope that helps.

I can second this. I have the 23 85 liter and bought the 24 82 liter. First impressions in a side by side.
1. They do come up quicker, I was skeptical but they do. They just slide up in a slippery kind of way. 2. The landings on jumps are far smoother, the boards skips like a stone and you stay on foil more than the previous iterations. Before I might have to restart a more vertical landing but now I've been surprised how often it bounces skips and you stay on foil.
3. Construction is really impeccable. I wish they had single center holes for foot straps so I could install some true center straps forward. 4. Mine did weigh in a pound heavier than my 23 SE model. Between that and the wider profile forward, I do feel the weight slightly in turns on waves. I rig my straps all the way forward to minimize swing weight.

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Driks said..
Hi guys, grandmac!
I really did it and bought the 23 bullet 2nd hand. It was in pretty good condition. Looked like the guy didn't use it often.
What I experienced on the water and after 3 sessions is really annoying. First at all I got the impression this board doesn't work or just for speed. Everything before on foil and in speed mode feels not good. It isn't that lifty like they say. To take off can be a struggle. Pumping the board in flight feels just like it doesn't like it. U can foil strange angles over the water, yes because the bevels. The nose tend to get pushed down in slower speed. I put the front straps far back now but didn't try it yet. The recovery after touch down isn't impressive. Not like they say.
Over all I think it's a shxx board. Also the deck started to peel off in some way and it looks like this small cuts are going deeper in the structure of the board. I wrote to naish about this already. No response yet. I think this was my first and last naish product. Luckily I didn't pay that much but it hurts.
I was exited to get this thing because the bottom looks inspired by the downwinder shapes... Like the new Armstrong boards too. But it's weird. Really!

Hey Driks,

Bummer to hear you didn't gel with the Naish Bullet, it truly is a sensational board that I would challenge a lot of what you commented on above.

Yes, the board likes going fast, it is definitely designed to make high speed winging easier but also has surprising bottom end for the efficient rider. The board can be challenging to a larger rider for setup and off foil (I am 93kg), but displacement speed is incredible for an 85ltr board and allows the foil to engage very early, I find I can nearly pump against the mast like windsurfing and get considerable drive out of it. I really likes smaller foils (which makes sense as it is a BULLET = fast), and I found the Mach-1 1100 or HA 840 were ideal. The double rocker can be off putting and if you ride too nose down in getting on foil, you will find it draggy, but learn back, ride off the tail section of rocker and hang on!! The double rocker then allows you to ride with level hull to water at max speed eliminating nose down riding powered. The boards balance during jibes nd tacks is superb!
Pumping at high speed is a high cadence short tap, not a porpoise pump (which you can't really do effectively on smaller faster foil anyway), I find pressuring and pulsing the foil while canted over very effective and much faster, working your angles to maximize apparent wind and use a load and glide approach to reaching speed.
Again, because of the double rocker, touchdowns are a breeze, as the nose is high and you can touch at high speed with minimal hull. If you are having these issues with the nose and touchdowns, it sounds like you may be using too big a foil possibly too overpowered?
Stance is personal, but I really liked getting super wide, back foot one hole fwd, and front foot all the way forward (I am 6'2"). But I strongly suggest a proper balance up of your intended foil and adjust each time if you really want to go fast.
The small cuts sound like they are post production, and possibly from the previous owner??
The bottom shaping is far from the DW shapes, especially the double rocker, the design is heavily influenced by the fastest kite foil racing hulls, many of the fastest wing racers out there are riding the Naish Bullet as it is FAST and easy to use!

I hope it starts to work for you as it is a magic ride. Just remember,
- It is not intentionally a light wing board. In skilled hands it does go ridiculously early though.
- It is built for speed and "racing" riding, intended for smaller foils and smooth, high speed riding.
- Understand the rocker, don't try ride it like you usual flat section board(s). Lean back, think fast and hand on!
- Balance the board up for best results. Try align the CoL with the CoG, then equally space your stance based on this to straddle the CoL.

Hope this helps, keen to hear others impressions on the board if they've ridden it. I know it's quick!

Ride safe,

JB

I ( 70kg ) had a few flat water sessions on the 65L Bullet, HA1040 ( old version ), 6m Matador at 10 to 12kn.
Initially, getting the take off right was tough as it was a different technique compared to my old Hover Carbon Ultra, but once I got the hang of the pumping technique, it was OK.

Once on foil, the board was easy to ride and transition and seemed pretty agile. I didn't try any speed runs to test that side of things.
Build quality was fine and the guy I borrowed it from, is pretty hard on gear.