Hi all. We are off in a couple of days to Costa Rica for a ten day surf trip. One of the boards that I have the option of reserving is a Naish Hokua 9'0" X 28.75 @ 125 liters (I don't know the year, but I know that it has a concave deck).
My current favorite boards are an 8'10"X 29" Speeed @ 130 liters, and an 8'7" X 30" Flow @ 121 liters. Any feedback on how the Naish might compare, and whether it might be a good board for me to reserve for this trip? They do have some other options that are more similar to the Flow in terms of specs, but from an unknown South American brand. I am 163 lbs (74 kilos) and a moderately advanced rider, but 66 years old with bad hips and back which makes climbing back on a board a clumsy and very painful experience.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sounds like a gunny shape ..should be fast .and catch waves good ..what else they got .?
might be the 2015 .2016 and 2017 was 29 wide and 126 and a GTW .
Thanks for the input Tardy. They actually have quite a good selection of boards from many different brands (sad for me there are no Sunovas). Some of the brands are from central or South America (Chela, Hotstick and Mamute), so it will be fun to try some of those out. There are also a couple of Naishes (8'3" X 32 and 7'3 Hokua), a couple of Starboards (8'5" and 8'8"), a couple of Hobies 8' and 8'8" CM Pro), and an 8'6" Infinity, (and a couple of old McTavish just so the lads from Downunder would not feel left out). The boards are all fairly high performance shapes in the 100 to 130 liter range, but unfortunately a couple in my favorite liter range (120 to 125) were just dinged this past week and are in for repairs, so the Naish was next up on my list along with a Stu Sharpe 8'6"X 29.5. The reason that I was asking about the 9' Hokua was to make sure that I have at least one board reserved that I can trust, and the only Naish that I have ridden was the 8'10" Mana which was very nice, but not very exciting.
Select to expand quoteobijohn said..
Thanks for the input Tardy. They actually have quite a good selection of boards from many different brands (sad for me there are no Sunovas). Some of the brands are from central or South America (Chela, Hotstick and Mamute), so it will be fun to try some of those out. There are also a couple of Naishes (8'3" X 32 and 7'3 Hokua), a couple of Starboards (8'5" and 8'8"), a couple of Hobies 8' and 8'8" CM Pro), and an 8'6" Infinity, (and a couple of old McTavish just so the lads from Downunder would not feel left out). The boards are all fairly high performance shapes in the 100 to 130 liter range, but unfortunately a couple in my favorite liter range (120 to 125) were just dinged this past week and are in for repairs, so the Naish was next up on my list along with a Stu Sharpe 8'6"X 29.5. The reason that I was asking about the 9' Hokua was to make sure that I have at least one board reserved that I can trust, and the only Naish that I have ridden was the 8'10" Mana which was very nice, but not very exciting.
sounds like you've got a collection to pick from .
I just sold my 8'10 as you say not very exciting .LOL,but a good classic .
8'8 starboard sound like a go ...i have a mate reckons they are the bees knees ..
only cause he owns one .i think if you pick some thing similar sizes to what your riding
you want go wrong .i don't usually go below 30 wide ,but I'm 96 kgs .and like a bit of width ..
hope you have a good trip and catch some rippers .try something different .you might like it .
sounds like your pretty advanced riding a 8'7 flow.
the 8'3 x 32 is pretty exciting ...loose as.has lots of rocker .
I had one a few years back. From memory it has a very pronounced double concave, that made it difficult for me to stand on in the line up. I had to keep paddling in circles to stay upright(I wasn't always successful) but on a wave it surfed beautifully. 
