Has anyone had a chance to sample the new 2016 Naish Hokua GTW? And if so are you able to offer a comparison to either the normal Hokua GT or even Gerry Lopez' last iteration of his sweetie pies off of which this is apparently based?

I am 100kg and wrestling with getting either the 9 GT or the 9 GTW and i have no opportunity to demo or sample.
I have used Gerry's 8'5 x 30 121L sweetie pie extensively. I really like the speed, it is fast, but going top to bottom is rather difficult.
It really wants to just point down the line and go rail to rail
Likewise I have used an old 9'5" hokua (at 140L) and found it pretty snappy off the bottom given waves over head high. But it really seems like it needs size and push to perform

Interestingly the specs of the 9' GT and GTW have similar volume (125 and 126.) The 3d model of the GTW and description sounds like it would perform similarly to the sweetie pie. But if anyone has any first hand experiences, i would greatly appreciate it.

Mahalo

This is interesting.

5 months in, 588 reads and not one reply. Hasn't anyone on here ridden one? Got an opinion? They were shaped by Gerry Lopez for gods sake!! I find it very hard to believe that none of these have sold to any of the Breezelings.

I'm not being cheeky by the way. I'm genuinely interested on how they perform.

I'm almost 100kgs and had a 9'1" x 32" Hokua that I found a bit tippy in choppy water.. I was really excited when I heard the Gerry was on board with Naish and I was hoping the new 9'5" x 29 1/2" would work for me.. I demoed it but unfortunately I found it too tippy.. So I sold my 9'1"x32 and bought the 9'6"x32 Hokua in GTW.. It's a big board but I love it.. It doesn't have the flat water paddling ability or the glide of my 9'5" Mana but I still love it.. It turns really nice and that extra kick in the nose is great for those steep take offs.. So I'm happy with my two surfing boards.. My 9'5"x32 Mana and 9'6"x32 Hokua.. Very similar dementions.. Very similar in stability.. But very different boards when surfing..

Thanx DJ. I was fairly certain you would've tried one by now.

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Zeusman said..
They were shaped by Gerry Lopez for gods sake!!

I think you should not read too much into the marketing Hype. I have a Gerry Lopez full carbon (a limited riviera edition of the lil'darling), and a Gerry Lopez fin set, and I definitely read an interview of GL saying that one day, the Future guys came to him and say, hey, this is what we designed for your model of fins, and he basically said: "Ah? Ok, seems good."

My Gerry Lopez board is definitively sane and smooth, but nothing exciting in any ways. 8'10"x28.5", ~110 liters for my 100kg. Just a very dependable no-nonsense shape, the thing you can trust in any condition. But I am aware that like any board, it is a compromise, and that GL is able to make very different compromises on different boards, that may fit you or not. Mine looks a bit like the Hokua GTW: wider nose & tail, flatter central rocker and generous front rocker. And I must confess it was an impulse buy, like a teenage groupie.... and that I cannot bring myself to resell it knowing the value loss on the resale...

In a nutshell: Naish says in the vids I have seen that GL had "some input" in the design, dont get over-excited :-)

I've been riding the 8'6 Hokua GTW and I really enjoy it in less than perfect waves. More stable than the 8'10 Hokua LE and it has much better glide and doesn't need the steepest of waves to get up speed, it has really good carry through flat sections so you always have some speed on tap to do your turns. I'd imagine the 9'0 and 9'6 are similar. Rails are really thinned out and it is sooo smooth in rail to rail transitions and also responsive no matter where you stand on the board - I really like it.

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PeterP said..
I've been riding the 8'6 Hokua GTW and I really enjoy it in less than perfect waves. More stable than the 8'10 Hokua LE and it has much better glide and doesn't need the steepest of waves to get up speed, it has really good carry through flat sections so you always have some speed on tap to do your turns. I'd imagine the 9'0 and 9'6 are similar. Rails are really thinned out and it is sooo smooth in rail to rail transitions and also responsive no matter where you stand on the board - I really like it.

Hi PeterP
What is your ability, height and weight and age (I apologise as I don't mean to be rude)
I would guess 108lt board in those dimension would be quite tippy for anyone over 75kg unless they were very experienced.

Got the 9'6" GTW after having had a Tom Carroll Loose Leaf. Much more stable for my 94Kgs.

It also outperforms the Loose Leaf and my old 9'10" Hokua that I sold a couple of years ago.

For the record I'm a bit of a numpty on the wave and just getting the hang of some moves you salty dogs probably got right years ago. Managed my first floater and barrel on this board only a few weeks ago (at Lorne of all places!). Even starting to get some buckets flying (well ok so maybe it's just cups at the moment...) on the cutbacks... never managed that before either.

I ride it exclusively as a Quad and when I get back towards the fins it gets very loose and easy to turn.


I've even used it for flat water interval training which is an interesting experience. Still works but not as easy as my 11'4" Nalu (haven't got a race board yet... it's coming).


The only weird thing about it... On fatter waves when you're just cruising along it sings at you. The fins vibrate and start humming depending on where you're standing. Not a problem but just a little strange.

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Mahanumah said..
The only weird thing about it... On fatter waves when you're just cruising along it sings at you. The fins vibrate and start humming depending on where you're standing. Not a problem but just a little strange.

Misfoiled humming fins suck and drive me batty... Don't live with it, complain and have the dealer swap out your fins.

I'm 180cm 87kg and 50yo. Been supping alot past 8 years so have learned to ride smaller boards - I have been on slightly smaller 7'8 and 8'3 Hokua LE but they tire me very quickly even in easy conditions. I'm probably what you'd call a solid intermediate.....

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Flying High said..

PeterP said..
I've been riding the 8'6 Hokua GTW and I really enjoy it in less than perfect waves. More stable than the 8'10 Hokua LE and it has much better glide and doesn't need the steepest of waves to get up speed, it has really good carry through flat sections so you always have some speed on tap to do your turns. I'd imagine the 9'0 and 9'6 are similar. Rails are really thinned out and it is sooo smooth in rail to rail transitions and also responsive no matter where you stand on the board - I really like it.

Hi PeterP
What is your ability, height and weight and age (I apologise as I don't mean to be rude)
I would guess 108lt board in those dimension would be quite tippy for anyone over 75kg unless they were very experienced.