Anyone ridden these 2 boards in position to make a comparison? Or are they too different beasts?
Just being curious. Most of the guys at our (beach) break either ride the Hokua 7'8 or PSH 8'ers (regular and wide). Haven't heard much about the Vibe.
I've not ridden the 7'8, but spent a week on the Vibe surfing the beachbreaks & points of the Gold Coast. Surf was 1' up to head high, glassy through to howling chop. The Vibe handled it all, was stable, and manoueverable. It looks & rides like a shortboard fish. So get down low and do roundhouse cutbacks like Bertlemann. It snapped more as a pivot rather than carving. You can nose ride it, do whatever. It's a fun little board.
Maroubra------ What ya weight kgs havent tried a vibe yet i ride a 9' Coreban fusion but sit then ontop of each other its interesting on thr similarities. I played around with the quads cut and ground the fusion rear quads down about a couple of cm's made a lot of difference its a lot looser easyer to turn and carve!
Hey Col, I'm around 70kg and 5'7. I noticed that the Vibe's nose is slightly more pulled in than the Fusion- but only just. I've never ridden the Fusion, but I hear it's a good board.
I think both Naish and Coreban may be off on their volumes? Naish had previously stated the volume of the 7'8 was 105L, now they show 115L for 2012. Coreban dimensions are close, so it is odd with the vast volume difference.
Maroubra, can you describe the bottom shape of the Vibe (concaves, vee, flat &etc)?
Thanks for everyone's comments!
I've ridden both - (I'm a Naish man - so be forewarned)
115 liters sounds about right for the 7'8 in terms of flotation compared to other similar volume boards - the 8'0 probably has between 120-130 - definitely a little more float due to width carried through length of board and much chunkier rails.
Both are surprisingly stable for their size.
Paddling 8'0 is quite easy - not too much yaw, so quite easy to catch waves. 7'8 suffers from some yaw and makes positioning for wave take off more critical - lighter riders seem to have less of an issue with yaw - not sure if bigger paddlers overpower board and need to adjust their paddling technique more.
On the wave both boards are extremely lively and react to the slightest input and is much closer to surfing feel than any bigger boards out there.
8'0 is very squirrely and can only be ridden of back foot, where as the 7'8 is way more carvy and has more hold. Putting a center fin in 7'8 accentuates this and helps a little reducing paddle yaw. Amazing what tight turns you can make.
To sum it up the 7'8 is better on the wave and the 8'0 is slightly better at catching them.
Is the 2012 Naish Hokua 7'8" an exact copy of the 2011 model?
I know the paint job is a little different but what about the shape and fin placement?
