I have been dipping my toe in the world of downwinding SUP (pardon the pun). Decided on the 14' Glide as a good place to start. Here is my take on the board. Firstly downwinding is a blast besides the car back-and-forth business. Board is 27 1/4" x 5 1/4" 270L, I am 78kg and doing open ocean downwinders up here in Geraldton WA. Board is sleek, light and has small recess in standing area. Deckgrip in stance area and non-slip to the tail. Comes as a neat package and includes a reasonable boardbag. Nose rocker seems moderate to large but riding the board in 20-25kts I don't think I would want any less. It paddles very smoothly and catches runners easily and has alot of "glide". Stability is great even in some messed up sections of the ocean. Doesn't paddle across the breeze but I don't know if any do? All-in-all happy camper and looking forward to more paddling. Shout out to Radman and Glen for getting me interested.

Have you tried any other board prior or since?

Good choice on your first down wind board.
If it puts a smile on your face than thats what it's all about

I've paddled a lot of 14' boards and the Naish 14' Glide is the stand out best IMO.. Nice review..

DJ

GGS, I'm new as well to paddleboarding, got one around Sept and am addicted to it. Been mainly playing in the surf but have been watching the downwind video's on youtube - unreal.

Went down today to Balmoral where the boys at Balmoral Paddle Sports were doing a demo day and let have a run on a few of the boards they had down there. Tried 4 boards and was still not sure what I wanted, and Andy from Naish was down there and pulled out is 14' Glide and said have a crack. I jumped on it and I was sold mate, he was lucky he got it back to be honest, really satable in the chop, really good glide in on the little runners and just felt super quick in the flat.

So I'm off to put some money on the glide as well mate - could be in the doghouse when I rock up with another board though.... ha !!!

PS. thanks to David John on that one as well, was watching his clip last night, and sold me on a downwinder...cracker clip mate.

In the clip (great clip BTW) are you riding the 14' Glide GS?

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SSSimon said...

In the clip (great clip BTW) are you riding the 14' Glide GS?

Yes.. It's the cheaper GS 14' Glide.. Same shape.. Slightly heavier and no bag.. But a fair bit cheaper..

DJ

Yes, $500 cheaper, no bag, and 1.4 kgs heavier.

Is it a case of get over it and get out there then?

Keep those vids coming DJ, they're great. I'm trying to suss out other locations where the 'downwind laps' are possible on the NSW south coast..

Sorry the GS is $600 cheaper than the GX !!!

The Naish bag I got with my Mana is pretty simple too, no shoulder strap, no double zipper, only one small strap handle sown on.

You'll notice the difference 1.4kg makes to the carry weight. I've taken an AST for a demo and lugging it down to the beach was a pain in the forearm after quite a few sprints had tired me out on other boards. It will also make a slight improvement in flat water off the mark acceleration if you're planning to race it and given that isn't its strong point it might be worth considering.

It's a very nice board and you don't see many of them come up second hand so I'm guessing they're keepers. Good luck with it!