The line-up with the Maliko and the Javelin is looking good covering everything but big downwind conditions.
The boards also look nicer strictly from an aesthetic point of view.

Nice paddles ..is it ok to have 4 ?

like the purple .

Was a fun morning down with supcentre guys filming the new range.

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LucBenac said...
The line-up with the Maliko and the Javelin is looking good covering everything but big downwind conditions.
The boards also look nicer strictly from an aesthetic point of view.

Yeah, now I want both a Maliko *and* a Javelin. It could be an expensive year.

It's interesting that, according to the vids, Naish have gone down the PVC sandwich route for 2017 (ie. heavier but more durable), just as Starboard have gone the other way (ie. no PVC sandwich for 2017 I think, so the carbon boards are lighter, cheaper, but less durable). Personally, I'm happy to pay a little extra for durability, especially in a downwind board, and I don't need a board to be crazy light. (But I can see that some people would have different priorities.)

Of course, Jimmy Lewis manages to build light full-PVC sandwich boards that are a lot cheaper than either Starboard or Naish (in most markers). But that's another story altogether...

Has anyone paddled both 2016 and 2017 Maliko or Javelins and can say how the performance has changed?

Strange how on the video on here about the Maliko it says the rocker hasn't changed but on the Kite Republic vid it says the tail rocker has been straightened out ???

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Area10 said...

LucBenac said...
The line-up with the Maliko and the Javelin is looking good covering everything but big downwind conditions.
The boards also look nicer strictly from an aesthetic point of view.

Yeah, now I want both a Maliko *and* a Javelin. It could be an expensive year.

It's interesting that, according to the vids, Naish have gone down the PVC sandwich route for 2017 (ie. heavier but more durable), just as Starboard have gone the other way (ie. no PVC sandwich for 2017 I think, so the carbon boards are lighter, cheaper, but less durable). Personally, I'm happy to pay a little extra for durability, especially in a downwind board, and I don't need a board to be crazy light. (But I can see that some people would have different priorities.)

Of course, Jimmy Lewis manages to build light full-PVC sandwich boards that are a lot cheaper than either Starboard or Naish (in most markers). But that's another story altogether...

Has anyone paddled both 2016 and 2017 Maliko or Javelins and can say how the performance has changed?

All starboard race boards but the Ace are sandwich.
2017 Naish board are without doubt stiffer and note durable than last year's boards. However from what I've seen and weighed they are no heavier.

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TJR said...
Strange how on the video on here about the Maliko it says the rocker hasn't changed but on the Kite Republic vid it says the tail rocker has been straightened out ???

The rocker and bottoms have changed slightly.. I've taken some pictures showing the differences.. IMO the biggest difference being the nose shape.. and they are slightly heavier but noticeably stiffer and much stronger..

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TJR said..
Strange how on the video on here about the Maliko it says the rocker hasn't changed but on the Kite Republic vid it says the tail rocker has been straightened out ???

Yes sorry we forgot to mention the rocker change. It is small though.

Great vids Jase.
Trav's found his calling. (next brisbane weather girl i reckon)

Jokes aside, awesome.

Just need to sign you up for some Fanatic ones.

How well does the Maliko surf, compared to older Glides?

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Area10 said..
How well does the Maliko surf, compared to older Glides?

Chalk and cheese difference.. .. I'll try and show it in my next vid.. (surfing runners not waves)

The Maliko surfs so much better and I've even noticed an improvement in the surf'ability from last year to this year.

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DavidJohn said..

Area10 said..
How well does the Maliko surf, compared to older Glides?

Chalk and cheese difference.. .. I'll try and show it in my next vid.. (surfing runners not waves)

The Maliko surfs so much better and I've even noticed an improvement in the surf'ability from last year to this year.

crap, that Maliko is a very nice allrounder, also in flat water. PVC stuff keeps a long live. Hmm, eager to hear what pricetag they gonna have in Europe.

Looking for a more durable board than my carbon deck. Also nice that in the nose is a somewhat double concave on the side, keeps it tracking where you want it to be.

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BrisKites said..

TJR said..
Strange how on the video on here about the Maliko it says the rocker hasn't changed but on the Kite Republic vid it says the tail rocker has been straightened out ???

Yes sorry we forgot to mention the rocker change. It is small though.

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DavidJohn said..

TJR said...
Strange how on the video on here about the Maliko it says the rocker hasn't changed but on the Kite Republic vid it says the tail rocker has been straightened out ???

The rocker and bottoms have changed slightly.. I've taken some pictures showing the differences.. IMO the biggest difference being the nose shape.. and they are slightly heavier but noticeably stiffer and much stronger..

looking forward to seeing the pictures

Yep, pics showing direct comparison between 2016 and 2017 Malikos would be unreal.

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Area10 said..

LucBenac said...
The line-up with the Maliko and the Javelin is looking good covering everything but big downwind conditions.
The boards also look nicer strictly from an aesthetic point of view.

Yeah, now I want both a Maliko *and* a Javelin. It could be an expensive year.

Yes that is the "problem" but also I think it is great if you like the brand to have two complementary boards by the same designer.
i.e. If I had the $$$$$ , I would be tempted to get an Infinity quiver.
- 2016 Whiplash for flat water
- 2016 Blackfish ST for open water
- custom Blackfish DW for downwinding
to keep a same feel in the design.

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Area10 said..
Yep, pics showing direct comparison between 2016 and 2017 Malikos would be unreal.

I've loaded about 20 pics on photobucket.. Here's a few and I'll post the others tomorrow..

Thanks very much. So the main difference so far from these pictures is that the 2017 has much harder rails in the nose?

The outline looks like maybe it's a little different too (?) but of course one board is 26" wide and the other is 28" so maybe it's just the way the pics appear because of that -?

So, I'm guessing that the logic of the 2017 range is that the Javelin has been made more flat-water specialist, and the Maliko more DW/open-water oriented, and the all-rounder in the range will now be the Glide -?

If so, that makes sense. But they could maybe add a 14x27 Glide that is the same shape as the 14x29, to compete with the All Star type all-rounder for the rec racer, smaller touring paddler, and/or someone on a budget.

But this Maliko seems aimed fairly and squarely at the Bark Vapor/JL Sidewinder etc market, and these boards are just so versatile and pleasant to paddle that I can see it being very popular. Unless you are an avid racer, why would you buy a tippy board that can only cope with a narrow range of conditions when you could have a board that can cope with a much wider range, is more relaxing to paddle, and is almost as fast in flat water? As the cohort of "ex-racers" inevitably grows (most adults don't have the time, money, mental and physical energy, or physical durability to race even semi-seriously for more than two or three seasons), I can see market share of this kind of board growing. Well done Naish.

The main difference in the Maliko shape is the extra volume in the nose. Which is not such a bad thing.

I'm not sure I'd call the Maliko a true DW open ocean board.. It's more of a race board with the Jav being their flat water race board the Maliko is a DW race board or can be used as a more stable flat water board.. You will see in my other pics Naish have made a few small changes to the bottom.. The original Maliko (2016) was a great board and very fast but if there's one thing that wasn't a big fan of is that the nose doesn't like to pearl at speed like the Glides or my past Jav's.. The new nose shape has fixed that small issue and now the nose is happy to poke it's nose under without slowing or splashing much.. The definite v under the nose is gone and replaced with a rolled v or belly..

The new chamfer/chime not only helped with the nose by making it more pointy it helps stopping water sucking around the nose rail because there's now two sharper edges for water release.. The new belly under the nose helps with wide stroking the nose around and helps reduce any catching.. Once past the nose area the big single concave is now a shallower double concave and there is slightly more v before the fin.. This allowed the board to go from rail to rail to surf left and right slightly better..

I haven't measured it but the new new board feels like it has slightly more rocker.. and although there's slightly more volume this year my new 28" wide board is an inch wider in the tail over my 2016 26" wide board.. This was very noticable and much better IMO..

One more thing that chamfer/chime gives the board full width when stopped but once planing they reduce the overall width by heaps making it as fast as a much narrower board.. I think Naish did good..

Thanks for the comparison pics DJ. My only critical thought is that the hard rails might catch in side chop, or when doing a quick sweep to change directions.. But the proof's in the pudding.. What's your take on it DJ?

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SUPerD said...
Thanks for the comparison pics DJ. My only critical thought is that the hard rails might catch in side chop, or when doing a quick sweep to change directions.. But the proof's in the pudding.. What's your take on it DJ?

The belly under the nose and the chamfer on the rails seem to fix that.. No issues so far..

What width is the board you are using for comparison 26?

Is there just one chine or more? It's a clever idea for a DW board and I wonder why it's not been used before. I'm no expert, but my impression was that chines, and especially multi-chine hulls, are used in boats to aid planing as well as release of water. So if the nose going under and slowing was an issue with the 2016, then one way to help this might be to provide more opportunity for planing at the nose (no doubt alongside the belly that DJ notes - the belly on the Angulo Shaka for instance works really well to prevent pearling).

I can see the argument that chines might create surfaces that would catch when turning or in eg. cross-chop. But presumably if they are done at the right angle (fairly low down) and subtly, then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It clearly isn't too much of a problem in the boating world, at least. And there are other DW boards with very sharp rails all the way to the tip (eg. the M14) which actually behave very well in cross-chop. Actually, I think that hard rails in the nose can actually help in quartering wind because they can exaggerate rail steer, so you can use it to your advantage. So it actually seems possible to me that the 2017 Maliko might even be better than the 2016 one for quartering wind and swell. I look forward to finding out.

Another thing that presumably helps in turning the board is that the Maliko nose seems to skate along the surface of the water rather than being submerged the full length? I guess it will depend on your weight and where you stand though.

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TJR said...
What width is the board you are using for comparison 26?

Yes... They only made a 24 and 26 for 2016 and for 2017 they have 24.. 26.. and 28..

I know I'm comparing a 28 to 26 but the 26 has the same changed to it..

Concidering my new board is 28 and my old one is 26 the tail is only one inch wider..

That might give the outline more curve (less parallel) resulting in better turning when planing..

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Area10 said...
Is there just one chine or more? It's a clever idea for a DW board and I wonder why it's not been used before. I'm no expert, but my impression was that chines, and especially multi-chine hulls, are used in boats to aid planing as well as release of water. So if the nose going under and slowing was an issue with the 2016, then one way to help this might be to provide more opportunity for planing at the nose (no doubt alongside the belly that DJ notes - the belly on the Angulo Shaka for instance works really well to prevent pearling).

I can see the argument that chines might create surfaces that would catch when turning or in eg. cross-chop. But presumably if they are done at the right angle (fairly low down) and subtly, then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It clearly isn't too much of a problem in the boating world, at least. And there are other DW boards with very sharp rails all the way to the tip (eg. the M14) which actually behave very well in cross-chop. Actually, I think that hard rails in the nose can actually help in quartering wind because they can exaggerate rail steer, so you can use it to your advantage. So it actually seems possible to me that the 2017 Maliko might even be better than the 2016 one for quartering wind and swell. I look forward to finding out.

Another thing that presumably helps in turning the board is that the Maliko nose seems to skate along the surface of the water rather than being submerged the full length? I guess it will depend on your weight and where you stand though.

One chine and at a low angle so it shouldn't catch.. The lower edge of that chine is like a tucked edge on a surfing board rail.. Keeping that edge at a low angle is not easy to manufacture.. The shaper can put it there but the glasser and sander can loose it.. (I've been there with custom slalom windsurfing race boards) ..

I've heard that the unlimited board that Kai bought off Travis a couple of years ago had it and Kia loves it and it's a reason that board works so well.. Pretty sure it's the same board that Kai won the M2O on this year..

I see... so we have Billy Robello to thank - albeit indirectly - for this change (the nose chine) to the 2017 Maliko?

Did an upwind slog on my V2 today. All I could keep thinking about was how good it would be to have a nose like the new Jav slicing instead of the V2 slapping!

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Hawaiiheke said..
Did an upwind slog on my V2 today. All I could keep thinking about was how good it would be to have a nose like the new Jav slicing instead of the V2 slapping!

SIC V2 and 2017 Maliko..







JL 14 and Maliko..