Sunday, December 12, 2010

Day 3 on the 7'8 Hokua

My 9'0 Hokua order is CANCELLED. This 7'8 is the best SUP I have ever surfed. It's one of those rare magic sticks that we call a "must have" in the quiver. So much easier to stand on than you could ever imagine possible for a 7'8 and surfs at a whole different level. I'm sure 200 lb guys with good SUP skills could surf this too.

Today I ran the fins I saw in Robby Naish's 7'8 Hokua. The Q1 trailers. Although I had M5s in the front and Robby had M7s. It felt spot on.

After this mornings session, I'm "dreaming" of surfing like Autry (a.k.a Surf Machine).

All photos from the same wave







10 comments:

rdm said...

DW,
Can you and your wife jump from the 9' Mana to the 7'8 pretty easily?

NC Paddle Surfer said...

Yes. I think the 9'0 Mana and 7'8 Hokua make an ideal quiver.

FYI, Coastal Urge now does the REI style credit back deal. You get $140 back on a 7'8 Hokua purchase.

Unknown said...

similar Q as Ralph: does it make sense to own Mana 9 and this Hokua? In what situation do they overlap? or you can pretty much in the same conditions be on one or another and one just have more shotboard feel vs. longboard? What are the conditions were one has certain advantage over another? I know 3 days sample is very short to answer this, but i'll repeat this Q 6 months from now, when my season starts :) I am watching your every post about 7'8":)

Unknown said...

so how much it is now - 1400-140?

Unknown said...

and another one - travel with Hokua, what do you think. I have a heavy duty wsrfng bag, probably for 9' or may be 9'6" wsrfr. a bit too narrow, but if I put hokua in its bag inside this heavyduty wsrfg bag, will it survive? what you think?

NC Paddle Surfer said...

Andrew,

It doesn't make sense to own just one. It makes perfect sense to own both. The 7'8 is better for beach break surf. Steep or hollow. The Mana is ideal for mushy surf.

For example, Surf Machine uses the 8'0 PSH in all type waves, but when it's mushy, he becomes a board pumping machine just to stay with the wave. When I tried the PSH at the inlet (mushy wave spot), I found myself doing the same bunny hop and pumping my ass off to stay with it. Having a longboard style SUP (Mana) to compliment a shortboard SUP (Hokua) is ideal.

The shop here does $10 credit with every $100 spent, and it applies to boards, not just clothing. So it can be over $200 in credit with some boards.

Double bagging might work, but bags tend to be heavy. If the weight gets too high, I think it increases the risk of abuse. Packing materials are light. I think its worth bubble wrapping before bagging it and saving it for the return trip.

Brian Autry said...

Hey guys, sorry to miss you this morning. I would have like to try your new stick.

The DOGG and I were having puttin' on a PSH expo this morning at Hamlet st...LOL

Have you put up any detailed photos of the board yet?

NC Paddle Surfer said...

I didn't take any photos because I had previously posted photos of the 7'8 taken by DJ in Australia.

http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-want-oneby-christmas-please.html

Brian Autry said...

I agree. A 9-9'6" would be my 2nd board... but not for mush. (I can ride the nose of my 6'6" surfboard to shore.)"Bunny Bouncing" is just my style, not caused by the board. Watch B-Dogg in the simular situations, no bounce. Now paddle speed and postioning for big outside inlet masonboro shoals or reef waves I would use bigger boards. Or for getting outside fast. A guess you really have to analyze and disect your style and abilities to find answers.

I've surfed a 10' for year and found no real advantage in small surf. Now the big surf out west I would ride something 10' or bigger because the faces are so wide open for cutbacks.

Andrew... I traveled with SubVectors wrapped in towels, wetsuits and a surfboard in a giant board bag and no issues with damage. I think they were too heavy to toss. I've traveled with a small surfboard wrapped well and had the tail in crushed.

Unknown said...

guys keep commenting :) music to my ears. especially, my last wsrfng date was Nov 06, after that the winter came but unfortunately no snow here. its 2 weeks before xmas but i already gained weight :(
so reading your comments and browsing your photos are the only things that keep me going.