Reviewed by Brendon.

Construction: Wood Sandwich.

Size: 9'6 Long * 29 and 1/4" Wide * 4 and 3/8" thick 135l volume.

Fins: Five Fin Setup.

Impressions:

The 9'6 Hukua is a great board as an introduction to shorter SUPs for lighter people and a great surf board for the heavier SUPer. I have been riding this board for over a year now and am still very impressed. I weigh in at about 100kg which limits my choice in shorter boards quite drastically.

This board was quite hard to "get into" in the beginning it felt nearly impossible to stand. Perseverance paid off and now this board feels more or less as stable as my previous 11'6. I love the length and believe that for me this is the perfect length for getting a fair amount of glide for the amount of energy I put in. This board is also a great board for the ladies who are getting into the surfing side of SUPing or just paddling around for fun.

Shape:

This board seems a bit wider than it really is 291/4 inches wide is not too wide and for me provides an amount of stability. It is really amazing how 1 1/4inches can make a huge difference in stability comparing it to the Nalu. What I think makes this board so special is what I call the "Duck Tail". In my opinion a Pin Tail is the best tail for glide while paddling. The problem with a Pin Tail is that you lose a bit of maneuverability. What Naish have done is cross a Pin Tail with a Swallow Tail creating a board with great glide and maneuverability. The rocker on this board is rather flat allowing for awesome down the line speed but compromising a slightly on the looseness in waves.

In The Water:

Paddling this board is a dream. She just glides through the water effortlessly.The board is comfortable and stable allowing you to concentrate your energy on your paddle strokes and not balancing. I have surfed this board from about one foot to eight foot and found its optimum range to be between about 2 and 4 foot. Over 6 foot it really gets hard to bury your rail and becomes quite hard to control the board.  This board in the right conditions nose rides like a dream. Strangely most of the time the nnose riding gets forgotten about because you are having so much fun whacking sections that seem impossible and making them due to the speed generated by the flat rocker. The plastic FCS fins that came with the board I found a little too flexible for my weight and changed them for some glass ones. 

Conclusion:

The 9'6 Hukua is an awesome surf board for the 95 KG + paddler. It is also a great introduction to smaller boards for the up to 80 kg paddler who will also find it fun to paddle around. This board has served me well and I will find it very hard to move to my next board. 

Ratings:

Appearance: 8/10

Quality and Finish: 9/10

Paddling (For its Size.): 9/10

Surfing: 9/10

Stability: 9/10

Maneuverability: 8,5/10