Naish Mana GS Review

The Mana was relatively unimpressive across the board. This board gave a decent performance overall, falling a little short in terms of gliding but making up for it in maneuverability. All in all, it shows that this board's design is heavily focused towards surfing, to the detriment of its general paddling performance.

Glide Performance

The Naish Mana scored in the middle of the pack for the calm water time trial test, hitting an average time of 75.67 seconds. This put it in fifth place overall, finishing about 10 seconds slower than the fastest board, the Saber. The Naish performed relatively similar on the rough water version of this test, once again finishing in fifth overall, but this time only trailing the Surftech Saber by about seven seconds with its time of 114.94.

For our glide per paddle stroke test, the Naish once again finished in the lower half of the pack. This test was designed to assess the efficiency of each board by measuring how far you traveled for each paddle stroke. For the flat water test, it took an average of 47 paddle strokes to cross our test course — about ten more than the top-performing board in this test, the Saber. The performance of the Naish dropped in the rough water version of this test, finishing in the second to last position. This board took 30 paddles to complete the course, about eight more than the top-performing model, the BIC Ace-Tec.

Stability

This board was average in handling rough water, managing most waves and wakes without knocking our testers off. This board is a little on the small side, meaning it's not the best suited for transporting extra passengers or tons of cargo. However, the Naish was still better at transporting cargo than the California Board Company, the Raven, and the Saber.

This board wasn't the favorite of any of the novice paddlers, but no one complained about using this one — once they found the correct footing.

Maneuverability

The Naish didn't impress us in the slalom course, putting up a time of 94.83 — the third-slowest time of the group. This board maneuvered around the buoys well, but just didn't have the speed that other models in the group had. This model did redeem itself in our U-turn test, having one of the smallest turning radii of the group. The triple fin setup substantially helps this board carve, allowing it to complete relatively tight turns without back paddling.

Ease of Transport

The Naish is one of the lightest boards we tested, weighing in at 26.5 pounds. It's relatively easy to load on a car — something that definitely could be accomplished by a single person.

This model is also quite easy to carry and isn't too bad to move, significantly helped by its shorter length. This board has an internal recessed handle that was relatively comfortable and ergonomic.

Durability

The Naish scored about average in our durability tests. This model had some scratches in the paint and a few scuffs on the side, but no other damage. We also didn't find any recurring issues noted online.

Best Applications

This short and surfy SUP is nimble and maneuverable — it is one of the few boards of the group that we would actually consider trying to surf on. It responds well to shifts in your body weight, but it isn't the best bet for larger paddlers. The Naish Mana GS is a bit of a niche board, so we wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but it's a solid option for anyone who regularly encounters waves in their SUP excursions.

Value

This board isn't a great value, scoring poorly and having one of the highest list prices of the group.

Conclusion