2015 Naish 14 Le

How wide?

Yepp! They're FAST!

Select to expand quote

lazydog said..
Has anyone seen the specs already...would be great to see what is the weight difference between 12'6 LE 26 and 12'6 GX 26? I am also interested to know what is the max recommended rider weight for LE 26. I am pretty heavy (86 kg, 187 cm) and can't choose between 26 and 28.

Are they doing the 26 in GX or just the 28?

GX is very nice looking board too:

I should have a good change to get one, but i should know will 26 work for 87 kg or should I buy a 28. All help/ good opinions are very apreciated.

Great perspective DJ. thanks. Cant wait for these to hit the states.

In the flat the 28 is not as fast as the 26. in the ocean, up to your skills between the two.

if thats 1 minute 35..... what were you paddling before? a 10'6 nalu?

Had a go on the 14 x 26" LE this morning at the Jamieson Park 5.0 time trial.
Looks great, construction looks and feels good. Very light. I changed the stock fin to my VMG Blade fin.
There was a stiff headwind and small chop to the first left turn buoy just over 1km from the start. The Jav handled it very well. I really like the way the nose rides over chop and the water gets displaced underneath. Felt quick into the wind.
The stiff headwind then turned into a stiff side/right quarter wind with the associated chop. The board tracked pretty straight. I did have to do a few course corrections but from experience that would be the case with most other boards too. I noticed several other paddlers struggled a bit keeping on line. I did shift my standing position forward a bit to engage the nose a bit more to see if it would assist with tracking in the side wind. That didn't seem to change much so I shifted back to my original position with my toes just past the handle which seemed to have the board trimming very well.
I liked the way the board stayed very flat while paddling without nose/rail steering.
On the last straight on the way home with the wind behind me it felt like the Jav was lifting a bit and catching some of the small chop on the lake.
It felt very very stable the whole time and kick turned 180deg easily.
All in all I like the new Naish Jav and I think it's going to be a good race board.
I'm looking forward to trying it on some mild DW to test out this piercing/accelerating nose theory.

Select to expand quote

hanza1111 said..
Nice review.

Has anyone here compared the flex of the 2014 vs 2015 14' x 26? Have they beefed it up?
cheers

I've heard that they have beefed it up and made it stiffer.

I should be able to compare the two soon because a friend is getting a new 14x26 Jav.. and I have last years 14x26 Jav.

Hi Guys,

I had a quick crack at the new 14x26 Jav LE vs my old 2013 14x23 LE today back to back with the GPS on.

Wind was Nth 12 to 15 kts, so pretty light conditions. Did some 500m in and outs to test the two boards back to back with the same fin. (7.5 FCS Dolphin)

I went on the old board first. lap speeds were 6.4km up wind, 10.1km downwind (with a kick turn at each end), 6.3km, 10.4km, 6.4km, 10.7km, 6.7km, 10.6km, 6.2km, 9.2km.

Then the new board 6.5km, 10.2km, 6.4km, 10.5km, 6.3km, 10.9km, 6.6km, 10.7km.

So the averages on the old board were 6.4 km upwind and 10.2 Downwind. I know I had a shocker on the last downwind leg. Just didn't get any runs. My heart rate was 8bpm higher as well.

The averages on the new board were 6.45km upwind and 10.57km downwind. So all in all the new Javelin looks like a winner compared to the old one in light downwind conditions. Even if you take out the shocker I had on the last downwind leg (10.45km) it is still in front. (and consider I paddled the new board at the end of the session when I was starting to get a bit tired)

I found I was having a bit of trouble finding where I needed to be on the new board as it was my first time on it in the bumps, (I have paddled a 12'6 in Hawaii a few times but not the 14') with allot less rocker it has a tendency to push into the little waves in between the troughs, but with a bit of practice trimming it and finding the timing of when to paddle and when to coast I feel it has allot of potential to go quicker.

Stability wise the new board wins with ease. Kick turning in the bumps was allot easier and I used allot less support strokes with my paddle. I still got a bit of a burn in my legs on the old board (usual with staying low and having a crack at pumping the board onto some runs) but was really good on the new one.

Flex wise the new board is stiffer. Im sure the shape helps.

So there you go. Bit of a first impression of the two boards. Keen to do a real downwind run over some of the old runs from last years sea breeze season to really compare.

Select to expand quote

yugi said..
Outstanding review. Thanks.

Next question is 2015 Jav X26 vs X28. Can the X28 really be as quick as the X26 or do we stick with the current rule that narrower is always faster?

All else equal the narrower board will always be quicker - unless the rider is too unstable on the narrower board to maximise it's potential. I'm overall quicker on the 2014 Jav LE x26 than I am on the 23" 2014 Jav LE - because it doesn't tire me as much and because I can get through the messy bits more efficiently. When it's clean and I'm fresh, the 23" is still the faster board....

I have seen boards where a slight change in rocker made the wider board faster....so it's not an impossibility.

Ocean Addicts handed over a brand spanker 14x26 this arvi for a lap around lake kawana.

First impression is its very stable, to the point that i think an intermediate could comfortably lake and river paddle it, and feels smooth.

Im 98kg and it still felt of adequate volume for flat water.

off the line its quick enough to allow me to stick with Trev on his sprint and hitch a wash ride down to the halfway mark. it wash rides well and sitting on the sprints wash was surprisingly easy.

unfortunately i bobbled two bouy turns in a row and that was enough to lose my free ride. hard sloghome into a 5-10knt headwind was as easy as i could hope for with not enoughfitness and a few too many kegs.

overall from a flatwater point of view i was pleasantly surprised with the 26'. its certainly well paced for a 26' and was a very nice wash rider.

I'll give it a run DW soon and add some additional info.

Hi Bob.. I had a 2014 Glide (29" wide) in the GS that I loved.. but sold it.. and bought the 2015 Jav (28" wide) like the one in Lazydogs picture (above).. I'm very happy with it..

A friend just just bought a 2014 Glide in the GX and it's an awesome board.. and they are very hard to find because they don't make them anymore.. If you can get one I say go for it..

Congrats on the 8'8" X32.. Nice..