Its my first time listing a forum, so im hoping someone can help me, im female 83kg 5'11, ive got a 12'6 javelin x28 GX, im finding it stable in the flat and its pretty fast, but i want to change boards as i get better - im thinking about the 12'6 carbon javelin 26 inch, but have seen the 2016 allstar - im a naish nut but am at the point of changing as the naish distributor here in NZ doesnt have the full range. So im hoping someone can help me with a comparison - Is the allstar faster, and can i go to the 25 inch instead of the 27 considering my weight? Also, the javelin seems to stop dead in the upwind chop (realise its more race/downwind designed)- it comes thru the wave then slaps its ass on the next one and feels like hitting a wall.
Would the allstar be better in chop than the javelin, or should i look at 2 boards? ie an ace (say a 2014 12'6x27 carbon) for chop ? Then swap out my existing jav for either the 26le jav (assuming i can lay my hands on one) or the allstar?
Any thoughts would be so greatly appreciated - im really confused at the mo!!!
And one last thing.......what is the fastest race fin for flatwater for the jav? Any ideas?
Someone please help a nutty kiwi??!!!!!!!!!!
Have you thought of going all the way and getting a 14' jav.faster again .
a good 14 cuts through chop ,better than a 12.6.
and you find it will be the same price as a 12,6.
just a thought . 
staying with the 12'6 length due to the class we are racing in - cant go to the 14 unfortunately. But your comment makes alot of sense...
If you're a Naish fan and you're looking for something a bit more all water you should probably look at the Maliko. They do a 12'6" in 24" (possibly a 26" as well) I've no personal experience with them but the people local to me who are one the 14' are damn quick in pretty much all conditions.
Select to expand quoteTodzilla said..
If you're a Naish fan and you're looking for something a bit more all water you should probably look at the Maliko. They do a 12'6" in 24" (possibly a 26" as well) I've no personal experience with them but the people local to me who are one the 14' are damn quick in pretty much all conditions.
Yes the maliko comes in a 12.6 x24 or 26 ...I haven't ridden one but they say they are better in the chop due to the new nose design .
Re: getting a second board:
If you’re training for races I’d stick with one board, the one you’ll race with. Nothing like knowing your board well. If you really wanted to get 2 boards I’d build a bit more variety in your quiver. For example if your race board is 12’6 and as narrow as you can go I’d get a 14’ downwind board for fun and open ocean conditions.
Re: optimal upwind chop shape
In my opinion upwind is where the board you are on makes the least difference. It’s all about the paddler. I did years on an old surfboard shape paddling with a crew on race boards. It was very hard to keep up with the gang except upwind. Upwind I found the board makes little difference. Really. That said just looking at the hull shapes the Allstar looks like it would slap a little less and does have great reports of stability and upwind chop performance. Jav Maliko looks like a nice board.
Re: width and which board
That really is up to you, your skill set, your appetite to deal with a trickier board (will tire your legs more) and the conditions you ride. Obviously you can learn to ride small but there is a point of diminishing returns (if you are falling in). Take one step at a time. Don’t forget races are super choppy conditions if you aren’t in the lead. Seriously, you do need to try them to know. There should be enough Javs and Allstars at races. If they aren’t at your local races you just need to go to bigger races.
Just re-read this and saw the bit about the fins...
That's a tough one. Of late i've been using a VMG Mako Time Trial for long distance stuff in flat water and a Mako 44 for rougher stuff. Both are excellent fins. One thing that a few others noticed with the two of them though was that for short distance sprint work the 44 was better as it tracked you straighter for longer. Anything with a bit more distance then the TT fin would be better. There's always the happy medium with the Mako 35 too though - best of both worlds? They're not super cheap though...
There are a thousand other fins on the market naturally, and i find the Naish fins pretty good straight out of the box, i'm sure there'll be others with differing opinions and recommendations. I guess the old adage of demo, demo, demo rings try here if you can find a shop that does this...
