NAISH Skater
Sizes Available: 5’0″ x 18″ x 2″, 21.9L, 5’2″ x 18 3/4″ x 2 1/16″, 23.7L, 5’4″ x 19 3/4″ x 2 1/4″, 27.3L
Sizes Tested: 5’0″ x 18″ x 2″, 21.9L
Naish Says:
2020 brings new sizes, outlines, rocker profiles, a lightweight Durafinish construction, grab rails and new corduroy pads for increased grip and comfort. Responsive and snappy, the Skater is the perfect board for kiters who ride a variety of conditions and the choice for twin tip riders that are new to directional riding. Featuring a compact and modern shape, the Skater takes directional strapped or strapless riding to new levels of fun anywhere, in any condition. The compact outline, provides amazing control in the air, making the board stick to your feet more than any conventional directional board could ever match.
For 2020 the Skater has been fine-tuned with a shorter outline to deliver improved control and balance. This assists riders as they execute aerial tricks and hit critical wave sections with ease and confidence. The incredibly durable bamboo laminate construction works with lightweight Durafinish construction and added laminate combined with a full deck pad to provide outstanding impact resistance. The rocker and single concave combine to improve grip and maneuverability for a tighter turning radius and outstanding upwind ability. The beveled rails in the front provide amazing forgiveness when coming down from a top turn on steep waves or landing jumps backward. Thinner rails help twin tip riders transition to directional riding faster and easier.
Visit for more info: www.naishkites.com/product/skater/
Our Testers Say:
“After riding in many different conditions, I was very pleased with the Skater’s all around performance. You get the control of a twin tip with the float to play in the waves.” // Kelly Grief
“The Skater features a good amount of volume and a wider outline for its size while delivering a very stable buoyant ride that goes upwind well.” // Dray Murray
“Early planing and stable, this board holds its line while going upwind through the chop and comes alive when carving with energetic turning.” // Tom Moore
Tkb Says:
This year the Naish Skater got some significant tweaks to its outline that takes its strapless freestyle to a new level. The Skater features a compact shape with a fairly rounded outline with a wide-point set slightly in back of the front footpad that gently curves into a wider nose. The boxy tail is outfitted with a bat-wing trailing edge and gunned with a thruster fin setup. The bottom shape is a simple single concave from nose to tail, with what looks like a flatter rocker through the tail and slightly more rocker scoop in the nose. The Skater comes with a ¾ deck pad that is split, featuring fine corduroy grip with circular holes on the front pad, drilled out to lower weight and provide extra grip. There are four forward/aft insert options for the front foot and the tail features four forward/aft inserts for strap placement, noticeably, the two front options are down the center of the board, and the back two inserts allow for setting a bit of duck into the strap.
When you pick up the Skater you can feel its medium weight construction that gives you a good dose of durability without limiting its strapless freestyle performance. The simpler bottom shape and lower rocker feel really fast through the water and when combined with the boxy tip and tail along with the board’s generous volume, the Skater seems to offer a little more range in lighter conditions for its shorter size. Testers found that the Skater’s compact shape charges upwind quite well with the tighter rails carving noticeably clean lines through the chop, earning it good marks for smooth easy riding without chatter or any seesawing movement. The thruster fin setup has good solid grip while carving turns, with positive traction on bottom turns and enough grip to redirect the board in burgery surf. We had some fun waist high windswell and the Skater felt super fun and fast in medium sloppy waves, with good frontside drive, backside control and easy turn initiation ”” this board delivers an excellent blend of stability and responsive carving. In terms of strapless airs, the blocky nose and tail really seem to help levitate the board in stronger winds, which helped keep the nice feeling domed deck glued to our feet on bigger airs. When it comes to load and pop, the Skater enter jumps with a ton of speed and the tail’s larger surface area creates strong load and pop for easy departures. Testers loved the corduroy traction pads which proved comfy, yet just grippy enough for sticking harder landings. The Skater offers a higher volume approach to strapless freetyle with active and fast handling that will score points with freeride kiters while delivering user-friendly carving in small and medium-sized waves.
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