Tkb Review: 2021 NAISH Global

Sizes Available: 5’7” x 18 1/4” x 2 1/4” – 24.6L, 5’9” x 18 1/4” x 2 5/16” – 26.1L
Sizes Tested: 5’7” x 18 1/4” x 2 1/4” – 24.6L

Naish Says:

The Global is made to be ridden fast and hard””designed to match the speed and power of the world’s best waves. Whether it’s perfect reef breaks or mushy onshore waves, the S25 Global will have riders ripping like a pro, session after session.

Featuring a double bamboo sandwich deck with our lightweight durafinish to keep the board light and strong, giving the rider absolute confidence in even the heaviest situations. S25 features a squash tail for a clean, fast release and pronounced rocker in the tail. This allows the Global to draw out long, smooth turns beautifully and is snappy and responsive when ridden vertically in the pocket.

Visit for more info: www.naishkites.com/product/global/

TKB Says:

The Global is one of our favorite high-performance boards to test with its fast rocker that generates and handles a ton of speed while the squash tail delivers perfect control during hits in the pit. With a lighter weight build and tweaks to the tail rocker the Global has only gotten better in terms of performance wave riding.

At first look, the Global features a classic high performance surf outline with nice thin rails up front and through the mid-section, but going hard and crisp into the quad tail. The bottom shape is smooth with a subtle single concave running from nose to tail. The performance shape falls on the narrow side, but when combined with the new rocker profile the Global accelerates extremely fast and likes to handle high speed. This works great if you’re chasing the face around the next section or if you’re locked into a grinder and need every inch of speed. The new/increased tail rocker feels like it is easier to initiate bottom turns and finds the perfect balance of pivoting when you hit the lip. When we had good waves, the Global screams into any section and squares up like a champ with just enough nose rocker to drop back in and do it all over again. The grip on the squash tail is just right for a confident hold on hard drawn-out turns, but just enough wash to break free in the lip. With the subtle changes this year, the Global feels a little more playful in smaller waves with easier slashes where the board both swings around and re-enters the wave with less back foot pressure and much easier finesse. When it comes to edging upwind to get back to the top of the break, the Global does a great job of cutting through the chop with a steady and reliable edge that doesn’t feel tinny or chaotic. While the Global will keep things fun between bomber swells at your local break, this board really gets the adrenalin pumping when you hit chest high or bigger.

In terms of strapless freestyle, the Global makes load and release airs a bit easier, but it’s not really a strapless freestyle board with its rocker profile and narrow width. That said, its lighter weight does make it much more flickable for aerials in waves. For strapped riders, the Global comes with five forward and aft options for the front foot that lineup down its center, and the back foot gets two sets of strap options, one for the center and one for duck stance. The deck pad features three split-up patches of subtle corduroy pads, and the tail sports a good-sized kick. The corduroy mixes firmness with just enough plushness to give you a little softness, but mostly highly tactile feel of the board’s performance. In the end, the Global is a stellar top to bottom performance board that will excel on your best waves days, but brings just enough playfulness to get through those flatter days.