INBOUND: NAISH Glider HA Series

A foil built fairly specifically by Naish for all you pumping fans appeared on our radar recently. But lighter wind downwind fans should also take note… 

Firstly, tell us the concept behind the new Glider series…

We created the Glider HA series (1400 and 1800) with ease of pumping for dock and beach starts in mind. The name gives it away, as they provide maximum glide making pumping for long distances as easy as possible. Our second objective was to create a foil range that can also be used for lightwind downwind foiling. 

So what makes it such a banger for dockstarts?

The large wingspan in combination with its efficient foil section provides maximum pumping performance. The foil section we came up with for these wings has enough thickness and a good amount of camber to provide lots of low-end lift. What this does is takes the load off your legs, making it easier to conserve your energy when pumping around giving the rider maximum flight time.  

Why does the Glider series require its own specific fuselage? 

The large wingspan requires additional support at the fuselage connection. By widening the fuselage front connection, the load gets distributed better and the foil therefore has less twist from tip to tip. This feature increases the efficiency of your pumps, giving you more distance and time on glide for each pump. 

Wider span wings have to be stiff, talk to us about the construction of the new wings to aid this?

Too much flex in the foil itself or at the fuselage connection essentially gives away energy when riding. Therefore we choose a very stiff layup that we achieve through the strategic use of UD and 3K carbon. All of our foils are made in prepreg technology, which allows us great tolerance consistency, more control over weight, and increased durability. We use stainless steel molds, plotter cutting for the carbon panels and a dual expansion core system to achieve maximum stiffness by adding pressure from both inside and outside the surface of the foils as they cure. 

As you mentioned, it’s also built for lightwind downwinding. This has obviously seen huge interest over the past few months. Did that help inform the creation of the Glider series?

Through its growth on Maui we have been able to be part of the downwind foiling development since the beginning. With Maui being quite windy, the original perception was that downwind foiling is exclusive to very windy places. With the rapid gear development that is happening, foils like the Glider HA allow us to push the limit for downwind runs into the 10 knot range. With a little bit of practice, it is possible to paddle up a Glider HA in dead flat water. Setting the pace to do downwinders in light wind conditions no matter if on a lake or in the ocean. We truly believe that this will help grow that scene globally. And, although it was not the Glider’s original purpose, we wanted to ensure that the wings are fast enough to work for these applications as well. This played a big role in the design of the foil section, making sure that it works great for both. 

How did you go about selecting the sizing?

The Glider HAs are available in 1400 and 1800cm2. We picked this sizing as they give enough area support for pump foiling, covering the majority of rider weights and skill levels. Much lighter riders can drop down to smaller sizes within our HA range. For pump foiling we can recommend the 1400 for riders at 80kg and below and the 1800 for heavier riders. For lightwind downwind foiling those sizes connect well with the sizes of the HA range which can be used in windier conditions. 

Our favourite question to round off… what else is new/incoming from Naish HQ?!

Lots upcoming, not too much I can share at this point but all I can hint at is that we have really been enjoying downwinding at the moment!