Test: Naish Starship 105

On land:

Naish has pushed its Starship model through the stubby sieve - with a fairly straight outline and strikingly angular nose and tail sections, the board no longer has anything to do with its predecessor in purely visual terms. The board is now much more compact, but at 236 centimetres long, the 105-litre model is still within the normal range for freemove boards of this type. The Starship is available in 85/95/105 and 115 litre sizes.

On the water:

The Stubby still gets up to speed well, only at the lowest wind limit does the board now require a slightly more active riding style than its predecessor. On the other hand, the board feels noticeably freer, sportier and more compact when planing. The control is still at a very high level even in rough conditions, the Starship is damped, pulls along as if on rails and feels fast and sporty to ride - an extremely successful combination. Despite the 36 mm single fin, the 105-litre model we tested feels much tighter and the board can now also carve better than its predecessor thanks to the straight outline. The noticeably sportier orientation comes at the cost of a small loss when easy jibing - stabilising the edge and gliding through the jibe now requires more sensitivity. All in all, a successful board with a good range of use from bump & jump to freeride. Price: 1849 Euro

Info under www.naish.com