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The Global has been in the Naish range for a while now (I think I first reviewed it in 2012) and for good reason: it is a classic surfboard for kiting with. There is nothing overplayed or overdone, and this is the board that you’ll find Jesse Richman and Robby Naish riding in their Maui backyard.
There are always some tweaks and developments in the Global to keep it up with the times and to utilize developments in materials and construction, and these are evident again for 2018. There is the crazy looking ‘bat-tail’ which enables the Global to pull in through the rear third (more like a pin tail) but then with the tail shape it can deliver a little more control and snappiness. The rails are relatively full through the mid-section but come in super-thin through the tail so you know that the Global is going to love driving off the bottom or the top of a wave… The Global continues to have a thruster set up and the Honeycomb Core fins are top quality, light, and have plenty of flex.
On the water and the Global is a deceptive board – the volume is relatively low (24.2l for the 5’10) but it cruises around like a much floatier board. There is a good amount of foam under your feet and – in this world of noseless boards with their effortless ‘cruising around’ performance – the Global can certainly hold its own where other directional boards would be feeling sluggish. When it comes to riding waves, the Global provides a nice stable platform for your take off which builds confidence, but then it really comes alive as your momentum builds. The single concave gives a nice injection of speed and the thinner rails and the tail shape give you the confidence to really use this and with the thruster set up you can really carve the Global into some tighter turns and feel like a true surfing legend. For more onshore conditions the Global has enough float to get a nice rhythm going and you can ride it pretty aggressively and really kick some spray up.
In a sentence: The Global continues to deliver pure surf performance to the masses. If you’re looking for one board that’ll keep you happy on overhead days as well as waist high ones, then the Global has got those credentials.
