Review: Naish Raptor

Summary: The Naish Raptor is a board designed for surfing small ocean waves. Lucky for us, it works well on river waves, too! Continue reading for the full review…

The Raptor is a board that gets me excited! It’s not a board I take down to my local creek and surf small holes on. It’s not a board that I bring when exploring a new spot. It’s a board I bring when I know the conditions are going to be killer. I surf the Raptor when the waves are glassy (and ideally big), and when the wave has a huge face to make cutbacks across. I surf the Raptor on the best days of the season. That’s why the Raptor makes me excited.

The Raptor is not a board that would be able to surf holes that are common in most whitewater parks. Even waves that are just bumpy, like Ponderosa in Durango, can be tricky on the Raptor. And at 7 feet long, it doesn’t work well on steep waves like Lunch Counter, or waves that are designed for shortboarding.

The Raptor is best suited for glassy and smooth waves with room on the face/shoulder to make turns. Waves like either side of Glenwood, Pueblo’s 3rd Wave, and (I assume) Big Sur. In my opinion, these waves are some of the best waves for SUP river surfing. The Raptor is one of the best boards to take advantage of these top waves during their best conditions.

On these types of waves the board is fast and stable, yet responsive. It does take a bit to get used to the wide tail, but once comfortable with shifting your back foot from rail to rail, the board really comes alive and the carves are amazing. If you’re into spinning, the board will do that, too: 360s, pop shuvits, and surfing backwards are all surprisingly easy.

The construction of the Raptor is top notch. I got zero dings in the first season. The only ding was a small pressure dent from the initial shipping. The only bummer is the non-vented plug which should be removed when the board is transported.

I do wish the Raptor came in a 6’6″ version, which would allow the board to fit on steeper waves. With a slightly more pulled in tail, good rail to rail transitions could be accomplished without shifting your rear foot, which would help whenever the wave has bumps and imperfections on it.

Despite these shortcomings, the Raptor is a great board that is super fun to surf in good conditions.