First paddle in flat, back eddies, low tide sandbar and downbreezer. Verdict. Everything a little bit better, a little bit faster than the 2018. Stoked.
The top and bottom are matt over carbon. The rail section all around the board is very glossy and different finish which could very well be a fine plastic finish very smooth.
This is the picture taken by Burchas of his board. My board does not have the plastic layer on top of the deck. It has same brush carbon finish like the bottom of the board which looks a lot nicer.
How strange- why is the construction of yours and his different, do you think?
And how would I make sure that I got one like yours, unless of course burchas's condom was just packaging that someone hadn't removed:)
Beats me...
Maybe Burchas knows or a guy with a packing tape gun could not cut the tape and keep going....
Is it really tape/shrink-wrap, or is it just a layer of some sprayed-on top layer that hasn't bonded well with the substrate?
It looks to me like a decal with matte finish nothing more. Underneath it's the same glossy finish. I haven't even bothered to remove it all.
My intension was to fix the board, modify it with my fin box system grind all this crap down and paint it yellow before the world was shut down.
This is how it looks when the paint start to chip away. It didn't take a lot but then again, I put my equipment through rough stuff so I'm not an example.
Holy scrap, that's not good.
Ok well that's made the decision for me, anyway. I'm sick of paying large sums of my hard-earned cash on stuff that falls apart under normal use. My customs and Hypr boards show that this is not the way it has to be.
I bought three of the original Naish Glide/Javelins back about 10+ years ago. The construction of those was great. They seem to have gone backwards ever since IMO, and each year they are finding some reason for me to keep my money.
Please don't!!!!
BTW.
The 2021 (S25) has no saving grace in terms of aesthetics. The new stickers are now mixing the straight lines and color with the old Hawaiian motif of 2018 and earlier, creating a real dog's breakfast of a patchwork of styles. The graphic designer seems not to have known in which direction to go. Pot-pourri graphic.....a case of more is not better....
A matter of everyone's own taste of course.
My first two paddles show the same. Improvement on everything but sidewind side chop where the extra thickness can be slightly felt.
Reading the article that Luc posted, it ooks like the owners of the Maliko have put RA Pro tape or similar on the nose of the Maliko 2020. Maybe an indication of how durable they think it will be?
So far after a few paddles with the 2020 Maliko, it has really be an upgrade to the previous Maliko.
I had tried out a Sunova Torpedo 25.5 prior to purchasing the 2020 Maliko but the retail price tag at the time did not work for me while the 25% discounted Maliko did :-). This might change in the winter.
Asked about the Torpedo and the Maliko, there are two aspects where I find the Torpedo superior:
1) The obvious one which is the construction and the look of the wood finish
2) The less obvious one, is the ability to work bumps and paddle in a downbreezer where bumps are "bigger" than the wind level.
The 2020 Maliko is definitely an upgrade to the 2019/2018 in that respect but the 25.5 Torpedo is a bit better from my point of view with its ability to "seat" the tail and keep moving fast.
The Torpedo is a little bit more nervous and racy but the Maliko is a strong base from which to paddle on.
I should be able to try a 27" Torpedo in a few weeks, which will add to the equation.