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Review | 2014 Fatyak Hono Multipurpose Board
First Surf
The conditions weren't perfect at just 1-2ft and messy. Unfortunately May and June provided little in the way of surf and this was about as good as things had been lately.
Being made of smooth rigid plastic the Hono is very slippery. Wearing a wetsuit, the front handles (which are perfectly placed so that it feels natural to hold them, rather than the rails), became more of a necessity than anything, just to be able to stay on the board. Things may be a little easier on a clean wave, but this made it difficult to paddle out, as letting go of the handles meant it was easy to slide off. Whilst we hadn't considered it before with the Hono, we may try waxing the deck before using it again*.
Generally, a bat-tail makes a bodyboard a little looser and helps with maneuverability. And channels on the underside of a board can also enhance performance, particularly with that bat-tail design.
However, due to the buoyancy and rigidity of the Hono, coupled with those underside channels perhaps, it felt as though it was riding a wave not dissimilar to a surf kayak, rather than a bodyboard. We're not saying that's a bad thing, but with no flex whatsoever, it does mean it tends to "skip" over the waves a little, making it more difficult to control.
We mentioned earlier that a bat-tail can aid with getting in to the prone position and they generally make a board faster. However, because the board is hard plastic, the central point of the tail is uncomfortable when you're holding the board to your chest, waiting to ride that wave.
Whilst a crescent tail may not look quite so cool, for the mixed riding style we would say the Hono was aimed at, the crescent design would be more versatile. And immediately solve that issue with being uncomfortable.
The other issue with making a board from hard plastic and reasonably heavy, is that it's not forgiving at all if you wipe-out on a wave. This goes, not just for the rider, but for swimmers and other boarders in the area too, so it is important that the supplied leash is used.
Don't get us wrong, it was great fun using the Hono; but for the experienced bodyboarder, a problem with composite boards has never existed and so no solution was needed:
We feel then, that the Hono is aimed at the beach user, looking to have a little fun, rather than the serious boarder looking to trade-up to something new.
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