NEW Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder 14' Race Board

I finally picked up my new 25" carbon Sidewinder through Jimmy Lewis Australia, with great communication through Rob who kept me well informed as to delivery dates. Disclaimer: I paid for my board and am not a team rider.
I'd ordered it on the strength of other reports overseas wanting a different board to those models on sale here, having owned or tried a lot of them. I like the concept of the "boof nosed " board with good volume, wider tail and loosely based on the clubbie style boards.
I was blown away by the quality, even the wrapping was superb with the board arriving foam wrapped within the box, but also encased within a cotton fabric sock too. The finish is simply the best I've ever seen, great graphics too. Weighing in at 10kg with the weed shedding fin, the handle allows fingers full access and even better is in the right spot being balanced. The deck pad is very soft under foot, running all the way to the tail. It comes with four handle attachment points, with a FCS mount on the nose. A handle wasn't supplied but I understand they're on the way.
On the water, the board rides high given its volume and glides well. It has less side to side roll than another similar red board, and is very very stable. The nose rides over bumps without slowing, or pierces through bigger ones easily! the nose coming through without rolling abruptly to one side. The light weight allows one to catch small bumps easily. i did notice that if bunny hopping back or forward there is a small flex, but it stops immediately and is no different to some others for sale now. Certainly paddling into or across chop, there is no flex then with the board feeling alive on the water - sounds funny but some boards just bog down unlike this. Surfing it is fun too. The board tracks very well, rail steering easily and predictably too. I'll report further after I get s chance to try a downwind on it. In the flat the board is certainly quick, am looking forward to doing a timed lap at Lake Kawana, though now I already want a 23" Sidewinder for that.
Certainly look at this board for the quality and stability it offers.

Any demos available in Perth yet?

The underside of the board is a lighter colour, will post a picture soon. But the board comes a gore tex vent and I believe that will be all it needs despite the darker colour. I've never had a problem with my SIC Bullet which has the gore tex vent and the SIC is black.

HI Baddog,
The bottom is almost white...I had mine on the car all weekend & out as the race yesterday & it was very warm in Port & no problems...As JT says the vent also works a treat...

HI Komsup,
The Rail is a more refined version of the M-14 & better for our downwind conditions as opposed to living on Maui & doing downwinders there.
This is the ultimate race board for moderate to extreme down wind conditions. The lower over all rocker gives this board very low drag paddling with quick acceleration for getting into glides. This tested bottom curve does not ever “stick” or “catch” up front while on a glide or getting into a glide. This unique bottom shape starts with a “V” in the nose that separates the water entry for zero drag and flows into a double concave which gives the board lift and direction then flows into a “V” in the back for effortless rail to rail responsiveness.
I can send one to Melbourne no problem...
I have a NON-Carbon Rail that's just arrived & it's $2995 and the Carbon $3495(or I have a demo Blue Carbon you can have for $2500 that's mint)

Looks nice. The Sidewinder has been a the top of my list for boards I've been wanting to test for awhile now. I'm thinking the 14 X 27 as an all conditions distance board.

HI Keto,
A 14x25" Sidewinder just went over to Gordon McKercher at Stand Up Paddle that I'm sure you can demo if you contact him..

C e n t r a lU4 / 18 Peel Road O’Connor WA 6163 Ph 08 9314-6789 Fax 08 9314-6728 Mob 0417-911311 www.supcentralwa.com.au this week.

So I managed a test paddle of the 14' x 25" JL Sidewinder here in Perth yesterday thanks to Gordon from SUP Central.

Notes on the test paddler!!
42 years young
Intermediate paddler - 12months on SUP
Lives for Downwind
Balance on skinny boards is an issue!
95kg (not fat - top heavy )
Pretty fit

Conditions:
Sunny light winds - Swan River
Heaps of boat wash
Type of paddle; structured training session:
10min warm up
10min drills
7 x 1min efforts all out
4min rest inbetween
Cool down

Remarks:

What a beautiful board!
Suprisingly stable for a 25" board - well for me anyway!
Graphics & construction best I've seen
Light! At around 9kg this is the lightest board I've paddled.
The nose is well designed - pushed away (deflected) boat chop with ease, instead of the nose getting buried or swamped.
So nice on the feet - deck grip similar to my SIC boards - doesn't feel rough like some other grips.
Pretty quick! Average speed during my 7 1min efforts was a total of 10.8km/hr & tops of 12.2 & 12.4 in most efforts - that's with hitting numerous boat wash wakes too...

So overall I was really really impressed with the Sidewinder, but would I go with the 27" version is the real question?!!

Final note:
Recently Ive paddled the 2017 Allstar 14 x 24.5" alongside the 2016 SIC FXpro 14 x 25 - the sidewinder was more stable than both of these boards.

Still awaiting to get on the 27" Allstar to make any final decision though.

Thanks again to SUP Central

Nice looking board and great review.

Thanks KetoFirefighter for the awesome review and really glad you enjoyed the Sidewinder....They really are the perfect 1 raceboard quiver...
I do think you'd get use to & be comfortable on the 25" after a couple more paddle sessions on it as I'm now using the 23" in the ocean on calm days (I'm 80kg & 6'1) & using the 25" for downwinders and rough days (even though I did do a 13km lake downwinder on the 23" without falling last week) ... I find the 23" incredibly quick in the flatwater but in a downwind situation the glide of the 25" made it just as quick & even easier to catch the runs on... I'm looking forward to paddling the 14x25" Sidewinder in the KOTC... Thanks again for taking the time to write your review... Rob

I'm sure someone has. But the chances of getting an unbiased review is close to zero.

I don't see the two boards as competitors much though. The Sidewinder is much more an ocean board, whereas the All Star is probably used more by inland paddlers than coastal ones. The sidewinder has a lovely comfortable flat deck too, whereas the AS doesn't. If you love flat decks (or at least, decks with only minimal standing area depression, like the Bark Vapor or Naish Maliko), then more complex decks like the AS might be a deal breaker right off the bat. I have one dugout, and I'd never buy another. But some people love them, of course. It's just another way in which the AS and Sidewinder probably appeal to different people.

I see the Sidewinder as competing with the Bark Vapor, Naish Maliko, Bullet V2 etc, whereas the AS's natural competitor is eg. the SIC FX.

Ok this is a category logic problem. So maybe I haven't expressed it well. What I meant was "the majority of the Sidewinders sold will be used mainly in the ocean, whereas this is probably not the case for the All Star ". Probably more All Stars are sold to inland paddlers throughout the world since throughout the world there are more inland paddlers than coastal ones. So if the All Star appeals to both then there will be more inland than at the coast. This is not the same as saying "All Stars aren't used by coastal paddlers". This might not be true of Australia, where most population centres are near the coast, but across the world as a whole the inland market is larger. The All Star will likely appeal to those people more than the Sidewinder.

I would like to try the Sidewinder but it is impossible in Mallorca, Spain. For some reason Jimmy Lewis SUP boards are not distributed here. There is a distributor in Italy which supposed to deliver to whole Europe but it does not work. That's why there are only Italian riders with Jimmy Lewis :-(

I also find the quality price ratio very good with Jimmy Lewis. I had a Stun Gun and the quality was superb.

I totally agree
I purchased a 14x27 sidewinder a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the quality and finish of the board, absolutely flawless second to none and I personally think that they look so much better in real life.
Other outstanding features are the stability of the board, I weigh 100kg and usually ride 28+ boards but find the board super stable, it is so comfortable to use starting from the soft deck pad and flat deck make moving around so easy not to mention the super light weight and ledge handle.
No downwinders yet but have paddle in flat water and found it surprisingly fast, it cuts through chop like butter and doesn't seem to be affected by the wind as much as other boards I've ridden,picks up bumps easy and surfs great for a 14 footer.
Overall I find it stable, predictable and very easy to use and if your in the market for a new board the sidewinder is definitely one to consider.

I asked Jimmy Lewis in Facebook which width he would recommend. My favourite shop will bring an Allstar 14x24.5 for test soon. If I am OK with its stability then based on what KetoFireFighter says a Sidewinder 25 should be OK for my 80kg. Since we rarely have pure flat waters but mostly typical small-medium size chops of the Mediterranean, I would like to have some stability. I am not a fan of recessed deck therefore little reluctant to buy another Allstar.