Hi Brains trust,
I'm wondering what I should be keeping my eye out for.
I'm newish back to the sport over the last 5 years. Had a fanatic blast (116) and liked it but most of my sailing is on very choppy if not wave conditions. Blast was uncomfortable. My sub-standard skills obviously part of that equation. Anyway I got an older JP freestyle wave (102) and have loved it. Much more comfortable and controllable in big chop and wave states. Gybes are great with it. Yes, lower volume but also narrower plan, which seems to be the big difference for me with the sea states I sail in.
Q: I guess the one I have is good for some use yet, but what's the modern equivalent of this board? Noting the narrower plan comment.
TIA in any advice.
If you have a good condition JP freewave you want to sell, hit me up!
Simple answer, all current freestyle wave boards are a modern equivalent to your jp. Other than prob starboard which are wider. The biggest difference with modern equivalents are rocker, some tail shapes and number of fins and position of boxes, straps and tracks.
The width thing is a bit of a modern day furphy. Because everyone says it, it becomes fact. like, sails need more downhaul, or, the rigging dimensions written on the sail are wrong, or, you should ignore the numbers and rig to the looseness or older sails/boards are better. It's one of those legacy things as all boards got wider after 2000 when short and wide beat out long and narrow because long and narrow doesn't suit planning hulls.
to that point let's compare boards of similar volume
2025 duotone blast 100lt width = 62cm
2025 jp freestyle wave 104lt width = 63cm
2025 jp magic wave 99lt width = 62.5cm
2025 severne dyno 105lt width = 62cm
older 102lt jp freestyle wave = 62cm
So in real terms, the problem with your blast is it's a freeride board and not designed for small surf. fortunately it is one of the narrower freeride boards on the market so probably works better than most.
The jp on the other hand is a freewave board and is designed for the conditions you have which is why you like it more.I'm not saying you won't like brand x better than brand y because we all go down that rabbit hole of speed versus wave versus early planing etc etc but I can say most freestyle wave boards can be on your radar which will open up many more options. There is also value in sticking with jp if you like it.
