The new JP freestyle wave is here! I've already had the chance to put it through it's paces a few times since I picked it up last week and I'm really impressed!
This board is awesome! It has quite a few noticeable improvements on previous years. So far I've ridden it in 40knots with a 4.0m and in under 20knots with a 5.6m. It's been super comfortable the whole time. As with previous years it gets planning really easily with a super quick release onto the plane and accelerates to top speed in no time. Staying upwind is not even something you need to think about on this board - the new fin seems to really help it keep a tight angle to the wind while staying fast. The 84 comfortably carried my 88kg with a 5.6m sail in 18knots but it could easily take a sail over 6m.
Where the board has really seemed to improve is in its ride comfort and control in powered conditions. The round tucked rails in the mid rear section of the board really handle the chop well and the thin rails in the tail along with a much narrower outline make it feel really manoeuvrable. The new tail also makes landing big jumps way easier than previous years - I've never felt so comfortable landing forwards and the light weight of the board combined with the super quick top speed results in heaps of extra lift and height in the jumps (and I'm only riding the wood version, I can only imagine what the 10% (0.6kg) lighter pro edition would be like).
Although this year the board has clear improvements in waveriding characteristics it's still really nice for freestyle. Despite not having a bevel in the tail it still slides really easily. It's the perfect board for learning vulcans and entering the freestyle arena. The bottom shape and outline results in a board that really adapts to the style it's being ridden. It feels really loose and responds straight away to foot pressure making moves like shove-its really easy yet rake the sail back and sheet in and it just flys with a nicely locked in feel.
The best has really got better this year! This is the perfect board for the Victorian windsurfer, it will excel in a huge range of conditions and sailing styles from the speed (or freestyle) strip of sandy point right through to massive jumps and really nice waveriding at Torquay, but no doubt where this board will be unbeatable is in the bump and jump conditions of Port Phillip Bay. This board will definitely maximise my time on the water this season - See you out there!
