JP Vs Starboard

Howdy,

I need some help, as my windsurfing ( slowly ) improves im wanting to get into freestyle wave sailing. I have a jp excite ride 120 which is a awesome board so i can vouch for jp however i have my eye on a starboard flare 99 ltr the alternative would be a jp freestyle wave does anyone know how these boards compare other than cost ??

I've had both brands in the last couple of years. The big Plus for JP is the powerbox fin in the FSW. way better than US and Starboard are pigheaded about this issue. It is critical in the larger sizes ie 90 ltr above. I broke heaps of US fins due to the weak conection. The power is rock solid. Also a heap faster to put in.

@lee1972,

I have had a 92/ 93 Freestyle Wave they first came out. I usually upgraded every season as every season they slightly improved the board.

The biggest change in my opinion came in the '08 model. They really managed to pack a lot more wave orientation into that board while keeping the top end speed the same.

I currently still have the '08 model but I am thinking of upgrading to the '10 model... depending on how it performs.

Despite what people will say here about Starboard vs. JP as far as performance goes the Starboard Flare doesn't even get close to the characteristics of the JP FSW.

Yes, the Starboards have some really well thought out details such as the foot straps but in the performance is what counts. And the FSW wins that hands down every time.

In a nutshell the FSW planes early, turns on a dime and has a near endless top end speed. If you decide to get one of those get the pro edition! It's worth the extra money.

Also, the JP FSW is the type of board that will benefit from playing with different fins. You can really change the bias of the board towards more wave, freestyle or freeride simply by changing to a different fin.

RE fin system, don't know if US box or powerbox is better. However, last time I was at windsurf and snow and had a look at their very large selection of fins there weren't very many freestyle and freeride fins with US box system. Most of the US box fins they had were shorter style wave fins.

BTW, were do you sail most of the time? I am here in Sydney and sail mostly the South side (Wanda, La Perouse, 'Bra, Kymeeagh). You are more than welcome to take my FSW for a spin next time you see me at the beach...

Howdy,
Wow i forgot about this thread. Well im still wanting to move into freestyle, i have been doing heaps of reasearch about freestyle boards namely the RRD, JP and starboard ( flare ) checking out the boardseeker review they all come out pretty close except for the rrd's carving abililty however it does go on to say its the best board to learn freestyle on and i have heard that from a few people namely on sea breeze. Im not to worried about the lack of carving ability in the rrd because A) i dont carve much B) i cant carve gybe yet, but im so agonisingly bloody close.
Im using a Jp excite ride 120 for 15 knots and above and a big fanatic shark 160 ltr for light wind stuff. I brought trickionary the other day so i have been out practising light wind stuff non planing , mainly board 360's heli and push tacks , front to sail and catapults ( i excel at these ) and just about everything else..
Just like to add im considering these boards because you can always find them for sale.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I just wonder how these boards would perform on places like botnay?

just a couple of pointers re freestyle.

There are two things you will find in a pure freestyle board:

1) the fin that comes with the board is a short and stubby freestyle find. These are specifically designed for sliding board moves and will allow you to plane backwards with relative ease.

2) The boards tend to have a rocker line designed for flat water. Especially in the bigger sizes. I don't think you'll have a lot of fun in waves.

Most people recommend that you have a freestyle board that will actually float your body weight. Especially in the lower wind ranges.

One last tip. Once you start trying to go for those spinning/ sliding moves make sure you warm up with stretches first. Your ligaments will thank you greatly for it.

haven't tried the FSW 09 or Freestyle JP 09 with the supplied fin but test a few other boards last season and always found that you get better performance out of the board using a different fin.

Not sure what the philosophy of board manufactures is. Perhaps they are going for a middle ground rather than performance. Personally I think most boards these days should come with two sets of high performance fins.

I was in almost the same situation 18 months ago, and ended up choosing between two JP boards - 100L Freestyle board, or a 108L FSW. This was my second board after a Go 155.

I ended up being able to pick up a 2008 108L FSW pro-edition demo board for $1350, and it's the best decision I ever made.

The FSW is a great board which, sure, does make compromises, but does everything - freestyle, blasting and small wave riding - pretty well. (And you'd have to be a pretty freestyler to notice the performance difference between the FSW pro and the Freestyle board, I think.)

So after 18 months, here's what I've done with it:
1. Blasted around Port Phillip Bay in 15kts with a ka Koyote 7.5m
2. Blasted around flat water at Inverloch in 30-35kts with a 4.7m (with a 23cm fin - I agree totally with getting different sizes, I've got three for this board)
3. Learned to pop the board, and get 2/3rds of the way around a vulcan (it'll happen one day!)
4. Taken it out into waist high surf at Inverloch in 15-20kts with a 5.8 - wasn't pretty but I did my first wave riding
5. Learned to carve gybe - it turns so quickly that I found using less carving pressure made it easier!
6. Learned to jump off the big chop we get in Port Phillip, and float the board (have yet to nail a smooth landing though)
7. Learned to lock down the board through gusts when totally overpowered, and drive it through chop - again in Port Phillip Bay.

As you can see, I've used it as a great all-rounder board, and it's really taught me a lot about the different aspects of our sport. The only thing it doesn't do well is the light wind stuff, because for me at 82kg it's a little unstable - but that does force me to keep my COG low! If I really want to practice things like heli-tacks or sail 360s I'll use my Go board. It's a little big, and the JP Excite 120L you have would be better!

At my weight I could have gotten the next size down, but ended up buying a cheap 2nd hand 85L Fanatic Goya FSW which is what I use on big wind days. This is a better spread of sizes for me, for the moment at least!

Hope this helps.
Tristan