Jacknife Stoke

[Chris]

good stuff

[Slowman]

The next day (Sunday) was bigger; solid overhead. Gotta say it takes the drop well and has plenty of speed from the start, I still had the K2.1 quads in, I still don't think I have the fins right yet, at least as a quad. The K2.1s were good in the head high waves the day before but these overhead waves were perhaps overhead and a half and I just felt a bit reluctant to pull too hard a turn, it still went well and I got some good waves but it felt like I might spin out if I tried something too hard, perhaps I should have, just to test the limits but it was one of those days with long lulls where it was a bit of wait in between waves. I'll try the R2s again. To be fair they never got tested on anything decent.

[Slowman]

Well after the having surfed this thing for a few weeks now I can say I am really liking this board. I went back to my favourite quad set the R2s and even shaped another little stabiliser. It surfed pretty good as a straight quad but occasionally I felt I couldn't get it to go as vertical as I'd like. It's so small it might just be placebo effect but it seems to work better and it doesn't make it stiff or cause any drag.

091120122764.jpg

I've surfed it in a range of sizes and conditions now from thigh high to 1.5 x overhead, even a couple 2 x overhead bombs on the day. It has a very nice feel about it. It feels different because of the refined foil and the rails seem a bit thinner than either the spit of the HF. Even in fuller waves it still goes OK but perhaps because of the little groms having their before school session I wished I had taken out the spit as they were all over the waves and having no trouble catching them. I could still catch the better ones but the ones that filled up instead of drawing on the bank I just couldn't compete with them. If I'd had it to myself it might have been different...the spit definitely would have gone better in that situation. This was thigh high and fullish at Wanda one morning

The last 4 days in a row I've surfed a little left pretty much by myself at dawn for 30 to 40 minutes before being joined by another guy that always surfs this place. The first 2 days I rode the spit and yesterday it seemed perhaps a tad bigger, perhaps less lulls. They were almost identical conditions so it was a good chance to compare them. The spit seems to accelerate more off the first turn whereas the JK seems to just accelerate up to speed the moment you take off. Although the spit does start flying pretty quickly if you take off at an angle and go straight down the line. The JK definitely handles a later drop with ease.

When it comes to turning I am really beginning to like the way the JK feels. I guess it feels pretty precise. Whereas the spit feels a bit different, it still turns well and quick but it feels thicker - it is, but I can notice the difference. It just feels like you don't have as much edge in the wave, it doesn't really seem to hinder the kind of turn that you can pull but the JK just seems to feel nicer. It's a bit ethereal it is like a better aesthetic feeling - sounds pretty dumb huh?

Either way I have to say I am very impressed with this board and its versatility. It seems to get into all but the weakest waves as well as the spit. Even with the extra rocker it just seems to paddle so well, I think because the concave is deep enough to flatten out the entry rocker a bit up the centre. Yet that extra rocker on the rails and the little kick in the nose make it easy to drop into steep waves. The spit wins out in the lower range and probably more mushy stuff.

Glad I made the purchase!

[Fazza]

Slowman,

Good to here i am still loving my JK.

[Slowman]

I surfed it in weak 1-2' waves this morning, although some did have some nice shape. Just about everywhere in Sydney was 0.5' and surfable only if you are a grommy except this place! Anyway, I don't think anyone guessed there would be anything and I surfed for an hour with no one else around and then a couple of SUPs came out.

I then changed to the spit and while it was easier to catch the waves I noticed with the spit's thicker rails it had less bite so when you do those little speed turns it doesn't gain as much speed as the JK, you have to do speed pumps as well, and that I think, is the difference that I like about the JK's thinner rails. The extra edge lets you grip the wave better to push off it down the line.

I'm certain now that if I could only have one board the JK would be it.

[speak10072]

Hey Slowman,

This JK comparison is quite awesome, great job! I have a 6.0 Dom for small days and looking for a more performance board in better waves but still extra wave catching ability, got a 6'6' chilli cayene as my main performance board. I'm stuck between choosing between JK or HF and also between 6'2 or 6'4. I'm 85Kgs, interm/adv surfer, surf a couple of times a week. Hard to choose without a demo.

I'm thinking 6'2 HF or 6'4 JK? Any suggestions? I really like the sound of the JK!

Cheers.

[Slowman]

Hey Speak, I'd say with that background definitely go for 6'2 in either JK or HF...I'm 90kg and have no problem with float and wave catching. I think you'll find the JK has a lower end to its range than the HF and catches waves a tad easier even though it it has a tad less volume. JK can surf as small as knee/thigh high if the waves have some shape while the HF will do thigh/waist high. Both great boards but what I love about the JK is that you usually can't go wrong with it because it covers nearly everything. With my HF there has been the odd occasion where I've had to go back home and get the spit. Only for the weak full stuff do I need the spit these days, particularly if there is a bit of a crowd.

[Slowman]

After stepping back onto my HF I realised the JK wasn't as loose as I thought. The HF can go vertical into the lip and you can over rotate into a cutback or full tail drop, not that I have tail drops wired but sometimes it works for me. Anyway the JK just wasn't like that it would hit the lip release and turn and just come straight back down, it just didn't seem to be as spontaneous, so I started playing with the fins again. I believe I now have the perfect combo, TC Redlines in front and TC Aqualines in the rear. I always loved the redlines in my thrusters with a smaller trailer. This combo seems to make the board go much better vertically and release off the top a bit easier than the R2s because of the tighter pivoting capability and the aqualine rears are small enough to allow a small amount of slide.

So what do I think is the advantage of the JK over the HF now? Probably it's all roundness and slightly broader range (at the lower end). The HF is faster and while it can handle some chop it doesn't like lumps too much and bounces around a bit and gets skatey. The JK doesn't get bounced around in lumpy waves nearly as much and get skatey but doesn't like the chop so much I think because the rails are more refined they can catch a bit slowing me up slightly at times (because you have to release the rail), while the HF seems to just barge through it. I'm not sure which has the higher top end. I don't know if I would try to choose between the JK and HF for particular waves. I think I will just jump between them as the mood strikes, you know, if one starts to feel a bit stale, just jump on the other for a while. They both have things to teach/remind you.

[suncoastslop]

Hey slowman how would you rate the jk as an all around board say compared to a dom/spit?, can it grovel well? im looking for a fast board with early entry for 2'-4' beachies and points, or is the jk a more hp board for larger conditions, im looking for another one board quiv

suncoast

[buzzy]

I have a Futura which is the genesis of the Jacknife. Just on appearance and dimensions they are almost exactly the same. That'll be the basis of my observation.

I use the Futura as my next step up from the Dom. Once the waves get to a proper 2 feet, say shoulder high, I prefer to use the Futura over the Dom. Below that size I much prefer the Dom. The Dom's planshape does surf vertically better than the Futura but I frankly don't need the extra volume in my Dom once it hits 2 foot. The Futura is definitely faster laterally and more refined. To be honest though I suspect I'd prefer the Unibrow over the Futura.

I haven't surfed the Futura above around 2x overhead. It went fine at that size, although I do feel its width. I've also surfed my Dom up to around 1.5x overhead and even though it is wider I didn't feel the width when surfing - it's the thickness I notice in the Dom.

So I reckon the Futura is a fan bloody tsstic all round board except for the very smallest days (think Sweet Potato territory - I tend to use my Dom when others seem to surf a SP).

For reference I'm 47yoa, intermediate and surf a 6'4" Dom and 6'4" Futura.