The friendly folks at Windsurf and Snow here in Sydney gave me one of the new 2009 84 Freestyle Wave in Pro construction to try out.
JP seems to have changed the shape ever so slightly this year and the board shape looks a bit more like last years highly rate JP Pro Wave models.
I got a chance to use the board last weekend in a gusty 20-35knts southerly at Botany Bay... so sadly no waves... just choppy bay sailing. After too much good food, a long winter and too many beers to count I am currently weighing in at about 110 kg... cough cough. So as you can imagine using an 84 liter board in gusty conditions had me a bit worried. I was using a 5.0 sail btw.
In a nutshell the board didn't disappoint. It felt more floaty than I expected and got me going as soon as I had power in the sail. Compared to last year the board feels softer and less like a slalom board. Having said that the board is still as fast as last years model.
What JP has improved is the maneuverability in overpowered conditions. Even in the really heavy gusts where I was on the limit of the sail size the board turned without bouncing or undercutting. I really would love to try this board in waves to see how it compares to the RealWordWave and Evos. At the moment I am guessing it would actually perform quite well in comparison.
I am surprised how JP managed to improve the FSW range every single year. If you are looking for an all-round board that can handle both waves and flat water blasting you should give this board some serious consideration. If you can afford it spend the extra money and get the Pro edition. You really notice the difference in weight.
Sadly I will have to hand back the board sometime this week... I am hoping that Windsurf and Snow get a new delivery from JP soon so I can get one myself.
