Windsurf MagazineJP AUSTRALIA FREESTYLE WAVE PRO 94L

JP AUSTRALIA FREESTYLE WAVE PRO 94L

The Verdict

A true freestyle wave, and a top contender in this category. The Freestyle Wave Pro is manoeuvrable exactly when you need it to be. Efficient on all points of sailing, the Freestyle Pro handles challenging conditions with ease, and still performs amicably on a wave leaving you wondering why you would need any board other than this.

The Lowdown

With purple fading through to black from nose to tail, the Freestyle Wave Pro is a subtle but very smart board, with the Carbon Innegra deck construction visible in the rails. A decent range of footstrap options, which are all placed on well-padded deck pads, are available to suit your riding style and the conditions. Meanwhile, the Freestyle Wave Pro’s volume fills its outline well, with even and ample volume distributed throughout. The deck is nicely domed, only showing obvious signs of thinning out in the rounded tail to assist with gripping through transitions or locking into the face of a wave. Holding very little rocker in the tail, most of the Freestyle Wave’s rocker sits upfront in the nose, which should assist with manoeuvring on a wave face or navigating through messy conditions. Flipping over the Freestyle Wave Pro to inspect the hull, its matching colour scheme continues to look smart. A vee double concave runs throughout the Freestyle Wave Pro from nose to tail where the fins sit. The thruster fin setup is positioned tightly under the rear strap with less triangulation than others you would find in the category, alluding to the possibility of tapping into a looser ride if desired. After initial inspection, the Freestyle Wave Pro looks like an undemanding board, which will support the rider in a broad spectrum of conditions, while still being capable of offering riding performance in waves.

Brand Claim

“Hassle-free medium to high wind freeriding, bump and jump blasting, classic freestyle, high speed carving and wave sailing… You name it and the Freestyle Wave Pro has it in its bag. Still as all-round as ever, these lively and versatile shapes are JP’s fastest and most manoeuvrable all-water toys.”

Performance

Impressively easy to use, the Freestyle Wave Pro carries the rider well. Happy to do a lot of the work for you, but the more effort the rider puts in to the Freestyle Wave Pro, the more you progressively be rewarded. Slipping onto the plane, the Freestyle Wave pro’s straps are easy to locate, and its deck shape makes it an incredibly comfortable board when planted in the straps. Remaining locked in at the tail at all times, you can drive the Freestyle Wave Pro in all points of sail and achieve some impressive height upwind, allowing you to ideally position yourself where the fun is. The fun in the Freestyle Wave Pro remains in the tail as you unlock its nimble and playful nature; its less triangulated thruster set up allows the rider to treat the Freestyle Wave Pro almost like a wave board. Picking the path of least resistance with subtle pressure through the heels and toes. Through the gybes, it carries its speed well, while you have the option of either cranking tighter or opening up the radius of the gybe as it responds well to a variety of turns. Tacks can be entered aggressively when time is of the utmost importance, and the volume placed upfront and around the mastfoot can carry the rider and allow for less than perfect technique, offering some forgiveness to the rider and keeping them in the game – ultimately maximising the fun, while increasing your completion success rate. Requiring a little extra input from the rider to maintain control when the conditions really switch on, the Freestyle Wave Pro still maintains its overall personality. Positioned on a wave, the natural speed of the board allows you to stick to the pace of the wave without hugely altering your own technique. Meanwhile, with the ability of turning on both the front and back foot, the Freestyle Wave Pro can be treated as a wave board with some extra comfort and stability, breeding confidence in the rider to really perform without the consequence or refined technique needed on a dedicated wave board.