Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: jjue on August 07, 2008, 08:44:14 AM
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Well after much thought and research and after spending a month or so paddling and sailing my 12 6 1980's wayler windsurf barge , paddling a 11' 3" Laird in flat water in Lake tahoe , and spending a day and some lessons on a Hyper 11'6"x29" epoxy board in Kauai , both ocean paddling and take some surf lessons on it and catching my first couple of waves , I pulled the trigger and ordered a Bic Jungle ?????
Maybe , I am crazy but we shall see .. I absolutely detest the graphics of the Jungle , looks like some kind of 1980's windsurf board but searching for some internet reviews and talking to a variety of shop guys who had actually sailed and paddled and surfed the thing convinced me ... Maybe , it is impossible to produce a compromise design like this and it ends up being kind of the worst of all worlds but I am hoping it will actually end up being the best of all boards for me ....
here are some links I found ( hard to find alot of folks writing about the Jungle , maybe a middle of the road compromise board like this is hard to get excited about )
from new zeland surf blog
http://www.surf.co.nz/news/search/news.asp?newsletterId=6244
guy wave sailing the thing in Ireland
http://www.hotsailsmaui.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2176
planche magazine longboard windsurfer test pdf
http://www.ultrasporteu.com/published/3/resources/documents/BicWind_TestResult-2008-06.pdf
guy paddling it
http://www.air-head.com/blog/2008/01/31/bic-jungle-tested-airhead-surf-diary/
I was also impressed by the light weight of the thing , a couple of guys( windsurfers ) I talked to at different shops who have sailed a variety of the SUP boards including the Naish and the Starboard line , think it sails the best of the SUP's
One windsurfer guy recommended the Kona One but I seriously doubt that I would be happy with that one in paddle or standup surf mode as opposed to flat water windsurfing where it would be great ...
I already have a planing windsurf board, a nice old style longboard windsurf board that I enjoy in flat water stand up paddling and sailing , and am looking for a light weight easily transportable , manueverable , board that I can paddle , start to learn how to surf small waves , and also windsurf both on flat water and try wave sailing on small waves ... don't know if I have made the right choice but we shall see ... I will report back on what I find out
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Sounds nice...Congrats...Any idea of the weight?
Does it come with a paddle?
DJ
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You can't beat it for its versatility. I agree with you about the graphics.....somebody beat that designer.... ;D I haven't tried one but I've looked at them and somehow it looks like too much of a compromise. Be interesting to hear what you think.
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Sounds nice...Congrats...Any idea of the weight?
Does it come with a paddle?
DJ
its 11.8kg or 26lbs
doesn't come with a paddle ( bic aluminum sup paddle is 99 dollars ) ... I have an Admundson aquaglide 81 inch aluminum paddle now that is pretty heavy .. but after using a proper paddle in kauai ... I really will ultimately want a nice paddle , sure makes a difference for paddling long distances with a nice lightweight paddle .(. to get us used to paddling our instructor took us on a long up wind paddle in hanelei bay in choppy conditions , .. before we got to do a nice down wind leg and then practice surfing in some small waves. )
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Got my new Bic Jungle delivered and got to try it out in SUP mode in flatwater conditions ..... I am a very happy man ! I bought the thing primarily as a do it all board to windsurf , paddle surf and paddle flat water ... I was most worried about how a 175 liter 10' 10" x 28 inch board with surf rocker in the nose and tail would do for a 195 lb beginner for straight ahead flatwater cruising ..... my first impressions is that it way exceeded my expectations in this department ... I am new to SUP, a total newbie at surfing , but experienced river and lake windsurfer, and flatwater kayaker. ., .... ,so far I have paddled a Laird 11' 6" X 29 " 195 liter board , a Hypr 11'6" x 29 " ? volume board, and an old 1980 vintage wayler windsurf board ,( 239 liters 12'6" x 26 3/4 ").. compared to the Laird and the Hypr the Bic almost has the same initial stability for me despite its narrower dimensions and shorter length .. it does feel a bit tippier side to side then both the 11'6" 29 inch boards , but unlike my Wayler which has much less initial stability .. the Bic Jungle doesn't seem like it will tip over once you get it on a rail, in fact it seems to be very stable tipped to the rail .. in fact it is a pleasure to paddle ,tipping the rail easily to the paddle side and can easily maintain a straight line , which was suprising to me .. in fact the glide and speed of the Bic Jungle pretty much seemed to match the longer boards which again was quite suprising to me .. I felt relaxed paddling it in flat water conditions almost as much as I did with the 11'6" boards and much more relaxed then on my Wayler ,which even on flat water I kind of have to work to maintain balance especially if I am not paddling fast ... The Jungle is way more manuverable then any of the other boards I have paddled and is a joy to spin around and turn ... I was worried about the lower volume .. but no worries , the board floats my 195 lbs right out of the water but not too high like the Wayler with its big volume does... this was a great first session and I am very pleased !
The board itself in person , looks better then it does in digital pictures , the board is lightweight at 25 lbs and easy to carry with a nicely positioned carrying slot .. it has an EVA deck that covers the entire area that is covered by graphics .. leaving the tip and tail and rails smooth , when on the rail paddling the smooth rail is in the water and EVA deck is out of the water nice for glide !
It has a full mast track for standard windsurf mast step either one bolt or two bolt , I have a spare one bolt chinook windsurf mast step and unilke other SUP boards the full standard windsurf mast track will allow extensive adjustment of mast position forward or backward
there is a full deep saber daggerboard that is just pushed down into the slot or removed , ( this is the only SUP board with this feature - i was told that the starboard 12'6" does have a screw on center fin but that it is not nearly as effective as the deep daggerboard of the Jungle for sailing . ) , there is plug to seal the slot that is easily removed or inserted. , nice swept back surf glass fin , the fin is a standard american box fin which should allow any surfboard fins to be used . .. paddling with the supplied fin seems just fine .. 4 foot straps are supplied and there are foot strap inserts for them on the board .. again unlike most other SUP boards. I think this will be a great longboard windsurf board and I can't wait to get it out in some wind ....
I am very eager to get this thing out in some surf and learn how to surf and do some lightwind wave sailing as welll ... looks like nice surf rocker tip and tail , and very easy to manuver which should help ...
I still hate the graphics ... but everything else seems great .!
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Got the Bic Jungle out for some sailing today ... started out in light winds 5-8mph , that got stronger to around 14mph later in the day ... I was very impressed by the Jungle as a windsurf board.. With the deep daggerboard down and a 7.3 sail the board had very nice glide and was a joy to ride ...
Here is my son sailing the Jungle in the early light wind conditions
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/jjue/jordansailing.jpg)
Later in the day , I was using a harness , took the daggerboard out and was planing nicely in the 14mph wind , the board felt very comfortable planing , and easy to tack and gybe .... I did not put in the foot straps and really didn't need them ...
after dinner wind died down and took the Jungle out for a flat water SUP paddle at sunset , nice and relaxing and very nice glide and very , very pleasant paddling SUP board ... I couldn't be happier with the Jungle !!!
Next up .. will have to get it down to the coast for some trys at paddle surfing and maybe wave sailing !!! This is one very versatile board . I really do think that BIC hit the mark in producing a wonderful hybrid board with windsurfing prowness, great flatwater SUP performance and a shape that should be very nice in the surf .....
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The Starboard 12'6" has a pretty good centerboard fin. The boards come with them in some case--mine had one. I don't care that much for it since it can't be raked back for reaches, it screws into place. The new Starboard SUPer has a real centerboard box and it works much better. You can kick it up to go downwind or racke it for reaches.
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Here are some pics of the Jungle
Top View
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/jjue/HPIM1278.jpg)
Bottom View
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/jjue/HPIM1281.jpg)
Side View (shows surf rocker nose and tail )
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/jjue/HPIM1279.jpg)
Side View with windsurf daggerboard inserted
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/jjue/HPIM1280.jpg)
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I was inspired by the beautiful new pic by Ben Thouard of Manu Bouvet riding the Bic Jungle in the new fall issue of the Standup journal to search the web for some other shots of Manu and his wife Carine Camboulives, windsurfers turned Standup surfers riding the Jungle ... Manu and Carine are sponsored by Oxbow clothing as well as a number of windsurf lines and I found these pics from the Oxbow web site ..
Manu Bovet riding a big wave
(http://www.oxboworld.com/photos_actualite/f2kinddblp7jy3e7jwpj.jpg)
and Manu and Carine windsurfing the Jungle
(http://www.oxboworld.com/photos_actualite/jc05s80bfif937de9k6e.jpg)
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For the 2009 season besides the Windsurf combo version of the Bic Jungle , Bic is also coming out with a dedicated SUP version of the Jungle , called the Jungle Surf .. looks like the same board but with out the Windsurf mast track -daggerboard - foot strap inserts and a more traditional SUP graphic design and deck pad . It is the only SUP in the rather extensive Bic Surf line of shortboards and longboards.
(http://www.bicsport.com/images/produits/jungle.jpg)
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Well after much thought and research and after spending a month or so paddling and sailing my 12 6 1980's wayler windsurf barge , paddling a 11' 3" Laird in flat water in Lake tahoe , and spending a day and some lessons on a Hyper 11'6"x29" epoxy board in Kauai , both ocean paddling and take some surf lessons on it and catching my first couple of waves , I pulled the trigger and ordered a Bic Jungle ?????
Maybe , I am crazy but we shall see .. I absolutely detest the graphics of the Jungle , looks like some kind of 1980's windsurf board but searching for some internet reviews and talking to a variety of shop guys who had actually sailed and paddled and surfed the thing convinced me ... Maybe , it is impossible to produce a compromise design like this and it ends up being kind of the worst of all worlds but I am hoping it will actually end up being the best of all boards for me ....
here are some links I found ( hard to find alot of folks writing about the Jungle , maybe a middle of the road compromise board like this is hard to get excited about )
from new zeland surf blog
http://www.surf.co.nz/news/search/news.asp?newsletterId=6244 (http://www.surf.co.nz/news/search/news.asp?newsletterId=6244)
guy wave sailing the thing in Ireland
http://www.hotsailsmaui.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2176 (http://www.hotsailsmaui.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2176)
planche magazine longboard windsurfer test pdf
http://www.ultrasporteu.com/published/3/resources/documents/BicWind_TestResult-2008-06.pdf (http://www.ultrasporteu.com/published/3/resources/documents/BicWind_TestResult-2008-06.pdf)
guy paddling it
http://www.air-head.com/blog/2008/01/31/bic-jungle-tested-airhead-surf-diary/ (http://www.air-head.com/blog/2008/01/31/bic-jungle-tested-airhead-surf-diary/)
I was also impressed by the light weight of the thing , a couple of guys( windsurfers ) I talked to at different shops who have sailed a variety of the SUP boards including the Naish and the Starboard line , think it sails the best of the SUP's
One windsurfer guy recommended the Kona One but I seriously doubt that I would be happy with that one in paddle or standup surf mode as opposed to flat water windsurfing where it would be great ...
I already have a planing windsurf board, a nice old style longboard windsurf board that I enjoy in flat water stand up paddling and sailing , and am looking for a light weight easily transportable , manueverable , board that I can paddle , start to learn how to surf small waves , and also windsurf both on flat water and try wave sailing on small waves ... don't know if I have made the right choice but we shall see ... I will report back on what I find out
Hey- I'm wondering if you're talking about the 10' 10" Jungle? I'm near 190 and wonder if I'm not too much for it. Got a potential used one lined up. Very interested in learning to windsurf and think it will be a good investment as I live on a river and get to the ocean maybe twice a year to longboard.
Thanks for any follow up on your experience or other recommendations.
K
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Surprising (to me at least) that BIC hasn't had a larger effort in this area (windsurfing SUP crossovers) - considering their history.
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Hey- I'm wondering if you're talking about the 10' 10" Jungle? I'm near 190 and wonder if I'm not too much for it. Got a potential used one lined up. Very interested in learning to windsurf and think it will be a good investment as I live on a river and get to the ocean maybe twice a year to longboard.
Thanks for any follow up on your experience or other recommendations.
K
yes , the 10 x10" original bic jungle .. .I weigh also around 190 lbs , I think it will be fine for you to learn windsurfing on ..
I live inland and use it mostly for windsurfing and flat water stand up paddling on lakes and rivers . I really enjoy it a whole lot for both applications ... I occasionally go to the coast and stand up paddle surf on it but I am really not very good at it ,At my experience level and weight it is a little narrow and tippy for choppy ocean water for stand up surfing for me but I think a lot of that just has to do with experience in the ocean and in surf . I can windsurf and standup paddle it on lakes and rivers every weekend but only make it out to the ocean rarely. . ( ps . I had no surfing experience prior to buying it ,but have windsurfed a fair amount before getting the jungle . )