Jimmy Lewis Stiletto 14' - Good, Bad, Ugly?

[SD Surfer]

Hi Zoners,

First post, been lurking a little while waiting for my account to be approved.

I'm a longtime surfer (40 years) but fairly new to standup, (couple of years) 53 years old in reasonably good shape, 5' 7" 170 lbs.

I SUS a little when it's small, but if there's waves I'm usually surfing prone. Most paddling is done on Mission or San Diego bay(s).

We started with a matching pair of Brusurf 9' 6" that we got a screaming deal on.

My wife said "I want to go faster and farther" so we got her a 12' 6" X 29" Boga touring board which she's very happy with. If we go together I ride my 9" 6" surf and we're pretty evenly matched speedwise. If I go without her I've been doing some 3-4 mile paddles on her board and now I'm wanting to start logging some miles.

I enjoy her board okay, but I occasionally ride a friend's 14' Boga Typhoon and I like the glide. If I go with our group of friends it's usually more of a socializing & sightseeing pace, so I don't want to go with something that doesn't behave well at slow speed, and would rather err on the side of stability.

Eventually I might enter a race or two here and there, but I don't see myself getting heavily involved in that. More just fitness and sightseeing.

I'm looking at a couple of used 14' boards, I don't really want to drop huge money on a board just yet. Too many other hobbies and toys.

One of them I'm thinking of is the 14' X 28" Stiletto.

The owner said it's for sale, but he hasn't put a price on it yet. What would be a fair price, and what would be a "too good to pass up" deal om a used Stiletto in (what appears to be) very good shape?

I have heard & read mostly positive stuff about this model, who's got 'em and what do you feel are the strong points and what are the limitations?

How does it do in the ocean, swell, current, chop? I won't be doing any channel crossings, think more like La Jolla cove on a nice calm day.

I am also looking at a 14' X 28" Yolo Orange Crush but I can't find a lot of information or reviews on this. It looks to be in decent shape, but I think I would be at least the 3rd owner.

Thanks in advance.

[photofr]

I can't talk about the Yolo, but here's my take on the 14' Stiletto that I used for quite a few miles.



Rider:
I am a somewhat lightweight paddler (130 pounds on a bad day), 5'6", almost 48, but quite fit for long distance paddling. Just like you, I have only been paddling for 18 months. This should give you a pretty good base to better understand my feedback.

The Good:
The board is bullet-proof. It is probably one of the strongest board I have ever had. It's extremely versatile: yes, you could race it (where you will do better than most if your paddling stroke is sound). However, the board will excel in touring (and fully loaded if you want) and offers what I would consider the near perfect glide with stability in mind.

You could go a lot narrower, but if you are specifically looking for stability, good glide, versatility, and fitness paddling - you will love it.

The board has two drain holes that work VERY WELL.
The deck is lowered just enough for added stability.
The pad is bomb-proof and you will never skid.
It will track extremely well, perhaps even over-kill with the huge fin it comes with - but you can easily replace it if you want 1/2 % increase in speed.

The Bad:
They aren't really bad things… just things to keep in mind.
The board is rather heavy for my taste; it's about 12 pound heavier than my current board. It's not the end of the world, but it makes it a little unappealing for the long walk to the beach (500 feet walk from my house). On the water, you don't feel it too badly: on longer paddle distances like 45 km, I definitely feel the weight though.

The pad is "too sticky" and too rough - for me - I got numb feet with that pad, but it only happened in cold water / long distance paddling. I'd like to note that I otherwise do not have a problem with other pads. This diamond pad is not too pleasant.

I would have kept this board for touring, and more importantly for friends visiting because it's super accessible to everyone, even a racer as mentioned earlier. It's even great on small downwind. However, the biggest drawback (for me) is as follows: This board is not designed for a lighter paddler. At 125-130 pounds, this board is totally not efficient. Bow and stern isn't even touching the water, not matter what I do. Worth mentioning that while the board was fully loaded on one of my trips (with about 40 pounds of camping and photo gear) the board felt heavier but was FASTER. The bow and stern were then touching. So again, this is really a personal problem that I was having because of my lightweight and because I was searching for something more efficient.

I believe you will be very happy with the Stiletto - but you should definitely try it first.

Price-wise: $1400 would be a great price, less if it's in bad shape.

Summary: A sound investment, without a doubt.

[SD Surfer]

Thanks Photo, very comprehensive review, and pretty much what I have heard in other reviews.

Interesting that it started working better with 40 pounds of gear on it, which is perfect considering that you plus 40 pounds of gear would weigh exactly the same as me with, well... my belly.

Bullet proof is good, and fortunately I haven't been spoiled by super light boards yet so I don't think it would "seem" heavy to me.

The owner said I can demo it, so I'm hoping to ride it in the next few days.

Nice picture, it really is a good looking board.

[baddog]

2014 Carbon All Star 14' x 26.5" (26") on Craigslist in SD.  Fast, stable and a great all arounder.  Yes, this is a pimp, it's my board:)

[SD Surfer]

Hmmm, interesting. I hear good things about these too.

Thanks for muddying the waters.

So do those have a spray-on traction on the tail? I just see deck pad in the footwells, correct?

[photofr]

The Allstar will have a pad that extend all the way to the tail (I am almost certain this is the case for the 2014 model).
It's actually two types of different pads: small squares up front, and "lizard skin" in the back.
Here's a photo of a "similar" board called the Race (14x25)

[JimK]

Just sold (wouldn't help you since we are in NJ) a Stilleto in excellent condition for $900 it took a while to go
Nice but old and heavy board you'd be better off with the SB referee to earlier good luck
JimK

[greatdane]

Hmmm, interesting. I hear good things about these too.

Thanks for muddying the waters.

So do those have a spray-on traction on the tail? I just see deck pad in the footwells, correct?

The 2014 only has deck pad in foot wells.  Star-Touch grip paint on the rest of deck.  I added my own deck pad over the star-touch.  The board pictured above is a 2015.

[baddog]

Here's my 2014 All Star.  I never felt the need to add grip, but a tail kick pad would be nice if you're doing super aggressive kick turns.

[SD Surfer]

Woo Hoooo!!

Demo'd, and then bought the Stiletto 14' yesterday.

Only paddles a couple of miles 'cuz I flying with an injured wing (53 year old surfers should not try to learn airs, no matter how good the ramp looks) but even hurt I gained more than a full MPH over what I've been riding.

2014 model year, in pretty good shape. Couple of little paint chips, paddle scuffs, but no dings or repairs that I could see.

How'd I do?

[Muskoka SUP]

It's a beauty SD...  Congrats.   JLs are so nice.  You did great.   

[robon]

Nice. Lots of tie down points too, so u will have options for strapping down gear on sight seeing missions. Good score.

[SD Surfer]

Yeah, I'm actually about to go out and string the bungee through all those tie down points. It didn't have any on there so I bought some to install.

Quite a bit more glide than what I've been riding.

[Luc Benac]

2014 model year, in pretty good shape. Couple of little paint chips, paddle scuffs, but no dings or repairs that I could see.

How'd I do?

Very nice. I am a sucker for orange boards with clean lines.
How heavy it is?

[SD Surfer]

2014 model year, in pretty good shape. Couple of little paint chips, paddle scuffs, but no dings or repairs that I could see.

How'd I do?

Very nice. I am a sucker for orange boards with clean lines.
How heavy it is?

Thanks, Orange is not usually one of my favorite colors, but I'm liking this shade of orange combined with the white. I'm going to call it the Creamsicle.

Haven't weighed it yet, but it's not bad. I'm guessing 27-28 lbs.