jimmy lewis stun gun!

[Paddle On]

just demo'ed the jimmy lewis stun gun. super fast! was able to beat the peel and hit multiple sections, nice carving cut backs. it might just be my next board.

[Mmac]

Cool, I just picked up the new 9'1" Super Tech and love it as well.  Was previously on an 8'9" WorldWide.  JL has some great shapes and nice construction.

[toolate]

just demo'ed the jimmy lewis stun gun. super fast! was able to beat the peel and hit multiple sections, nice carving cut backs. it might just be my next board.

What size?

[Paddle On]

9'7", 31" wide, 136 liters

[surfshaver]

I've been surfing the the 9'2" Stun Gun as my only board for the last few years.  It's sweet, smooth and can handle anything you throw at it.  Looking back on it, I could have gone down to the 8'7" (I'm 185 lbs) but nice to have that stability and paddle speed for bigger days, choppy conditions and crowds.

[Paddle On]

what fin set up are you using?

[covesurfer]

I bought a 9-2 Stun Gun last October. I'm 155. I got the 9-2 for the same reasons as surfshaver: Nice to have the stability and paddling potential of a slightly longer board. Mine is set up as a quad and it is extremely fast down the line, quick turning and very controllable in everything I've surfed it in. I've had it in up to about 2x oh. The board is really durable construction and reasonably light. What I really like is it's speed and snappy turning. If you push sideways with your back foot, you can slide the tail around too. The board feels good in everything but really comes to life from chest high on up. With it's width, you can doink around in small stuff and still have fun but when it's bigger, the speed and turning are as addictive as crack. Surprisingly, the width at 30.25", is not something that holds this board back, even going rail to rail on wave faces. I did worry about going to a board this wide (my old board was 28.5) but the shape seems to be almost magic.

[toolate]

On a 8'7 for past week!
Knee high to well overhead.
It loves the big stuff. Total control, seems to throttle itself down even. Steeper the better with little fear of pearl.
Cant say I have the wind and chop dialed in yet. 

I am 150 lbs, could surely have gone smaller. Maybe I would not choose carbon next time around?

[covesurfer]

I wondered about getting the 9-2 for the first month or so, should I have gone smaller? After a while, I stopped worrying about it. Why would I need smaller? Would the smaller size Stun Gun turn faster? My 9-2 rips and snaps turns as fast as I can put the pressure on it. Would a smaller board feel better in a bigger, fast wave? I still haven't felt like I was under-gunned on anything I've gone out in, nor have I felt like I had too much board. I was surfing some bigger waves last week on my prone log - it's 10 6 - and it's not super rockered. I got a couple of steeper waves where I definitely felt like I had way too much board and I had wipe outs to back up my feeling!

So, what advantage is there to a smaller Stun Gun? Anybody out there that's been on the smaller sizes, I'd love to hear what I might have given up with the slightly longer model.

[surfshaver]

Covesurfer, I'm 185 (190+ in a wet fullsuit) and I had no learning curve in getting comfortable on it.  Like you I've had it up to DOH and the best way I can describe it is: smooth and predictable at any speed.  I think it's a combination of the soft yet foiled rails and the planshape.  My only regret is that I'm pretty sure I could be on the 8'7" and maybe that would be a little quicker and more responsive rail to rail. 

But I like it as much as you, and even if I get a smaller board one day I think I'll keep the 9'2" for bigger days.

[Billekrub]

Would love some comparisons with other options to help me better understand this board.

Would it allow someone to catch waves earlier, well before they become critical?  Something that can be done readily with a 12 foot boat for example.

Would it be good to use in windy conditions, on slower longboard waves, sideoff wind.  Wind catches a wide nose and can also make the water less stable, but not so bad as onshore wind.  This is a problem with the Striker's wide nose and generous rocker, making it harder to maintain paddle speed and hard to drop down and into the wave.

If it is so stable then an intermediate might catch more waves, albeit not DOH, in certain conditions?

[surfshaver]

I'm using the stock fin set up: I think 4.5 side fins and 6.5 center fin.  I've been thinking of trying more drivey side fins and a smaller center fin.  If anyone has thoughts on this, let me know.

[covesurfer]

Billekrub, the Stun Gun is not designed as a board to catch soft, mushy longboard waves early. Can you ride it in those kind of waves? Yes. But you'd be happier on a board like a Naish Nalu (for example). Something with more parallel, straighter rails and a wider tail for getting in early. The SG is a pretty stable and versatile board for what it is, a high performance standup surf board. It surfs more like a short board than it's length(s) would suggest. Because it paddles well and is pretty stable for what it is, you can get waves early if you get it going by paddling it well. And, it is fairly easy to paddle it faster than many other boards of similar style.

In wind, I haven't been on any standup board that works very well. We're standing up at the takeoff and the boards are substantially bigger than surfboards so they catch wind and get difficult pretty quickly once the wind gets going. I personally think there is only a marginal difference between a wider nosed standup board and a more pulled in nose once it gets windy.

The Stun Gun is likely to get an intermediate standup surfer to progress in my opinion. It's very confidence inspiring and does a lot of things very comfortably. It will encourage a rider to try more and go for more challenging waves as those are the conditions the board really excels in.

[surfshaver]

Agree 100% with Covesurfer.  For a performance shape the Stun Gun is very forgiving/neutral and encourages you to progress.  The soft rails in particular seem well suited to bigger waves and/or more challenging conditions.

I don't tend to surf small (sub shoulder high) and weak surf by choice; no doubt there are better boards for those who surf these conditions consistently.

For the experienced surfer I'd say go down a size to improve rail to rail quickness, for the intermediate stick with a bigger board for your weight and you'll have a one-board quiver from 4 feet to as big as you want.

On the JL website there's a video of Kealii Mamala riding a Stun Gun getting barreled backside in Tahiti.  Not sure if it's Teahupoo but it sure looks like it. I don't think there's greater proof of a SUP board's capability than that.

[covesurfer]

Surfshaver, I'd encourage trying the quad setup. I think it makes the board faster and skatey-er. The once in a while tail slide is kind of fun too. Post a review on this thread after you try it. Would like to hear your impressions.