Author Topic: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"  (Read 5838 times)

APPST_Paddle

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Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« on: March 29, 2017, 12:36:05 PM »
I debated this purchase for quite awhile - so here's some background. I kiteboard quite a bit as well and have surfed before when I was younger.

I've been SUP surfing for 3 years now - started at around 185 lbs, down to roughly 170 now, 35 years old, riding east coast waves with annual trips to CR and occasionally California.

Here's my progression through boards:
First 6 months: 10'1" Palm Head (POS - but it got me in the water)
Next Year: 9'2" Fanatic Allwave - broke it in half
Another year: 8'8" Naish Hokua X32 - good board to progress on, but eventually I found I could go smaller and wanted thinner rails
At the same time I bought a 10'1" JL Black and Blue for longboard/noseriding - definitely my favorite board in my quiver, love it.
I also bought a used 7'11" x 29" F-One Madeiro, 104L, which I love on the wave, but stability wise it's still a challenge in any chop.

So.........I went with Jimmy Lewis because I really like how responsive both Jimmy and Marlon are, and I love the Black and Blue (and I've ridden some of his kite-specific surfboards and like them). I feel like you really can't go wrong with anything Jimmy designs.

Construction

First thoughts - I went with the classic construction, and it's really light, here's a comparison:
10'1" B&B, 160 L - 19.5 LB
7'11" F-One Madeiro 104 L - 17.5 lbs
8'5 JL WW, 127 L - 16.3 lbs

My Hokua X32 LE with carbon was around 18 lbs. Construction wise- pretty solid, nice handle, love the full-length deck pad.

Ride

I've ridden it in mixed up waist to chest high waves mostly with one clean session this morning. The flat nose rocker makes it easier to catch waves compared to the 8'8" Hokua, so I get in a lot sooner and I've found the board keeps it's speed better. This translates into being able to make sections i couldn't on the Hokua.

I also found that instantly i could get a good cutback where the tail really slices around, and then keep enough speed to continue back down the wave and make another section. I could not do this on the Hokua. I have a Rip Curl Secure GPS watch and I can tell by the speed/length of waves that I'm getting a nice bump in both as compared to similar sessions/waves on the Hokua X32.

The one thing I am a bit surprised with is how well the WW handles weaker, slow surf. I've had it out on days where I would only bring my B&B and not even think about riding anything smaller, and it has excelled. I think the flatter profile in front and quad fin setup (I tried the thruster for 2 sessions, quad is better) helps it maintain speed well.

The WW seems to fall in between the Hokua and F-One. The F-One is really easy to get into waves (when I'm not falling) and easy to snap around. No surprise there as it's obviously a big jump from the Hokua. The WW is just as stable as the Hokua, feels like there's less nose to tail bump.

Conclusion/Miscellaneous


I'm really happy with my purchase, I wanted to progress to riding the 7'11" Madeiro but I was sacrificing too many really good days where there was a bit of a bump and struggling to stay upright long enough to catch a wave. Even when I could, the constant balancing act wore me out quickly. The WW gives me a nice all-around board that I feel confident in big surf, choppy surf, and frankly it surprised me in how well it handled weak surf.

I'm a bit concerned with the white rails as I have a tendency to bang rails quite a bit. I may invest in some rail tape soon. Other than that, I really haven't had any construction issues with the B&B and don't foresee any with the WW.
7'6" JL Super Frank Lean
8'2" JL SuperTech 
10'1" JL Black and Blue
14' BIC WS Tracer
6'5" JL Flying-V/GoFoil Maliko 200
Kenalu Ho'oloa 95, Werner Rip Stick 79

supthecreek

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2017, 06:47:11 PM »
Nice report and comparisons.... I have always thought the WW looked like a solid board.

I actually paddle Badgers last year, but never surfed it.
In summer, I think I could handle that size.
If you are ever in sharkville this summer .... let me know, I love to board swap for a few.

Caribsurf

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2017, 09:40:30 PM »
I'm a bit concerned with the white rails as I have a tendency to bang rails quite a bit. I may invest in some rail tape soon. Other than that, I really haven't had any construction issues with the B&B and don't foresee any with the WW.
[/quote]

Nice review, glad you finally pulled the trigger.
Don't get rail tape, get white electrical tape to cover your paddle edges. If you scrape the white rails, nothing shows up...same if you have black or dark rails, get corresponding electrical tape.
Hobie Raw 8'10"
Jimmy Lewis Kwad 8'7"
Naish Hover 95 liter 5'7"
F-One Rocket foil board 5'5" 90 liters
Fanatic Aero 1250, 1500, 1750 HA foils
CabrinhaMantis 3.5, 4m 5m. F-One Strike 7m CWC
Hobie 14' race board

APPST_Paddle

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2017, 05:22:32 AM »
I'm a bit concerned with the white rails as I have a tendency to bang rails quite a bit. I may invest in some rail tape soon. Other than that, I really haven't had any construction issues with the B&B and don't foresee any with the WW.

Nice review, glad you finally pulled the trigger.
Don't get rail tape, get white electrical tape to cover your paddle edges. If you scrape the white rails, nothing shows up...same if you have black or dark rails, get corresponding electrical tape.
[/quote]

Caribsurf - yeah thanks for answering all of my questions as I debated. White electrical tape is a good idea, I do black electrical tape on the paddle now (and always have - it does work), but never really thought about just matching the color of the rail to the paddle.
7'6" JL Super Frank Lean
8'2" JL SuperTech 
10'1" JL Black and Blue
14' BIC WS Tracer
6'5" JL Flying-V/GoFoil Maliko 200
Kenalu Ho'oloa 95, Werner Rip Stick 79

Caribsurf

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2017, 10:19:57 AM »
Happy to help, glad you are happy with your WW.  It sounds like you picked a winner.
Hobie Raw 8'10"
Jimmy Lewis Kwad 8'7"
Naish Hover 95 liter 5'7"
F-One Rocket foil board 5'5" 90 liters
Fanatic Aero 1250, 1500, 1750 HA foils
CabrinhaMantis 3.5, 4m 5m. F-One Strike 7m CWC
Hobie 14' race board

coldsup

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2017, 07:06:29 AM »
My friend had one for a wee while before selling it on. I got a chance to try it on a small clean day. I was surprised how fast it would paddle for such a small board but I have to admit I struggled on it balance wise which did surprise me. I am 95 kg with full wetsuit so that doesn't help. It was really light and much more performance than I expected....it will shred no doubt about it.

Night Wing

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2017, 10:48:57 AM »
You've got a nice quiver of boards. You should feel lucky you live in a state that has a good supply of used boards.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

NorthJerzSurfer

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2017, 06:02:26 PM »
Great review.  Ive had a crush on the Super Tech in a large size for winter east coast waves for some time.  I have something real similar to the World Wide for head high and under or id be all over it.

The amazing thing to me is how these boards seem to be bomb proof in Jimmys regular construction and even WITh a full deckpad (on a shortboard...i dont get it?!) they seem to still be some of the lightest around.


APPST_Paddle

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2017, 04:47:21 AM »
Great review.  Ive had a crush on the Super Tech in a large size for winter east coast waves for some time.  I have something real similar to the World Wide for head high and under or id be all over it.

The amazing thing to me is how these boards seem to be bomb proof in Jimmys regular construction and even WITh a full deckpad (on a shortboard...i dont get it?!) they seem to still be some of the lightest around.

Yeah, I'm impressed with JL boards all-around, I have a tendency to abuse boards, and my B&B has handled a year and a half of my abuse without showing it. The weight, or lack there of, was definitely a surprise, especially considering the X32LE I had with only 13L more volume weight roughly 2 lbs more. I will say that the full length deck pad is nice, but there's no where to mount a Trace except the rear of the board - which in turn ended up being the demise of the Trace as the leash got caught on it and popped it off.

I had a good bit of issues with the Trace anyways.
7'6" JL Super Frank Lean
8'2" JL SuperTech 
10'1" JL Black and Blue
14' BIC WS Tracer
6'5" JL Flying-V/GoFoil Maliko 200
Kenalu Ho'oloa 95, Werner Rip Stick 79

APPST_Paddle

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Re: Jimmy Lewis Worldwide - 8'5"
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2017, 12:36:02 PM »
I've had this board a few months, and I just want to comment on it's toughness. I was slipped on some algae covered walkway the other day (I'm getting old quick) and fell on my arse with the board slammed down fins first. Two fins broke (GL fins not JL ones), but there are no issues with the fin boxes or any marks/blemishes on the board from falling.

The same goes for my B&B, both boards are seriously tough.
7'6" JL Super Frank Lean
8'2" JL SuperTech 
10'1" JL Black and Blue
14' BIC WS Tracer
6'5" JL Flying-V/GoFoil Maliko 200
Kenalu Ho'oloa 95, Werner Rip Stick 79

 


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