Review SUP Sports 7'4" Jammer

[Zooport]

I've surfed my new Jammer 10 times now and think I have a pretty good feel for it.  So I thought I would share my perceptions with anyone who might be interested. 

Stability:  It's really stable for such a short board.  If you are not into small boards, you might still find it tippy. For me, it is the perfect comfort level.  I'm sure the bigger versions are quite stable.  Mine is narrowed and shortened from the original design. 
Glide:The first time you paddle it, it seems to have no glide at all.  But there is a sweet spot, located further back than you would expect, where it has reasonable glide for a short board.  Get it trimmed there and it moves well enough. 
Projection:Without Wardog's "StubNub" in the center box, it mainly pivots on the fins without much drive, which is cool in small, mushy surf.  With the StubNub in, it projects pretty well.  I am able to bottom turn it and get it to drive up to the lip nicely.  It also pumps like a skateboard on the StubNub and gains speed pretty well.
Looseness: Without a foot on the tail, it's stiff.  Move your foot back to the very tail and it transforms.  Really loose and slashy off of the tail.  I'm able to do really tight cutbacks and off the lips quite easily.  The StubNub does stiffen up the board a bit, but it still turns pretty well with it in.  I can see that I will be putting the nub in and taking it out often, depending on conditions.
Wide tail: I worried that the tail would make the board really stiff, asked Wardog about it, and he assured me that the Jammer is loose.  He is mostly right, but you have to surf the board off the tail to get the looseness. 
Speed: Get it high and tight in the pocket, StubNub in, work it rail to rail, and it flies.  However, my small one is not a board to stand still on and go straight.  It's got to be worked. 
Wave catching:It catches waves quite easily considering it is only 7'4."  However, it's only 7'4" so it takes some work to catch waves.  I bet the bigger Jammers catch waves extremely easily.
Late drops: I have taken a couple of slightly out of control, late, vertical drops on this board and it will flat out not pearl.  I think that's typical of short boards anyway.
Pro-level performance I don't think Kai Lenny would ride one of these, but for the rest of us, the Jammer might be the best "have you cake and eat it too" board.  Maybe not pro-level performance, but high-performance nonetheless, and much more user friendly than a pro board. 
 Negatives: Took this board out at Trail 1 this weekend, (head high, mushy, high tide rollers) and was wishing I had brought something bigger.  Was really tough to catch the mushburgers on that tiny thing.  I'm sure a bigger Jammer would have been fine.  Another negative, if you are not totally on the tail, it does get a little sticky coming off the top of a wave.  Foot on the tail and it's fine.
Conclusion I really like this board a lot.  It does everything I want and I can still paddle it in retaliative comfort.  I highly recommend Wardog's Jammers for SUP surfers who want a high-performance board that does not require pro-level skills. 

[SCruzSUPr]

Zooport
So glad to hear you are stoked...  my short board is still 10'3" 
Looks like a sweet stick.  Not pearling... that's a big plus.

SCruz

[Zooport]

Thanks, SCruzSupr. 

[SUPcheat]

Great review, Zoo, very complete and honest as is your style.  I imagine every board has an inflection point around which various height and weight would 'work', but one particular height and weight would make that particular board 'magic.'  When I tried the 8'10" Naish Alana vs. the 9'5" Mana, even though the boards had the same shape in different sizes, they were  totally different in feel. The smaller Alana was frisky while the 9'5" seemed a little kludgy to me at my particular height and weight.

It was interesting to see the variety of boards at the Surftech 2015 contest that just ended at Steamer Lane.  There were the 'teardrop with a tail' types like my Prowave, but also some long board styles that were wider, longer with round noses.  The longer and wider boards had very thin rails, while the smaller and narrower boards had thicker rails. I didn't notice any Tomo types, but I only saw a handful of boards on the days I went, maybe somebody was out there on one.

I suppose the best reviews for a particular board would be the ones from somebody in the same weight and height category (and perhaps, ability range).

I'm not seeing anything ever below 8'5" that I would even attempt, and any 8'5" I would have to try for a while.  Of course, I have to finish learning my way around the Prowave which is going to take a while for my shallow learning curve.

[tautologies]

Looks nice, but a bot hard to see the shape. Also what are the other specs?

[tautologies]

ok I just fund a ton of pics of the board. :-) looks nice

[sharksupper]

Nice review Zoo!  What fins are those?  From the 7'3 Hokua?  Are you riding quad or thruster?

[Zooport]

Thanks, Shark.  Yeah, I borrowed them from the Hokua for a week or so.  I figured you would notice that.  Now I have other fins on there. Still looking for the perfect combo.  I'm running it 4 + nub right now and it's pretty nice.  I love the board.  Not quite the performance of the 7'3 Hokua, but close and waaaayyy more user friendly. 

[Zooport]

Great review, Zoo, very complete and honest as is your style.  I imagine every board...

Thanks, Carl.  Looking forward to our Zoner trip to Santa Cruz Island this summer. 

[SlatchJim]

Mike,
Great honest review of a much-anticipated new board!  You seemed to hit on everything, glide, rider expectations, conditions, break type, float, quickness.  Looks like this board is the answer to decent Newport and HB for you, and good surf elsewhere.

For most of us; it's tough to settle on just one board for surfing and SUP surfing in particular.  So many things change from day to day, spot to spot, and all us different shaped riders.  Best reason ever to build a quiver.

p.s., the board dolly worked nicely last Saturday.

[Zooport]

Thanks Jim.  It performs close to the hokua but much more user friendly.

Glad that dolly worked for you.  Pretty good unit for the price. 

[Zooport]

And you are right.  I think the jammer is good in a broader range of conditions. 

[Sup44]

Interesting pad! How did you get a naish pad on there?

[Zooport]

Interesting pad! How did you get a naish pad on there?

I already had it.   Ralph was gracious enough to get it for me.  Wardog was gracious enough to put it on for me.

[Zooport]

I have to take back what I said about having trouble catching mushy waves on the 7'4 Jammer.  Since I wrote this review, I've had it out in a bunch of mushy surf and it catches waves amazingly well, considering it's short length.  I've ridden it in well overhead surf to tiny, mushy stuff; the Jammer rocks it all.  Fairly stable, yet really loose, go figure.  Favorite SUP ever!

Sorry to revive this old thread, but I wanted to address that issue.