Author Topic: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS  (Read 5713 times)

Luc Benac

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2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« on: June 10, 2018, 07:56:36 PM »
Anybody has paddled a 2018 Sidewinder (NOT THE 2017)?
I am curious to know how it compares with the SIC RS - they do have a little bit of similar look.
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JEG

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2018, 11:40:26 PM »
They do look similar and I'm hopping a test ride the sidewinder and rs this year.

Area 10

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2018, 03:52:25 AM »
Yes, I have paddled the 14x25 2018 Sidewinder, and I own a 14x26 2018 RS, which I really like. They are nothing like each other at all. VERY different boards in the way they feel. The RS is FAR more stable, and is higher volume. The Sidewinder is also very nice, and feels much more reactive and lower volume. You’d need to demo them (ideally alongside a Naish Maliko too, which is very nice indeed) to decide which one you’d prefer- except perhaps if stability was a priority for you, or you are a big guy, in which case the choice is fairly plain, I’d have thought. You’d need to go to 27” wide in the Sidewinder to get anywhere close to the stability of the 26” wide RS.

I do love the Sidewinder construction. Looks good too. The RS has many thoughtful touches though (the best handle in the business, plus race handles, plus deck rigging, fore and aft leash plugs, plug for GoPro or whatever in nose etc) that make a surprising amount of difference to day to day ownership. Both lovely boards. But far more different to paddle than you’d think from the pictures.

yugi

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2018, 06:30:07 AM »
A10, how is the 2018 sidewinder different to the first version?

What is the difference in feel in the water between the RS and the sidewinder??

Area 10

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2018, 07:12:14 AM »
I’ve only paddled the Sidewinder in flat water so don’t know a great deal about it on other conditions. A friend of mine has paddled it in the rough and said that copes very well. In flat water it feels fast in terms of average speed, and glides well. I tended to find that it maybe had an upper limit on the top speed when I really pressed on, but that may just be my own limitations. I also had the standard fin on and it was quite weedy where I was paddling, which is not a good combination.

So I’d need to try the Sidewinder in a fuller range of conditions before making a judgement. From my POV I don’t want to go any less stable than my RS, since my balance is pretty weak and I paddle in choppy waters, so there probably wouldn’t be any point. But many of you will have better balance, and the extra inch narrower width is nice from a technical point of view. So if you’d be choosing the 14x24 RS not the 26 then for sure give the Sidewinder a try. In general it felt like a board for a light to medium weight person (although the owner was probably 200lbs), but again, I’d need to try it again in a wider range of conditions. So I can’t really tell you that much, I’m afraid. I did jump on a 14x24 Maliko straight after trying the Sidewinder and that felt a little less stable, although not as much as I was expecting. To me, the 2018 Sidewinder felt less stable than the previous model, despite a lowered deck. I think it must be that the hull is slightly more rolled. I can’t cope with rounded hulls! But as I say, this is just me, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.  The 14x26 RS felt like a floating dock in comparison - more stable but generally bigger, so less reactive and nimble. So I think the proper comparison would be between the 14x24 RS and the 14x25 Sidewinder.

My friends who have tried the old and new Sidewinders were entirely convinced that the 2018 is much better than the 2017. It certainly is a much more refined and complex shape. So, it would definitely be worth trying because the old board was pretty darned good as it was.

But that’s about as much as I can tell you. I just haven’t paddled the 2018 Sidewinder enough to say a great deal about it, I’m afraid. The one thing I can say with confidence though is that the 14x26 RS and the 14x25 2018 Sidewinder feel very different, and that the 2018 Sidewinder is quite a lot different from the 2017 one.

robon

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2018, 08:47:34 AM »
Other than the thread on seabreeze, there is very little out there on the 2018 Sidewinder online. I found this brief review on the 2018 sidewinder with a short video. I don't think the Sidewinder is available in North America yet?

Area 10s comments on stability make sense as the RS has a wider tail and the SW has a concave scooped into a narrower tail for 2018. Last year's SW has a flat, wider tail. The RS ticks the boxes for me on paper and looks the goods.

https://www.surfs-sup.co.uk/watersports-in-the-uk/jimmy-lewis-sidewinder-review-ii-2018/

Area 10

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2018, 09:24:59 AM »
Yeah it was those guys who did the review that I was paddling with when I tried the 2018 Sidewinder (and they tried my RS).

The actual bottom of the RS is very flat. So it has kinda  “flat bottom handling”, especially since the tail is so wide and with hard edges. The Sidewinder has a bit of a more rounded thing going on up front, and a lower volume and narrower tail, so it is a bit more ”rolly” side to side. It also will pitch a bit more than the RS so will reward smooth paddling, whereas you can be more heavy-footed with the RS. But if you are smaller and/or skilled, the nimbleness of the Sidewinder could very much appeal. It’s very definitely worth a demo. Really, with the RS, the Sidewinder and the Maliko we are into the realms of personal choice: they are all good boards that will suit a lot of people and a lot of conditions, are very pleasant to paddle, and aren’t too “boat-like” (assuming that you don’t want a boat). I preferred the RS for what I want, but others may prefer other boards and I wouldn’t for one second want to argue with that choice. You just need to try them, really, and to know what features suit you best. My principal priorities were: performance in cross-chop and horrible onshore mess, stability, and flat water speed. So I went with the RS. But if your priorities were different you might well make a different choice. For instance, the RS is pretty technical to downwind in big stuff (but very good up to 1ft) and I’m told that the Maliko and Sidewinder really shine in decent-size downwind (over 1ft). I don’t need the RS for big downwind - I have specialist boards for that. But if I could have only one board then I’d have to have thought about this very carefully, because downwinding the RS in big conditions is quite an experience - you have to move a lot and you have to stay at the back of the board and high on the bump. Possibly the Maliko and Sidewinder would be different because they have lower volume tails. Let me know if you try them in big DW.

JEG

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Re: 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder/SIC RS
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2018, 05:44:34 PM »
Without testing the new sw board, looks like jl wants the board to a bit faster, turns better (surf/de) but loose some stability.

 


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