El Nino has been blessing the North Shore with sizeable waves from early on in the season. This has given everyone a head start of product testing, research, and development on the latest stand up paddle equipment.

First, let’s have a look at the features starting with the nose. The nose of the Surf Jack has plenty of rocker for forgiving take-offs in flat water and to keep you from diving for pearls when you take off late on bigger waves. The very front of the nose is actually beveled to help maintain volume, yet keep the nose from getting hung up when punching through whitewater. Some of the hand glassed Gerry Lopez boards have a similar design on that leading edge.

The middle section of the board is straighter lending itself to fast paddling and stability. The deck, or top of the board, is flat and may have an almost imperceptible concave to it. With a flat deck, the board is comfortable for standing on during long paddles or extended surf sessions.

The tail of the board is pulled in to the width of a regular longboard. Surfing this board off the tail requires little or no foot adjustments by the rear foot to for it to transition rail to rail and perform. If you are used to making foot adjustments by the back foot, be careful not to step off the side before laying into a turn. You can pretty much keep your rear foot planted while you ride this board. If you’ve ridden any of the Bonga Perkins newer stand up paddle boards by SouthPoint, the turning off the tail feels similar, as his boards also feature an extremely pulled in tail. The Surf Jack also features a vee bottom through the tail which makes rail-to-rail transitioning smooth and effortless.

For a fin configurations, the board surfs well with a single fin, 2+1, or thruster configuration. After trying all three, the preferred setup was the 2+1. The board surfs like a longboard surfboard: square turns, fast down the line, and begging for a cross-step to the nose to make the sections in style. In bigger waves, the thruster configuration was ideal. Controlled and loose. In small waves, the single fin was preferred because of the increased glide without side fins. In shoulder to overhead waves, the 2+1 won out with control and enough hold in the tail for noserides in steeper sections.

The board seems to have enough volume to comfortably support more advanced surfers up to 230 lbs, intermediate surfers up to 190 lbs, and beginners up to 160 lbs.

Are there downsides to the board? For those who are used to shifting their back foot side to side for deep carving turns, it may take a little getting used to keeping that back foot planted in place. On waves 1 ½ - 2 times overhead, the board will need to be pumped down the line and may catch some wind under the nose when you’re going really fast, though not enough to blow you off the board. The board was predictable and never spun out, even on the steepest sections.

In conclusion, the Surf Jack stand up paddle board by Pau Hana Surf Supply is an excellent one-stick-quiver model. Surfers that are transitioning from traditional longboarding to stand up paddling, will find that this board turn and responds in a familiar way. Those who have been surfing super tankers, will find the surfing performance off the tail a refreshing change. And, those who like to take their boards into the occasional bomb set, will find the board fast and predictable. Hey, even the local Coast Guard picked up a handful of 'em. 

The dimensions of the board are 10’6” x 28 ¾” x 4 ½”.
Pau Hana ships anywhere for just $99 and have outlets in California and Hawaii.

For additional information visit www.pauhanasurfco.com .

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