Jimmy Lewis Stiletto 12.6 30" SUP review
I purchased this for my wife because I wanted her to be able to keep up with me on my race board. I also have used it a few times when I thought the extra width would be good for the conditions.
Even though this board is a few years old and is designed for touring it is still a fast design. It was only marginally slower than the Bluwave 12.6 27" Carbon race board I had and the weight was comparable as well. The primary and secondary stability of this board is fantastic. My wife came off a 33" wide board and had no issues adapting to this 30" board. If you have someone who wants to go fast and also be stable then this is definitely the board for you. The slightly slanted deck is great for two reasons. One is it gets you closer to the water level for greater stability and paddling efficiency. The second is when you are doing a proper pivot turn you have a lot of buoyancy at the back and the the desk is closer to level so you do not have to worry about sliding off the back. Also as it is not a newer design it does not follow the large volume nose trend.
The lower volume nose was an asset for less optimal conditions. This board was my go-to borrow it board for rough conditions when I knew that there would be side chop. I have found that a lower profile does not catch wind or waves as much so I was not fighting as hard to keep the board pointing the right way. This boards nose and tail also had a lower wake than the Bluwave Race board.
The wakes off the race board was so large that I could upset those around me when going over 5.5mph. I never had this issue with the Stiletto which I think really shows how efficient the board design is.
The board has proven to be very durable with true "Sandwich Construction". My wife does not have a perfect stroke and other than a few scuffs on the paint there is no damage on the rails. We did get this board used and there are a few deck dings but no cracks at all and the dings do not seem to affect the board in any way and are not soft. Even if you were to crack the outside layer you still have another layer of fibreglass under the PVC foam before you get to the EPS foam so it is much harder to permanently damage the board.
Overall this is a great board. My wife has been in just about every condition on this board and never felt that it was holding her back or pushing her limits. The ability to strap on some gear and go for a tour just adds to the fun and flexibilty of this board.
Even though this board is a few years old and is designed for touring it is still a fast design. It was only marginally slower than the Bluwave 12.6 27" Carbon race board I had and the weight was comparable as well. The primary and secondary stability of this board is fantastic. My wife came off a 33" wide board and had no issues adapting to this 30" board. If you have someone who wants to go fast and also be stable then this is definitely the board for you. The slightly slanted deck is great for two reasons. One is it gets you closer to the water level for greater stability and paddling efficiency. The second is when you are doing a proper pivot turn you have a lot of buoyancy at the back and the the desk is closer to level so you do not have to worry about sliding off the back. Also as it is not a newer design it does not follow the large volume nose trend.
The lower volume nose was an asset for less optimal conditions. This board was my go-to borrow it board for rough conditions when I knew that there would be side chop. I have found that a lower profile does not catch wind or waves as much so I was not fighting as hard to keep the board pointing the right way. This boards nose and tail also had a lower wake than the Bluwave Race board.
The wakes off the race board was so large that I could upset those around me when going over 5.5mph. I never had this issue with the Stiletto which I think really shows how efficient the board design is.
The board has proven to be very durable with true "Sandwich Construction". My wife does not have a perfect stroke and other than a few scuffs on the paint there is no damage on the rails. We did get this board used and there are a few deck dings but no cracks at all and the dings do not seem to affect the board in any way and are not soft. Even if you were to crack the outside layer you still have another layer of fibreglass under the PVC foam before you get to the EPS foam so it is much harder to permanently damage the board.
Overall this is a great board. My wife has been in just about every condition on this board and never felt that it was holding her back or pushing her limits. The ability to strap on some gear and go for a tour just adds to the fun and flexibilty of this board.
Comments
Post a Comment