Boardshop Battle Of The Boards

So...it's the battle of small wave heavy weights, the Lost Puddle Jumper and the Firewire Baked Potato. This isn't like those reviews you see where every product gets 10/10, it's our real opinions (as if anyone actually cares!) so here it is, we've had a chance to surf these boards a lot over the last few weeks and the camp is split!

The PJ just edges this, the concave seems to make the board skim across the water a bit more easily then the BP. The BP is no slouch and scores well, but the PJ really is quite exceptional in how it deals with side shore chop and wind in general. Easier paddling means you get less tired and can stay out longer.

Wave catching
Both these boards are great for wave catching, they accelerate quickly and don't leave you wind milling half way down the face of the wave! Getting in early gives you time to sort foot positioning etc and both these boards give you plenty of that. The PJ works as well as the BP when matched in size but obviously comes with less volume which will help in other aspects of your surfing.

Baked Potato - 4/5
Puddle Jumper - 4/5

Speed
Whoooah! The PJ just flies, again those concaves really work in giving you drive and acceleration. The BPs construction gives a very snappy responsive surf and is definitely faster than your average PU board, it's fast enough for 99% of us for sure. The wide tail and large flat surface area definitely work well in the BP. A better surfer will get more performance out of the PJ than the BP in the waist to head high wave category for sure.

Baked Potato - 4/5
Puddle Jumper - 5/5

Turning
So the PJ is fast and that pulled in tail helps with turning but there's no denying when its gets bigger than head high its struggles to turn tight enough to stay in the pocket. The BP likewise with its wider template suffers from the same issues. In knee to chest the BP edges it over the PJ, it just works, could get really techy but all we really need to know is that it does what you want it to do in these kind of waves.

Baked Potato - 3/5
Puddle Jumper - 3/5

Durability
The BP is bullet proof, and like all Firewires it keeps that new board feel pretty much for ever. The Lost boards use S Glass which is stronger than standard stuff but it just can't compete with the BP in this category. After half a dozen surfs the PJ is showing a few pressure dings, the BP which is 6 months old looks like new still.

Baked Potato - 5/5
Puddle Jumper - 3/5

Result
Typical, a draw! Everyone looks for something slightly different in a board and nowadays since the evolution of the hybrid board there are loads of overlaps between different brands and models. These boards fundamentally offer the same thing, fun in small/weak/fat waves up to around head high. Saying that we know people that surf the PJ in everything from knee high to overhead barrels! Durability is a big thing for a lot of people because these boards aren't cheap. This whole thing came about because 2 of us couldn't which board was better, I still love the BP and would choose it every time, he's not giving up his PJ!

Baked Potato - 19/25
Puddle Jumper - 19/25

Check out the full range of baked potatoes and puddle jumpers in store right now by clicking on the images and decide for yourself!