Loose Juice

GENERAL GOAL | THEME OF THE BOARD:

All round performance board, with total comfort in mind.

WAVE TYPE | SIZE IT'S WORKING BEST:

Everyday conditions. From just under waist high to double overhead. 

MANEUVERS IT DOES BEST:

Boosting, sticking landings and blowing a lot of tail out of the lip.

SKILL LEVEL IT'S BEST FOR:

Novice to Pro, especially aging surfers, who like their beer.

PADDLE POWER:

Above Average.

WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU DESIGNED IT?:

Well obviously I didn’t design it, but when Christian Fletcher first sent me the original design file, I’m like, What The Fuck! After considering all the various extreme features, I could see that it was a balanced design as one feature offset another etc, but my questions were not fully answered till I made one and rode it.

I took it to Sri Lanka in March of 2014, after 3 surfs, I completely understood the board and how each variable contributed to the performance. I explained it back to Christian who was also there, Christian said no other shaper ever explained it so clearly. While Christian himself knows what he likes, it took another shaper to break it down into simple explainable concepts so everyone could understand it. Six years later and even though it's a few inches bigger than the original, I still ride it as my all round shortboard, so that should tell you what I personally think of this board.

WHAT IT POSSIBLY COMPROMISES ON THEN?:

It tends to find its own speed, if the wave is soft and you pump aggressively, it takes 2 or 3 pumps to get going, preferring waves with a drop on the take off.

OUTLINE:

Wider fuller nose, clean straighter more parallel through the middle into a full area round tail. The wider nose adds to paddle power as it climbs on top of the water with ease, the straighter center holds great down the line speed, then the tail has loads of area to drive off, plus offers nice squirt into the take off, the full area round tail will still do a nice tight hook off the back foot as you use that curve in the last 6 inches when hard on rail.

RAILS:

Step rails, more meat on the shoulder, really fine at the edges. The front rail is typically soft and tucked under, mid to tail rail has more tuck than usual blending into a hard edge in the tail.

The rails are like trainer wheels, it's so hard to make mistakes on this board. The thin rails drop in so responsively and engage into the turn, deep enough to give hold, but then you can't overcook a turn coz the thicker shoulder won't over bury. The generous tuck in the bottom edge really helps the board stick when landing airs, as Christian says “Hard bottom edges are like a skimming stone”

ROCKER:

Typically a lot flatter than a board of comparative performance, maybe ¼” to ⅜” less in the tail, at least 1” less in the nose. The flatter rocker carries really well, paddles great and holds its speed amazingly without needing to pump to keep it going. What I personally like best about the rocker is the extra time you get to get to your feet. All my life I have ridden extremely rockered boards, but as I’ve aged, I find unless my feet land in the exact spot, so I can get a quick pump in, I will lose the wave if it's a fast runner. But on the Loose Juice, even if my feet are wrong, the board still carries, giving me time to adjust into the right spot.

BOTTOM:

Concave, Concave and more Concave. Seriously this board has the deepest concave you will ever see in a board. From nose to tail, as soon as you lean slightly to initiate a turn the rails are fully engaged and its changing direction. 

DECK:

Concave and more concave. Concave nose, chest area and really deep under the front foot, blending into a flat deck back foot area. If you like your beer and typically eject your lunch when laying on your board, this is so comfortable, you just fit right in. As you jump to your feet, your front foot finds the right spot, but most importantly, as you lean into a turn, you get so much more leverage. The rails will be engaged so much deeper if compared with a standard board for the same amount of effort and angle of your body. Another interesting feature is the volume through the tail, you will quite often hear shapers saying they put more volume under the chest for ease of paddling and wave catching, (cough, cough). Let's look at that logically, if you make the front float, the tail sinks? Isn't that how kooks paddle? As you catch a wave, the wave picks up the tail of the board, so you feel that tail volume launch you into takeoffs nicely

FINS:

5 Fins, Originally designed as a quad by Christian. I'm a thruster guy, so problem solved.

FINAL STATEMENT:

I really need to make the point that this board is a total package deal. Surfboard design is about balance, each feature works together, but they also offset each other. If every feature in a board was about speed, it wouldn't turn, but if every feature was about turning, it wouldn't go. So features are offset, some for turning, some for speed, so you get something in the middle.

Typically a straighter outline and flatter rocker don’t like turning, but combined with the deep concave bottom, concave deck and step rails, it really wants to turn, but now you have the added speed and carry of the rocker and outline. I find this the perfect aging surfers board or a good hangover board, for minimal effort, it just goes so well.