I am looking at getting a new board this season + was looking to move to a thruster setup.

It will be my single quiver board for both wave (gumby rider) + bump & jump.
I'm 70kg at the mo, east cost 4.7 - 5.3 conditions mostly.

Was just in Maui riding the Tabou '13 Pocket Wave 80 in thruster mode which I found pretty good - comfortable in all conditions, well fast enough, smooth riding through the chop + awesome for jumping. I enjoyed the skatey, compact feel, but at the time thought it wasn't really that lively. In retrospect, I think I liked it more than I thought ....

I jumped back on my older 08 JP FSW 84 which I have had for years and instantly found my old faithful not to my liking as much anymore - a bit too slalom-y, not loose enough, strangely too long.

So as a replacement I am looking at the Tabou pocket 80 or JP single thruster 83.
Has anyone ridden both that might want to share notes?

Hi,
Just traded my JP single thruster 83 (2011) for a Tabou Pocket 80l (2013)

I'm 80kg, this is my small board for my 5m and under.

I ride mostly in rough onshore conditions and find the Tabou to be less bouncy in the nasty stuff, better on my knees.

The JP is faster and not as loose, more bite in the turns.
Tabou better foot pads/straps
Tabou is cheaper

I know at least 6 sailors who have changed from JP (Single thruster, Quad, FSW) to Tabou (Pocket, 3S) in the last year

I am guessing fin setup on the Tabou (17cm centre fin?) would make it looser than the JP (21cm) by default?
Did you play around with fins on the JP at all before switching over?

I am tempted, but it feels a bit like changing faiths....

I have swapped as well. Not tried my pocket yet, but the swap from the JP FSW 92 to the 3S 96 was the best thing I did.

Does anyone have the single thruster and thinks it's the beez neez?

I think you are going the right path with thruster - big single fin for B&J, then standard setup as thruster for wave use.

Very good way to have a dual-use board.

But haven't ridden either of them sorry.

But it sounds leek you are not after a dedicated down the line board and most thrusters will be. Another option would be the Simmer freestyle wave, it is a thruster and much looser then most FSW's ...... but not as wavy as the Pocket or JP (which hinders their B&J suitability a little. Likewise with the Goya One Thruster???

I had a JP single thruster and loved it for crossish wave riding and bump and jump. I used it crossoff and really liked the bottom turn but the top turn was pretty stiff when fully lit up with the big centre fin.
I reckon it would benefit from a smaller centre fin, and have heard others say it changes completely with some different fins for wave riding but cant confirm personally.
I tried the 2cm bigger single fin for bump and jump which was marginally quicker but preferred the feel of the thruster and had no troubles with early planing/upwind blasting with this setup.

Mark,

I reckon the Goya One would be a winner, along with the new Quatro thruster + Simmer, but a new 2014 board is out of my budget at the moment. If an ex demo or newish - used one pops up I'd probably jump on it.

I rode the Pocket in single mode the for a couple of days, but thought it was just more in thruster guise and just left it set up that way for the rest of the trip - having said that it was consistent 4.2-4.7 weather, so really didn't feel the need to go much faster!

So following Barri's hunch, I might get a couple of smaller fins to play with if I end up with the JP - there's a few of them floating around out there at the moment, so it kind of limits the (budget driven) choice.

Tried the latest thruster 73 which is really nice - I'm getting one this season for average onshore days and small wave stuff. The fins they come with are ridiculously big for any kind of down the line wave riding, I ended up using 14cm in the back instead of 20cm...Haven't tried the Pocket but have used the Da Curve, it turned nicely - particularly backside, but had a draggier, planted feeling compared to the JPs.

It's amazing how much bigger the standard fins are in the JP's than Tabou + others, but I guess there are alot of factors involved in how a manufacturer will spec a board, who the intended user is etc etc.

As I am still finding my way around as a wave sailor, down the line performance is not too much of a concern for me, although i probably need as much help from my gear as I can get .

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barri said..

I had a JP single thruster and loved it for crossish wave riding and bump and jump. I used it crossoff and really liked the bottom turn but the top turn was pretty stiff when fully lit up with the big centre fin.
I reckon it would benefit from a smaller centre fin, and have heard others say it changes completely with some different fins for wave riding but cant confirm personally.
I tried the 2cm bigger single fin for bump and jump which was marginally quicker but preferred the feel of the thruster and had no troubles with early planing/upwind blasting with this setup.

Barri, did you run the standard size JP fins in thruster mode?

Yeh a lot of the thrusters on offer come way over finned, guess it's a middle of the road approach, leaning towards flatter stuff. Don't be afraid to swap fins around - can completely change a board. Have ridden CA's with just normal surfboard thruster fin size no probs - though a little more meat in the middle helps if you don't like it too surfy

I had a Pocket 85 which was such a nice board in small onshore messy stuff and for jumping. Was such a settled board and could track up or down wind effortlessly. Jumping was super controlled and felt small underneath. I found squishing the fins together helped to make it a bit more snappy, I also tried K4 fins which made it even more whippy but did lose a bit of straight line direction. Never needed to use it as a single but I did find it rode a bit high sometimes, smaller K4 fins helped there.

I also have a JP Thruster but its a 99 so a bit hard to compare. It does seem to have the same characteristics as the Pocket in the way it rides high and is very friendly to use, it should be at 99. I have used MFC fins on it as I find the JP fins only good for Jimmying open locked car doors. Great fun board. I personally like the tabou pads and the way the board is finished over the JP and the stock Zinger fins are much better.

I now have a DaCurve 85 and they are worlds apart, the DaCurve seems slower as the foots traps a so much further apart but it just rips on a wave and IMO does feel way different between thruster or quad mode - awesome having the ability to choose.The board is much better in bigger surf but with the tri setup it still is heaps of fun in the small stuff. It stays low in the water so you feel connected on a wave but a bit draggy on the way out and it feels reall small in comparison.

Vote 1 for Tabou, hope this helps.

AB.....

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matt_c said..

barri said..

I had a JP single thruster and loved it for crossish wave riding and bump and jump. I used it crossoff and really liked the bottom turn but the top turn was pretty stiff when fully lit up with the big centre fin.
I reckon it would benefit from a smaller centre fin, and have heard others say it changes completely with some different fins for wave riding but cant confirm personally.
I tried the 2cm bigger single fin for bump and jump which was marginally quicker but preferred the feel of the thruster and had no troubles with early planing/upwind blasting with this setup.

Barri, did you run the standard size JP fins in thruster mode?

Yep

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Big Al said..

I had a Pocket 85 which was such a nice board in small onshore messy stuff and for jumping. Was such a settled board and could track up or down wind effortlessly. Jumping was super controlled and felt small underneath. I found squishing the fins together helped to make it a bit more snappy, I also tried K4 fins which made it even more whippy but did lose a bit of straight line direction. Never needed to use it as a single but I did find it rode a bit high sometimes, smaller K4 fins helped there.

I also have a JP Thruster but its a 99 so a bit hard to compare. It does seem to have the same characteristics as the Pocket in the way it rides high and is very friendly to use, it should be at 99. I have used MFC fins on it as I find the JP fins only good for Jimmying open locked car doors. Great fun board. I personally like the tabou pads and the way the board is finished over the JP and the stock Zinger fins are much better.

I now have a DaCurve 85 and they are worlds apart, the DaCurve seems slower as the foots traps a so much further apart but it just rips on a wave and IMO does feel way different between thruster or quad mode - awesome having the ability to choose.The board is much better in bigger surf but with the tri setup it still is heaps of fun in the small stuff. It stays low in the water so you feel connected on a wave but a bit draggy on the way out and it feels reall small in comparison.

Vote 1 for Tabou, hope this helps.

AB.....

Your impressions of the Pocket describe really well what I thought of the board, but I only tried it with the Zingers. I was sailing up to Sprecks from Kanaha + flying back downwind - the board never got out of shape + was great in the air.

From what you describe it sounds like I'm in the ball park with either board. I am hoping the JP single thruster will be similar as it looks like I will pick up an 83 for a bit of a deal.