Joyride: The JS Black Baron 2.1

Ed note: See the bottom of the page for your chance to win a JS Industries surfboard.

It all started with Mateus Herdy.

The Vans Stab High star was riding a JS in HYFI 2.0 construction in the lead up to the Snapper CS event. It goes without saying he is one of the fastest kids on the block, but this board — and I believe the construction — had him moving even quicker than normal in gutless chest high waves.

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Watching Mateus’s warmups was just the motivation I needed to walk into the JS factory and weasel my way onto their trademark epoxy construction. I was lucky enough to be given a XERO in HYFI 2.0 for our next Joyride. Although it was different in shape to what Mateus was riding, I was still really keen to give this board a whirl.

The main question I wanted to answer was how good the off-the-rack epoxies went. We’ve seen Julian do some real damage on stock equipment over the years — especially in the pool, and more recently a stock 8’6 in Fiji — but I wanted to see if that applied to the office jockey as well.

After only a few waves on the XERO, I quickly realised why this is one of the most popular boards in the line-up. It has all the quality attributes of a refined high-performance short board with the added benefits of speed and responsiveness that you get from an epoxy construction. 

Growing up on the Gold Coast, I’ve witnessed Parko’s transition from performing at the highest level on finely-tuned, customised blades to riding a wider variety of craft (often straight off the rack) in his retirement. Naturally, I was curious to hear Joel’s thoughts on epoxies vs PU’s. So I invited him to come along for a surf one day, on what I thought would be the final chapter of this Joyride on the XERO.

Although we had similar descriptions of the XERO, it was no surprise that Joel and I interpreted some parts of this equipment differently. I felt sometimes at maximum speed or in slightly bigger waves the board was a bit flighty under my feet, and I didn’t like that twitchy feeling that epoxy’s can have. Joel, on other the hand, loved that feeling of the board red-lining under his feet and was always looking to find a board’s limit.

I thought this difference of opinion summed up pro surfer vs non pro surfer perfectly. Me hanging on for dear life, Joel on edge and ready to attack.

With the waves still pumping and the crowd non-existent, we decided to head back out. This time Joel rode a new prototype version of the Black Baron — the Black Baron 2.1.

Unlike its predecessor, this twin fin has a trailer option and is shaped with similar lines and length to a regular shortboard. Ideally, you’d ride the BB 2.1 a few inches shorter than your HP. To make up for the drop in length, JS has pushed the centre point forward and added a good amount of width and foam under your chest, so the board will paddle you into any wave that comes your way. I watched Joel catch a few waves and heckled him for a turn myself. 

As soon as I caught my first wave on the Black Baron 2.1, I understood why this was Joel’s new favourite board. Riding it for the first time as twin + 1, it held into the face of the wave better than the XERO epoxy, in my opinion. 

This quick surf left me with a slight conundrum — finish the episode on the XERO, or flip the storyline on its head and get a few more sessions on the Black Baron 2.1?

My Joyride had been… ah…. Joyridden? What should I do with this Monty Hall-esque conundrum?

The smart money says switch doors, so that’s exactly what I did….

Off I went with the first version of the Black Baron 2.1. Because this prototype did not have the block for the trailer, I rode it as a straight twin. Typically, this would scare me off riding it in on a five-foot beach break, however with this board’s refined edges and high performance feel, I had full faith its ability to hold its line in the juice. 

After some great moments and a few turns that felt wobbly, I took the board around the corner to have a surf on it Snapper. With the swell tapering off in size and the sand at Snapper lining up perfectly through Rainbow Bay, I don’t think I could have been on a better board. Loose and whippy when the wave went flat, plenty of drive and hold when the wave went steep.

I learnt a lot about fins in these two surfs as well…

Let’s talk about fins

In the Black Baron 2.1, I started using a set of twins that were very upright. Most twin fins have 4’ of cant (splay) — I felt it to be a little bit stiff.

To help the board roll over from rail to rail, I changed over to the Sons of Cobra twin fin. This set has 7.5’ of cant and loosened up the board dramatically. A benefit of the Futures system is that the cant is built into the fin (as opposed to the box), so you can change this with each fin set you try.

For the perfect 2+1 set in the BB, I’d recommend the Rasta upright set.

How to win a free JS Black Baron 2.1: 

Email us at [email protected] (subject line: Baron) with the following info for your chance to win. 

Name: 
Age:
Where you’re from:
Tell us about a time that you took the road less traveled (literally or figuratively), and how it led to a positive surfing experience.
Bonus: Include a photo of yourself surfing

Here’s the winner of a previous Joyride board giveaway, Aidan McCall, and his new Rusty Miso.

Previous winners include: 
Amy Markham: Haydenshpes Cohort_I
Blair Overton: Rusty Keg
Angus Farrell: DHD Mini Twin
Adrian Hellman (yes, it’s his real name): LSD Hammer
Isaac Plunkett: Haydenshapes HK Twin
Jourdan Davis: JS Blak Box III 
Jeremy Pether: Lost Rad Ripper
Ashley Uy: Surfboard Broker x Ghostshapes
Cudi von Pup: Haydenshapes Raven
Jay Piper-Healion: Pyzel Mini Ghost
Murray Wardrop: Channel Islands Twin Pin
Aidan McCall: Rusty Miso 
Kalani Lucas: Panda Shrizz
Lucas Zender: Channel Islands NeckBeard 3