Boards magazine have tested the Drops Jump 76
(March 2008)
DROPS JUMP 76
Although in the
business for many years this Italian brand has never had a very strong presence
in the UK but this could be set to change with the distributorship recently put
in the hands of Blue Chip. The Jump is available in two sizes, 76 and 84L and is
billed as being designed for onshore conditions with main assets of, “early
planing, radical gybing, speed and control overpowered”. It is an unusual board
and one that we much enjoyed sailing, but it doesn’t follow the normal onshore
wave board approach and our list of where its strengths lie would read somewhat
differently.
On the Water: Most onshore wave boards are short, wide tailed and relatively
slidey in the tail, but then most onshore boards are primarily designed for wave
riding. The Jump is long (241cm) with an average width tail and loads of vee
(and consequent grip) in the tail, so quite different - but the name carries a
pretty clear clue as to why.
Firstly though,
it is not particularly early planing; the rocker, vee and tail width dictate
that it is pretty average in this department, and possibly a bit slower than you
might expect for its width. This is no great problem so long as you don’t expect
to major on using it with big sails (5.5m) in marginal conditions. It carries a
5.3 quite well but it is definitely a wave or strong wind board rather than a
Freestyle-Wave crossover.
Although a tad wider and longer than conventional 75L trad wave boards it
certainly has the trad feel. It is very lively and manoeuvrable off the tail
offering excellent grip and adhesion in tight manoeuvres. It tracks extremely
securely and turns tight and easily. It earns its Jump tag with high nose rocker
for excellent vertical take offs and clearing white water, something that
shorter boards rarely have, and also with a very secure tail that allows a big
kick into take off without pushing out the tail. Our only
qualification on its jumping is that it needs good power.
Calling it the Jump might imply that it isn’t a great rider but that would be
very unfair on this board. It may not be the best onshore rider (at least for
medium winds) since it lacks a bit of flow at low speeds but it is a very able,
loose, reliable and tight turning rider in decent waves and gave us some great
sessions. And we’d certainly agree with their claim that it offers very good top
end control and is an easy board to handle when overpowered.
Fittings: The board is sold with two moulded fins. This is always a nice touch
and means that you can be certain of always having the right fin but ironically,
with its high vee the Jump is actually very un-fin-critical and can easily get
away with one smallish fin. The pads and straps are slightly unusual and we
experienced slight slipping problems in bare feet, the pads have apparently
since been changed.
Overall: We were impressed with our first try out of a Drops board in many
years. Don’t be fooled by the name and marketing into expecting a moderate wind
onshore rider or early planing bump and jump board. The 76 is actually a
relatively wide but otherwise quite conventional trad style wave board with all
the trad qualities of good high wind control, excellent powered up jumping and
very enjoyable riding when conditions are good. With its extra width and length
it is very easy to use and would certainly also be
applicable to advancing sailors for all high wind use. The price with two fins
and board bag included is very competitive.
Price: £849 delivered with two fins (of choice) and board bag.
Catalogue
