Too much trolling here, get a life guys... For those who buy this, just make sure you are first comfortable with normal longboard in bigger waves before going with jets. And find a friend to carry it to the beach, it's really heavy. Good luck!
How long does it take a drained battery to fully charge? I'm picturing somebody jetting out to the line up, catching a wave in. Battery dies, paddles back in. Charges wavejet in the car for 4 hours. Paddles back out. Repeat.
If you are already comfortable with a normal longboard in bigger waves, wouldn't that by definition pretty much mean you don't need the jets in the first place? Anyway, seems like the cons far outweigh the pros for 99% of surfers. Appreciate an actual review instead of the usual.
the wavejet is for people like jesse billaur(the handicap guy who broke his back) and older people who still want to surf.i see nothing kookish about this.garret McNamara,one of the greatest big wave pioneers that ever lived,cory lopez,gerry lopez,and a few others.some people see the advantages,others see the cons.just like those floatation vests that blow up when u pull the cord.some can argue its for kooks whos afraid of big holddowns,others can argue its a life saving device.regardless it suits certain people. pretty soon,im sure youll see guys like shane dorian dropping into 20ft by 40ft chopes on wavejets,and every little kook will be bumrushing their local shop in search of these
With the significantly added weight from the engine and drag from the holes on the bottom, 20 min isn't worth it. Still in prototype, imo. you'd need 2 or 3 boards charging all the time to get a decent session even without the weight and drag issues. EXP!
Anyone else is using it in the world, or it's just me? Come on, wave-jetters!!!! p.s. i used it just once since last post, actually today, that's why i even here. I find it too much of trouble to recharge, carry, handle, clean etc. In most cases I just grab an old school board.
I actually saw someone use one the other day in County Line. Dude was a paralyzed surfer and used the wave jet to get into some rides. It was hard for him to turn and position the board so people (including myself) helped get him into position. Besides that, I wouldn't use one.
Here's another story, from today's VA Pilot, about an old surfer using a Wave Jet to keep surfing: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/hes-still-catching-waves-little-bit-help
I thought I would chip in. I bought a Wavejet longboard when I moved out to New Jersey. There are some real pro's and con's to this, but for me, the pro's have outweighed the con's. I know I will catch some flack for owning a wavejet, but I think it is worth getting some real info from a real user out on this forum. I am not a really good surfer, and don't pretend to be, but I have fun. The pros: The main thing that I use the wavejet for is riding crappy east coast waves. I have been out almost every week this winter, which has been extremely crappy for surfing with only 3 or 4 standout days so far. The wavejet lets you catch smaller waves than you would normally catch even on a longboard, and ride them far longer: catch them earlier, stitch sections together. Many days I have been the only one out there, because I am the only one that can catch the waves! Other times, I catch two to three times the number of waves that anybody else does. I catch then further out than anybody else, and get more face time on a wave than anybody else. I do my best to not snag all the good waves - in fact I let the best go by so the surfers further in can catch them, or I ask them to go ahead and drop in on me, and I will duck out because it is so easy for me to catch the next wave when they spend a couple hours out there to catch two or three waves total. As far as the battery life goes - I only use it to catch the wave and ride it, so it will last through a 2-3 hour session for me. Most of the time the jets are not on. I have only ran out of batteries twice at the end of a session - the rest of the time I am done before the battery is. You turn the jets on and off with a little button on a wrist controller. That is one of my biggest complaints about the wavejet - it is really hard to hit that button wearing 5 mil gloves! The other time I use it is to get out with bigger surf, where my older body wouldn't be able to get a longboard out. I have caught some decent waves with the wavejet longboard, but nothing really big. Frankly, we don't get really big here in NJ! I have ridden some overheads with this, and almost barreled, but that is the biggest I have tried. Bigger than that isn't really really suitable for longboards, at least not for me! The Cons: 1) The board. The board itself is not very good as a board. It is mushy, doesn't turn well and isn't very fast (even with the jets). I have had a lot of the gelcoat come off this winter as well, despite being careful with it. That said, it is GREAT for beginners because it is very stable and does not require precision foot placement. Just make sure you don't use this in shore break with beginners, because the board is heavy and dangerous there. 2) The weight. With the pod installed, it is HEAVY. Just getting it on and off the car is fun. I use a sling to carry the board it because it is so heavy. In the summer I used to install the pod on the beach and take it out when done before loading the board on the car, but stopped because that is a pain to do in a wetsuit. So, instead I deal with this very heavy board the whole time. 3) The button. As I mentioned before, pressing that damn button with gloves on is a pain. Timing the press is important to catching the waves, so pressing down repeatedly trying to get it to come on has caused me to miss more than 1 wave. 4) The setup time. It adds about 10 minutes on each end to the setup time the way I have it set up right now. It may not sound like much, but it does detract from the 'grab it and go' aspect. Summary: The wavejet has been great for me. I would buy it again. If we had a better break here and more consistent waves, I would not buy it. I don't use it to catch bigger waves than I should - I use it to catch a heck of a lot more waves than I ever could here if I didn't have it! I would have surfed maybe 1/4 the times that I did without the wavejet - that alone makes it worth it for me! Hope this helps to add a little info to this discussion. I think the wavejet is fabulous for where i am at right now - I am getting older and can't paddle as hard, and the east coast waves have not been as clean or powerful as the west coast waves, so this has been great for me. I would not recommend using the longboard for big waves as the board itself does not perform that well, but for crappy waves it is marvelous!
If you are old and have problems paddling into a wave, just buy an SUP. I have seen guys that look to be almost 80 having success with SUPs. I also don't get your comment about east coast waves. Where do you love that you never get decent waves? Even SC sees fun clean surf at least once a week. It might not be big, but still east to ride.
I've been looking hard at SUPs. and at some john boats. to go out in the shipping lanes to await freighters. both aren't cheap.
I have thought about SUPs, and think I will try that out this summer as well. There has been a lot of wind this winter, which would make SUPs a little tough I think. I live in NJ, which has not had a whole lot this winter, but I have still caught a lot with the wavejet.
The guys from NJ have been posting some nice pictures this year. I would say they had a decent season of waves.
An old timer here ( he is 74 ), who still paddles out in well overhead waves, now uses a 7'8" SUP to paddle out with. When I asked him where his paddle was, he explained to me that after he hit 70, he had to relearn the art of surfing, and now "cheats" by paddling in with a small SUP. He says he gets plenty of waves, and even if it is not that maneuverable, it is still surfing.
HA HA HA, I wanna get one and just do figure 8's (laying down) in the line up while whistling. No arms in the water, just using the jet. They are only $4,445.00, get two!
A few guys I see out in my spot are probably mid 70's. They ride 10' logs and don't seem to have many issues.
