Cj Nelson Boards.

[Artz]

First let me say that I have 4 custom shaped Boards. Two I bought used. And two I ordered one from Bruce Fowler the other from Robin Mair. I have another that I ordered from Rick Carroll under Justin Quintal label Black Rose. Should be ready any day now.
However I have been hearing some good things about the hybrid,thunderbolt construction of the JC Nelson boards lighter Stronger and feels like a traditional Longboard. Guy Takayama also has Thunderbolt Boards under is Logo.
If anyone in Jammer Land has ridden one or owns one I think some feed back would help others as well as myself.
I have been looking for a Travel Board one that can hold up too those nasty evil Airline baggage handlers.
Post your thoughts? Good, Bad indifferent, what the F are you talking about !?

 

[Ricksurfin]

I’ve owned two of the CJ Nelson Thunderbolt construction boards. I owned a 9’3” Parallax that surfed incredible when I was surfing primarily beach breaks (Croweater owns it now and loves it) and I presently own a 10’0” Neo Classic (a new model) that I’m presently riding at San Onofre. Can’t say enough good about them, they’re strong and surf fantastic. I can’t tell the difference between the feel compared to a poly board, as they have a nice dampened feel to them.
I have quite a few custom hand shaped boards that are beautiful and I love surfing, but for everyday conditions and dealing with crowds, I feel much more comfortable riding the CJ's, they’re just a tool that works extremely well.

 

[Driftwood]

I can't comment to the CJ Nelson boards or construction as I haven't ridden one. Glad that Ricksurfin is stoked on his! I did ride a Guy Takayama board in Oceanside (GT2 I think...) that actually rode really well. Didn't feel too corky or vibrate, just a very user friendly semi-performance longboard.

I have no horse in this race beyond hoping that you find a board that works well for you and does what you want it to do. That being said, I'll note that someone like Bruce - with his experience in windsurfing notably - can build you a board that's at least on par with anything else out there durability wise. Whether he wants to, or whether the cost is an issue, those discussions I'll leave between you two!

 

[shadydave]

I just saw this board posted on CL a few days ago by a different member. Not sure if it sold but I could not find the listing just now.
https://jamboards.com/threads/cj-nelson-sprout-96-800.6247/

 

[jory]

i've briefly ridden a cj classic in thunderbolt. Not a light weight epoxy but a good weight. felt lively and was a pretty nice log, in a classic parallel template noserider way, didn't inspire me enough to want one but wasn't a bad board by any stretch of the imagination and my "meh" ness was more down to the shape not being what im into currently than the construction

 

[Shaneoconnor]

I have never ridden one, but I could see them being great competition boards. light, progressive concaves with classic outlines.

 

[jory]

they feel lively under foot but they aren't lightweight at all. The ones ive fondled have all been a similar weight to a poly board of the same dims. They are very different in feel to a surftech and don't feel corky in the water like a surftech

 

[Planktom]

The weight is moderated according to the design - I had a parallax under one arm and a Guerrero under the other, both 9ft6in. The parallax was noticeably lighter and according to CJ's blurb, this makes sense as it fills the 'HP single' type gap in the range.

There was another thread on here regarding the longevity, I'll see if I can find it. However, feedback from the local ding repair wizard is positive at present as he claims he's not even had one in the shop to 'find out if they are truly s#it or not' yet. He did add that one only really knows about the full picture of build quality once a board gets properly smashed up and exposed to water... In this respect, the same thing that affects Firewires also concerns me - that the EPS will suck in water and then potentially worsen any damage via expansion...

Going back to the Thunderbolts - they are really the first mass-produced boards that feel good under the arm to me. If they ride nice too, then I will be more tempted again to try one I think, maintenance issues not withstanding.

 

[Proper_Mode]

I bought on of CJ’s Aussie Noseriders and loved it. It was a one board log quiver. Good speed, turned nicely, pretty stable on the nose.

Never traveled with it but after a bunch of riding it didn’t really show many pressures.

 

[Driftwood]

I’ve owned two of the CJ Nelson Thunderbolt construction boards. I owned a 9’3” Parallax that surfed incredible when I was surfing primarily beach breaks (Croweater owns it now and loves it) and I presently own a 10’0” Neo Classic (a new model) that I’m presently riding at San Onofre. Can’t say enough good about them, they’re strong and surf fantastic. I can’t tell the difference between the feel compared to a poly board, as they have a nice dampened feel to them.
I have quite a few custom hand shaped boards that are beautiful and I love surfing, but for everyday conditions and dealing with crowds, I feel much more comfortable riding the CJ's, they’re just a tool that works extremely well.

I'd love to hear a bit more about the Parallax... in terms of overall performance, how it turns, etc. Always curious.