Jacks Surfboards Comet Review ($200 Surfboard)

I bought this board originally, to tell you NOT to buy this board. Shocker. Watch till the end.
What board have you surfed that you were surprised by? Knowing what you were taught and knew of design, what board shocked you? This one was a huge head scratcher for me.
$200 WTH
#jackssurfshop #jackssurfboards
#budgetsurfboard #surfboardreview #surfboard

[@orangshoes21]

Usually don’t comment but after watching all of your videos, this is the best surfing I’ve seen you do on a board. Do not get rid of that board. Board looked magic.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I am really curious how it will go on a good day. Haha

[@marcass100]

​@@ThomyeSurfs I want to say the same about your surfing on this board. It's like you went for a surf without expectations and you were relaxed and loose and seems you just had a good surf. Can clearly see that rail to rail transitions were very easy to make, kinda blows all concaves and v out of the water. I don't know about others but I would actually be very interested to see more of this type of videos.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@marcass100 one thing is for sure. I will definitely keep an open mind. Funny story, I shaped a board once way back when. it was super ugly but it was the fastest board I ever surfed on rail but because of a crappy rocker, it literally went from 30mph to 3mph on the bottom turn. I would go over the handle bars any time I hit flatter water. I wish i had kept the board to understand how it worked. there wasn't a session that someone didn't tell me I was going faster than anyone they had ever seen. crazy

[@benforth5486]

I got one of these second hand for like $150, basically brand new. I wasn't expecting much but its a ton of fun in small surf. Great for summer waves.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I need to surf it again but with a 5th fin. I surfed it as a quad which I think is right but there was that squishiness that quads get. I had that issue with my firewire potatonator as a quad but having that 5th nub fin made it work so well. For the price, definitely worth it. :)

[@dannyfeldman2286]

Kudos to your impressive surfing skills… “it’s not the arrow, it’s the Indian” (not my quote, but seems appropriate). A great billiards player can shoot well with a broom handle! Also, as your describing your experience, you’re smiling. That’s all that counts. That feeling, that stoke. Keep the new ideas coming. We are watching! 🤙.

[@violentyev]

I bought this no-brand board years ago from craigslist, called "quik fish". It was new but imported from somewhere, super cheap ($250 was it?). It has no dimensions written on it but it's around 5'10. It's a quad fish, with two dimples at the tail. I have tried boards costing far more over the years but to this day it's my favorite board to surf!

[@ThomyeSurfs]

One thing is for sure, I am definitely not going to shy away from less liters now or thinner rails. Need to broaden my scope when it comes to board choices.

[@jeffvandenburgh6325]

Thomye, I’m curious how much do you weigh, as that Comet seemed perfect for you? What liters of volume do you like to have in small Bolsa Chica surf? I’m looking at a 5’8 Comet that says “33 liters,” but definitely feels for like 30ish when I hold it under my arm. I weigh 180 and I’m wondering if I’d be better off with the 5’10?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@jeffvandenburgh6325 I weight 138 right now. I'm usually 148. The baord says 29L but i think it is closer to 26. my scifi2 is 27.5 and it feels way more buoyant than the comet. The rails are so think, it can't have that much volume. not as stated.

[@jeffvandenburgh6325]

Thomye, what kind of fin set-up did you use in the Comet? I finally bought a used Comet that I love, but I haven’t figured out what kind of fin set-up I should be using with the massively wide squash tail. So far I’ve been riding as a twin+trailer set up, which is fast down the line, but feels way too loose on turns.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@jeffvandenburgh6325 if I remember correctly, I think I use the stretch quads but I am not 100% sure.

[@jeffvandenburgh6325]

@@ThomyeSurfs Thanks, Thomye! After some strategic pausing of the video, I think you’re right. Looks like Stretch quads. I’ll try a quad set up on my Comet next time.

[@alejandrodemosteyrinmunoz5755]

Nice one Thomye. I have to say that your surf is definitely improving from your early videos! If you want a board that will blow your mind even though quality is quite bad, try a 7S Shalt Shaker. It literally changed my perspective of what board works and doesn’t. I actually have no idea anymore haha.

[@dallas5007]

This is the market I shop in as a novice surfer. I recently went to Used Surf shop in San Clemente and ended up buying a brand new fish, shaped in house and it works great. At a reasonable price. They are branding it as Shift. Looks like you had no issues ripping that board. Your perspective helps me realize I don’t need the top shaped brands “yet” haha

[@ThomyeSurfs]

"Yet" is good way to look at it. I am certain in anything better, I would want a smaller tail, narrower width, and even a slightly pointier nose. But for these conditions, the only issue I had was with slower cutbacks, 8 second mark in the video. the board just wouldn't hold.

[@jeffe.3453]

Wanted a soft top and there was a sale on South Bay Board Co. so ordered the 6'8" Casper at 45L and it has been magic for me. I wasn't expecting much from the board more than just mess around with at beach breaks and I was surprised at how easy it caught waves. I thought I would have a hard time stepping down from 52L down to this also with thinner rails but at this moment I can say that it's my favorite board right now and call it my magic carpet.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

was a 52L board a softtop/foamie too?

[@jeffe.3453]

@@ThomyeSurfs it was a 45L soft too with a fiberglass wood bottom. I thought about going full foamie but decided to try this out and I’m able to do some shallow to moderate duck dives on it.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@jeffe.3453 but what did you come down from? what was your previous board. you mentioned you thought maybe going from 52 down to 45 was going to be too much. So I was just curious what your previous board was. I'll have to look up the South Bay Board Casper. I am on a Invader 6' soft top right now and that works great. I tried the Formula Fun 5'3" fish and it sucks. Anyways, i'll check out the casper. thanks

[@jeffvandenburgh6325]

The board that has surprised me the most is my soft-top CBC longboard. But what made it fast and fun was all in the fins. Took out the factory fins and put in a large single fin with two side bites (Perfect Storm brand fins). Makes all the difference having a better fin set up.

[@chucks222]

Board looked like surfed great! Durability and consistency have bit me in the past with cheaper boards. Totally agree that I wish twice baked was thinner. I feel like a lot of the Tomo designs surprise me, if I hadn’t heard of them I probably wouldn’t have tried them just finding them on the rack. The other thing that continues to surprise me is how big a difference small changes in fins can make

[@ThomyeSurfs]

Yeah, it does have these quirky moments, at :08 seconds into video. You see me slip or something. I think in these flat smaller weak conditions this boards works great. but the design elements of the better brands come into play as the waves get better. the two places where i felt like the board did better than say the twice baked was pumping/tic tacking and bottom turns, which ultimately made the top turn or top swivel in some of these weak waves so much better. I might have to custom a board from Dan Mann at some point. haha

[@TheBluesmon]

The board looks really well suited for the waves you usually surf.

[@ETYSURF]

You surfed that amazingly

[@rctrix9063]

Sharp eye surfboards are single concave tip to tail, in most models. That was Morgans C shaper from the beginning of last year. Single concave is like an anhedral wing, unstable. Thats why all surf foils are anhedral. Board looks good. You surfed it really well 👍

[@SkipperSurfReview]

Looks like you found a gem! Scored!

[@neil_reynolds]

what a score, but credit to the rider for making it look good. I think I saw you this morning on the water, wanted to pass along my compliments on this channel but was too busy being pounded by walls.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

Lol. Me too. I got trashed. Especially one particular wave. Blacked out for a bit.

[@scotnicos5383]

Great video Thomye - really interesting! In terms of a board that looked like it wouldn't work, but really did...can't beat a mini Simmons in my opinion. Looks wise, nope, but they are so fun to surf!

[@michaelmiles8566]

Thanks for the review!

[@VEHICROS]

How are Alton (Jack's) boards??

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I'm guessing this Comet is an Alton. so build quality is fair to good but not excellent. But the boards seem to work and for the cost, it was very surprising.

[@UniqueStranger]

use longer fins for more drive.

[@Freshjonesie]

Could you do a review of the Lost rocket redux. yewwwwww

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I just saw one in my size but I am out of funds for a bit. But it is on my radar for sure.

[@shannonyoung3465]

You had m at 6 seconds in! That first turn… 🙌 From what I saw in this vid, You were sending it on that board!!! I just bought a Wave Tools 80’s style twin fin. Shaped by Lance Collins. Out of Costa Mesa, California. 5’8 x 20 1/2 x 2 3/4 - No liters listed, but it feels high for me at 35L… if I had to guess. I’ve been throwing different Twin fin’s in it all week long & trying to dial it in. From Captain fin 2+1’s… Minus the 1. Several different types of keels. Even threw in the Al Merrick keels. Everything felt like riding a on a skateboard, that the rear trucks are so loose on, that they feel like there about to fall off! Due to the extreme super skateyness, I’ve had several glorious wipeouts!!! Put in the Noel Salas High Performance Keels & noticed they had a lil’ angle to them, where all the other fin’s did not. Held & surfed a lot better! But still found it not being able to hold a rail in the critical sections on in 3-4ft face wave conditions. Too much weight on my back foot would blow out the rear of the board a million times faster than I could recover it, hence… Glorious wipe outs! Lol. My buddy has the Noel Salas High Performance Twin fins & I gave them a go today. They held pretty damn good. Was able to turn & get the board vertical after a hard driving backside bottom turn. Hadn’t been able to do that with any other fin set up. Not a lot of rights on hand today, so I’m gonna have to wait & see how it goes on my front hand. Just having a board that’s this hard to dial in & figure out, is challenging to say the least, but so much fun at the same time!!! Having a blast with it so far!!! Purchased it mostly because of the 80’s nostalgia, but having a hell of time with it!

[@RBNK157]

Where are these waves at ? :)

[@ThomyeSurfs]

flooded Bolsa and day 2 is HB proper.

[@stephenlepore4476]

worth at least $225.00 as for the quality....water isnt that smart.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

lol true

[@ODL957]

I have to say that I was really surprise how my Seaside in less than 1 year is starting to get this ugly pinkish line everywhere. I knew the board get the tendency to turn yellowish even when not expose to the sun but having this pink demarcation on it is pissing me off. I bet your 200 dollar board will no suffer any of that.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

you might want to take pics of it and send it to firewire. it might interest them so they can avoid it with future boards.

[@ODL957]

@@ThomyeSurfs will do

[@ODL957]

@@ThomyeSurfs thanks for the recommendation, I sent them some photos and they confirmed having issues with a resin batch. They are going to replace the board at no cost. Once again thank you

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@ODL957 yew. that's awesome. :)

[@migsy3302]

Magic Carpet????!!!!!!!!😱🤯

[@ThomyeSurfs]

LOL. no, there are definite flaws. at 8 second mark in video the board slips. i felt problems in heel turns at the mid mark. I think the two places it did great and works in these weak waves were down the line pumping/tick tacking for speed and bottom turns. I was able to get more speed in places where I would normally struggle. i think if my twice baked was thinner, it would go better. so not magic board but definitely magic moments. :)

[@migsy3302]

@@ThomyeSurfs either way legend! That length and kind of boars looks fantastic under your feet. Respectfully I will say it looks betters than most Firewires you've posted in the past. Just my humble opinion 😌 Thanks for posting 🙏🏼

[@Luv2Boogie]

Looks fun

[@TH-nc1gj]

Wow you were looking good out there, nice lines, board seemed to suit the conditions.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

Thanks. Wide and flat. Great for mushy days but the thin rails made it grab the wave for speed. Can't believe it was only $200. Lol

[@thomasedison2806]

you mentioned about foamies, are foamies harder to surf? i mean to do you preferred maneuvers, are foamies limiting?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

super limiting. I don't know how the BeefTV crew surfs them so well. The best foamy I ever surfed, I'm about 20% of my normal self.