First Impressions & Design

This board feels and looks amazing. It features a wide beak nose paired with a pulled-in tail, and the rails feel surprisingly similar to the performance rails on my Pyzel Phantom.

I originally purchased the Big Baron after getting a local shaper to make a Pyzel Mini Ghost-inspired shortboard (in other words, a copy) and realizing I couldn't catch a single wave on it. I thought I was reasonably paddle-fit—I surfed in the Netherlands every chance I got and hit the gym twice a week. My conclusion was that I was getting older and needed to re-adjust to Bali waves.

I decided I wanted to try a midlength after using a CI Mid (6’10” at 40.9L) during a session with Surf with Aldo. Some research and inspiration from Wooly TV eventually led me straight to the Big Baron.

Sizing & The Bali Price Puzzle

I bought the board at the JS Garage in Berawa, Bali. The guys in the shop helped me decide on the size and volume, since my main goal was simply to get a midlength that would help me catch a ton of waves. Boy, did this deliver. I ended up going with the 6’8” at 42.8L. I added the JS FCS Power Twin fins to the set.

Compared to my 6’0” Mini Ghost-inspired board, this was an absolute dream to surf. Everything you paddle for is catchable. Based on what the guys told me at the store and the reviews from Wooly TV and JS themselves, you hear a lot of “can sit a few meters out the back and still catch every wave” claims, as it supposedly paddles like a longboard.

The Paddle Fitness Reality Check

My actual experience? While it paddles incredibly easily and generates tons of speed and glide, a less-skilled longboarder will still out-paddle you, and it mostly matches other midlengths. To be fair, I am a very enthusiastic intermediate surfer; a pro could probably out-paddle a log on this thing.

This is just a PSA that this board will not miraculously fix your paddle fitness. That is still something your desk-bound, rounded-spine, weekend-warrior physique has to earn in the gym and by paddling. But as a tool to build that fitness? This board is perfect. 😉

The funny thing is that after surfing this Big Baron for a month, I no longer had issues catching waves on my locally shaped board. Surprisingly (in hindsight, not really), it was my lack of paddle fitness all along. That said, it is way more fun to improve your paddle fitness by catching long waves and paddling all the way back to the lineup.

Surfing Mechanics & Active Trimming

The biggest learning curve for me was learning how to active-trim. Unlike a shortboard where your feet stay mostly in one place, on the Big Baron you have to move: step forward if you're losing the wave's speed or need to make a steeper section, and step back on the tail whenever you want to turn. Especially the stepping back part was new coming from shorter boards where I can move the boards by bodyweight moments only (lacking the propper technique). If you don't step back this board goes straight and thats it.

Because the board has such a massive sweet spot for both speed and turning, you'll figure it out after just a few waves. Of course, the sharper the turn you want, the closer your back foot needs to be to the fins—but that's surf physics 101 on any board. My assumption is that active-trim will apply to all mid-lengths and is not specific to the Big Baron.