The middle of three JP Freestyle boards, available in this lighter Pro Edition or in Full Wood Sandwich. The JP Freestyles are another range with a reputation for good crossover freeride performance, and this was borne out again.

On the water:

Very much of average size and dimensions within the test, with a relatively small slab tail. The JP is another board that feels very much like an ordinary freemove with little sense of sailing a flat, skaty, outsized trick platform. It is comfortable underfoot, quite fast and responsive and carves well in freeride / blasting mode – although obviously the strap positions dictate an inboard and relatively upright stance. Although JP traditionally seem to corner the early planing sector of the market, the testers found the 99 just a shade more reluctant to leap onto the plane than normal and it worked best reasonably well powered up. It displayed average pop, very good backwards slide, stability and predictability through tricks, but slightly slower than average spin. All the testers seemed to need time to get it dialled but ended up very happy with its freestyle performance. Although a very good crossover with freeride / freemove, it’s less of a wave crossover though still good enough to provide a lighter wind wave option.

Fittings:

Light hull weight.The pads and straps were liked by everyone. The fin is good for allround use but is placed quite far back in the board, and is really too big to be considered a freestyle fin. A smaller foil would be a useful further investment for the aspiring trickster. Popularity Another middle ranking board that everyone would have been very happy to own as their freestyle board.

Overall:

Being not only a perfectly good board for new-school freestyle but also a very pleasant board for freeride gives it broad appeal. It’s particularly relevant as a moderate wind board for those who want to mix their freestyle with a bit of blasting and gybing.