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The latest and greatest groveler from Channel Islands, this is the Average Joe review. Joe is a winner for pumping fun back into your small wave surfing.
Pluses
+ Tuned nose & tail (for a groveler) plus a touch of nose rocker makes Joe feel more lively compared to other groveler surfboards
+ Very user friendly, versatile shape; great for lots of different small wave situations and surfing ability levels
+ Joe is a winner for pumping fun, fun and more fun back into your small wave surfing!
Minuses
– Joe is still a groveler; transitioning back to your normal shortboard after a small wave spell will be a challenge
– Less volume per a given length relative to other grovelers
Benny Rides
The Channel Islands Average Joe by Al Merrick at 6’1 x 22 7/8 x 3 @ 47.5CL’s. For drive and acceleration in smaller, mushier surf, I’ve been surfing my Joe with the DANE REYNOLDS SUMMER TEETH AM2 fins by Captain Fin Co. but I think the Futures Seaworthy Quads [Buy Now…] would work really well with this board. Curious to learn more about what surfboard fins? Check out ‘Surfboard Fins Explained‘. Full standard dimensions with volume at the end of this post.
Best Wave Type
Tiny, weak waves up to chest high.
Compare To
- Nick Blair (Joistik) Cab Sav surfboard review: one of the best grovelers out there
- JS Industries Pier Pony surfboard review: versatile groveler shape that can be surfed in larger waves
- Firewire Sweet Potato surfboard review: the board that started the movement towards outrageously oblong tiny wave boards
- …Lost Bottom Feeder surfboard review: …Lost’s latest and greatest answer to tiny, weak surf
Video Transcript
Hello and welcome to Benny’s Boardroom! My name is Ben and this is The Joe, or Average Joe by Al Merrick of Channel Islands. When I saw this board for the first time I thought to myself: “Average Joe: I am an average joe surfer and I surf average waves a lot, especially during the summer where I live, so I thought the ‘Average Joe’ was a clever name for what looks like a really fun, groveler surfboard outline.” Get Real Surfboard Reviews from a Fellow Weekend Warrior. Objective. Independent. For you. I’ve had a lot of groveler surfboards and grovelers are something that I think a lot of surfers have mixed feelings about. When you pull out the grovelers, you’re pulling it out because there’s really no other option. You either have a longboard, because the waves are that small and weak or you have to ride something that’s really short, really thick and really wide and often times I find myself restricted by surfing these boards. And, although the groveler will get you through the summer small wave doldrums, transitioning back to a shortboard is always a challenge. I had a Firewire Sweet Potato first, which I enjoyed but, again, I felt restricted by the enormous square outline. Then I had a JS Pier Pony, which I also enjoy. The Pier Pony is a really fun board that I was able to ride that in slightly larger, albeit flatter, waves but I always had trouble turning the thing, especially on my back hand. So, when I saw the Joe by Channel Islands I was excited about it.
The Average Joe has a slightly more tuned nose and tail than you see on some of the other groveler surfboard models. The nose is slightly pulled in and thinned out and then the tail is the signature Al Merrick hip tail, which pulls into a really nice rounded square. The Joe has plenty of foam throughout so you do get all of the paddle power that you need in smaller, weaker surf but that tuned nose and tuned tail combined and with just a touch of rocker in the nose on an otherwise very flat board helps to make the board feel more lively versus other grovelers. I think this gives this Average Joe more versatility that you might find in other grovelers and I find that it’s a really fun and fast board to ride. I did try surfing the Average Joe when I should have had a mal in ankle high mush and I couldn’t get going on it. So it does have its limits but I also surfed in knee high waves that were weak and crumbly and it was really, really fun and fast and maneuverable; a lot more lively than some of those other grovelers that we spoke about. I also surfed Joe up to about shoulder high another day when it was a little bit more lined up with lots of of clean, fun, fast peelers. This board, again, does really, really, well. So that tuned nose, tuned tail, a little bit of a kick in rocker and then it’s got a big ‘V’ concave running out the back. Those elements combine to make this a really fun, fast groveler surfboard and I think this is going to be a great seller and a great option this summer.
I hope you have enjoyed the Channel Islands Average Joe review. If you have had a go on the Joe, please let us know what you think about it in the comments and thank you so much for watching the show.
Stock Standard Dimensions & Volume
From Channel Islands Average Joe dimensions and volume the Channel Islands website:
Length |
Width |
Thickness |
Volume |
5’1 |
20 3/8 |
2 1/4 |
26.6L |
5’3 |
20 7/8 |
2 3/8 |
29.6L |
5’5 |
21 3/8 |
2 1/2 |
33.0L |
5’7 |
21 7/8 |
2 5/8 |
36.5L |
5’9 |
22 1/8 |
2 3/4 |
39.8L |
5’11 |
22 3/8 |
2 7/8 |
43.3L |
6’1 |
22 7/8 |
3 |
47.5L |
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Submit your review | |
Hey Benny, great review!!
I recently pulled the trigger on a 5'5" Average Joe. I'm 165lbs and a intermediate surfer. I currently have a AM1 thruster setup on the board but wanted to try quad setup after your review.
Could I sub the rear fin on the AM1 thrusters with generic fins in the back for the quad set up or do you think I need to buy rear quad fins to get the most out of the board?
I had the Average Joe( AJ) for maybe a year, it was my first step on the path to find a groveler type board, the waves I surf tend to require a longboard for high wave count, which is fun, but how many times can you just cruise down the line, you eventually start to miss the feel of some real top to bottom maneuvers. So maybe my expectations were a lot higher for this board and the groverler genre in general, but I did not find that this board to worked for me. I think I had the 5'7" stock dims, I am ~160lbs plus wetsuit, gloves, booties, maybe 167lbs. Not enough volume, did not float well, struggle to paddle, I think I had one really good wave that I remember vivdely and I felt like I was standing on a food tray, I really had to adjust my style when ridding this, which is fun/experimental, but as a heavy back foot surfer it was a challenge. I ended up returning the AJ and visually fell in love with the Hoglet, which I purchased. Not disappointed at all, the Hoglet allows nice entry into waves, very maneuverable; during sessions I have had a lot of people ask me what I was riding, not because of my skill I suspect, but you are getting into waves close to where the long boarders are located and then you are flying down the line, top to bottom all the way....I am sure some other similar boards do the same, but I really like the Hoglet.
And one note about the whole volume thing it seems, scientifically, weight alone does not cut it in my opinion as 150lbs of fat will float more easily in water, vs. 150lbs of muscle. Just saying I think it is more complicated than weight alone and some SWAG adjustment may be needed for fat/muscle ratio when choosing volume.....cheers and I love surfing and boards, etc as well, headed out shortly...stay wet.
Hi Ben - love having this board in my quiver when it is almost unridable. I went for a 6'1" and the thing is like a longboard in the water with the thick rail. Word of the wise, ride the biggest fins you can get your hands on since you have most of the tail out of the water.
Had the Joe for approx 8 months now and couldn't be happier with it really.
I live in Adelaide where the surf isn't great with majority being knee-waist high mush. Having had a "Biscuit" before I was keen to try the Joe and glad I did. Seems to surf better than the Biscuit which I think went really well but only in clean conditions whereas the Joe seems to adapt better in the real mush we get here.
I'm around 100kgs and I got the 5'9 which is over 39 litres and find this to be enough volume for me however if you were just starting out maybe go more volume....
I've ridden this in 2-4 foot surf also and it handled it no worries but would say is best in 1-3 feet high tide slow waves in my experience.
Highly recommended
I bought the Average Joe and absolutely love it! You can ride small waves like a champ. I'm a beginner and decided to get it over a long board and couldn't be happier. I bought it on the bigger side and would highly recommend to go 2-4 inches shorter than your height. I'm 5'9" 165 lbs and find it difficult to paddle out on rough swells but that's cause I chose a 5'9 and which I wish had gotten 5'5".
HI ,Im 41 ,180 cm, 80 kg surfing for 25 years ,
got the 5.11 ,it has some extra volume but this is what i wanted just to have fun in the smallest days , in those days i would usually grab a 7.2 fun board ,
found the board extremely fun , gets in every wave and moves easily ,paddling is easy and fast,
in fact since i got it i just took it almost to every session , you just take so many more waves so my sessions became so much more fun,
i took it with me to the maldives and it worked well also in overhead peeling point breaks , was a bit tricky in very fast bottom turns but amazing flow down the line ,
i highly recommend this board !!
Just bought this board. Rode the Joe and it got my obsession going for the CI boards and the Joe helped me transition smaller. I bought the groveler model in 5'11" and I weigh 190. I went for it for the foam, vs. the utility and super performance. I ride it in mushy head to shoulder to pitchy beach break - hollower waves.
Loved the review! I rode this board at a Channel Islands demo and really small waves.. It was so fun! I fell in love with it! Thank you for doing this review, I've been waiting for one!
Benny, just wanted to thank you for this review, it convinced me to swap my 5'8 sweet potato for a 5'7 joe. Just had my first surf on it this morning and I'm stoked, it's such a great board and is so much more responsive than the potato! Keep up the reviews mate they're awesome.
The Channel Islands Fishcuit works really well in small but nicely formed waves. I would not regard it as a total groveller like a Sweet Potato or Pier Pony. Unlike some fish shapes its quite possible to get a top to bottom thing going and it does not feel corky. You just have to keep it on a rail. I would not recommend to a beginning surfer because you need to work a little bit for your speed. It works really well with Futures Controllers. Watch the video of Machado.
Well, this is not about the Channel Islands Average Joe but still a great take on the Channel Islands Fishcuit if you're considering one, thanks!