The Channel Islands Average Joe, as you may have guessed, is designed for the average Joe.
Most people aren’t advanced surfers, and can’t take advantage of some of the high-performance surfboard designs on the market.
In fact, those high performance boards can be much more difficult to ride if your skillset just isn’t at that level yet.
This is where the Average Joe comes in. Still a shortboard, but it’s wider and thicker than the average shortboard.
Chris from Shred Show goes as far as saying that it’s impossible to fall off this board!
The Average Joe is so wide, you will notice how much easier it is to balance and plane, and just all around control the board.
With all of the extra volume in this board, the tradeoff is decreased maneuverability. But anyone using this board probably isn’t trying to get super radical turns or airs anyways.
This board was tested and refined by the guys who work at Channel Islands, not the pro team. This is good news for us average surfers.
Here’s a couple of them riding the Joe:
Best surfed as a 3-fin setup with big thrusty fins. Try to get one around 4″ shorter than your height.
If you’re looking to buy your first shortboard, the Average Joe is a solid bet! (It actually ranked #5 in the top-selling boards of 2014)
