Trip: Welcome to the REAL Board Loft. I'm Trip. Today we have REAL team rider Will Forrest with us. Will, welcome.

Will Forrest: Thank you.

Trip: Awesome. Let's talk about the JS Bull Run. You picked up this board earlier in the season and have been riding it. This is a board from JS under Andy Irons' kind of watch and design influence. The Bull Run features a classic AI roundtail, fitting in with the rest of the boards that he made with JS. This one here is in HYFI 2.0 construction, which is an EPS stringerless epoxy construction. The Bull Run is designed for small waves—a great groveler, great everyday board, but really kind of focusing on those smaller waves. From what we saw, there were a lot of better waves ridden on this board as well. So, Will, give it to us: the good, the bad, the ugly. Let's start out with your height, weight, and the dimensions on this board.

Will Forrest: I'm like 5'9" and a half, about 145 pounds. This board is a 5'6"—5'6" at 26 liters on the dot. Pretty standard. 26 liters has been kind of what I've been on for the past year or so. Standard dimensions for me. It floated really good for that height and weight.

Trip: Right. Let me ask about your initial reaction. Tell us what was behind the scenes. We don't candy-coat any of our reviews, so if there are behind-the-scenes reactions, we want to draw them out of the team. You heard we were getting some in while you were working with Jaden. Jaden's our guy unboxing and birthing every board out of each shipment. You were behind the scenes, had the inside info, and knew that there was a 5'6" coming in.

Will Forrest: Yeah, I was working in the Board Loft at the time because I had broken my hand. I had seen this on the rack just from being in the Board Loft, and all the poly ones were on the rack. I loved the look of the poly. I thought the design was really sick. It looked like a good all-around board for the winter. I was like, "Man, I would really love to have one," but we didn't have my size at the time. Me and Jaden were scoping out the next shipment of JS boards and we saw one in my size coming in. I was like, "Let's get that one." It turned out to be HYFI, and my initial reaction was not good. I didn't like the look of the HYFI at first. I really wanted it in poly so I could ride it in barrels and windier waves, even though that's not really what the board is made for. Off my first look at the poly ones, that's what I thought it would be good in.

Trip: Yeah, that's what you're always thinking: fatter, shorter boards for short, peaky waves around here in the winter.

Will Forrest: Kind of similar to the Potato Launcher 2 that I rode a few years ago that was shorter, fatter, with a round tail, and I loved that board. So I was like, maybe it'll be something like that. My view on the board definitely changed when I saw it was Hi-Fi. I figured I'd probably have to ride it as more of a groveler and less towards barrels. So that was the behind-the-scenes of getting the board. But my first session on it was actually in windy, head-high northeast chop the day before an Outer Banks Board Riders contest coming up. I was surfing Avon Pier. It was windy, just head-high pier bowl with some northeast wind on it, and I actually had some really good waves on it. Big turns, even in choppy, bumpy surf—which I was worried with the Hi-Fi it wouldn't go good in bumpy stuff, but it worked out really well. Initially, I was super stoked on the board just off that first session.

Trip: And how big were the waves then?

Will Forrest: Probably head-high. Head-high and just chunky onshore with a lot of current, and it paddled really well. I think I even pulled into a barrel on it that session, and I could tell right away that it would go good in the barrel. I didn't make it because it was onshore, but I could tell immediately this thing's going to be good. It was a good all-around board. I think the second session was in knee-high waves, which is kind of the design target of what most people are thinking with a Bull Run in Hi-Fi. I love boards like that. You throw it in your car—if it's head-high and mushy, you can ride it; if it's knee-high and clean, you can ride it. Yeah, it is a really good groveler. Probably one of the better grovelers I've ridden in the past few years. Super whippy, which is really nice, and I think that comes from the round tail—being able to pivot off the bottom really easily. It's super, super light, which is awesome. Definitely wouldn't have been as good of a groveler in my opinion in poly. I didn't get to try it, so I can't say for sure, but I think the Hi-Fi makes it a little bit more performancy.

Trip: What's the feeling coming up through your feet with the Hi-Fi in grovel conditions when you're trying to generate speed?

Will Forrest: It feels exactly like you'd expect for a super light epoxy board. When you pump and push on your back foot and lift that front foot up, the board rises into your front foot. Then when you push down on your front foot, you just gain a ton of speed. When you're moving the board around, it feels like it's just sticking to your feet because it's so light. It's really, really fast. I really loved it for small surf.

Trip: So rewinding back to that pier session before the Board Riders comp—head-high, windy, bumpy—that's the last thing you'd expect for this design and construction. You would definitely think it's going to be out of control, but it still stuck.

Will Forrest: Yeah, it was great. I did ride it the next day in the contest, but I had like five minutes to catch a wave, so honestly I don't even remember—I think I did a turn or something. But yeah, it worked good in waves like that, which is not what it's made for.

Trip: Throughout the winter and into early spring, you were kind of on a tube mission with this thing. Every time we saw clips or photos of you, you were just stuffing this thing.

Will Forrest: Yeah, I really liked it because it paddles really well for how short it is, so you get in early. One thing I found is you have to get in early with this board. I think it's just wide and light, so if you're taking a late air drop, I found that I couldn't get it to hook under the wave super fast. If I was taking off late, it really wasn't the board for that. But if I was getting in early, which you can easily with this board, it was great. It goes really well in the barrel; it's just super stable. I like boards in the barrel that have the wide point a little more towards the nose so you have a little bit more weight under your chest when you're paddling in. I'm a very front-foot-heavy surfer when I'm riding barrels, so dropping in, all my weight is on that front foot in the barrel. I like having the wide point far towards the front.

Trip: Let's talk about fins. What were you riding for fins?

Will Forrest: Right now I've got the neutrals in there—Futures Legacy Neutrals. A very basic fin, neutral template, so not pivots and not rakes. I did try the Ethan Ewing fins in this board, which are a little more rakey, and I didn't like them that much. I liked these a lot more because the board pivots easier and it's better for turns. I think I only rode the Ethan Ewings once and then went straight back to these, so I had these pretty much the whole time.

Trip: That makes sense. What we've been learning is matching the rake of your fin up with your tail rocker. Having less tail rocker on this board, it definitely makes sense that the neutral fins would work better than the rakes. Did you try it at all as a quad, or did you just stay thruster because it was working?

Will Forrest: I stayed thruster. I thought about riding it as a quad, but my quad fin setup right now is in FCS, so I didn't give it a go. But I'm sure it would go good as a quad. It would probably tighten it up a little bit, where you'd be a little bit more carve and down-the-line focused. But for the waves I was riding it in—a little peakier—it was nice to be able to pivot easily off that back fin.

Trip: Let's talk about wave range. It sounds like it's got even more wave range than what JS states in their marketing. What's the smallest that this worked in where you felt it was still performing?

Will Forrest: Pretty much as small as you can ride a shortboard, down to knee-high basically. I rode it a few days just across the street from my house in knee-high, clean surf, and it's really fun and fast. It pivots off the bottom great, which is nice for around here because even when it's knee-high, it's still steep. Being able to pivot off the bottom really quickly and get in the lip is nice. It's a really good groveler in my opinion—you're going to go fast and be able to turn it. I think the fuller nose would scare a lot of people about groveling it and wanting a more performance shape, especially for contests. I remember when I was a kid doing contests, if you had a fuller-nosed board, you would get points deducted because they thought you had an advantage. They want you to be on a knifey board, but I'm not doing contests anymore, so I don't need that.

Trip: You're free surfing.

Will Forrest: I'm free surfing it. It goes really well in small surf.

Trip: What about the top of the range? What are the most demanding conditions you feel comfortable putting this board in?

Will Forrest: Probably head-high; I wouldn't go over that. Even at that point, it's pushing it. It works, but you can ride something else and have more fun. Knee-high to head-high is a great range for an everyday board. The whole purpose of this board is to put it in your car for the fall and winter, don't take it out, and whatever the waves are, this is going to work. And it does just that. You've spent a good bit of time in the Board Loft setting people up with the right board for filling holes in their quiver, working with surfers at your ability level and below. What ability level below you would you feel comfortable recommending this board to, and is it accessible to everyday surfers?

Will Forrest: I think it's pretty accessible. It's definitely a little bit more on the performance side. Maybe the Hi-Fi makes it a little bit less accessible for a beginner surfer. If you're starting to work on turns, carves, and cutbacks, I think this is a great board to look for in that smaller wave range. If you're a little bit below that, I think the poly version would probably be good just to give you a little bit more ease of use. I imagine that board is a little bit more damp down in the water and a little more controllable. But if you're working on turns and have good control over your surfboard, then I would say this is a great option for a lot of people.

Trip: Overall, first impression when you found out it was Hi-Fi, you weren't into it.

Will Forrest: Yeah, and it looks weird. A lot of people look at the board and say, "Man, that thing looks odd." The nose starts off real round and then right at the end it has this sharper point, so it looks funny. But it goes great.

Trip: The more you rode it, the more you liked it.

Will Forrest: Definitely. Looks can be deceiving with this one.

Trip: Awesome. Super good feedback, Will. That is the JS Bull Run, another board in the Mark Occhilupo and AI lineup. If any viewers out there have questions on the Bull Run or would like to order one in Hi-Fi construction or PU poly, you can reach us at the shop at 252-987-6000 or look us up online at realwatersports.com/surfing. Thanks for tuning in.