Trip Forman: Welcome to the REAL Board Loft and season 3 of Under the Glass, episode 5. I’m Trip Forman, and we’ve got Brett Barley with us. Brett, welcome.
Brett Barley: What’s up, y’all.
Trip Forman: In episode five, we’re digging into the JS Big Horse. We’ve already gone over grovelers, mid-range shortboards, and high-performance shortboards. The Big Horse is your step-up. It’s the board you grab when you’re ready to send it—chasing barrels and bigger waves. It comes in a range of three tiers.
Brett Barley: Yeah, so the way JS designed the Big Horse, everybody’s interpretation of a step-up can be different depending on where they live, their experience, and what they’re riding. With the tier system, you’ve got Tier 1 for 3–6 ft, Tier 2 for 6–8 ft, and Tier 3 for 8 ft and up. For me, we only had Tier 1 and Tier 2 here. I did order a Tier 3, but even on our Indo trip, I never surfed anything that required that size. The 5’10” let me surf waves up to two feet overhead comfortably, and I’d feel fine pushing it even bigger. The 6’0” I rode at Greenbush, which is a slab, in that 6–8 ft range, and it handled it well.
Trip Forman: So looking at your quiver, you’ve got a 5’10” Tier 1, a 6’0” Tier 2, and a 6’2” Tier 3. At some point, was there a wave where you thought you’d need the 6’2”?
Brett Barley: Probably somewhere like Mexico, like Puerto Escondido. Personally, I found I was comfortable enough on Tier 2 that I might just custom lengthen that instead. Tier 3, for me, would have to be a really big wave, probably more of a slopey wave than a slab.
Trip Forman: Let’s dig into Tier 1. Give us your height, weight, and dims.
Brett Barley: I’m 5’9”, 165 lbs. This is a 5’10” x 18.58” x 2.5”, 27.6 liters. It’s funny—it’s thicker than you’d think, but you’d never know because the rails are really pinched. They hide the foam in the stringer, and it paddles really well for a 5’10”. I rode this at home on the Outer Banks in a mix of south and north swells, lefts and rights. This became my go-to step-up at home.
Trip Forman: How did it feel?
Brett Barley: I had mixed feelings at first. I approached it like a barrel board, but it’s really a step-up. It feels insane on rail—off the bottom, off the top, even in the tube—but it took some adjustment. I’ve spent years riding shorter, stubbier boards, so my approach didn’t translate right away. I was sliding out a bit, especially on my backhand, but once I adjusted, it felt great. After coming out of the barrel, you can surf it like a shortboard.
Trip Forman: What’s the range on that board?
Brett Barley: Head high felt a little small—it starts to feel big and wants more room. Ideally, you’re looking at overhead waves for Tier 1.
Trip Forman: Let’s talk about Tier 2, the 6’0”.
Brett Barley: I took that to Macaronis Resort for Greenbush. We got a couple good sessions at Greenbush—heavy, slabby waves—and the board worked great. But what surprised me was how good it felt at Macaronis. I was getting barrels, then coming out and doing turns, and it just handled everything. That’s where I liked the board the most—on those Indo-style waves. It had a ton of range, even working in smaller waves with enough push, especially through chop where shorter boards might struggle.
Trip Forman: And dims on the 6’0”?
Brett Barley: 6’0” x 18.58” x 2.56”, 28.6 liters. Similar feel—volume is hidden, rails are foiled out. It took me a few waves to figure it out since I don’t usually ride boards in that size range. I typically jump from something like a 5’8” straight to a 6’4”. But once I adjusted, it felt really good and I got some of the best barrels I’ve had all year on it.
Trip Forman: Let’s talk fins.
Brett Barley: I rode the same fins in both boards—FCS II Filipe Toledo mediums. For me it’s all about speed and control. I’ve tried other fins, but I always come back to these. They’re reliable in the barrel and work really well with the pulled-in tail on these boards.
Trip Forman: What about accessibility? Who can ride this board?
Brett Barley: For a step-up, it’s pretty straightforward. It paddles well, it’s forgiving, and it gives you control coming out of the barrel so you can keep surfing the wave. It’s not overly technical—it sits in a really nice middle ground.
Trip Forman: Where does it fit in your quiver?
Brett Barley: Right at the top. When it’s on, that’s what you’re grabbing.
Trip Forman: The JS Big Horse. Brett, thanks for breaking it down. If you have any questions or want to order one, reach out to us at the shop or check us out online at realwatersports.com. Thanks for tuning in.
