The Jackson Rockstar is the newest play boat from Eric Jackson. It takes the Star series to a whole new level.
Paddler Specs
Height: 5ft 11″
Weight: 157lbs
Feet Size: UK 10
I have owned my Rockstar for the last few months and have paddled it extensively in Europe over that time. I am no play boater by any stretch of the imagination but enjoy paddling good high performance boats. This is my brief review of the Jackson Rockstar.
The Rockstar can easily be indentified as being part of the Star family tree. However straight away you can tell that the broader hull is both faster and looser than the Star series. The large flat hull has two edges. The first is 45 degrees or so which prevents the boat from having its edge caught too easily. The second is a far more aggressive edge that really helps you fly down a wave. The transition between using the two edges is very smooth. The hull will carve with a much faster rate of speed that any other boat I have tried of this size. In fact it feels much larger than it actually is. I see this as a major advantage.
Despite its shape the bow feels nice and slices with ease, yet it still feels stable when pushing the bow through the water during a cartwheel. The extra height of the seat system offers that additional leverage to get the boat moving. The Jackson team have also added an additional 2 gallons to the stern of the boat which makes the transition from one end to the other very smooth. I didn’t experience that ‘poppy’ feeling when moving from bow down to bow up.
All of this combines to create a boat that is very good on fast waves but is also very much at home performing in a hole.
The outfitting on the Rockstar takes the form of Jacksons ‘Surelock’ cord and cleat backrest system. Its simple yet effective and gets away from the issue that some other manufacturers have with rusty/corroding ratchets. The hip pads include a pocket system that allows you to add additional shims of foam or indeed anything else to achieve the required fit. For my 2nd run out I actually used some cardboard as a temporary measure to shim them out. The footrest is Jacksons happy feet, this is tried and tested. Some don’t like them, I personally prefer the system over foam blocks
Overall I am astounded by the performance, feel and capability of the boat. Over the past few years there has not really been any major play boat development as far as I am concerned. The Rockstar surpasses everything currently available and to be honest has caught the competition napping.
Review by Steve Hume.
The Statistics –
Rock Star Small:
Length: 5’5″ long
Width: 25″ wide
Height: 13.4″ tall
Volume: 49 Gallons
Weight: 27 Pounds SL, 27 Pounds Elite
Target Weight: 90-160 pounds
Max inseam/Foot size: 31-10
Rock Star Medium:
Length: 5’9″ long
Width: 26″ Wide
Height: 14.25″ tall
Volume: 58 gallons
Weight: 29 pounds SL, 29 Pounds Elite
Target weight: 140-200
Max inseam/footsize: 34-12
Rock Star Large:
Length: 6’0″ long
Width: 27.5″ wide
Height: 14.9″ tall
Volume: 67 Gallons
Weight: 33 pounds SL, 33 Pounds Elite
Target weight: 160-260
Max inseam/footsize: 36-13
Leave a Reply