are surftech boards any good??

[steve shearer]

Cranked missed the point a bit.

Surftechs were huge at one point with all kinds of famous shapers on board.

They've almost completely disappeared from the market except for beginners and SUP's.

I'd like to know why.

They were marketed as a superior product to the traditional PU/PE surfboard.

[Pants]

You buy a Walden surfboard and it’s game over.

I noted a few very large surf shops that stocked epoxy etc only boards for a while are now right back in the PU market.

Non PU boards (tech, lft, etc) are great for bigger boards in bigger surf due to their ease of handling. Reckon they are for older people and could add 5 years more to surfing due to the lesser strain on joints that bigger PU boards create. Bar that no thanks

[steve shearer]

Exactly.

They tanked and I'd like to know why.

[Beanpole]

The longevity is a problem for surf shops. Particularly for mals and fish. It’s not like the designs are superseded. No turn over. I’m still buying 10 year old Tuflites that look as good as new. Plenty of equivalent construction or versions of around by top name shapers now.
Tolhurst, Apia, Lopez, Walden, Takayama, Stewart, etc.
Plenty of old coots like me happy to have a light carryable mal by an internationally renowned shaper that doesn’t ding easily.
I think the foamy evolution has taken over plus the tuflite equivalents I’ve seen seem to be more generic. Good shapes but your average learner to just moderate surfer doesn’t have the brand recognition for name shapers.

[steve shearer]

Non PU boards (tech, lft, etc) are great for bigger boards in bigger surf due to their ease of handling. Reckon they are for older people and could add 5 years more to surfing due to the lesser strain on joints that bigger PU boards create. Bar that no thanks

Thats interesting.

I haven't seen a Surftech mal for at least 12 months.

Word I recieved is that the durability argument lasted until the first ding- which were a pain in the arse and expensive to repair.

Certainly young people seemed to reject them completely.

The tech boards (FW) seemed to do OK for small grovellers, around here.

Again, once people had to deal with a ding it was usually the last one they bought.

[Beanpole]

I love that. They are so fcuking easy to repair. It’s a joke.
Glad the suckers haven’t worked that out.
We are talking epoxy putty, matting, araldite and auto touch up paint for a cheap but effective fix.
Plus I get to casually walk down the beach instead of lugging a big tanker.

Young people also don’t wear rashies cause it’s not cool. They are hardly rational purchasers. Subject to peer group pressure.

Pity old surf and TERF can’t read this insightful analysis

[Pants]

The longevity is a problem for surf shops. Particularly for mals and fish. It’s not like the designs are superseded. No turn over. I’m still buying 10 year old Tuflites that look as good as new. Plenty of equivalent construction or versions of around by top name shapers now.
Tolhurst, Apia, Lopez, Walden, Takayama, Stewart, etc.
Plenty of old coots like me happy to have a light carryable mal by an internationally renowned shaper that doesn’t ding easily.
I think the foamy evolution has taken over plus the tuflite equivalents I’ve seen seem to be more generic. Good shapes but your average learner to just moderate surfer doesn’t have the brand recognition for name shapers.

I agree. Easier on the body but, also bigger boards cause’ we are getting old.

[steve shearer]

Longevity?

I went looking on Gumtree for Surftechs and found 10 (12 if you search for Tuflite), in the whole of Aus.

If this fabled longevity was real there should be hundreds.

I think far more likely, once they got dinged and waterlogged they ended up in landfill.

At one point they were everywhere, now they are nowhere to be seen, and we still haven't figured out why.

They were supposed to make PU/PE boards extinct with superior technology.

Can anyone bring a hypothesis to the table, or some actual facts?

[Pants]

Fact: they aren’t as good to ride. Fact: they look fucking awful Fact: I’ve not seen a home repair on one, ever Fact: They are suitable for older people requiring lighter craft to extend their surfing life Fact: they are fucking expensive and assuming the mark up accepted is due to board longevity however, is this the myth you are looking at busting? Yes by the sounds of it.

[steve shearer]

Sounds likely.

[Beanpole]

Fact: I do all my own repairs. Piece of piss.
The other obvious reason they don’t turn up on Gumtree might be because people keep them.
They do regularly turn up though. Looking in much better shape than the equivalent poly board.
I’ve got four at the moment. I had another two over the years. Sold one snapped the other.
Got it professionally glued back together and traded it in.

I agree a good poly glass job looks better but they deteriorate due to sun exposure.
Graphics varies on tuflites. From pretty cheesy to pretty good.

[steve shearer]

I mean if the durability argument was correct there must be thousands, tens of thousands of these things in garages.

They ain't in the water and they ain't for sale.

Tens of thousands of Surftechs in garages?

Much more likely they ended up in landfill.

[Pants]

Top selling boards of 2019

https://stabmag.com/hardware/these-are- ... s-of-2019/

No plastic

[Beanpole]

Obviously doesn’t include foamies.

[alakaboo]

Most of the SUPs I see look like surftechs.
I think the tech just followed the Gen X money into the next bracket.

Less chance of a leak-causing impact, and the weight savings are much more noticeable in a 10'4".

[steve shearer]

Yeah, SUP's as a fad kind of died out too.

Or morphed into a less surf-centric activity.

[Trev]

Yeah, SUP's as a fad kind of died out too.

Or morphed into a less surf-centric activity.

Not up here. 🤬

[Beanpole]

Speaking of fads…Foils everywhere.
I still put the anti Tuflite Schtick down to peer group pressure.
They ride different to Poly boards not worse.
Obviously more buoyant. My mal is really thin. Goes great.
Obviously trad logs get fantastic momentum up with the weight but on a day to day level putting them on cars and dragging them down the beach is a pain in the arse.
Tons of non descript generic and mass produced poly and epoxy boards have flooded the market. That’s what I see down the beach plus foamies everywhere.