Fiberflex - worth trying?

[unclethirsty]

Previous posts seem fairly old re this tech. Anyone got one from their fav shaper, what are they like, how do they perform, is float better than pu, have they yellowed are they worth the $.

[robzig]

[collnarra]

I am surprised Hayden was granted a patent on what essentially amounts to a carbon wrap on the rail.

[dUg]

ROFL at RV's comments from 2009 re: my ever so slight piss take on the matter.

You might want to negotiate with HS on the patent pending carbo-rail technology, although it appears you have set a precedent.

Prophetic words indeed. If only I'd followed his advice, it could have been ME on the new inventors picking up that novelty cheque.

[bohdidontsurf]

I had an early JS quad in FF.
floated a bit better than PU, paddled really well, very fast and responsive - got into waves quicker than boards 4 inches longer, and held in nicely in size (maybe the quad)
Probably the best short board I have had,
It held up as good or better than PU as far as wear and tear - though not 100% sure if its is the same construction as Haydens

eventually snapped it on 6ft beachies - 12 months after having a crease repaired. I miss it

Worth the money - not sure I would pay $800 - 900 ? it cost me zip

I have one and love it. I snapped my previous one too but the second I had entirely wrapped in the X cloth they use that has the cotton like weave. Its super strong and has barely dented on the deck. It is a little heavier but still lighter than a regular PU board and it stiffened it up a bit . I would definately get another.

[ric_vidal]

I'm always good for a rumour word is they aren't always that light and that's from 2 people who are working at the factory and the odd one I have picked up. Not suggesting that weight is the be all to end all, so what are you buying? Flex... PU/PE boards flex

Also heard a certain Asian factory wasn't too concerned about his patent, hence other carbon-railed EPS boards. Something about how deep are your pockets if you want to go down a legal path? That's just a rumour, and funnily enough the same company is now to produce them.

Have seen a few other Australian produced boards using SIMILAR technology. I have looked at the patent but not in detail, still surprises me and probably should revisit it.

Personally, got pretty sick of waiting for the FFs to dry for repair, but you couid say the same of any EPS core. Many a crease or effed up plug (both Futures and FCS) the earlier versions also tended to look rather second hand very quickly. Still think that might be the case from the ones I have seen around, but that may be some early stock.

There are supposedly fused EPS blanks around but not sure what HS is using, but that should change things for those that use them (Surftech).

FFs build is certainly not the technology for longboards.

Good news is the FFs are now some of the brightest/whitest boards around and reason they are not too light I suggest is to ramping up the EPS density so they are less prone to compression denting. Whiteness is due to the epoxy now being used for production.

ALL Hayden's boards, both EPS and PU are now glassed with the same epoxy. The EPS at least are post coated with another solution for UV protection, nothing new there either.

They are expensive, but relative to materials and work involved probably on par with where they should be. The epoxy can be about 4x the price and the glass 3x. Have just used the same epoxy and quad axial glass on two PU boards... it is available to all. The quad axial is not a lot of fun but that would be my inexperience, know how to use it next time. Didn't stop a very low density PU blank from compressing dramatically on a recent trip. Glassing: 6oz quad over 4oz E intermediate + back foot unidirectional carbon... sanded to within an inch of its life.

If you ask me, when it comes to something a bit more expensive or harder, most people in the industry have their heads firmly shoved up their own arses.

Every board is breakable, if it wasn't you probably would want to ride it.

Respect Hayden for having a go and a USP.

[diggerdickson]

How did you find the epoxy, was it a lot stronger mate.

[ric_vidal]

How did you find the epoxy, was it a lot stronger mate.

I didn't find it, I bought it!

Like most digger, a pain, thick, slow to cure especially during winter, left more holes than an Asian wh*re house... and of course bit of a task to sand.

Boards have stayed very white unlike other epoxies I have used. No residual toe drag marks like my normal polyester.

Hard to measure strength, like I said previously one board is like the surface of the moon (low density PU), another board not mentioned previously, is fine and it only has ONE layer of 6oz quad axial on the deck. All about the core, digger, unless you are going down the compsand path ala Josh, Huie, et al. Something I am still destined to do on my own terms. Coming up soon though.

I didn't give the boards a great length of time to cure... had to travel. They were probably a week old, relative to application of epoxy, when they were first used.

I will however, use the epoxy again. I have the time. To me, epoxy is about flex rather than the brittle nature of polyester.

[anorbury]

i have had 3 hayden fibreflexes - found they lasted twice as long as PU boards (snap after 12 v 6 months) - definitely lighter and buoyant but i found they don't have as much drive as PU but you can go a little wider/thicker to allow for this - have just gone back to PU for something different but would recommend FF (especially HS blak cat) for a high performance board that last longer (worth the $100+ extra)