RealSurf Surfers' Forum

Look, I think epoxy boards e.g. surftechs etc suck dogs balls. And so do a lot of people when you look at the surf community in general.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be an advocate for them. Knock yourself out.

To be honest there’s no merit in trying to defend them. You actually sound defensive over a bloody construction material. It’s like McCoy aficionados getting so pissed when people point out they really don’t turn that well and can’t be surfed in the pocket.

It’s just surfing dude, that’s all it is.

steve shearer wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:30 am

Cranked wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:37 am

Hit it with a hammer and it will not damage. It's ludicrous to believe there would be more surftechs in landfill. The exact opposite would be the case.

Sorry mate, that is utter bollocks.

I've seen them snap, I've seen fin boxes ripped out, I've seen them gouged from hitting rocks and other surfboards. I've seen them delam.

And once water gets into the core, thats all she wrote.

Landfill.

I found this thread from 2005- it makes very interesting reading almost 20 years down the track.

https://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewto ... 8&start=18

Yes, yes Steve, they are not bomb proof, but at least
twice as hard to damage, so about half as likely to end up in land fill.

Unfortunately, once the shell is compromised they usually are done for.

So they end up in landfill.

Unlike regular surfboards which never end up in landfill and last forever.
I tell you what does end up in landfill….foamies.

If water gets into the core you position the board so that the damaged section is lowest and leave it to drain for a day or two, and then repair as normal.

The later Surftechs used sealed cell foam so there was no uptake of water when the shell was damaged.

I'm not saying Surftechs are bomb proof, but they are around twice as hard to damage.

Pants wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:49 am

Look, I think epoxy boards e.g. surftechs etc suck dogs balls. And so do a lot of people when you look at the surf community in general.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be an advocate for them. Knock yourself out.

To be honest there’s no merit in trying to defend them. You actually sound defensive over a bloody construction material. It’s like McCoy aficionados getting so pissed when people point out they really don’t turn that well and can’t be surfed in the pocket.

It’s just surfing dude, that’s all it is.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Surftech and epoxy boards in general. I'm always ready to address them as best I can.

People rode them and made their own minds up.

That was the big problem for Surftech, eventually reality overtook the marketing.

Cranked wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:04 pm

If water gets into the core you position the board so that the damaged section is lowest and leave it to drain for a day or two, and then repair as normal.

The later Surftechs used sealed cell foam so there was no uptake of water when the shell was damaged.

I'm not saying Surftechs are bomb proof, but they are around twice as hard to damage.

Later Surftechs (TL2) had a much weaker laminate too, and yellowed horribly.

You'd be very, very lucky to see one of those in the wild.

I accept core surfers have kept loyal to what the big surfboard manufacturers have decided is the way to go. If you are a team rider it’s pretty much impossible to fine tune moulded shapes to complement your style and changing wave conditions. Everyone wants what the Pros are riding. They also want to regularly change boards.
Yes, you can get strong well made PU boards but a lot are lightweight and aren’t made to last.
I’m actually interested in new materials and construction techniques.
It’s all plastic.

If you don’t like how epoxy boards ride, that’s fine. No need to put shit on people who think otherwise.

I think one of the main effects of the Surftech/Asian made board "era" was the influence it had on PU/PE construction.

Better blanks, better glassing made for a much better product, that still felt like PU/PE and was easily customisable and repairable.

I bought a Pyzel off the rack last year in June, pretty much rode it every day and it's barely dented.

I just ripped the fin box out colliding with a hard object- but that is an easy pro repair.

If it was a Tuflite or FW, it would be a nightmare repair.

Here's Choice on epoxy surfboards

https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-bo ... 20buoyancy.

News Flash: the huge number of learners and intermediate surfers who ride moulded and mass produced boards of various construction don’t surf at Lennox.
How many Pros, board makers and surf companies have foamies and soft boards these days?
We have DHD, Hayden Shapes, Ripcurl, O&E, Softlite, MR, Toledo, Mick Fanning, Jamie O’Brien, etc, etc.

Maybe I'm deluded, but there's a "pop" in coming off turns (particularly bottom) the feel of traditional construction has. JD (apologies) shapes have that. Some older boards I've had end up losing it despite it's otherwise condition. "Pop" is good

Cranked wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:28 pm

Here's Choice on epoxy surfboards

https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-bo ... 20buoyancy.

That wasn't bad actually.

Maybe the soft top/foamie market took the market niche for kooks off Surftechs?

They are even less durable.

Yeah, surprisingly OK.

Surfertoday, the pros and cons of epoxy surfboards:

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/the ... boards/amp

Barely a word in there about how EPS sucks water.

From the article.

Do you need a ding repair? If so, it might be harder to find someone who can fix your damaged epoxy surfboard;


An EPS surfboard has less flex and memory than PU surfboards, resulting in a stiffer and rigid feel and making it more difficult to turn;

steve shearer wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 1:03 pm

Barely a word in there about how EPS sucks water.

Crazy, absolutely suck it up, small ding takes ages to dry.