RealSurf Surfers' Forum

A lot of the pros still like EPS for small wave surfing. More fun for fast whippy turns and pop for airs.

Ding repair you say, just buy a tube of Epoxy UV REZ. In an emergency, squeeze it on, tidy it up, leave in sunlight for 5 minutes and you're done.

I've had a few epoxy repairs, no-one has said we don't do them. Cost about 25% more max.

steve shearer wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:21 pm

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.

FFS, no it wouldn't. I had a side finbox and 6" of rail destroyed by baggage handlers, it was just another repair, I dont even recall the cost, it was modest though. Hardest thing is matching colors.

Drailed wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 19, 2023 2:46 pm

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.

Pro ding repairers have centrifugal contraption a bit like a small hills hoist that spins the water out, but yeah can take a few days using gravity

Beanpole wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 16, 2023 7:34 pm

Steve looking for an argument.

So Steve has picked up this old thread because…….”I'm researching the rise of "tech" boards and Surftech was huge in the Market from, say, 2004-2010?”

But you could be forgiven for thinking the reason was more along the lines of pouring scorn on the boards and anyone who still rides them. His mind seemed made up right from page 1

No, just starting from the fact which is they have practically disappeared and trying to work out why.

They didn't disappear because they were great despite a huge marketing push and entire shops selling nothing but Surftechs.

As Foamy said, EPS has been taken up by some pros for small wave applications. Not many though. I think ACE Buchan was one of the few to ride them regularly. A few more have used them in the Wavepool.
Toledo is riding a Carbon Dark Arts in small surf, as has JJF (not anymore).

Not Tuflites though.

No one still rides them, even our greatest proponent of them, Cranked, no longer rides them.

He traded them in for poly's.

"Just traded two McCoy Nuggets (7' Surftech and a 7'2 TSA FX) for a 7' TSA poly Nugget.

Why? It fits better with the rest of my McCoys. So now its 6'8, 7', 7'4 and 8' Nuggets. I wanted a poly because they are better in the wind blown chop (thanks Steve) that is reasonably frequent at a more south facing break I often surf."

It's confusing. I dont think they have been made for over a decade now. There was a production line at the originall manufactures. Each board had it's own mold. They stopped doing molding process and I don't know what they do now, but they are very expensive, and not marketed or constructed as Surftech.

I owned at least 30 odd Surftechs over a 25 year period. I used to get about 80 to 85% of the purchase price as a trade in so there was no reason not to buy.

Now I think they are $1,200 to $2,500 and by no means bomb proof like the originals, so why bother.

The Firewire wood veneer weather and crack. Aloha are bombproof but have a very limited range.

Best I've found is Elemnt, based in Byron and importing them from China. You can see their range and prices on their website:

https://elemnt.surf/

That’s based on construction method I presume Cranky.
Funny I was looking at midlengths like those.
Then I just went Fcuk I’ve still got my 7’11” Carver.
McTavish is selling Carvers for $2 K these days.

Why would you need 30 over a 25 year period if they were bombproof?

Surely you'd keep them.

Or at least the ones you liked.

Isn't that the whole point of having a durable surfboard?

I've got 2 PU/PE McCoys under the house, both made in the early 90's and still going strong.

No effing way I'd get rid of them.

One of the best things about durability was the trade in price.

Keeping 30 would cost me $30,000+, I don't have a budget to support that. I usually have about 6 boards at any one time. But because they do not age much at all I can trade a board a year or so old for a new one and only have to fork out $200.

I did keep the ones I liked, which were the McCoys for a long time.

But there were boards designed by some of the world's best shapers and it was most enjoyable to try them all out for such a small cost.

It seems Surftech and Tuflite are still going strong:

https://surftech.com/collections/tuflite

I haven't seen any in Perth, but they were hitting $1,200 years ago and I can pickup Asian made epoxy ones for around $600.

Yeah, I was a bit confused by the discussion actually because I regularly check them out online. Bigger range in the States.
As I said before there’s a guy with a brand new Lopez board at Bondi.

99% of my purchases of surfboards have been with just one retailer in Perth. I keep him supplied with a lot of really good condition second hand boards and he gives me great trade in prices.

Beanpole wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:55 am

there’s a guy with a brand new Lopez board at Bondi.

Thats a bit of a waste, hey ... unless it's one of those Costco ones.

Beanpole wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:55 am

Yeah, I was a bit confused by the discussion actually because I regularly check them out online. Bigger range in the States.
As I said before there’s a guy with a brand new Lopez board at Bondi.

It's a long time since I bought a Surftech, 10 years? I only think about them when I'm arguing about them here on Realsurf. Geof McCoy had his own epoxies made in Asia and I rode them exclusively for about 6 years. Then about a one year romance with conventional construction that was mared by continual damage and repairs and finally a snapped board that sent me quickly back to epoxy.

Yuke Hunt wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 20, 2023 8:10 am

Beanpole wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:55 am

there’s a guy with a brand new Lopez board at Bondi.

Thats a bit of a waste, hey ... unless it's one of those Costco ones.

No it’s a racy looking rounded pin in bright red. Not an old guy either. He seems to be a full frother too.
Exactly what I thought when I saw it. Unless he’s trying it out for Indo it’s totally unsuited.
He seemed like the kind of guy Skip might know. He seems to know a lot of locals.

I don't like epoxy, find them too chattery on a wave, probably psychosomatic but it feels there is more friction than traditional glass boards and the flex is significantly different.

Maybe if I learned on one and that's all I knew, perhaps it would be fine. Just feel traditional PU is better.