Flexlite boards

[ally:)42]

Hey guys,

Went into one of the local board shops the other day and admired the look and feel of these flexlite surfboards. I heard they've been around for a while but they're super light and feel good under the arm. Guy at the shop said they're maneuverable and springy....but they were hard to repair.
Anyway, has anyone got one of them? How do they compare to your regular fibreglass board?? Are they really that hard to repair?

[ally:)42]

Did just that...but i can only find stuff about mals....i was sorta thinking more shortboard wise :?

[dolfn]

Try this link

http://www.flexlite.tv/chilli.html

[homebush]

try out both styles (i.e Tufflite & Flexlite) before you commit.I have had a couple of both styles & admit that I'm only average ability but flexlite feels to be a far better board. It is amazingly strong but still flexes out of turns where as a tufflite feels so stiff & bounces on choppy surfaces. I am currently riding a custom EPS/Epoxy and love the buoyancy but the build quality is crap. the deck already has big knee depressions after 8 months where my last flexlite was nearly 2 years old when I sold it & you could hardly see a dent

[entity]

I fix a lot of both types of boards and the tuflite is much more durable than the flexlite.
The decks of the flexlites will only take so much compression and then the beads of the Eps seperate from each other resulting in a big soft mushy spot on the deck which turns into the fault line for the board to snap.
The flexlites dont have the Dcell wrapping around the whole rail but instead have layers and layers of glass.
Guys who are heavy on their feet would be better suited to the tuflite as it seems to hold up better on the deck.
Smaller guys who know how to surf tend to prefer the feeling of the flexlite. But instead of crushing the deck they end up with this soft spot which leads to failure and the board snaps.
Bigger guys tend like the ride of the tuflite probably due to their extra weight and power being able to deform such a stiff board.
I have a tuflite in to fix at the moment with a split in the deck that the guy kept surfing and it is still pi$$ing water after a week.
I may be crucified for this but the guys who know how to ride a surfboard seem to have gone back to custom Poly boards. I have had three flexlites snaps to fix, two firewires snaps and a few tuflite snaps to repair in the past few months.
I'm not saying they are bad or good just another surfboard. But certainly not indestructable and will not turn you into a pro.
So to sum up, flexlites surf better if you are under 80kg, but tuflite will last longer. sorry maybe that sentence would have done? I'm going surfing.

[robzig]

[entity]

G'day Matt,
I have a bit of a look (lurk) here when I have the time.
Hope you're getting waves.

Just as a Ps. to the last post. Bring your cash with you if you would like any type of sandwich construction board repaired. When fixing a major ding on these boards its not just a matter of fill the whole bang some weave on it a give it a sand. to get it right you have to be a be panel beater spray painter as well. To fix a snap on these without adding lots of weight is the big trick.

[pinhead]

I think if you're in your teens, you're probably still growing physically and in terms of your ability. In which case a lightweight performance PU custom might be a good idea right now. It'll have fallen apart after 18 months or so but by that time you'll know more about your surfing and will have a better idea about the kind of shape you should be riding. Then you could look at spending more on more durable tech: i.e. Flexlite, Firewire, JD etc