Surf board construction is one of those things that’s ever developing, surfers and shaper’s all over the world are constantly looking to find the absolute best surfboard possible to tackle all kinds of surfing conditions and it is something that led to high views in the recent past.
A surfboard that could be excellent for one person will be the most horrible thing ever for the guy sat next to him, its kind of similar with the mens wetsuits eventuality and how the fit has to be perfect for that person in particular. With surfbaords it comes down to several critical factors including the weight and size of the individual, what kind of waves they surf, what their skill level is and also their type of surfing and how they attack the wave. Are the gentil and cruisy or fast and powerful? For that reason no one can ever make the one perfect board for everyone as surfing is such a individual sport. One good surfboard will not please every single person.
There are countless thousands of surfboard brands out there today, some shape boards by hand and from the start, the slow traditional way, many shaper’s in this day use shaping machines to aid them and speed up the method permitting them to be more productive and knock more boards out than previously. The other route is what a few of corporations have gone for and that is invest colossally in pre shaped high-performance shapes meaning they knock an exact match board out over and over again in factory produced way.
Brands that follow this way are the likes of Surftech, Firewire and Resin eight. These firms have a large range of boards to suit most peoples needs and they simply duplicate the method again and again again. This has giant pluses in the way that if you find a board you adore and you surf it until it is in a mess and wishes replacing it is easy to get the same identical model again so there’ll be no learning process to ride the new shape.
In this piece we’re going to look at some of the differences between traditional surfboards and these factory produced epoxy boards and see whether they could be right for you. Lets get into it and find out what makes this new type of surfboard so different to the common Polyurethane foam and fiberglass surfboard and what the advantages are for you and your surfing.
Weight – As any surfer who’s worth his salt will tell you, one of the key features to a hi-performance surfboard, especially a short board is its weight. If you are riding a board that’s heavy your not going to be able to launch an air or turn in a tight arch let alone gain masses amounts of speed which is believed to be one of the most important things in surfing.
Sturdiness – This a serious benefit in the mass-produced boards because as they are made from epoxy resin they are extremely tough and light in weight. One of the biggest feedback with standard PU surfboards is their core strength. To keep a boards weight low the glass jobs on hi-performance PU surfboards are done using extremely light fiberglass cloth, often 4oz. This has a significant effect on the surfboards overall strength and how long it is going to last you. When riding a PU surfboard on a regular basis some people will typically get about 3-6 months consistent use out of it before they’re short of replacement. This is often a nightmare of an expense for the common-or-garden un-sponsored typical Joe. The brilliant thing about epoxy surf-boards is they are very robust without losing weight or performance, this suggests you can get years of constant use before you even need to think about a replacement.
Performance – One of the largest things to look for in a surfboard is one that’s going to perform well in waves you are going to be surfing the most. The mass manufacturing firms have teamed up with some the worlds leading and most celebrated surfboard shaper’s. The models that these blokes have selected to be made are demonstrated to be high performing and their best selling designs.
Irrespective of which board you select make sure you make the maximum of it and have a good time each time you paddle out.
Ray Johnson is a semi pro surfer who also works in the surf clothing industry. When he is not doing that he makes his part time living traveling around the globe doing picture shoots for magazines attempting to get exposure for his main sponsor Volcom UK and DVS Shoes. He started surfing when he was fourteen years old and inside a mere six years he picked up his first major sponsors which lead the way for where he finds himself today.