Thanks man, appreciate the offer for the fins ! legend. But dont worry I can go to the local surf shop and borrow some fins
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Issue speed generation on new board
- Thread starter Mat6920
- Start date
Thanks man, appreciate the offer for the fins ! legend. But dont worry I can go to the local surf shop and borrow some fins
Well not sure if this is standard but after 8 surf only the deck is already full of compression, thought eps boards were stronger. In 3 months the board is going to be destroyed at that rate
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I wonder if the lack of drive has to do with the tech? I rode a lost puddle jumper in similar tech and found it to be the slowest board I've ever ridden - and I've been on some dogs over my thirty years. It was marginally better with MR twin plus trailer, but by then i hated the board so much i was glad to sell it at a heavily discounted price and curse some other poor bastard.
Hard to know, I still emailed and shared the images with the guy I was in touch at Stacey cause it s my 2nd Stacey since last August and see what he says. Their eps are coming from the cobra factory which also does a lot of the eps JS, lost too I believe. I was told today that if you want your epoxy to be made in australia it s roughly 200 dol extra. I dont know if it s the tech, I have a fling from Superbrand, I surfed the sh!t out of this board since I bought it 1 year ago and its holding well, also had carbon wrap Lost V3 and it was super fast and durable. A mate just landed me his firewire stubby bastard, he has it for 3 years the board looks great !
You could be onto something there too. A couple of years ago I grabbed an inexpensive Cobra made eps egg the local surfshop had brought in so that my boy could ride it and when I rode it a few times no matter how much I tried with fins I couldn't get much drive out of it. Hopefully this is not to be for Mat as well.
Cobra in Thailand makes windsurfers (bullet proof construction), but if you just get a board made from EPS with a layer or two of glass on top you are gonna step right through it as in the pictures. The foam itself is just white air and has no strength. EPS boards are good if they are made like Surftech etc., otherwise they are garbage.
Shouldn't a 185lbs guy be on more than 32L anyway?
hmm well 32L for 185 is working really well for me, catches waves easily on this shape.
I just dont understand what s the benefit of building boards, selling them more expensive but less durable, I think eps for small waves is great and better than PU, maybe it makes sense for pro who have free boards but for everyday surfers we can t afford that. Lost my job because of this fucking virus, spent 950 dol as a last treat for my birthday and end up with a board that will last 3 months if I surf it everyday. Anyway, I ll make sure I get more information next time i buy an eps / epoxy board
I just dont understand what s the benefit of building boards, selling them more expensive but less durable, I think eps for small waves is great and better than PU, maybe it makes sense for pro who have free boards but for everyday surfers we can t afford that. Lost my job because of this fucking virus, spent 950 dol as a last treat for my birthday and end up with a board that will last 3 months if I surf it everyday. Anyway, I ll make sure I get more information next time i buy an eps / epoxy board
It seems to be all about the glass layup for epoxy, like poly. I've been disappointed to find out EPS builds from Lost, CI, JS are all light, 4+4/4. Probably more durable than poly, but not by much, especially for bigger guys like us. I thought they whole idea for EPS was to glass them heavier as the foam is so light???
HS stock build is more durable at 10.5/4, been great for me so far. Probably best to go custom with others to get standard glass, 6+4/4, but that can cost more.
I'll be sticking to HS for EPS or XTR. Honestly, HS FF has the best performance/durability/price balance for me so far. I rode a FireWire Helium and loved it. I'm vey tempted as they're supposed to be very durable too, but I can't get over the yellowing thing to buy one.
EPS foam density should be considered as well.
A lot of the overseas boards use ultra lightweight EPS foam. It's cheaper and when people pick up the finished board, they're impressed with the lightness. This comes at the expense of durability.
If you go to a competent shaper familiar with working with EPS/Epoxy and specify you want an EPS blank that's closer in density to your favorite PU blank, then you can have an EPS/Epoxy with a similar glass schedule as a PU/PE.
Take XTR as an example, they use a blank that's similar in density to a PU and are able to use more of a traditional glass schedule. The end result is a board that feels pretty close to PU/PE boards but the durability benefits of EPS/Epoxy.
A lot of the overseas boards use ultra lightweight EPS foam. It's cheaper and when people pick up the finished board, they're impressed with the lightness. This comes at the expense of durability.
If you go to a competent shaper familiar with working with EPS/Epoxy and specify you want an EPS blank that's closer in density to your favorite PU blank, then you can have an EPS/Epoxy with a similar glass schedule as a PU/PE.
Take XTR as an example, they use a blank that's similar in density to a PU and are able to use more of a traditional glass schedule. The end result is a board that feels pretty close to PU/PE boards but the durability benefits of EPS/Epoxy.
2lb eps foam and epoxy resin with 6- 4 + 4 tail patch deck
Slightly lighter than poly with 4- 4+ 4 tail patch deck
1- 1.5lb eps foam will crush and be much lighter
Slightly lighter than poly with 4- 4+ 4 tail patch deck
1- 1.5lb eps foam will crush and be much lighter
This is vey interesting. I'm still trying to figure out all the ins and outs of epoxy builds as I've gotten into them recently. One thing I learned is durability is relative.
What would you say about getting EPS durability for those not looking for the PU feel? I now prefer the lighter more lively feel of stringerless EPS for waves overhead and below. XTR so far for me is a great replacement for hpsbs or step ups as, like you said, they feel closer to pu, but are more lively and durable.
When I custom ordered a Lost carbon wrap, I requested heavier glass on the deck. That was recommended by DMS to me, the inventor of carbon wrap. Lost said that would mess with the flex and pushed back. I didn't even know what to request because all these epoxy constructions are confusing. Not even sure what they did as they never stated anything, but I ended up returning the board due to cracks around the fins, which was done in their CA factory.
Good to know. Seems like I need to start paying more attention to EPS foam density. Does foam density help with compression dents and stress fractures/breaks, or both?
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If you like that feel, you can definitely go with 1.5lb EPS foam.
You'll just want it glassed heavier than your standard PU/PE board......at least on the deck.
For the decks glass schedule, you would need to take into consideration your weight, construction (stringer/no stringer), and your preferences on feel. You might have to ride some different boards and dig a bit into their foam density/glass schedules to figure that out.
I tried this morning the Stubby bastard Firewire from a mate who has the board for 3 years, the board doesnt even have a compression, fell really good and lively, on the flip side like you say, the board became yellow as hell, ugly. I think for my taste it s a touch too light, a bit of offshore wind got me stuck on the lip twice
I got a reply from Stacey saying that they are made in the Cobra factory which does all the other major brands, they are shipping Australian materials from Sydney down there. He said that this is the first one they have seen like this but it s hard to see from pictures if there s an issue (which i agree). These had been in development with our layup for over two years regarding materials used. They suggested to go to the surf shop where I bought it so they can talk to the guys directly, I did but they reckon it s just normal foot compressions...
I did feel a few Lost made of PU and EPS and I agree they do feel great and are pretty light
That's probably true, but I'd say a stringerless EPS/epoxy is way lighter, lively, and responsive than a stringered pu with the same glass layup. So an eps with standard glass, 6+4/4, probably feels like a PU with team glass, but is way more durable.
I believe this is why most pros are not going to EPS. If you made them only have a dozen boards a year versus 50-100, I’m willing to bet they would choose a standard glassed EPS/epoxy over a heavier and stiffer standard glassed PU for their day-to-day performance boards.