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XTR
- Thread starter isurfcardiff
- Start date
Put on a little rant on Matt Biolos's Instagram page today, he had his team reached out to me to look into the order, will keep you guys posted. I might send him the link of the megathread we had going on here about the Lost Custom order...
It was tricky, but I think I got a shot of the rail (photo is post "repair") that shows the weird flat panel, which is not there on any of the three Astro Pops I've felt up the last two days and is obviously a manufacturing error post shaped blank. The bottom edge was wobbly and was not very sharp (actually faded away into the flat panel around the front plug). The XTR guys put additional UV resin on the bottom (painter's taped off the rails) and tried to fix the edge issue and the FCS plug*. Neither repair I feel is acceptable. The workers must have misunderstood me about the rail contour issue, since that looked like it wasn't touched, nor do I think it can take any more sanding since there are already sand-throughs in that area (actually numerous on the board, but I think that's pretty common on epoxies, especially darker colored).
The second shot is the bonus scuff that you would expect to happen when working on a board upside down on bare concrete and not surprisingly; it did. I understand the need the sun for the resin to cure, but a piece of cardboard underneath would may have been a good idea.
Despite the edge still being wonky and the rail not being addressed, I don't understand how someone in the surfboard manufacturing industry can't repair a flat area relatively perfect. The plug still has a small area where they didn't put enough resin in.
So, factoring in my two trips (my time, mileage) from Redondo to Oceanside, I'm about $1350 dollars into this thing. Hopefully Javier and/or Shey can make thing right. I'm not sure what fix there is outside of just making me a new board. This was supposed to be my summer groveler and this has added to the general bummer summer feeling.
*A funny/embarrassing thing that the Pyzel guys pointed out and I completely missed since having picked up the board, was there was a low spot in the middle of the rear FCSII plug, about 1" long, 3/16" wide and an 1/8" deep and a glob of resin in front about 3/32" proud.
The second shot is the bonus scuff that you would expect to happen when working on a board upside down on bare concrete and not surprisingly; it did. I understand the need the sun for the resin to cure, but a piece of cardboard underneath would may have been a good idea.
Despite the edge still being wonky and the rail not being addressed, I don't understand how someone in the surfboard manufacturing industry can't repair a flat area relatively perfect. The plug still has a small area where they didn't put enough resin in.
So, factoring in my two trips (my time, mileage) from Redondo to Oceanside, I'm about $1350 dollars into this thing. Hopefully Javier and/or Shey can make thing right. I'm not sure what fix there is outside of just making me a new board. This was supposed to be my summer groveler and this has added to the general bummer summer feeling.
*A funny/embarrassing thing that the Pyzel guys pointed out and I completely missed since having picked up the board, was there was a low spot in the middle of the rear FCSII plug, about 1" long, 3/16" wide and an 1/8" deep and a glob of resin in front about 3/32" proud.
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^Of course, it's a manual labor intensive process, so there is always the potential for human error. I've had somewhere in the range of 150 boards, most of them custom and have had the occasional issue (mostly fin placement/alignment issues). If I factored-in color/lam placement discepancies, the "mistake" quotient would be much higher.
I had a rare work appointment in North County that looked to be coinciding with the board being done, but had to be pushed back and required a dedicated trip from me so they (XTR) could "QC".
Sorry for your glob, but glad you're stoked on the board.
that’s unacceptable. i check over fin placement and other defects when i pick up a board. had one that was >1/4” off. look at thevdane reynols mayhem surfing all funky and he picked up on the defect.
Ouch, I've always had great experiences with them. This seems to be out of the norm, but still doesn't help your situation. I'm sure Javi would like to hear your experience with it all. Even the laying it down on concrete for repairs. That is not acceptable and i'm guessing he wouldn't be so happy about it all. He has made a lot of boards for me and cares about the customer. Hopefully they get you taken care of.
That was mine. A Tim Patterson IF15.
Most of my XTR's have been epic including my most recent Album Lightbender.
I'm bummed for you Chase. I hope they get it sorted to your satisfaction.
My XTRs have been great. But mistakes happen. The key is how people respond to the mistakes that inevitably occur and whether they try to fix things.
A side note to my board debacle; I noticed a Pyzel Ghost in the rack that was truly grey with black rails and not FX-2 construction. One of the shop employees (didn't get his name, had silver pompadouresque hair) checked to see if someone was taking care of me and I asked him how they accomplished the color combo without it having the purple hue. He wasn't sure what was done specifically to the board I saw, but apparently grey/black can be done sans purple.
I don't see any reason that I should have to accept anything less than what I paid for, which should be a premium product since I paid a premium price. I'm in a weird spot now, since my only association with the shape is that it rode extremely marginal and if that is the board's performance under my feet, there'd be no way I'd keep it.
I'm hoping the majority of board's negatives can be attributed to the messed up rail. The Pyzel crew at the O'side location were tripping out more on the gouge and resin blob on/by the center fin plug and thought that may have been the big contributor to the tail lift sensation. The plug issue is 95% fixed, but it's not worth it to me to ride it again with the jacked rails (the one pictured is the worse of the two).
Jeesh tough crowd here!
If you've ever made even 1 surfboard, ESPECIALLY glassed it, start to finish, epoxy resin, poly, UV whatever, you would know how hard it is. Most journeyman board makers take immense pride in their work, and could fix, hide, take care of the problem your seeing easy. Discrepancies, 'mistakes', blemishes, burn throughs, dips in boxes, etc. are really really commonplace. However, customer service is an art, and a lot of board makers are either good at it or not.
I agree for the price you've paid, it should be t!ts. And, as you say you've purchased maybe 150 custom boards in your life, (wow, big spender, good for you!) there's no doubt you've come across quite the range in quality. I highly doubt the flat area on the rail is the reason the board is not working. It would work for the right type of surfer, maybe just not you.
Also, IMO, most board makers like to point out another brands boards faults, like the pyzel guys did with yours. And that's to get someone elses customer to buy a board from them. Happens all the time. Especially with team guys! Poachers!
For what you got in, maybe your next 2 boards you make a deal with another label, 2 boards/$1350?? That's a deal!
Good luck, i'd probably just sharpy the nose burn and ride it! It's kinda like ordering food at a restaurant, not getting what you ordered, asking to return it to fix it to order, and then worrying if your food was spit on or something like that.
Are XTR's really that special for the price???
If you've ever made even 1 surfboard, ESPECIALLY glassed it, start to finish, epoxy resin, poly, UV whatever, you would know how hard it is. Most journeyman board makers take immense pride in their work, and could fix, hide, take care of the problem your seeing easy. Discrepancies, 'mistakes', blemishes, burn throughs, dips in boxes, etc. are really really commonplace. However, customer service is an art, and a lot of board makers are either good at it or not.
I agree for the price you've paid, it should be t!ts. And, as you say you've purchased maybe 150 custom boards in your life, (wow, big spender, good for you!) there's no doubt you've come across quite the range in quality. I highly doubt the flat area on the rail is the reason the board is not working. It would work for the right type of surfer, maybe just not you.
Also, IMO, most board makers like to point out another brands boards faults, like the pyzel guys did with yours. And that's to get someone elses customer to buy a board from them. Happens all the time. Especially with team guys! Poachers!
For what you got in, maybe your next 2 boards you make a deal with another label, 2 boards/$1350?? That's a deal!
Good luck, i'd probably just sharpy the nose burn and ride it! It's kinda like ordering food at a restaurant, not getting what you ordered, asking to return it to fix it to order, and then worrying if your food was spit on or something like that.
Are XTR's really that special for the price???
I wanted to check out an XTR based on a lot of the positive reviews here. Even from my limited riding on the board, I can tell it’s more durable (at least dent resistant) than my experience with PU and my current Varial board I’ve had for almost two years. The majority of people here that have owned them (XTR) seem to think they’re worth the price, especially when they’re offering discounts.
I have no idea that in the event the board is remade to what I’d expect XTR’s standard quality is and a true representation of Pyzel’s shape, that it would ride any percentage better under my feet. I’ve had boards that I’ve had copied and have found there can be a mysterious component to boards and even ones off the same file can feel different. If the board in question had symmetrical rails with the edges/contours the shaper had intended, a perceived five percent positive increase in performance may take out it of the dud category and make it a board I’d be stocked on riding, I have no idea.
My having owned 150 boards is an educated guess. I’ve been surfing 37-38 years (I don’t remember if I was 10 or 11 when I started). I’m ballparking about 4 boards a year. I’m sure my first couple of years surfing it was only one or two and the last few years, two to three, but I was doing quite a few NSSA’s and regional Pro-Ams in the 90’s and was getting a lot of boards, so I think the guesstimate is pretty close. While I wasn’t getting boards flowed to me, I was getting pretty hooked up for many years, so the expense is probably not as much as someone would think.
I’ve hand shaped a couple boards and have spent a lot of time in shaping rooms/factories so I know and appreciate the skills of those making boards.
I’ve had boards that had issues that could be addressed by myself with some sandpaper, others that couldn’t and had to be remade, most recently a Rusty where there was a pronounced fin box placement issue. At the time, Royce (who now works with my good friend Matt Calvani, at Bing) looked at the crooked center fin (a copy of a magic Barking Spider that wasn’t anywhere close to magic the second time around) and joked “that’s only an issue if you plan on turning” and profusely apologized and had Clint and team knock a new one out in about a week.
I’m curious to see how this situation turns out and if I’ll like the board in the end. I do think I should be provided the best representation of the intended shape and in the board’s current condition, I don’t feel it’s at its best for me to make a final judgement on.
XTR is worth the spend. The durability and the board keeping it's pop is the value (Xavier claims 3-5x the life of PU).
Especially considering PU from well known shapers are $600+ and XTR is still around $700 to $800.
Dark Arts making similar claims and charging $1,000.
Especially considering PU from well known shapers are $600+ and XTR is still around $700 to $800.
Dark Arts making similar claims and charging $1,000.
You know what’s not hard to do? QC of work.
make a manual. confirm some 20-30 features are intact. pay a shop grom to do the first inspections. escalate as needed.
none of this defending what ifs and the others have been better. chitty business behavior that should be outed.
if a mechanic did a bad head gasket you would complain. sorry XTR, you got got.
make a manual. confirm some 20-30 features are intact. pay a shop grom to do the first inspections. escalate as needed.
none of this defending what ifs and the others have been better. chitty business behavior that should be outed.
if a mechanic did a bad head gasket you would complain. sorry XTR, you got got.
ya keep in mind an $800 product regardless of margin is still an $800 product to the consumer. anyways this is good to know. i'd do a qc look over before i'd pay balance on a new board and reject if st is off.