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HPSB 2034
- Thread starter ChaseTMP
- Start date
I see so many guys on eps/epoxy boards up here, and every time there’s a decent swell there’s piles of them by the rubbish bins.
Meanwhile I have pupe keepers that are still going strong after 5-10 years.
I’m sure they (eps) feel great for some people, but I have zero interest.
What happened to eps boards with wood stringers? I’d give of those a go.
Meanwhile I have pupe keepers that are still going strong after 5-10 years.
I’m sure they (eps) feel great for some people, but I have zero interest.
What happened to eps boards with wood stringers? I’d give of those a go.
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I was a "relatively" early adopter of EPS (ca. 2008) and rode them almost exclusively for a few years. I then had a mix of PU and EPS until the last couple of years.
Back on PU.
Note:
1. Out of all the EPS boards I had, it was the wood-stringered blanks that felt best, follwed by Future Flex.
2. My experience of durability between EPS and PU is fairly similar, especially for epoxy-glassed boards, but I never get "team glassed" PU. it's always 4x4/4 oz.
Absolutely.
To the point:
Here's a 4x4x4 PU JS I never got along with. Probably 10 sessions in hollow, OH waves. I'd guess at least 50 waves ridden, many ending in me popping out the back after pulling into a closeout.
Scraped the wax off the other day, here's the deck:
Not a single dent.
Crazy.
For reference, I'm at least putting footwell in by the first session and golfballing by the second.
That looks almost new. Pyzel has pretty good glassing but mine hasnt held up as well as that. Thats great for resale. Right now i have all PU boards but tempted to try varial still. Theres some cool surfboard constructions but ive wondered how reliable they are
I wonder how much this depends on the cutting machine operator and how he sets up the blank? You know, to avoid cutting too deep into the deck side.
Sharky?
How is the weight? The other thing I know can influence the strength is the resin saturation.
This was my Arakawa after I cleaned the wax off after about a year of use. Glassed 4+4/4
To be fair, belly boarding is easier on the glass.
In the past I've noticed some PU boards from JS don't dent easily but they were prone to snap or buckle.
Almost like they use a harder but more brittle foam. Granted they still dented for me but I weigh more than 135 lbs.
Not sure if that's still the case. Been a while since I've had a JS.
I do think PU foam is better than it used to be. Sometimes, at least. I still get a lot of spider cracks around fin boxes and other annoying cracks on the average PU/PE much easier than just about any alt build whether it's EPS or XTR or Varial.
Some EPS/Epoxy build with a light core and a ton of glass like JS hyfi, mayhem carbon wrap, stretch ctf, etc. is going to be way, way more durable than a similar weight PU in my experience. Whether you like how they ride is another matter. Personally for any kind of groveler/small wave performance board I am unlikely to choose PU. I prefer XTR to EPS for just about anything but I'd take EPS over PU for small waves.
Once the waves get bigger I think the dampness of PU is nice. Varial is fairly damp feeling as well and I think it holds its consistency for longer than a wood stringered PU. I wouldn't hesitate to order a step up in Varial. It does dent rather easily but I haven't had the annoying cracking around fin boxes that I sometimes get with PU boards.
Almost like they use a harder but more brittle foam. Granted they still dented for me but I weigh more than 135 lbs.
Not sure if that's still the case. Been a while since I've had a JS.
I do think PU foam is better than it used to be. Sometimes, at least. I still get a lot of spider cracks around fin boxes and other annoying cracks on the average PU/PE much easier than just about any alt build whether it's EPS or XTR or Varial.
Some EPS/Epoxy build with a light core and a ton of glass like JS hyfi, mayhem carbon wrap, stretch ctf, etc. is going to be way, way more durable than a similar weight PU in my experience. Whether you like how they ride is another matter. Personally for any kind of groveler/small wave performance board I am unlikely to choose PU. I prefer XTR to EPS for just about anything but I'd take EPS over PU for small waves.
Once the waves get bigger I think the dampness of PU is nice. Varial is fairly damp feeling as well and I think it holds its consistency for longer than a wood stringered PU. I wouldn't hesitate to order a step up in Varial. It does dent rather easily but I haven't had the annoying cracking around fin boxes that I sometimes get with PU boards.
100% that is what I have been told by machine operators here.
Yeah, or just making sure the shaper orders the right blank or the operator telling the shaper a certain blank won't work.
My understanding is the Clark blanks from the 90s were super close tolerance so they barely had to be milled.
The new ones not so much so.
Also blanks harden as they age.
There was a manufacturer around here offering a 2 week turnaround on customs and I was one of the victims.
The boards looked like they had sitting on a driving range after the first surf.
My guess is they used whatever blank they had to meet the turnaround time.
This isn’t advancement? They’ve only been around a short time. Try drawing these lines or attaining these speeds on a HPSB. Looks like a shitload of fun to me. Downside- I’ve watched a close friend who I would say is a better surfer than me struggle to learn. He’ finally up and riding and I give him credit for his tenacity (he’s 65 and still ripping low volume shortboards).