Dark Arts is a budding channel within the surf industry that collaborates with notable surfboard shapers around the world. Set on continuing our path to revolutionize how surfboards are crafted, our offerings are among the lightest and strongest models that excel in speed and durability.
Dark Arts references the art of building surfboards from shaping to glassing with black carbon fiber material. The brand was founded by long-time board builder and surfing purist, Justin Ternes, who assembles his 21 years of board-building and unites it with his conviction to innovate, while ensuring the essence of surfing remains preserved. Collaborating with prominent shapers in the surf industry, we’ve set our sights on pioneering design tactics that form a revolutionary board made in the USA.
You should add some gold dark art like tarot cards.. mystic symbols a sun a moon.. reminds me the shape of my kitesurfing board... love it.. it's all about style.. beautiful sublime
I had a really magic Album Vesper that I bough last summer and subsequently broke less than 5 months later in pounding Silver Strand perfection. It's just too much money these days for a board to break and it's avoidable. We use carbon in our cars, snowboards, bicycles and they last forever. I'm never going to buy a regular construction board again. This is just an insurance policy that comes with some performance improvements not to mention it's better for the environment. Hats Off! Placing my order today.
That is sweet. I was wanting to experiment with bottom channel like that and putting snowboard style shape on the rails. Symmetry is needed for next gen airs. Very cool.
Been riding 2 Vaders for 8 yrs now, 5’6 for anything up to double overhead and 5’7 on big days. Not a high performance board or the best board I’ve surfed, but hands down the best all rounder I’ve owned in my 40yrs of surfing. Some mates bought one because of me, but none of them stuck to it. Takes time to dial into it, but once you do, they’re amazing. Mine are now battered, so would love a few PU replacements, if only they were affordable!
Damien Brawner and Brad Domke colab A few years ago right when Covid started they made the Domke brand and Brad rode a wave on the board Damien shaped 70 foot at Jaws a Skim board no fins that’s the fastest board in the world.
"The symmetry of the shape." Tomo says explains the nose shape ... but a surfboard goes in one direction nearly always, so the flow of water is nearly always nose-to-tail, entry, gathering, then later release off the back - therefore, there's a real difference between nose and tail as per water flow and release - hence surfboards are mostly non-symmetrical nose to tail so as to attempt to maximise good entry and then the different physics of release. Fins are at the back after all. Nobody wants fins at the front "for symmetry". So I don't see the argument for the value of symmetry - that's just an aesthetic decision that risks catchy corners at the front of the board. (otherwise we love Tomo's experiments - keep 'em coming)
The rail line is symmetrical to the front of the board, which does matter. The Vader's rail line starts where you would typically be about 2/3rds or 3/4ths the way up the board. That makes the overall rail line both shorter and straighter. Also the symmetry matters more when you are paddling because you have a larger amount of foam forward under your chest, helping your paddle power, but without changing where the wide point of the board is which will change how it surfs. Remember, surfboard design isn't just about how water flows over the board. Its also about weight distribution, foil and buoyancy. A symmetrical shape like this will eliminate useless swing weight at the far end of the board, increase the amount of foam under your chest (in comparison to a similar sized "traditional" board), keep the rail line symmetrical and the wide point in the center. All of that matters and none of it has anything to do with how the water moves under the board when you are riding it. Symmetry does do something. Now, does it actually need to be a diamond to achieve all of the above? No. It doesn't. A blunt nose like the Omni or Evo would have worked just as well, but its the same for every surfboard. The very front of all of them is simply a matter of aesthetics. The pointy nose on a shortboard doesn't do anything. Really, in the vast majority of circumstances the forward 1/3rd of a board doesn't even come into contact with the water when its being ridden. Why are pointy noses better than diamonds?
ffs the nose never touches the water except when you paddle, so him explaining in great details how the shape of the nose is important should be enough to tell you it's a load of crap. The only thing that can change is the torque you apply when you turn and the balance on the water because you are seemingly taking of some weight. Coolboard though, I'd like to try it.
I'm a huge fan of Tomo's shapes, I never had a Vader, but the Vanguard was one of my all time favorite surfboards and changed the way I look at surfboards (those oulines made total sense after reading "Naval architecture of planning hulls" by Lindsay Lord), but the fastest surfboard I've ever had or ridden, was in my opinion the Vampirate Inflatable Mattress.
Just ride one... Youll go Fast and you'll have more fun... Then you'll think-- who cares how it works, it just flat our works and you'll smile a lot more too
That thing seems to accelerate as it's going up the wave toward the lip. My Tomo's are my favorite boards I've ever owned. I know what he means about neutral stance, it's totally true. Don't need to be all the way on the back of the tail.
Yeah Boys! Great video on the updated design of the BEST surfboard I have ever owned and I've owned a LOT! Love you guys and Daniel's shaping is truly revolutionary!
The wide nose is super helpful in paddling. I made a 6’0 board with a nose from a 9’0 longboard and a pin tail from a skimboard, and it’s still my favorite to ride. Paddling in is amazing because you can really lean into the nose section when paddling in, and rather than pushing water, it just pops up and planes more and more as you gain speed. The result is that you catch waves way earlier than others around you giving a bit of an advantage in the paddle-battles, or just an easier/earlier paddle in on days when you’re by yourself.
The double concave running though is nothing new, i was ridding one back in 89 ( Before you were born most likely ) Material technology may have improved but old tech revamped a bit
Stoked to hear this board is being made. My old Vader was awesome. I took it to the Southern Attolls as a back up board two years ago and ended up riding it every day in the really big stuff. I've had it repaired so many times it barely floats but my 12 year old is now on it. I'm a big fan.
I have a Vader v1 and Vanguard. It is not surfing. Riding these boards is a whole different dimension of wave riding. It is not surfing. It is better than surfing. It will make you rethink what you think you know about surfing. I know where I’d put a spare $1500 if I had it laying around.
The Vader 2.0 is pretty sick! I've had mine for about 2 weeks and I've ridden it in small Oceanside mushy to OH hollow beachies. Still peeling back the layers on this one, but feeling really good so far! ⚡⚡⚡⚡ 🤘
This guy has made more garbage and bogus claims about his boards than any shaper ever in existence. I am so tired of him and firewires utter lies and snake oil sales techniques. You’re boards are trash if I was wrong then atleast one pro would be riding them. They don’t in fact no world class surfers do. Why because you peddle lies and the kooks that don’t know any better eat it up. Your boards are trash that should be obvious to all by now but it’s somehow not. Every board Tomo or firewire shapes is talked up and made out to be some mystical break through that makes every other surfboard below it. It’s the opposite firewire and Tomo are bottom of barrel rubbish that have made a massive business selling utter lies and false hype
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:20 *Version deux du Vader, une refonte du design original avec une technologie en fibre de carbone Dark Arts.* 00:33 *Nouveau contour inférieur en double concave se fondant dans une surface plane quadruple concave, offrant une excellente adhérence et contrôle.* 01:06 *Le design asymétrique du nez en diamant contribue à une répartition équilibrée de la surface, assurant une vitesse de planage et de pagaie efficace.* 02:14 *Technologie en fibre de carbone Dark Arts : légèreté, robustesse et réactivité exceptionnelles.* 02:56 *L'expérience de surf sur cette planche est intuitive, offrant une vitesse et un contrôle sans précédent, avec une grande polyvalence dans les mouvements.* Made with HARPA AI
Don't get sucked in by the fake hype. These clowns are trying to make megabucks from "new tech" which is just Chinese and Thai bullshit but at an always increasing price. Note how each new version has yet another stupid name designed to boggle the masses? These boards are all machine pop-outs and the "shapers" aren't shaping but just importing in bulk. Note how the boards can't and don't cater for anyone over 80kg (they only go too long and wide instead of thicker - and that's because the machines can't go thicker). And you the suckers are paying for all their surf trips, RU-vid vlogs, massive egos and all the rest of it. Walk into any surf shop and besides these so-called "carbon" boards, all the rest of them are just 4oz glass. Why do you think? Do they damage and snap really easily so YOU are forced to buy, yes, yet another surfboard off them? Can you re-sell your 4oz board with dents all over the thing? Absolutely disgraceful and they will never be getting our business.
